Was an easy thing to achieve!
First off I used Ingo's already done research in order to pick an online bank (that I liked the look of and they had an ok website–kiwibank I miss your awesomeness) called Norisbank which has a few branches just in case translation over internet and phone becomes difficult and I need to actually try and talk to a person. Then with Ingo's help I signed up online, went to the post office to confirm my identity and post that confirmation off to the bank, then sit back and wait for the letter, no wait make that 2 letters, no no no got that all wrong, 3 letters, no 4 lett, 5 le, wait make that 6 letters to arrive.
Yes that's correct 6 individual letters - which makes sense really when you think about security, 1 letter was my "welcome here's your bank account number" letter
Then there was the "wahoo! it's a money card" letter
Followed a week later by the "oh and so you can use the money card, here's your pin number"
Another was my "here's your phone banking code"
Then there was the "here ya go, an online internet banking code"
Then there was the "oh but wait, to actually DO anything on the internet you also need to have this stupid piece of paper with 100 random codes on it and whenever you want to transfer money, pay a bill, etc. etc. you will be asked randomly for a specific code which you then have to enter in from your piece of paper" letter.
Phew. So yeah, actually getting the bank account was no problem, using online banking however... I haven't (apart from using the money card) actually done anything on online banking yet, it's too difficult and I can't be bothered. In fact now that I'm at a new address I should really go and change my address, but again, too difficult... Seriously kiwibank, you're awesome, don't ever change!
Country and culture differences I think are obviously a huge part in this, NZ is small with not as many people, therefore not as many annoying people who try to steal your bank account and all your moneys in it *knock on wood* as there could be... Germany on the other hand is a lot bigger with millions more people and therefore thousands more of those idiots (who actually are not idiots in the haven't-got-a-brain sense at all) Also I think because NZ is a much younger country there are less rules and restrictions around what a bank and it's website can be and should have on it... Just a couple of thoughts there anyway :)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Today...
Today I experienced my first day-time full on summer thunderstorm! Hail and everything!!!
We were on our way to get my beautiful and not-at-all cheesey *sarcasm* and "oh me, oh my do they REALLY want one on there" photos for my job applications (see below) and so that I wouldn't stress out (seriously hate getting "proper" photo's taken) and my hair wouldn't frizz, Ingo offered to drive, which means when it really started pelting down there was no accidental drifting to the left.
I had sensibly taken the umbrella with me so gentlemannly like Ingo hopped out first and came round to my side in order to protect the hair (seriously, warm wet weather is not my friend)
Unfortunately I was either too slow, or looking the wrong way and never saw any of the forked lightning - which I've never seen before, "what!? No?!" you say with unbelieving tones, "yes that's right, forked lightning in Upper Hutt, NZ isn't exactly a common occurance" I reply. So I will have to be extra vigilant in the next storm (they are supposed to be ongoing for the next couple of days)
Anyway... here I am:
You'd hire me, wouldn't you??? ;)
We were on our way to get my beautiful and not-at-all cheesey *sarcasm* and "oh me, oh my do they REALLY want one on there" photos for my job applications (see below) and so that I wouldn't stress out (seriously hate getting "proper" photo's taken) and my hair wouldn't frizz, Ingo offered to drive, which means when it really started pelting down there was no accidental drifting to the left.
I had sensibly taken the umbrella with me so gentlemannly like Ingo hopped out first and came round to my side in order to protect the hair (seriously, warm wet weather is not my friend)
Unfortunately I was either too slow, or looking the wrong way and never saw any of the forked lightning - which I've never seen before, "what!? No?!" you say with unbelieving tones, "yes that's right, forked lightning in Upper Hutt, NZ isn't exactly a common occurance" I reply. So I will have to be extra vigilant in the next storm (they are supposed to be ongoing for the next couple of days)
Anyway... here I am:
You'd hire me, wouldn't you??? ;)
Home-Hunting
Whoop! What a mission!!! And thank goodness it's all over and we move into our new apartment on the 1st of October :D For a wee while there I was starting to think we'd never get one...
German's are very particular about letting people rent off them (probably a good thing, considering some of the trouble people I know have gone through with tenants they've had) and a self-employed, freelancer working for a company in New Zealand, with his foreign, unemployed girl friend aren't exactly what you'd call 'risk free' so again YAY!!! That we have a new home!!! :D
Also we had a very restricting list of "must haves" and "would-be-great-if-it-has haves"
So yeah... not too fussy ;) Our final home ticks 8 of the 10 boxes plus it came with a cabinet, couch and some curtains, so we're doing pretty well.
