Week 2 - Welcome to work & WIND!

Hello Everybody, and welcome to week 2 in Wellington, New Zealand. Firstly thanks to all of you that are looking at the blog, and those who said nice things about last week’s post …. Even if I “do go on a bit” eh Julia! ;)

This week, has basically consisted of two parts:

1) Starting work which has included meeting my new colleagues understanding kiwi slang/ accent, driving a car over here for the first time, and learning lots of things about New Zealand and it’s Mental Health set up.

2) Moving into my new place, which has included some serious bargain hunting, learning of a new use of the word ‘Manchester’, scouting out the local cafes & restaurants, and adding some homely touches! 

Oh I should add whilst all of my mates in the UK take great pleasure in telling me how hot and sunny it is, I have been experiencing my first real exposure to “WINDY” Wellington with a fair bit of rain today!

Firstly as promised from last week’s entry, Just before writing last week’s entry I went for a walk up Mount Victoria and down into Oriental Bay (no comment please Mr Lane!), with some stunning views! Have a look at these…..

Walk up Mount Vic

Walk up Mount Vic

Views from Mount Vic

Views from Mount Vic

Orietnal Bay

Wellington City & Harbour

Up Mount Vic

Ok, so onto the major events of the week. I walked into work Monday morning feeling a little apprehensive and well, let’s face it ‘pretty scared’ as I would soon find out what I was really letting myself in for by moving here for work, and in hope that my new colleagues expectations would match up with what I was confident in being able to do! I was soon put at ease by my Team Leader Helen, and the rest of the team, with humour, character and a cheery disposition. I soon learned that many people had connections to the UK, including some colleagues who had lived in the UK, and one who despite growing up in South Africa, had actually been born in my hometown and had got married in Bury! (Just a few miles from Manchester). So what would be the biggest challenge? – learning the system? Dealing with cultural differences? Getting over the time difference? (I was still waking up at 5am). Answer = none of these, my biggest challenge seemed to be understanding any word my NZ colleagues said that had the letters E/I in. The NZ have a habit of saying the letter ‘E’ as an ‘I’. So the word ‘Ten’ sounds like ‘tin’, and ‘sex’ sounds like ‘six’. I have had lots of fun asking my colleague Jen what the time is if I know her response will include ‘tin to tin’.  This issue is a two way thing though, because with my Northern English flat vowels (especially ‘A’) no New Zealander seems able to recognise my name when I say ‘Dan’ – it seems to them I am saying ‘Darn’… just gonna have to wear a name badge to overcome the issue I think.

Work highlights have included visiting the in-patient unit in a place about 20 minute drive from Wellington, in some seriously lush mountains – and I have to drive myself there tomorrow morning for a 2 day induction. Fortunately, I was taken out by a colleague to visit a client, which gave me the opportunity to have a little drive. I was nervous enough, but then realised the bloody car was automatic! My left foot felt very redundant, and kept pushing against the floor. We made it back in one piece and my driving skills will be put to the test properly tomorrow! I Must remember the indicators and the windscreen wipers are switched round here… I might end up crashing through not indicating, but I’ll have the cleanest windows in the city!

For confidentiality reasons I can’t go into too much detail regarding my work, though I’ll just say I visited lots of community based projects here in Wellington, which gave me lots of optimism as an Occupational Therapist, that there are lots of community support groups, and many mainstream groups to help with social inclusion agendas!

