I GOT TO AMERICA

12 WEEKS AND 6 DAYS

omg where u moving

I need to start a thread where I go somewhere. maybe I should just line up a multidestination vacation like Ned, except NYC + SF + Boston + London from DC doesn't really fit into a comprehensible geographic itinerary

hey tombot you can have my room when i leave. $120 p/week (nz dollars), we have a wicked awesome dog called bella (she's the BEST). and we live 10mins walk from the central city but up in this valley so it's like being in the country and you can see all the stars at night.

HOOS i'm moving to oakland, california.

why u movin

OMG hoos i thought i had blabbed this all over ilx already like a milllion times for the last 6 months...

love of my life is there! so i must move there to be with him.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2258/2315750268_8b28e2b565_m.jpg

i do not read sheepfuxxorz thread!

that is hooray news good work

actually i don't think i mentioned it on sheep fuxxors thread since i hardly post there, but i've chattered about it quite a bit over the months.

thanks hoos!

xxpost it's 'shop, in case you couldn't tell from the pixels

I could definitely tell.

'cuz of the pixels, right?

I could tell cuz of the pixels.

xpost

i thought so

87 days

Excitementt.

Also, I want to go to the US :(

My boss just got back from the US, he was there for a couple of weeks for seminars. We had a staff meeting the other day and he was bullshitting on about his trip and said something like "but holy shit you get sick of the american accent quickly" and a heap of people in the room were like "too right!" and i was like "u_u".

such a typically ignorant Australian attitude

hahaha, which American accent?!

yeah i'm wondering how weird it's going to be, surrounded by american accents all the time

although i'm gonna be in oakland so it'll probably be a more like mexican accents.

maybe i should learn spanish.

In Oak-town, y'r gonna get a real smorgasbord of accents, from African-American to East Asian.

And yes, including Mexican.

rr, he is cuet. well done!

and yay! moving!

What part of Oakland, anyways? Hope it's the sideshow-free parts.

Draggers couple days ago incinerated an Oakland house at 4:30AM, crashing into it.

Broke a gas main.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8912802

east 19th street, which is i think an okay-area?

xpost tza, i know ;) i want to post all the cute pics i have of him, but he would be mortified and you guys would think i was weird

That's medium-OK for Oakland.

We won't think y'r weird and we won't tell so go ahead and post-m-up.

i'm at work so i can't... but he reads itr so he's bound to find out if i do!

...okay i found one in my email, which i took on webcam... DON'T TELL HIM!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2232/2411662413_c1fa3c1a7c_o.png

i guess i can always pull it off my flickr account if he gets mad

that picture was taken on my parents' burgundy velour couch. i won't make rubyredd sit on furniture that ugly when she comes to live with me, don't worry.

no, but you are going to make me live in a house that has a giant wolf rug :/

is the wolf named conner?

be careful little rubyredd riding hood

it's the ugliest rug you've ever seen. it's not like an *actual* wolfskin or anything crazy. it's just a really ugly picture of a wolf. but owning a fugly rug is pretty much jordan's worse 'flaw' so i guess i'm pretty lucky.

curt1s, it's called 'wolfie' (for realz).

:)

That rug for President '08

I am leaning toward voting for that rug, but would like to see a photograph first. It can't be less attractive than John McCain.

HIDERE/JUSTEN/WOLFIE '08

There's a joke in there somewhere about which candidate needs to shave most desperately, but I just don't know how to get to it.

But yeah, you can count on my vote anyway.

OH MY GOD... i can't believe Wolfy is being discussed on ITR. this is the happiest day of my life. of course, it will be demoted to #2 once RR gets here, but for now NUMBER ONE!!!

i'll post a picture soon.

guys this is supergood handclap disco you should all download it not just cuz of the name

Woolfy - Odyssey

84 days

Oakland yesterday. Have fun!
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1750/oakqy0.png

i always wanted gold teeth

79 days to go

I go too

Hello!

Only 79 days!

Hello Everyone!, are you RR's stalker or just another person fleeing the horrors of life in NZ or similar? ;)

wow i've never had a stalker so i really hope it is!

and sara there is only 74 days to go!

!!!

dear ruby,

last night in san francisco, jergins and i accidentally found belden place, and ate at cafe bastille.

we wished you had already moved so that you could have joined us.

aww man, that would have been awesome! hope you guys had a nice time in sf.

