Relating Well

On Friday, we attended a small course called 'Relating Well in New Zealand' which was offered by Relationship Services, a branch of the government that helps migrants adjust to their new surroundings. The class was quite good, which was nice since we did miss the Zombies (see funny note, below) and we met several interesting people from the Phillipines, China, Singapore and Europe.

It always strikes me how little I really know about southeast Asia, both in terms of geography and the cultures, and I need to learn more about it. For instance, it seems that the Phillipines follows a very Americanized model when it comes to their infrastructure. For example, they drive on the right side of the road. It also seems that many of their workplace habits are similar.

I think we got lots of good tips from the class, including other resources that we can tap into in the community, and some guidance on strategy for job hunting (which is very important) so I feel like it was time well spent.

Although we did not see Zombies first-hand, they were on the news and the announcer was quite funny with it..."The Zombies, who were hungry for human brains, staggered from Waitangi Park all the way to Parliament. Finding no brains in Parliament, they then left." And I thought we were hard on our politicians!