Ok, onto ‘THE MOVE’. Yesterday (Saturday) at 11:30 I lugged my 3.5 Large bags into a taxi and headed for my new place in the city centre. I was met by the little whirlwind that is Sheila, - a Hungarian lady who works on site for the letting company. I was soon keen to check everything that was already here worked ok (tv, pull down ‘James Bond’ bed, dvd/cd/docking station player, shower, toilet, sink etc.. I even have a washing machine & dishwasher in here) and it’s a small studio flat. I soon headed off at the suggestion of my work mates to ‘Farmers’, ‘Briscoes’, and ‘The Warehouse’ where it seemed they lived in a perpetual state of sales…. 30%-60% of most things which meant I‘ve done four big trips (walking), to these places to buy bedding, towels, food, cleaning stuff, an iron, hangers etc…. Things may not be necessarily cheap here, but with these stores having sales every weekend, and the large number of charity / discount stores in this city, you can seriously do things cheaply. This also extends to food! I have seen so many $10-$12 dollar lunch offers, outside bars/cafes/bistros it’s untrue! Just last night, (having almost nothing in my fridge) I trudged off down Cuba Street (no more than 500 yards from my flat) and I walked past the following food outlets: Chinese, Malaysian, Italian, Indian, Pizza place, French, Caribbean, Lebanese, a Bistro, Japanese, and good old ‘Fish place’ doing fish & chips! There’s a bakery, down the road, and a pie shop too!  Visitors will not go hungry here!   

I do have to mention a strange little thing I noticed yesterday: - When I was looking for bedding stuff, there were lots of signs with the words ‘Manchester/Manchesters’ all around the place, and they seem to use the word to refer to bedding and linen. Nobody has been able to explain this to me yet, though the best suggestion I had was that as Manchester was the birth place of the industrial revolution and famous for cotton production, maybe that’s where the name came from to describe cotton like goods? Answers on a postcard please!

Here’s a few pic of my flat now, with the ‘James Bond’ bed as it has now been christened… not in that sense of the word, (for those filthy minded people, I won’t name you here!)

My New Place

'James Bond' Bed

I could go on about the wind and how it almost blew me over yesterday, or the ridiculously slow internet but that seems to have been a blip! So lets end on a positive note and say roll on week three, as now I have sorted started work and found somewhere to live; I can concentrate on getting a social life going! 

Regards from New Zealand! 

Week 1 – ‘Starting Up’ & the things we do for a free meal!

Hello everybody! Well here we are again 6 months on from the last entry, but a very different reason for continuing the blog. – A permanent move to New Zealand!

So this blog will be used as a catch up for friends and family, as well as a little diary of the fun, bizarre and random things that happen along the way. It’s already been a bit of a random week, none more so than Friday when a house viewing turned into a lush free lunch at the ‘Courtney Place’ Rotary Club, courtesy of the enigmatic and colourful character that is Patricia. More of that later…

The week has been made up of the following events:

1)   ‘the journey’ – 26 crazy long hours of flying – this was an epic journey even by my own standards, though the 3 day bus journey from Colombia – Peru still tops the list (see www.otdaninchile.blogspot.com). After a long drive from Manchester to London with the folks, and one or two tears at the airport my trip began. First with a 12/13hr flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong. (Heathrow is such a crap airport and not just because it has no massage facility!) Fortunately my carrier (Air New Zealand) were great, with excellent food choices, both Eastern & Western dishes, and more importantly on the long legs of my journey I had 3 seats to myself, and actually slept on the plane! Full marks Air New Zealand. I also met some nice passengers who were sharing the journey, and one (Emma) who was doing the full leg to Wellington. I have to share some of the safety video from the flight as it was hysterical and I thought it was a wind up at first!

The views into Hong Kong were pretty nice, and the 2 hour stop over was much need to freshen up, toilet and use the free internet at the airport to find out that Ashley & the dog had won Britain’s Got Talent! The next flight (10 hours) was equally good, and the sunrise allowed some great photos from the window.

The final leg of the journey required me to pick up luggage and head over to the domestic terminal. I was fortunate to have Emma to guide me through the process and she gave me 2 pieces of advice for life in New Zealand. 1) When swimming on the beach swim in the part with the surf, as the calm bits have the undercurrents, 2) Don’t sit on wire fences, they’re probably electric! 