I haven't been to SF in so many years, and I am so so SO envious that RR will soon be so close, and I will still be so far away. ;_;

ex bf just came through with offer to drive me round to both my auckland appointments:

i gotta fly to jaffa-land for US consulate interview for visa and also 'predeparture orientation' at two separate times/locations. since i have no fuckin clue where anything is in akld, and i'm also navigationally-retarded and have congenital fear of public transport, i was a little nervous in anticipation.

but ex bf from many many moons ago is picking-up/droppin-off at airport, letting me stay at his place, and chauffeuring me around. yay! one less thing to worry about.

i knew there was a reason he's the only ex i ever stayed friends with.

66 days to go

Only 66!!!

66 till i go to america

62 till i leave wellington

55 till i leave the restaurant

52 till i leave the shoe store

not that i'm keeping track or anything

I think the last time I counted down like that, I was leaving for my first year of college.

Moving to a different COUNTRY is kind of flabbergasting, tbh. I am in awe!

it still feels really far away. i think once i get to the 4 week mark it will start feeling more imminent.

62 days to go

got my police clearance today - well, actually a WEEK ago, but my housemates hid it amongst a stack of wrong-address mail (a letter from the ministry of justice marked PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL and they didn't bother giving it to me??).

US consulate interview booked for june 16.

57 days to go! to think that a third of the waiting time has gone by already.

also: tickets to chicago booked for 9/11 hahaha... oh dear :/

Only 57!

Ah, 9/11 should be okay to fly on... it has been for YEARS. ;)

Chicago is so close to MN...

someone said to me the other day that's it's probably the safest day to fly because security will be so tight!

jordan's mum is flying us there so i can meet the whole family and his soon-to-be-born niece.

hey curt1s

this is what jordan's wolfie rug looks like:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2116/2491520234_4a5d5a17ef_o.jpg

(the pic of chaki's shirt, not chaki himself)

someone said to me the other day that's it's probably the safest day to fly because security will be so tight!

that person was either 1. joking 2. a total fucking idiot.

tombot it was a joke

48 days to go!!

so my visa paperwork stuff has arrived from the US govt and i got an email today explaining the next steps, and it turns out i have to have freakin preapproval from the US govt and my sponsorship agency for every single job i want to apply for. jesus fuckin christ.

yay America uh

it's a good thing i really love this guy or i'd be all FUCK THIS SHIT I'M STAYIN HOME

and then you would all miss out on the joy and privilege of having me in your fine country.

And your guy and I would be left to discuss library fines. And would we want that?

You're going to make it RR! And it will be worth in in the end, despite the bullshit. REALLY.

(apologies in advance for all the weird quirks of Americans, including voting for the blatantly insane and eating so many Big Macs)

oh i already know it'll be worth it - absolutely no doubts about that. it's just that the whole process is so goddamn technical and complicated for such a simple person as myself. i really hate that it's such an ongoing thing throughout the whole year. and then we have the permanent residency app to go through after that. would just like it to be over already.

I feel like I'm in the middle of similar (although entirely unrelated) nonsense, RR. But at least I have the summer off and I don't have to *move*.

It will be worth it to be with your boyfriend, and California is pretty awesome - I love the Bay area like mad, and will be envying your easy access to See's candy and air that isn't 50 degrees below zero (uh... Fahrenheit). Just think of how you'll be able to brag to us frozen Minnesotans next January!

But when you do get frustrated, don't forget the boozy milkshake. It may be the solution to the problems of the world.

meh, i've pretty much stopped drinking, except for the v v occasional after-work glass of wine. getting drunken isn't as much fun as it used to be, and the worst thing is that lately i get all sentimental and sad and shit. not much fun for whoever i'm with.

Ah yes, but then you can get to the US and be sentimental after a drink with the person you are most sentimental about! Merriment!

well yes, but right now it's not too much fun so i just avoid it. not even sure if i'll have a big drunken thing with my friends before i leave.

paperwork's bullshit but it's gonna be worth it

RR, I have never had a "big drunken thing," so it's probably not necessary. (then again, I have never moved away from my home country, so what do I know?)

I'm not sure you could even say I have been drunk. I have almost no tolerance. The upside of this is that just one boozy milkshake made me feel so much happier last night... that wouldn't work for, say, John I'm sure.

(I feel sure that John will be affronted by my pointing out that he has a higher alcohol tolerance than I do, but rest assured everyone, that almost everyone else on earth does as well.)

