18 September 2008

Our second day in Wellington

Just dropping a quick note to say we're on our second night in Wellington! Winter has just ended but it's still cold.

It was a fortunate turn of circumstances that brought us to the home of our host family. We are temporarily staying with a Filipino family here who I met online as I was looking for a place to rent. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. Online advertisements require that you need to be a member to access contact information of the advertisers (they rarely give away contact information publicly). I will no longer divulge their names but he advertised an apartment for rent and I said we wanted the place. But we were arriving a month later still and so the place cannot be guaranteed vacant when we arrive. He still said he will help in sourcing out a place for us if ever.

His apartment was rented out two weeks after we arrived, but he fetched as at the airport, graciously opened their home to us (it is our second night tonight with them), helped us with our groceries, look for furniture, open a bank account, get local mobile numbers, do occular for the apartments, and all the while driving us around. His family was very generous with their time and resources. To think that we just met online!

Other Filipinos also pitched in. One asked me to send her a list of places we see online and she would do the scouting for us. Another also asked around for vacancies. This is how we were able to get our place, which we are now populating with some furniture and food before we move in, hopefully by tomorrow.


I am still simply astounded by the outpouring of support by our fellow Filipinos here.

Right now I am using the internet connection of my host. When we get our connection in the place we are transferring to and have some photos, I will be updating my blogs again.

Winter has just ended here but it's still cold. They said summers here can be quite hot though.

Here's a surprise: we were the only Filipinos in our trip from Manila to Wellington! I guess that says a lot about the number of Filipinos here. But we have meet quite a number too in the two days of stay here.

Until then...

11 comments:

  1. Hope you're doing fine there, pare. P3 forever! Rock on!

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  2. Anonymous5:31 am

    Hi Nick, I'm so glad to hear that you guys made it there safely. That is so nice that there are so many Pinoys there willing to lend a helping hand. Your hosts sound incredible! If this is a sign of things to come, then you have all the luck on your side. Looking forward to sharing your new adventure. Regards to the family :)

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  3. Good luck ulit sa inyo! Looking forward to the pics, I hear NZ is a beautiful country.

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  4. Anonymous11:50 pm

    im so glad you've met kind souls over there. in time i know youll be fine and might even host a fellow kabayan. good luck!

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  5. iniwan mo na nga kami...wala pa ba yung hobbit pics mo? I have friends there who recently migrated too di ko lang alam kung wellington din: robert manalo, mars grana and geoffrey

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  6. My gas Nick, ang bilis ng pangyayari, I didnt know nasa NZ ka na. Am happy to know things are starting out well over there. All the best to you and your family, ingat kayo =)

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  7. glad to hear that you and your family arrived at wellington safely.
    I've heard stories (good stories) from my father's cousin who is staying in NZ with his family for about 3 years already.
    Good luck!

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  8. I'm happy for you Nick. Here's hoping all's gonna turn out well with you and your family. After receiving kindness from your host whom you only met online, don't you think that it's upon you to extend the kindness to other people? When you're settled, will you sponsor me in Wellington? Please? :D

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  9. Anonymous3:36 am

    HUWAT???!!! It's almost mid-night here in Manila. I'm the only one awake in our room. And I could hear the Twilight Zone theme in the background. Tell me I'm just dreaming NICK???!!!

    Seriously, I don't know how I feel. I only found out right now. You left the country without even telling me??...huhuhuhu

    I'm happy for you and Tina and Jolo...but deep inside I feel kinda sad for this country to lose another great Pinoy...dalawa pa kayo...

    Oh well, GOOD LUCK to you and Tina!!! Hopefully kami din makaalis na!...

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  10. Hi Sir Nick! Glad to know that Filipino hospitality isn't just a legend. hehe. It's so nice to hear that you're all doing pretty well there. God bless you and your family! ^_^

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  11. Buti na lang may mga readers si Ateng KiwiP na nagmagandang loob tumulong sa inyo no, at least hindi kayo nahirapang makapagumpisa dyan. Bilib talaga ako kay Ateng, kahit nasa Auckland siya, naihanap niya kayo ng tutulong sa inyo dyan sa Wellington. Goodluck Nick and glad to hear you're well on your way to getting settled.

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