2)   ‘starting up’  My first few days were a whirlwind, as the week went something like this: Monday – arrive at 12pm (a little smelly), meet Gail, run by the office, sign some papers, go to motel and shower! Get info re bank, find supermarket and buy food. Tuesday – Occ Health visit & blood taken, open bank account, buy computer & ‘smart-ass’ phone, get tax number & sleep. Wednesday – Walk around the city in pouring rain looking at different areas to live: find pub for football, and meet helpful barmaid originally from Didsbury (Manchester for those of you that don’t know it). Thursday – Begin the house/flat search and drinks with work colleagues. Friday – more house viewing, free lunch, and movie. Saturday – Sign lease for new place and find watch live footy!

3)   ‘house hunting’ – Just wanted to quickly mention the search for a place to live. I saw 1 bedroom flats from $500 (250 pounds) per week, to $130 (65 pounds) per week, in shared house. The apartments are all pretty nice, mainly unfurnished but pricey as a single person. The internet usage is not unlimited like at home, and you basically pay for amount of usage and they come in quite specific packages! At one of the shared houses I was met by a Brazilian guy called Alex, who was friendly enough, and even offered me a bed in his room for a night until the upcoming spare room became available… hmmm… though this wooden house looked like something that might blow over in the wind, and it also resembled a united nations squat with people of various different nationalities scattered throughout the property. The additional two houses I saw also had up to 8 other tenants, some passing through travelling and some long stay souls. The bottom line – for 6 months I wanted to know who’s hairs were in the plughole!

Here’s a few pictures from around the city to give you a little feel for the place.

(A few pics of Wellington)

(My Motel)

Wacky Wellington / New Zealand

During the past 7 days I have learned a few surprising things about life here in Wellington.:

1)   Wellington is known as ‘Windy Wellington’ – a bloody fair name, those winds from the South and the ocean are a little nippy – My Northern English roots serve me well 

2)   A bizarre unwritten rule that in rented accommodation you are not permitted to hang your clothes out outside on a balcony or patio – not because they might blow away, but because it’s unsightly!

3)   You don’t legally need car insurance here! (I think that’s a New Zealand thing), no road tax either – just an ‘MOT’

4)   New Zealanders struggle to understand my name because their ‘a’ is more an ‘I’ sound so with my accent they hear ‘Don’ rather than ‘Dan’.

5)   Free 30 mins internet around the city – and you can just click on again after 30 mins!

Random Event of the week:

Whilst viewing properties number 6&7, I was met by a colourful and interesting landlady called Patricia, she was showing me a room in one of her properties, when she happened to mention that after showing me the room, she was going to her weekly Rotary Club lunch (Courtney Place Rotary Club), based a nearby hotel. When I mentioned that in 2010 I had been part of an UK Rotary District (1280) international Exchange Programme to Sri Lanka, she immediately suggested I join her at the club for lunch. Wearing just a casual shirt and jeans, with my sunglasses, I felt a little unprepared, though I was quickly put at ease by the club members. The lunch was seriously tasty with a full meal (fish, potatoes, veg & salad, with cheesecake, pavlova and tea/coffee). I pretty soon had made links to people within the property sector (great advice re places to rent), a guy from the only professional football club in New Zealand, and had been invited to come back the club as a guest speaker in a few weeks – that might be another free lunch! The most random element of this story is that the president of this club had received an email by my friend and Rotarian Dave in Manchester, about my arrival, but had not yet had chance to reply to the email. What are the chances, eh??!

Tips of the week:

1)   Don’t sit on a wire fence: (unless you want a free enema) as the fences are probably electric.

2)   Within Maori culture, you do not sit on a table/desk as it’s considered seriously rude ‘you wouldn’t eat from off the toilet would you?

That’s all for now! I’m still recovering from watching last night’s football (well This morning’s football – games at 2am & 6:45am! That’s the only negative I have to say about life here so far – football in the middle of the night!

Regards from New Zealand

PS – I have just been on an amazing walk up mount Victoria and into Oriental Bay, of which I shall try and add pictures to next week’s blog!

The Final Post - Saying Goodbye in Style!

So on to the 10th and final day of my short time in New Zealand!