I GO TO FRANCE for a stag weekend in 6 hours - hope it's fun. Most of the guests are ski toffs and totally not my kind of people, so meh.

40 days!!!

i'm kinda starting to get nervous. not so much about arriving in the US but more about all the shit i STILL have to get done in the next 4 weeks. and also money.

YOU GO (to america)

when i've moved halfway across the world i've never been too worried a month before, but a week or so before it'll hit me and i'll sleep maybe four hours a night and be busybusybusy the rest of the time. the flight's a funny thing then, being forced to sit finally.

just think, when i mail postcards from Shanghai in july, yours will be sent to Oakland

just think: when i mail postcards to seattle, they'll be from oakland!!

worse thing is that i'm gonna be stuck up north at my parents' place for the last 4 days i'm in nz (jergz, did you make it to taranaki when you were here? that's my hometown). no doubt it will be the longest 4 days of my life. i will also have to spend that 4 days dodging relatives i hate and my stupid ex. i might just stay in bed and read the whole time.

ps. i'm really hoping someone found that aberhart postcard i lost and sent it onto you and lxy out of the goodness of their heart.

i didn't get to taranaki. the closest i got was turangi. me and the ex went on some volcanic lake hike that they said wasn't gonna be strenuous but it was?

you're from near that famous mountain. i forget the name. it's funny you're not an outdoorsy type, being from there. reaction to growing up in it?

which famous mountain? mount taranaki is in taranaki (where they filmed 'samurai'), then there's ruapehu, which is the one the fizzes occasionally, and then there's tongariro which also fizzes sometimes i think.

i'm about to become an 'outdoorsy type' through persuasion.

mount taranaki:

http://www.freemasons.co.nz/news/12/events13.jpg

when i said '40 days to go!' i was actually wrong; it was 41. so today there are 39. in case you were wondering.

also: final paperwork for the visa has arrived from the US, so i'm pretty much set for my interview in two weeks.

my little sister is in town this weekend, and she came round yesterday to 'meet' jordan (she's taken quite a shine to him over the last year, and was extremely upset that my parents got to meet him in person and not her). it was kinda strange.

she made fun of my accent. i said "common" and she started laughing, saying "KAHH-mun" all nasally like us chicagoans tend to talk.

You called her common? It's no surprise she retaliated!

RR, what kind of visa are you getting and how long for?

J-1 cultural exchange visa, for one year. then we'll get married and apply for AOS or i'll come back to NZ and apply for k-1 visa. whichever is least risky.

ahh..ive had both of those. yay! the J-1 was easy interview wise.

oh wait isnt wasnt the J-1. NEVERMIND!

you and PP did the K-1 right? how long had you been together for and how long did it take to process? i'm DREADING having to come back to nz for 6 months if that's how long it's gonna end up taking.

well i guess we set it in motion June 2004 and i was living here December 2004, so yeah, I guess 6 months. I cant remember if that was all processing time or me basically selling off my life and packing up my cat time. Im tempted to say processing time because I cant see why I would have voluntarily paid a high season fare when I could have got a cheap one in January or November.

Also, remember that once you get the K-1 and you arrive in the states you have no more than 5 weeks to get married. That shit is STRESSFUL. We tried to plan most before i left but we still had to run around meeting venue people, florists, bakers, work out catering etc etc etc

Heres a wedding tip: From what I can tell $300 is a fairly normal price for a wedding dress here so dont be an idiot like me and get a $3500 dress made only to feel stupid for years afterwards.

oh, we had been together for a year, i think? 6 months when we first applied?

oh we won't be having any kind of big deal wedding! i'll wear a summer dress, jordan may or may not wear a tie, and it'll be in his parents' garden with like 10 ppl max, then off to a nice vegetarian restaurant afterwards! simple! i think it's now 90 days you have in which to get married, once arriving there after being issued the k-1.

you'll all be invited of course

Also, the interview for the K-1 is the worst one you'll face just because its at the embassy and the person behind whatever window you randomly get called to gets to decide, on a 5 min or less talk with you through bulletproof plexiglass, whether youre really in this for love or US citizenship.

