One more week to go and our two-month vacation here in New Zealand is over. I’m sure I will miss this beautiful place…so far, our family’s best ever vacation. Thank you Lord…that’s what I want to say. I feel very blessed that our family is given this wonderful opportunity to be here and just experience NZ. Getting a visa in NZ and all the expenses are quiet hard for ordinary persons like us but the Lord made it possible for us…I’m just so grateful to our Great Provider. I’m also very thankful to the kindness and generosity of our sponsors here in NZ, my borther-in-law, Kuya Russel, and his beautiful family (Cheyen, QQ and RR). They welcomed us in their home and just made our stay here most memorable. Thank you for all the food treats, laag, and everything. May God richly bless your family.
Our host family
Do I like New Zealand? Absolutely YES! And this is because of the following reasons:
1. People here are really friendly. I haven’t had any bad experience with the folks here. They always give you their sweetest smile and even if you are a stranger, they would say hello to you. Racial discrimination is not a problem also, they believe in equality here.
2. I just love the green and clean environment of New Zealand. The air is fresh (thanks to the many trees around even in the city) and I don’t see any scattered garbage anywhere. I don’t see any pollution also like smoke-belching cars.
3. Beautiful parks can be found everywhere so families can have a place to go to. Also there are plenty of playgrounds here where children can have real fun (Cache is definitely playground-addicted here).
4. Speaking of kids, another thing that I love here are the changing rooms they have for babies and toddlers in public places. It’s spacious where moms and dads can go together inside. It has sofas where you can relax or feed your child and some have even little playground inside the room (cool). Plus whatever you need is provided like soap, water, nappy bin, etc.
5. If you are a “toilet-person” like me, then you will love it here. Clean toilets can be found anywhere and tissue, soap and water are very much available (heaven).
6. You see lots of animals here and what I like is that NZ is a rabies-free country…pretty safe.
7. Most people/drivers follow traffic rules and I love the “always give way” system. And I don’t know if I should include this in my list but I think I like the idea that policemen here don’t have guns (maybe less violence).
8. Many thanks to NZ because it is where I taste the fruits and saw the trees, plants and animals that I have only seen and encountered in Farmtown and Farmville (e.g. Llama, big furry sheeps, posom, plum, kiwi, etc.).
9. NZ is known to the world as the leading producer of the best dairy products (thanks to the very healthy cows and sheeps here). There’s not any single day I missed drinking fresh milk. Extra treat is the load of chocolates (just tested my blood sugar and thank God it’s still in the normal level, hehe).
10. Lastly, what I like about New Zealand is the many firts and unforgettable experiences it gave me and my family. We really had fun strawberry and apple picking, rare animals encounter, luge, helicopter and gondola rides, and a whole lot more.
Enjoying our kiwi experience
Now the next question is…would I like to live in New Zealand? Well, if by the grace of God we can find a good job here, why not? But for now…I’m looking forward to going home. It’s been the longest I’m away from my beloved country. I guess there’s still no place like home. I just realized that I miss the tuna, pork barbecue and warm climate of Gensan and the fruits of Davao (my two fave places). See you soon Pinas!