I hope the blog has given a little insight into the 2011 NZAOT Clinical Workshops, and OT issues in New Zealand itself!

So after the previous days visit to the University and meeting with old friends, my final day was mainly a day for preparing for my third 10 hour+ flight in 2 weeks, blogging, and fridge magnet shopping, (Julia & Lindsey be grateful!). I had returned to the hostel and packed my bag, as I had to leave the hostel at 0700, get a 40 minute bus to the airport and check in around 0800 for my 10:00 flight to Seoul, Korea.

Fortunately I had one last social event left. Cara, a NZ Occupational Therapist had been in touch and offered to take me out for a wee drink, and then on to another OT's place (Johnathan) for dinner! Cara took me to a nice bar/pub where we exchanged social and OT histories, before heading over to Johnathan & Jeremy's place. With Johnathan & Jeremy both being from the UK originally and now working in New Zealand, we quickly got into some story swapping and I was left to admire their view of the city from their balcony as they prepared dinner.

The beers were flowing, and a lovely chicken pie with vegetables was served up, followed by Cara's ice-cream with mixed berries as a desert! A win win for me on my last night. Now I know it's easy to say it, but that last night was so much fun, and so indicative of the warm and friendly

welcome I had received by so many people during the past ten days. I honestly felt like it was four long-time friends sat around a dinner table having a good laugh and catch up. Unfortunately the night had to come to an end, as it was a school night for the other three and I had my early wake up and flight! Cara dropped me off back at my hostel, and as I watched her drive away, I had a feeling that this would not be the last time I see the OT's of New Zealand. I hope this turns out to be the case, and it is not just wishful thinking.

So all that leaves me to do is to say a huge thanks to the many lovely,kind, and friendly folk who not only bought me cups of tea, dinner or kept me entertained, but who opened a bit of their personal and professional lives up to me during this lovely trip!

I also have to mention that I found the best value for money massages chair in Auckland Airport, (just $1 - that's just 50pence for 3 mins) and here it is! I wish I hadn't tipped that waitress $2 now!

I will not be blogging from Korea, as that is my holiday time, so thanks for all those people who took the time to read the blog and commented.

For the last time, regards from New Zealand!

Visiting 'AUT' OT School Auckland & an unlikely reunion!

Hello everybody! After enjoying yet more of my room mates snoring and unpleasant smell, I headed out (Tuesday), to visit one of the two OT Schools/Universities here in New Zealand. A short 15 minute bus ride from 'downtown' led to me to the North Shore district of Auckland. One of the things I enjoyed most about the bus ride was that there was a radio station playing songs on the bus... (apparently this is a relatively new thing), but I was singing along to the music, though I'm not sure my fellow passengers really appreciated my this. Nobody tipped me anyway!I got off the bus and headed to the AA block, where I was to find my host (Valerie), and some other staff members, who were keen to answer my questions about life Occupational Therapy education here in New Zealand.
I was really interested to find out about numbers of students, the different programmes on offer and cost implications for NZ OT students. I was informed that AUT generally graduates around 90 (approx numbers) each year with an approximate total number of 150 new graduates nationally across the country. The course is a 3 year Degree (same as UK), with an option of a non-funded 4th year Hons. Students are expected to part fund the cost of the course, by around $5000, though as is most countries, international students pay significantly more for their education. The University and the OT Board of NZ are able to monitor the success of the academic programmes by assessing new graduates against the seven areas of competency, upon completion of the course which allows registration to occur. AUT students spend up to a full semester (20 weeks) on placement in their final year, allowing the second year of study to focus on more theoretical aspects, linked in with outside lecturers / clinicians participating in the education process. There was a fantastic mix of staff experience and skill base and a friendly and welcoming feel around the campus, with plenty of green space around campus to relax in. The on-site 'Subway' sandwich shop was no bad thing either!I followed up this visit with a return to Auckland and the shock of finding yet more signs of Christmas! Why can't we be allowed to enjoy the present and not be encouraged to always be looking past tomorrow! Ok enough of a rant!My afternoon took a pleasant surprise twist as Sally called me and we headed to her gym, for a cuppa (cup of tea), and another chance to chat about life in NZ. two cups later, we said our goodbyes and Sally kindly dropped me off in town, where I was able to head to the Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe where I was to meet an old friend/work colleague.
Tony, a former colleague of mine from a Community Mental Health Team in Manchester, UK, was now here living in NZ, and right here in Auckland! We had last seen each other when I left that job back in 2007! Tony told me about his quite amazing journey that had brought him to NZ and how he'd been living in Christchurch, when the earthquake had struck earlier this year. his terrifying account, explained why he'd now moved up North, and whilst discussing the issues now surrounding the UK health service, I found myself feeling inspired by Tony's move and search for a better quality of life out here. Maybe this is a move I'll consider myself, because after a few beers and a fantastic meal, I could really begin to see the appeal of living in a country without a 'fear of menace' which I personally feel is evident in my life in the UK. The friendly and welcoming nature of people here is so evident here. Almost as important, is the non-existence of the company BT (British Telecom) to which both me and Tony (and many other people I know) would testify to being one of the most idiotic and incompetent companies I have had the dis-pleasure to deal with! Unfortunately no pictures were taken of this night, but I just want to wish Tony all the best in his adventures out here! It was a pleasure to catch up, funny how people's journey's cross in the most unlikely of places!