When I went I sat in the waiting room for 5 hours. The girl who went up to the window before me, well, I guess she said the wrong thing because I heard her say "WHAT? BUT!" and the guy was all "I'm sorry I will not approve your application. Please leave the building". Yikes. Of course then the same guy calls me up but I flew through just fine. They ask you weird questions that I think would probably catch someone out. Like I was asked what I liked most about him and then asked what I didnt like about him. Kind of throws you off when youve been sitting there for 5 hours getting ready to adamantly profess your love for someone to a stranger. Anyway he laughed at my answer and said that it was certainly understandable then stamped my papers and I was off to AMERICA.

thats a lot more than 10 people~!! (xp)

sunny yr not american?? i am floored. what country are you from?

australia, mate

wait, are you being sarc?

no he really didn't know

haha not at all

like i mean where the fuck did the fresh prince knowledge come from, there is no way that show got broadcast anywhere outside of the us

they played here in nz about a thousand times over. there's probably still reruns on some channel.

sunny, the consulate here where they do the interviews is supposed to be really good and super helpful from all the reviews i've read. i've heard in a lot of cases ppl have taken a huge stack of 'relationship evidence' with them and the interviewer hasn't even been interested in looking at it. i guess, being kiwis, we're in a better position: i mean, what possible reason would i have for wanting to move to the US, if not for love? (oh that's right: i'm DYING to live in a country that's going into a recession, about to be ruled over by a senile tyrant, and has a privatised health system. yippeee!!)

i really wish weren't going to be filing out of the california centre, though, since that has the longest processing times.

in England we have Fresh Prince memorial weekend where no channel is allowed to play anything BUT FP. also, the bells (or other instruments of indication) of all religious buildings ring out the theme tune and everyone is obliged to bow down and pray towards Philly.

and what are you talking about, hillary LOST. read the news kiwi jeeeeeze

i am disrupting ur fred. soz.

i don't read the news, i read ilx instead (seriously)

jesus christ you should have heard my 67 yo boss spouting off about obama last night. his mad xtian wife has convinced him that obama is part of the new world order.

in a good way?

lol

bad way. he's old-skool italian and totally bigoted.

Well that's just depressing.

I'm awaiting the frightening commentary from my family, although so far it's mostly been "he's the most liberal senator, blah blah blah."

Of course, they think McCain is too liberal, too, so make of that what you will.

cant yr man come live in NZ, RR?

Deez - FP was all over AUS!!

nah, it's not really an option. he's got a job and a career that he's making his way up in, and his family would be upset if he moved that far away (they're upset enough that he doesn't still live in chicago). plus, i don't really want to stay here anyway.

I have to say that Fresh Prince is probably more popular as an export than it ever was at home. It's certainly on reruns a lot.

i've heard in a lot of cases ppl have taken a huge stack of 'relationship evidence' with them and the interviewer hasn't even been interested in looking at it

Me and Sarah did this when we were applying for the visa she needed to stay in the UK (I don't know what it's called, but it was 2 years and was basically the common-law/gay couple visa), and they didn't look at any of it.

Ooooh, I did the J-1 visa!

The interview was like:

"Can I have your documents?"
"Sure."
"So, you're going to Philadelphia to work for Company X."
"Yes. Yes, I am."
"OK...you'll get your visa in five working days."
"Uh...thanks?"

KBP, when did you go on the J-1? i have to log onto this stupid database within 5 days of arrival to register my contact details, then i have to fax this form to my sponsor agency's sister company in the US within 10 days, and then i have to update my contact details on the site no less than every 90 days, or whenever they change. plus i have to fill out a form every time i apply for work. or they will cancel my visa and deport me.

also: someone mentioned to me today something on the news about some other new registration thing you have to do before flying into the states?? i dunno

35 days to go!! OMG OMG OMG

the interview i have to go to auckland is just a formality. i think i just need to take all the completed visa forms, plus bank statements with proof of supporting funds.

OMG hoos i thought i had blabbed this all over ilx already like a milllion times for the last 6 months...

love of my life is there! so i must move there to be with him.

LOL nice try bellhop

???

KBP, when did you go on the J-1? i have to log onto this stupid database within 5 days of arrival to register my contact details, then i have to fax this form to my sponsor agency's sister company in the US within 10 days, and then i have to update my contact details on the site no less than every 90 days, or whenever they change. plus i have to fill out a form every time i apply for work. or they will cancel my visa and deport me.

also: someone mentioned to me today something on the news about some other new registration thing you have to do before flying into the states?? i dunno

Did it a couple of years ago on a one year thing. I had to register my details on the sponsor company's website within five days of arrival and let them know as quickly as possible if my circumstances changed.

