What a week....

16th June

A little while since our last update, as you can imagine trying to do everything in such a short space of time certain level of prioritisation was required.

So, the process of obtaining a student visa is as follows:

Apply to the University
Get the offer a place
Complete a medical
Get a Police certificate
Pay the University fees
Get a receipt
Complete a Student Visa application form and hand in all of the above.

Straight forward you may think? Typically this process takes on average 3 months; we had to do it in 1 month, so everything parallel!!!

At each stage everyone wanted a document e.g. passport, that the other department wanted. So a lot of ping pong between organisations, calculations of deadlines etc…along with a certain bank deciding to give £3500 of our money to someone else and not the University and then denying any such thing. Tears and broken nails were a plenty! I never imagined that my Commando training would be brought into use in terms of nerves of steel….and no not scaring the life of the bank manager with my 1000 yard stare ;o)

There were a few smiles along the way though, one included a self diagnosis of a hole in the lung on the x-ray and not realising that it was the pelvis, biology was not a strong point at school :o)

We are now in the final stages with the light at the end of the tunnel with only the last hurdle to go…. the Visa!!!

Our lovely house is no longer ours, and we are people “with no fixed abode”
Our flights are booked and now we are starting our farewells to all….time is really passing very quickly now.

What is awaiting us ahead is Theresa’s first day at School with her new schoolbag, my first day of surfing at Lyall bay and a couple of weeks break; and the search for yet another new home.

On the horizon, is the Kiwi & Wallaby Rugby game in September at the Westpac stadium (affectionately known as the cake tin). My daughter’s month long holiday in Wellington on her first big solo trip around the world…..she will be covered in labels of “if found please return to xxx”


The next post will hopefully be “We got the Visa” fingers crossed….if not plan B go anyway as tourists until February’s University intake for me :o)