Regards from NZ
Dan

On to Auckland & a day with a new friend!

Sleep! That's what my body was telling me I needed. I had a final hour or two to walk around Waitangi and Paihia, before getting my 4 hr bus back to Auckland and a return to 'Backpacker Life'! A few final shots of Waitangi....
Having slept through most of the bus journey the sight of Auckland approaching caught my attention...My Hostel see below, was called Surf n Snow and cost $30 (NZ) about 17 pounds a night (the keyboard doesn't have a pound sign!) for a 5 bed dorm. So after checking in and getting a quick bite to eat I fell asleep about 8pm, and didn't wake up until the following morning!
I had a good look around before being met by my host for the day - an internet OT friend. We had only had contact before this day through facebook, after she had read a previous blog of mine about Vietnam. We had a lovely 8 hours in and around Auckland! Starting off at the Museum, which had exhibitions on Volcanoes, the Maori culture and much much more gave me a good flavor of New Zealand in general. See below
After this and a quick shopping trip, we headed to an area called Mission Beach, and to a Belgium Cafe with some live jazz music, and some excellent wine & food. It was great getting another perspective on life and Therapy in new Zealand, and also having only ever spoken 'on-line' before, it was great to be able to meet face to face, and discuss the relative pros & cons regarding this kind of communication. My friend was interesting to listen too, as not being born here in New Zealand, she was able to give me an insight into further cultural issues in everyday life here.
After a further drive around, I was dropped me off at the hostel and oh did I sleep well that night... well I say I slept well, I did, but one of my 3 room mates, not only snores, but seems to be a Vampire.. he is out all night, and then sleeping most of the day. I'm pretty sure he's out drinking too, as the room smells pretty badly each morning! Ah the joy's of hostels!
Monday, proved to be a tourist day! I explored the city on foot, wandered through parks, shopping centres, had a massage, and started the blog. So I'll end by sharing some of the sights around Auckland! Enjoy the views!
And always end on a funny picture if possible... this is a genuine board outside a church, made in preparation for the Rugby world cup...
I finished the day with a trip to the cinema, (something I always like to do when I am so far away from home, as it gives me a sense of normality). I watched the movie 'In-time' which was comical in parts, even though it was not supposed to be, and one more thing I learned is that in New Zealand, you are supposed to sit in the seat you have been allocated, even if the cinema is not busy... ah well, you live and learn!
Regards from New Zealand.