AND the fun part is that you have to visit a Social Security office within the first week or two to get your number. Well, I don't think it would be as much fun in Oakland as it was in Philly. Fully ghetto, yo.

Plus, if you're leaving the country (even if it's just a weekend in Montreal), if you have to mail your details to the sponsor company with enough advance notice (at least two weeks).

I had my job sorted out (it was the reason why I went there) before I left and only did that, so I'm afraid I don't have any advice on the applying/changing jobs side of things.

The new registration thing isn't being implemented until next year so I wouldn't worry about that. And I expect you'll be going through customs at SFO, right? You shouldn't have any problems unless you have a really dark tan (and you being from NZ, you don't).

okay, thanks KBP.

it still feels really far away. i think once i get to the 4 week mark it will start feeling more imminent.

-- Rubyredd, Monday, 5 May 2008 16:23 (1 month ago)

YES

okay so i have my consulate interview tomorrow, and i have fucked up big time. i just realised on friday that i need 'evidence of ties to nz'. which i don't really have. they want bank statements (i don't know how that proves anything), and a my student loan contract (which i realised today i sent home to new plymouth with all my other stuff i'm storing) or something other proof. which i don't have. so now i'm in a panic. i emailed my contact person at the sponsorship agency and hopefully she'll call me tomorrow before my interview and somehow allay my fears. but right now i'm super stressed and anxious and wondering if i've just made a huge unfixable fuckup.

no one mentioned this 'evidence' throughout the whole application process these last few months, and i only discovered it when i found a checklist amongst all my recently received papers stating the documents i need for the interview in auckland tomorrow. but i should have been way more onto it and read through all that stuff more carefully. so now i feel stupid and irresponsible and basically mad at myself for being such a retard.

;_;

plz wish me luck tomorrow! i need all the positive vibes i can get.

leaving for the airport in 30mins. so nervous. i just wish this was over already.

have a great flight,ruby!

thanks! let's just hope i don't vomit out of anxiety about my interview tomorrow :(

good luck, rr!!

I'm sending positive thoughts your way RIGHT NOW, RR!!!!

ruby ruby ruby ruby

I HAS A VISA TO THE US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is seriously so awesome!

RUBY! RUBY! RUBY! RUBY!

stop that.

YAY!!

:D

but seriously no Kaiser Chiefs anthemic choruses pls.

The US government are clearly letting anyone in these days. suckuhs.

uhh...

i'm keeeeeeeeeeeeeding. Congrats J-dawg.

oi sorry, it was unintentional. i didn't even know that was a song but now i know.

congratulations ruby i will buy u stars and stripes sweatshirt upon ur arrival

i will hold you to that, jergz.

okay so this is what happened:

1. awkward moment w/ ex: got back to his place after he picked me up at airport, went to sit on couch and he practically sat in my lap and put his arms round me in a way i was NOT comfortable with. i went stiff as a borad and gave off the *vibe* obv, cuz he backed off to the other end of the couch and no such other incidents occurred.

2. i slept in a room about 30m from some v v busy train tracks. a freight train went past every 30mins, shaking my whole room, and also setting off a car alarm. esp difficult to tolerate, given that i live up a long driveway at the end of a lengthy cul-de-sac surrounded by hills (i.e. there is only ever dead silence at night in my hood)

3. was utterly shattered upon arrival at my interview at consulate, but my sponsor had called earlier and told me the secondary form i had found as proof of ties to nz (a statement of student loan activity from tax dept) would suffice. US consulate is BIZARRE: tiny tiny foyer, huge security guard, big metal doors through to another tiny tiny tiny waiting room with 8 teller windows/booths made of bulletproof glass. they made me wait 50mins past my apptment time, then the actual interview lasted roughly 2.5mins:

'hi what are you gonna do in the US'
'probably be a waitress so i can travel and stuff'
'oh cool. what's yr degree in'
'english lit'
'oh cool you should look inton sub-teaching cuz it pays well and that's how i funded my world travels'
'ok cool thanks'
'your visa will be sent to you by the end of the week!'
'thanks!'

4. my ex annoyed the fuck out of me ALL DAY LONG. god. i kind of hope i never see him ever again. except that now he wants to take the day off and hang out with me at auckland airport when i have my layover for 2.5hrs.

5. 'pre-departure orientation' was not as gay as i expected, was kind of informative and there were only two other ppl so v v relaxed.

