As I was walking through the Town Belt to M&Q's yesterday evening I realised that it must be 3yrs to the week since I'd sat in their dining room with Marion and Net working out how on earth I was going manage to come back here long term.
Not having a vocational qualification or shortage skill and being over 30 (ie too old for a working holiday visa) my options were severely limited. 'You could always marry a Kiwi!' - yeah right, and despite Marion's helpful suggestion as to who was single at the time I was decidedly unimpressed with the idea of marrying for a visa, and still am. However if I'd got a pound, or even an NZ dollar, for every time it's been suggested since I could apply as an investor!
The idea of being totally dependent upon a single relationship to enable me to stay in the country was, and is, just too scary, I wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on a relationship and in any case I wouldn't want anyone to think I was just with them for their passport.
3 years... even once we'd come up with the plan of me applying to be Resident Friend I still don't think I could have possibly imagined quite what those 3 years would hold, which is maybe why I have great difficulty imagining what the next 3 might have in store for me. The one thing that has remained constant throughout though is the conviction that this is where I want to be, need to be and ought to be - 'this' being Aotearoa New Zealand rather than specifically Wellington. It's amazing how many of the friendships renewed, strengthened and made in those two months here 3yrs ago have completely changed my life and I now find it impossible to imagine a life without them, not to mention those I've got to know since.
It's going to be a long few weeks in terms of waiting to hear about my visa, and yet they'll no doubt fly by as I fail abysmally to do by Easter all the things in Wellington that I've meant to get around to and haven't yet. However even though I know I'll be leaving Welly for at least 10 weeks I refuse to believe I won't be back.
2 comments:
Why don't you get a nurse's license? Nursing pays fairly well and due to a worldwide nursing shortage you will never be out of demand, in NZ or anywhere! Erika, RN in US
well there's a small matter of needing to be qualified by April! I can't afford to train in anything here as I'd count as an overseas student - but of I do end up back in the UK it's certainly worth considering!
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