I won't be living on the streets of Welly!

....And Haydn pulls another fantastic save tonight! What I would do without this guy!?!....

After spending the day looking at 5 flats, I felt extremely defeated. Nothing felt like "home". Each had their pros and cons, like one room had its own private entrance and a view but no Internet. Another room had cool flatmates but the room was the size of a shoebox. The Beach House I was excited about wanted me to move in right away and a $600 safety deposit. (also each of the places were FILTHY!) So, I come home, feeling like a deflated balloon and Haydn mentions he has a friend that has a room. He called her up right away and we went and checked out the place....and it was AWESOME!! The room is HUGE (bigger then I technically need), there is cable television, and the flat is extremely large! It is a little more then I wanted to spent per week but since I won't have a car cost it is worth the splurge. The flat is located above a dairy in a suburb called Haitaitai. It's a 15min walk from the pool and my flatmates are Gary and Cathy. Gary is a male in his mid-30's and works in the fishing industry so he leaves for work early and gets home late. Cathy is in her early-60's and works at WRAC also and she is hysterically funny, extremely active, and one of the best swim coaches in New Zealand. I had met her a few times before tonight so when I walked in the door, I had a tour, and she sat down and handed me some keys. It was GREAT! I move in December 27th (but I can take stuff over this week while I have the rental car). I will post my address as soon as possible. (also pictures!)

The Christmas party was really fun. Basically just me and about 80 co-workers standing around drinking, chatting, eating. It was neat to see everyone dressed up and not in our typical orange and black gear. We went to a place called The Establishment afterwards, but to be completely honest, I'm not really into the whole bar seen. I spent 2 hours getting pushed and shoved by drunken dancers and then what really made me end my night was this girl bumped into me and her ENTIRE drink ended up down the back of my new dress. I look like my water just broke. I called it a night after that. But then that it was a blast. I have Raumati's Christmas party on Tuesday and then my last day there is Friday!

My New Hawaiian inspired dress...now it just needs to be in HAWAII!

Myself, Ali, and Jo. They really make me love my job!

On Saturday, I checked a flat, which I didn't like but to make my day a little more worth while I went out to lunch with Seka. Then she took me up to the Botanical Gardens, think Central Park but WAY cooler! It has a cable car that takes you to the top of a mountain and over looks the entire city! There are streams, fountains, hiking, status, a Jewish cemetery, ducks, and the rose garden. All plunked down in the middle of Wellington. I had no idea it was even there! It was so cool!! Over looking Mount Victoria and part of Wellington Harbor!
The Rose Garden. (The smell was phenomenal!)

Other then that I'm just looking forward to seeing the south island. We leave Saturday morning and we take the ferry to Picton. We then take the train to Christchurch and then a train to Greymouth. In Greymouth we'll rent a car and drive half the length of the island in 3 days and then fly home on Thursday from Dunedin. Apparently, the island is AMAZING! I really can't wait. Then it will be Christmas. Not sure what I'm doing yet. I have a few invitations, including one with Haydn and Cathy (My new flatmate). I guess they are doing a BBQ at the beach which seems really cool! But I'll let you know!