6. if any of you want to move to nz, apparently it is super easy - you do the whole process online.

tell me more about #6 esp wrt computer jobs

not really my field of expertise, but try seek.co.nz

RR, which visa do you have?

J-1 work visa, no?

which always seemed like the most elusive visa to me but apparently its not!

yeah a J-1 cultural exchange visa

RR exchangin' da Kiwi culture f'realz

God crêpey ex fo sho.

on the handout i was given at my US-govt-regulation pre-departure orientation while i was in auckland:

american people are:
friendly
hospitable
inquisitive
often talkative
often uncomfortable with silence
often ignorant about anywhere outside the US

for example:
"NZ - is that far from london?"
"but i'm an american, i don't need a passport to travel"

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

omg

on the handout i was given at my US-govt-regulation pre-departure orientation while i was in auckland:

we do not get this coming from the UK, I am disappointed.

because if we did we wouldn't go.

i think it's just for J-1 visa applicants, because we're technically we're there on a 'cultural exchange' to 'learn more about american people and their culture'.

mostly it was stuff about taxes and employers and jobhunting and housing and stuff.

interesting thing i learned yesterday: i have a new american colleague who is from portland, and i was complaining to her about how i'd rather get cafe work than restaurant work when i first get to the states, but my barrista skills are pretty thin. she informed me that americans are nowhere near as fussy about their coffee as new zealish people.

which doesn't surprise me, given that the following conversation takes place with 98% of my american tourist customers:

'can i get a coffee?'
'what sort of coffee would you like?'
'uhhhhhhhh...'
'a flat white, cappuccino, long black...?'
'uhhhhhhhh... just a coffee...'

yeah, PP had a hard time in sydney just getting a coffee. i couldnt work out which drink = plain old coffee. i think he ended up ordering flat white?
And i havent seen a cappuccino here outside starbucks.

american people are:
friendly
hospitable
inquisitive
often talkative
often uncomfortable with silence
often ignorant about anywhere outside the US

this is actually kind of OTM

american immigration officers are none of those except the last

Things america could do to ease entry into the US:

Not tease us with 40 immigration booths and staff them with 4 immigration officials
Tell the two plane loads of Hong Kongers in front of me that you can't write in cantonese on your visa form

immigration at the airport?

'flat white' was mystifying upon NZ arrival

While I've never been to NZ I was also mystified by the whole "flat white" thing which I found at a NZ owned cafe in London.

And i havent seen a cappuccino here outside starbucks.

Really?

Congrats on the visa RR!

well, i am in AR, E

lol - I forgot. That makes more sense now!

sunny: an 'americano' is the espresso of choice for most americans. it's a shot of coffee iin a big cup of hot water w/ cold milk if desired. basically, espresso is too strong for americans, who prefer filter coffee. otoh, filter coffee is impossible to find in nz.

yuh so flat white is an aus/nz only thing right?

fyi: I will only drink flat white or short black

????

what is your popular equivalent to what we in america call 'coffee' & you guys call 'filter coffee'??

also: the coffee in aus is generally pretty awesome.

those glass coffee pots that all american diners seem to have? that's filter coffee.

new zealish people are EXTREMELY particular about their coffee - quality of bean, type of grind, crema, perfectly frothed milk.

btw, i don't actually drink coffee.

deez, yeah 'coffee' (ie coffee that you go somewhere and pay for) will almost always be: flat white, short black, long black, latte, cappuccino.

...macchiato, mochaccino, ristretto...

yeah no i get that thats filter coffee - thats also the same kind of coffee that like every american household drinks

its basically black ('straight filtered coffee')/with cream/with sugar/with cream & sugar

frothing/bean/etc doesnt really enter into it here - you guys dont just have like a typical 'coffee'? is it not a daily morning ritual to drink it for you guys?

xps what is flat white/short black/long black mean?

like is it common for you guys to have coffee makers in your kitchen or some equivalent?

i would say increasingly common. Like i know heaps of ppl who own shitty little espresso machines.