Here's a quick squizz at what it looks like before we take over:
The couch in the middle is ours now :)
Another thing I wasn't prepared for is the kitchen... homes in Germany don't always come with kitchens! Crazy huh?! So your house is kitted out with a nice spanky kitchen, everything fits and works well, couple of years down the track you decide to move. What do you do? Take the kitchen with you! that's right! and then get to your new place and try and figure out how the kitchen that worked so well in one place is going to work in another :/ As a tenant, same thing! So our 'must have a kitchen' list item was a lot harder then normal! In the end we bought the kitchen off the previous tenants, just a small simple IKEA thing. We are now proud owners of a stainless steel bench top with sink and taps, 2 cupboards underneath, 2 high wall hung cupboards and an oven!!!
You would think that now I would be all relaxed and happy since we have a home... Nope! Now that I can no longer put off the job search in favour of the home hunt it's all come crashing down! Arrrrhhh! Wish me luck!!
German's are very particular about letting people rent off them (probably a good thing, considering some of the trouble people I know have gone through with tenants they've had) and a self-employed, freelancer working for a company in New Zealand, with his foreign, unemployed girl friend aren't exactly what you'd call 'risk free' so again YAY!!! That we have a new home!!! :D
Also we had a very restricting list of "must haves" and "would-be-great-if-it-has haves"
- would be great if it has a balcony or garden (or both!)
- would be great if it's in one of 4 select areas
- must be close to transport (U-bahn and/or S-bahn stops)
- must have at least 2 rooms
- must be bigger then the last (those that know it know why)
- must be not too big (we own NO things and don't want to buy in excess)
- must have heating
- must be within our price range
- must not have a stupid "pay me just cause" provision fee
- must have a kitchen
So yeah... not too fussy ;) Our final home ticks 8 of the 10 boxes plus it came with a cabinet, couch and some curtains, so we're doing pretty well.
Here's a quick squizz at what it looks like before we take over:
The couch in the middle is ours now :)
Another thing I wasn't prepared for is the kitchen... homes in Germany don't always come with kitchens! Crazy huh?! So your house is kitted out with a nice spanky kitchen, everything fits and works well, couple of years down the track you decide to move. What do you do? Take the kitchen with you! that's right! and then get to your new place and try and figure out how the kitchen that worked so well in one place is going to work in another :/ As a tenant, same thing! So our 'must have a kitchen' list item was a lot harder then normal! In the end we bought the kitchen off the previous tenants, just a small simple IKEA thing. We are now proud owners of a stainless steel bench top with sink and taps, 2 cupboards underneath, 2 high wall hung cupboards and an oven!!!
You would think that now I would be all relaxed and happy since we have a home... Nope! Now that I can no longer put off the job search in favour of the home hunt it's all come crashing down! Arrrrhhh! Wish me luck!!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Chocolate flavoured joghurt
This post is just a quick one to notify any unsuspecting NZer's (or others who may fit the category - keep reading) so they can avoid the HORROR I had to go through recently.
History: A chocolate joghurt in NZ (possible in other places aswell) sometimes known as "Dairy food" (is that trademarked?) Is a delicious tasting lunch-box treat that is basically chocolate pudding in a joghurt container.
The story: Went grocery shopping - by myself (again!) - and saw much to my delight a chocolate joghurt, and this one had chocolate flakes in it. Whoop! For me this was hugely exciting. Unfortunately the following day when I decided to take this familiar delicious treat out of the fridge and proceed to consume it, on the first mouthful came an unsuspected shock! What?!? Chocolate joghurt in Germany ISN'T delicious chocolate flavoured pudding?!?! You mean to say that chocolate joghurt is actually joghurt that has a chocolate flavour?!? What is this travesty???? Joghurt -tangy, un-sugared- just doesn't go with chocolate flavouring. It's supposed to be the other way around! Joghurt is the garnish to the deliciously sickening dense chocolate fudge cake brownie :( I almost cried!
And after I finished it - yes I finished it, it was still food and it still had chocolate flakes in it after all - I resolved never to eat a Joghurt that's flavoured chocolate ever again. Such a shame after such a good experience with chocolate cream cheese - see now that one you expect to be disgusting! think again! Yum!
History: A chocolate joghurt in NZ (possible in other places aswell) sometimes known as "Dairy food" (is that trademarked?) Is a delicious tasting lunch-box treat that is basically chocolate pudding in a joghurt container.
The story: Went grocery shopping - by myself (again!) - and saw much to my delight a chocolate joghurt, and this one had chocolate flakes in it. Whoop! For me this was hugely exciting. Unfortunately the following day when I decided to take this familiar delicious treat out of the fridge and proceed to consume it, on the first mouthful came an unsuspected shock! What?!? Chocolate joghurt in Germany ISN'T delicious chocolate flavoured pudding?!?! You mean to say that chocolate joghurt is actually joghurt that has a chocolate flavour?!? What is this travesty???? Joghurt -tangy, un-sugared- just doesn't go with chocolate flavouring. It's supposed to be the other way around! Joghurt is the garnish to the deliciously sickening dense chocolate fudge cake brownie :( I almost cried!