Conference - Day 3 'Making connections'

Hi Everybody, hope we are all well, and enjoying the story so far! This might be a long entry, so go get a cup of tea and make yourselves comfortable! (oh, and enjoy!)
As I have learned from past experiences, the morning of the final day of this kind of event is usually filled with a touch of anxiety for me, as I am always thinking have I networked enough to really take something away from the experience?, have I given a good account of myself and UK OT's?, and perhaps most challenging, who should I have dinner with? Fortunately the question of dinner was not one that caused too much worry, and most people were leaving that day! I'll get onto the dinner issue later.
I was keen to make the most of the amazing scenery, and after a slightly earlier cup of tea on my balcony than usual, I went for a little stroll outside my room, here's the view!


The first task of the day was to get into 'photo mode' and take some pictures of some the people that had been so generous with their time, and who had made me feel so welcome during my stay. So here a few pictures of some of the NZ OT community!









After a little photo shoot, I headed off to take part in a discussion about the development of a New Zealand specific model of Occupational Therapy. This prompted lots of interesting discussion regarding current cultural practice, which was just the kind of thing I was hoping to get involved in. This really started to make me question just how culturally competent was my own practice, in what is a diverse collection of culture in the UK!




The second part of my morning was nothing short of brilliant! A UK born OT called Claire, picked my up from the conference and whisked me off to the little local hospital where she worked, near Kawakawa. She gave me a tour of the hospital, and explained the role of the OT within such a rural community. It was fascinating to learn that equipment had to be ordered and then delivered from Auckland (4 hours away), before OT's could go and deliver the equipment to the person who needs it. The large geographical area she had to cover as a sole OT was staggering! I met some of her colleagues, who were all friendly and appeared enthusiastic about their work. The hospital had just a few beds, and a separate family room had been built, as it was explained to me that in some cases with the Maori population, when one member of the family was in hospital, many other family members would come and stay with them in the hospital. The hospital had a Heli-pad, which made sense as the distance people lived away from the hospital would require helicopter assistance in emergencies. Here's a picture or two!





On the way back to the conference, Claire took to me to some famous toilets! I should probably explain this a little, as I'm guessing that last sentence may have implied something untoward! In the town of Kawakawa, an architect by the name of Frederick Hundertwasser, designed some toilets which were unusual to say the least. I was informed that at the time there were built, there were several cannabis plants growing on top of the building. I made the mistake of bounding in to the toilets, camera in hand, before realising that this action could be interpreted as something else, and could quite possibly get me arrested, fortunately the toilets were empty! Phew! Enjoy the views!On returning to the conference the afternoon sessions were equally enlightening, as I learned all about the methods for registration for OT's here, and how the board monitors competence, a very different process to the UK. Seven ( I think it was seven), different competences exist and each year a Therapist must be actively working on one aspect from each of the seven different competences. Where applicable, your work supervisor, a third party, and the board must all agree that you have met the goals for that year! Random sampling of these goals (similar to random portfolio sampling in the UK), is used to monitor the process. A final session on poster presentations, a very interactive session, which also involved a quick 'speed date' challenge was a fitting end to the day. A closing farewell, with the presentation of awards finished off the day, and the conference nicely!

After some running around on my part to try and say good bye to people, I then set about making plans for dinner, and two of the nice ladies that had taken me for fish & chips two days before, allowed me to join them again, but not before we had a drink on my balcony, and a much needed relaxation session in the outside spa!In the spa, one of those funny moments occurred, one of the girls got chatting to a guy who just happened to come along and get in the spa. On realising that this guy had lived in a certain area, the conversation went something like... "oh, so do you know Tim" (no surnames used), - 'yeah I know Tim, Tim & Vicky right?" - " yeah that's right, he's my cousin", - conversation continues... " oh so you know (insert name here)" - I mean I know NZ is a small place, but really, not needing to use surnames to identify people to strangers just tickled me!
After feeling very relaxed we headed out for dinner, to Paihia, and had the following lovely pizzas with an even nicer back drop - a Paihia sunset! Have a look for yourself!




















A perfect ending to the day!
Regards from New Zealand
Dan