Day 1 & 2 in New Zealand

Once we arrived in Christchurch, NZ we were all exhausted and pretty much just headed to bed to get some decent sleep. The next day we were off to the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) to try on our ECW Gear (Extreme Cold Weather Gear.) Dan, Dawn and Myself had our fittings at 9am and Erin and Jason had theirs later on at 1pm.

Once we done trying everything on and getting our Flu shots, Dan and Dawn invited me to come with them to Southshore Beach. So we hopped on the bus and headed out to the ocean. It was a beautiful day but a bit chilly. Since it is winter time in New Zealand, pretty much everything was closed for the season. So we got some coffee, took some pictures, and caught the next bus back into town.

Later we met up with Erin and Jason for some drinks and Dinner.

Day 2 started early, we were scheduled to be picked up at the hotel at 3:15am. Well, the weather was really bad on the Ice so they delayed us until 7:15am. We then were further delayed until the next day so we ended up with a free day. So we (Erin, Jason, Dan, Dawn, and myself) took the bus out to Sumner beach to check it out. And as the days before, it was a little cold so we grabbed some coffee and a snack before heading back into town for some dinner and getting to bed early for another attempt to get up at 3:15am.

This is Erin making me feel loved by writing my name in the sand

Sumner Beach

My Vanilla Latte and Lemon Pistachio Bar....yummy!

If you think you know what happens next, you might be surprised.

Autumn :)

Travel Day!

So now the adventure begins! Out first day of travel started out at 7:30am at Raytheon for one last 4 hour safety meeting.....sounds fun doesn't it?....and then on to the airport for a 4:20 flight to Los Angeles. Here is Erin and me still excited and full of energy.

Once we hit Los Angeles we had a 6 hour layover before we took off for our next stop in Auckland NZ. Well, our flight was delayed and out 6 hour wait turned into a 10 hour wait.

Once we knew the plane was close we started stretching and getting ready for our 14 hour flight across the ocean. We were told to move and walk every now and then so we didn't get Deep Vein Thrombosis (http://www.medicinenet.com/deep_vein_thrombosis/article.htm) Once we were taking off I fell asleep and had Zero energy to take pictures, sorry.

We arrived in Auckland and went through customs, The cute little security Beagle sniffed my bag and signaled that I needed to be searched, I had a banana in my backpack during the overnight  and ate it for breakfast, but the smell still lingered so they searched my stuff. Everything was fine and they let me continue on my way.
Our last flight into Christchurch NZ was only 2 hours and then we were taken to our hotels to finally get some sleep.

After 2-ish days of travel, we made it safely and all of my luggage arrived fully intact.

Next Stop? Cold Weather Gear issue and a little bit of sight seeing.


 Autumn :)

The Stats

Alright People! Hear. We. Go!

Its been a while since my last post and a lot has happened. I am going to throw some updates out there and get everyone caught up.
- I am officially going! Yeah!
- My work title will be the Housing Assistant! (with a possible promotion)
- My last day at Tangoe is Friday, August 12th
- I'm leaving for the Ice on Friday, August 19th
- I start working down there on Monday August 22nd

Here is a picture of my future work site!

Ok, whew! Thats as far as I am right now. I have 2 weeks before I leave and I have a ton of stuff to get done. As these steps come and go I will take pictures and keep everyone informed along the way. The next task on my list is to ship some of the bulkier items down there so 'I have enough room in my suitcase for everything else.

I hope everyone is having a good Friday so far!

Autumn :)