Our last day in NZ

Hi All,

So, today is our last day in New Zealand.
It seems like not too long ago that Gay and I were talking on the phone in San Francisco and she, frustrated with her job, jokingly said to me "You know, we should just pack everything up and move to like New Zealand or something." Something about her suggestion resonated with me and of course, as we all know, the rest is history.
So would I do it all again? Of course, in heartbeat, and one day we just may (Japan is top of my list). But for right now the best thing for me is to get back to where home is, get reacquainted with family and friends and get back in touch with what it's like to be an American citizen.

The process of beginning new
One of the things I'm looking forward to is taking the steps of forming a life for myself in a new place. Simple stuff like where I'm going to live, what kind of job to get and all the new friendships and situations that result of large scale changes.
It'll be the fourth time for me doing such a thing, the most exciting, of course, was doing it here in Nelson where everything was new. But this time around, in San Francisco with the idea of Gay and I being husband and wife, will make it all the more special.
So we're starting the process by scanning craigslist for apartments, both cringing at the cost and giddy at the thought of sharing our own place together.

The blog
I think I'm just going to keep this blog going to document the next bits in our lives even though the first part of the URL, "nzmove", isn't semantically relevant. So keep checking back once in awhile and see how we're getting on.

Bye New Zealand

Tahitti, and On Leaving (again)

Hi All,

First off, I got an email from my friend Dave who said that not only did him and his wife enjoy our travel blog but also his family including his grandfather who, in WWII, was stationed in some areas we visited. I thought that was awesome. Mostly I think no one is really reading this thing except for our moms, which is great don't get me wrong. So I'm pleasantly shocked when I hear people are keeping up with us. So I just want to say thank you to everyone who's been regular readers. It means a lot to us.

Tahiti, again
So how many people can say they've been to Tahiti twice in one year? Probably not many people so I realize just how lucky I am. This trip failed to disappoint as Gay and I spent quality time with Gay's parents and her sister, Yve, and her brother in-law, Adam. We had a fantastic time despite some rainy days, but even those we made the best of. We did some cool activities like boat rides and snorkeling, sting ray feeding, and dolphin watching. I got in 3 dives and I was lucky enough to swim along with a sea turtle that was hanging out with our group for almost the whole dive. I wish I had some pictures on just how close this guy was coming up to me. He was very curious about us and at one point we were looking each other straight in the face. Other than that I loved all the "colorful" conversations we would have during meal times. Some of my favorite topics included:
-Pros and Cons of Starbucks and other Globalization Efforts.
-Current state of Politics in Tibet and China.
-Current state of my receding hairline.
-Where is the best pizza and why.
and my absolute favorite...
-Our wedding plans


New Years and Nelson
We spent a nice New Years in Nelson just hanging out with some friends. We're currently staying at my friend Tom and Julia's who have been taking great care of us. We went camping a couple days ago and spent some quality time hanging out on the beautiful beaches in Kaiterteri. Summer is a great time to be in Nelson and it makes question our decision to leave. Also were coming to realize that it's not the best time to be renting in San Francisco and buying something is so utterly out of the question it's not funny.
In the end I know leaving is the right thing to do but it's causing some tension between Gay and I. Gay actually got a work visa the last time we entered the country so she is thinking about staying here, enjoying a Nelson summer and working for a couple months while I go back and get things sorted. Whatever happens I'm sure it will all work out.

Some pictures
Tahiti
Here are some Tahiti pics. Gay's sister is a very talented photographess and this is random set from her Snapfish collection. Yve, I hope you don't mind me stealing a couple of these.

Camping in Kaiterteri
This is video is from camping with our German friends Thomas and Julia. Thomas got this special sugary syrup topping called Goldsaft for Christmas and we loved it and put it on everything. Here is a video of Gay getting her daily fix of Goldsaft.