And after I finished it - yes I finished it, it was still food and it still had chocolate flakes in it after all - I resolved never to eat a Joghurt that's flavoured chocolate ever again. Such a shame after such a good experience with chocolate cream cheese - see now that one you expect to be disgusting! think again! Yum!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Shopping on my own!
How independent of me! I went to the grocery store all by my little lonesome self!
And it wasn't that traumatising, in fact had I not been under a time limit (Ingo: "you have 50 minutes to walk there, get everything, pay and get back here") due to an appointment at a apartment (more about THAT wee kettle of fish later...) I would have found the entire experience quite pleasant!
As it was I had to search-find-grab in quick succession from my list, which was NOT in order of the store's aisles (when we have a local supermarket, this will cease to be a problem). Also decided on a basket over a trolley at the entrance way as the list didn't look that bad... Didn't consider the fact that I'd written "fruit" and "vegetables" (yes the grocery list is still in English :p) and ended up struggling mightily with a very heavy basket!
However, the reasons I would have enjoyed it otherwise is, grocery shopping is quite therapeutic, the Rewe supermarkets are awesome - especially when there's a cheese and meat centre (much like in Moore Wilsons Fresh) and a bakery near the entrance :) and finally I need to search and decide on what our "Germany brands" are going to be. You know when you've found that brand of shampoo, or milk, or cheese, that never seems to be too pricey, packaging doesn't suck (seriously.) and ticks all the right boxes (organic/free range/always smells good/never lets you down). Well it took Ingo and I a good year to find the eggs we used to buy, almost double that for the milk and sadly I had only just tried and discovered the shampoo and conditioner (Tresemme Naturals Vibrantly Smooth if anyone's coming over and has room in their suitcase ;)) that was to be my new best friend, and now we have to DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN! Hence my excitement for the time I can spend shelf gazing.
On a more "Living in a new land" specific note; it's really not hard to grocery shop in a foreign speaking country, you pick what you want (pictures help), you take it to the counter (never hard to find) and you pay the amount that shows on the screen (just in case you didn't understand what they said ;)) A "good morning/day/hello" and a "thank you and goodbye" doesn't go a-miss either!
And on a last note: OH MY GOODNESS - I always knew that NZ check-out operators (sorry to the people I may offend*) were slow (physically, not mentally) but I didn't realise HOW slow!!! I won't be able to handle it when we're there again, Germany check-out operators are awesome! They're machines! Hands a blur, conveyor belt never stopping, phew! Impressed! Although it would be nice if they gave you a few seconds to get your stuff out the way before they start whooshing the next persons through ;)
* Seriously, I was a check-out operator for all of 3 months and even I (haha) was snail paced compared to here!
And it wasn't that traumatising, in fact had I not been under a time limit (Ingo: "you have 50 minutes to walk there, get everything, pay and get back here") due to an appointment at a apartment (more about THAT wee kettle of fish later...) I would have found the entire experience quite pleasant!
As it was I had to search-find-grab in quick succession from my list, which was NOT in order of the store's aisles (when we have a local supermarket, this will cease to be a problem). Also decided on a basket over a trolley at the entrance way as the list didn't look that bad... Didn't consider the fact that I'd written "fruit" and "vegetables" (yes the grocery list is still in English :p) and ended up struggling mightily with a very heavy basket!
However, the reasons I would have enjoyed it otherwise is, grocery shopping is quite therapeutic, the Rewe supermarkets are awesome - especially when there's a cheese and meat centre (much like in Moore Wilsons Fresh) and a bakery near the entrance :) and finally I need to search and decide on what our "Germany brands" are going to be. You know when you've found that brand of shampoo, or milk, or cheese, that never seems to be too pricey, packaging doesn't suck (seriously.) and ticks all the right boxes (organic/free range/always smells good/never lets you down). Well it took Ingo and I a good year to find the eggs we used to buy, almost double that for the milk and sadly I had only just tried and discovered the shampoo and conditioner (Tresemme Naturals Vibrantly Smooth if anyone's coming over and has room in their suitcase ;)) that was to be my new best friend, and now we have to DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN! Hence my excitement for the time I can spend shelf gazing.
On a more "Living in a new land" specific note; it's really not hard to grocery shop in a foreign speaking country, you pick what you want (pictures help), you take it to the counter (never hard to find) and you pay the amount that shows on the screen (just in case you didn't understand what they said ;)) A "good morning/day/hello" and a "thank you and goodbye" doesn't go a-miss either!
And on a last note: OH MY GOODNESS - I always knew that NZ check-out operators (sorry to the people I may offend*) were slow (physically, not mentally) but I didn't realise HOW slow!!! I won't be able to handle it when we're there again, Germany check-out operators are awesome! They're machines! Hands a blur, conveyor belt never stopping, phew! Impressed! Although it would be nice if they gave you a few seconds to get your stuff out the way before they start whooshing the next persons through ;)
* Seriously, I was a check-out operator for all of 3 months and even I (haha) was snail paced compared to here!
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