I'd say it's become a ritual to buy a take-away coffee from a cafe, but not making that same type of coffee in your own home.

like obvs instant coffee is drunk at home

a lot of people drink instant coffee, or ground coffee (using a plunger) at home, but home espresso machines are getting more popular. my house has one.

long black: shot of coffee diluted with hot water in a smallish cup
short black: single shot of coffee undiluted
flat white: large single shot with hot milk, no froth

espresso makes way more sense than filtered coffee really, since drinking its mostly about feeding the caffeine addiction in a timely manner

i dont think thats really caught on here yet tho i could be wrong

xps see i dunno what a coffee 'shot' is even! im familiar with 'the cup of coffee' + a lot of the starbucksy things (latte/cappacino/machiato etc) but what this what-i-assume-to-be espresso-speak is confusing to me

To pull a shot of espresso, a metal filter-basket is filled with 7 to 10 grams (¼ to ⅓ ounce) of ground coffee for a single shot or 12 to 18 grams (⅜ to ⅝ ounces) for a double shot. The ground coffee is then tamped, using about 180 N (30-40 pounds) of force, evenly and rotationally applied, into a firm puck of coffee. The portafilter (or group handle) holds the filter-basket and is locked under the grouphead's diffusion block. When the brew process begins, pressurized water at 85-95 °C (185-203 °F) and approximately 900 kPa (130 psi; 9 bar) is forced into the grouphead and through the ground coffee in the portafilter.

ha also In Australia and New Zealand, espresso accounts for nearly all of the commercial cafe, coffeehouse and restaurant coffee business.

so short black = espresso
long black = diluted espresso (we probably have something like this here but im not a coffee maven)
flat white = close equivalent to filtered coffee w/ cream

?

Flat whites are also like an art form:

http://static.flickr.com/122/286901781_bd5ca110c2.jpg

So awesome.

Basically what I'm getting from this whole thing is that Aus/NZ coffee is usually espresso based drink and not filtered coffee as it is in the US.

fwiw, filter or drip coffee actually has more caffeine than espresso, since the grounds are in contact with hot water for longer. I think the highest caffeine is in boiled coffee (cowboy or ranch coffee - water and grounds mixed together cold and then boiled over the fire and strained into a cup) with percolated coffee being next highest.

Yeah and instant coffee is lower yeah?

also i fuck with Lebanese Coffee sometimes

http://egressive.com/system/files/images/img_5977.preview.jpg

http://www.ratemyrosetta.com/showimage.php?86_f12t0O7Q.jpg

http://herebenotions.typepad.com/herebenotions/images/2007/07/20/espressoart.jpg

I want a lion coffee!!

wtffffffff howdeydodat

http://www.ratemyrosetta.com/showimage.php?86_f12t0O7Q.jpg

most decent cafes have their coffees looking like that^

rr is gonna find america so plain :(

instant coffee is lower yeah?

Only if you make it according to the label instructions - toss in more (or just eat the crystals with a spoon) for a better jolt.

Those coffees are almost too beautiful to drink.

i can occasionally approximate something like the above, but not often. barristas use all kinds of techniques, but mostly it comes down to the spout on the milk jug and some pretty deft flicks of the wrist.

xxxpost

It's amazing to me. I want to learn how to do it! I used to try to draw pictures in the froth of Guiness when I was a bartender but I was even crap at that.

there are some really odd things about your country, deeznuts. for example: the fact that the majority of renters pay their landlords by cheque. this is completely alien in nz, where we pay our rent weekly/fortnightly by direct debit/automatic payment. i don't get this - direct debit means never having to worry about your rent being late. posting a cheque every month seems like a goddamn pain to me.

LOL. When Lee moved here he thought this was really weird too because in England rent is done by direct debit as well which is a much better system. BTW, it's "check" over here. ;-)

lol fortnightly jk

what about worrying if you cant actually make rent? here you can talk yr landlord into an extension - seems like an advantage to me? its not hard to deposit a check once a month! and being just a bit late isnt a big deal in my experience

I keep hearing about these "overdrafts" tied to checking accounts in the UK - sounds like you automatically get a line of credit or something? Which would be cool (though I would run it right up to the limit asap).

I've always gotten a 3 - 5 day grace period on the rent; it's due the 1st, but they don't have to receive the check until the 3rd (or 5th). Direct debit wouldn't be terrible though - no more hunting up envelopes and stamps (or those extra $.02 stamps, now that postage has gone up AGAIN).

When I moved to England they wanted to give me a 1 or 2k overdraft. I was scared of absuing it so I opted for a 300 GBP one to give me a little room. Most people I know used their overdrafts so heavily that they were in them more often then in credit.

when i go to my parents' house and they make weak-ass coffee i always throw in a teaspoon of instant to darken it up a bit!

eat the crystals? wow

the baristas here make pretty pictures with the foam but i say GET OVER URSELVES AND GIVE ME MY COFFEE

i have been tempted to do this before
xpost

my sisters both worked at a coffee shop and learned to make foam art.

just one more thing to make me feel like outcast middle child!

jk

yeah but with online banking you just change the date if you can't make your rent. jordan was telling me he has to pay a late fee if he doesn't post his rent 'check' on time - no one does that here.

i've had a $500 overdraft on my student/graduate bank account for about 4 years.

and don't even get me started on how you don't have an equivalent system to our EFTPOS. fuck having to use cash all the time.

<3 eftpos

even our taxis have eftpos now

eat the crystals? wow

you've never considered it?!? There are days I am sad I don't drink coffee anymore - I love the way it smells and tastes. But I have to go the low-dose route w/ tea and diet cokes or I get palpitations and cold sweats.

Also - maple mountain cooler! Take a glass of cold milk, add 2 tbsp of maple syrup and a tsp (or 2) of instant coffee crystals. Stir and drink. Better than a frappaccino.

I hardly ever use cash - debit cards all the way.

yeah but with online banking you just change the date if you can't make your rent. jordan was telling me he has to pay a late fee if he doesn't post his rent 'check' on time - no one does that here.

i've had a $500 overdraft on my student/graduate bank account for about 4 years.

-- Rubyredd

yeah here theres a theoretical 50 dollar late fee but ive never actually had to pay it

i pretty much always use cash but this makes me old-fashioned here as well

i <3 keep the change savings acct w/ debit card

i never used cash before i moved to nyc, but there are way too many cash only places here.

um the only time i use cash is when i buy drugs

eftpos??

yeah but your debit cards still occur high fees per transaction, right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_to_E-payments

*incur

no fees

No, my debit card doesn't incur any fees.

ATM machines that are not those of your own bank will often charge a fee.

the seller gets charged fees-that's why small places won't let u charge under $10

an eftpos card is an atm card: you have one for any/all of your accounts. so instead of having to go to an atm to get $$ you just pay at point of purchase, using your atm card. no fees, usually. every single store/shop/restaurant/cafe/etc. has an eftpos machine in nz.

well, here you can eftpos anything - even a 60c pack of chewing gum.

when will be the opportune moment to post eddie murphy coming to america jpg?

You can use most debit cards here in the same way for most purchases but it's not necessarily in every single store.

Someone told me it is actually illegal for store to insist on a minimum debit charge ut I don't know if that's right though.

true^^

i had a cabbie give me shit for wanting to use a debit card the other night. my sister came to rescue and gave him cash, but what he didn't realize that the tip iw as going to add to the debit charge more than covered the 5% fee he was bitching about, and he would have ended up with a larger tip had he let me go through with my payment of choice. fucking ass.

xpost jergz: exactly 3 weeks from today!

RR - you still need to give me your US address so I can send you a welcome present in lieu of the SS one that never arrived!!!

Ok, I go bed. Night guys!

erica, i will send you my new address via facebook!

at my orientation thing we were talking about banks and someone suggested that washington mutual is pretty excellent. but US banks are mostly regional? this is very confusing. WaMu sounds good because they charge practically nothing for transferring money back to my nz account (v v important).

It is confusing - maybe try it and if it sucks, you can switch?

I'm useless for banking research, especially in CA!

immigration at the airport?

-- sunny successor, Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:52 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

yes, and in particular the BA/Quantas/Iberia/Cathay terminal at JFK

RR, if citibank have a presence in NZ you may be able to set up linked NZ$ and US$ and get free transfers between the two. I have just got one for £,€ and $. Free withdrawals from citbank machines in the US and foriegn withdrawals almost always cost with UK banks.

god i am bank of america and a citibank atm charged me $3 fee for withdrawl last weekend! fuck that! i've never had more than $2 before.

find a bank with atms near you. read every single fine-print rule they have. only withdraw $ from your bank (or get extra cash at the grocery store). check your account online daily and never go in a branch. i've followed this for years and haven't paid even a dime for banking in that time. wamu's fine, like any other.

in more pressing matters, have you decided whether you'll use the word 'hella'?

i had originally determined i would NOT be using 'hella', but it's becoming tempting... i'll let you know if it slips out sometime. tempting, but i also feel i would sound ridiculous.

thanks for the bank advice, v v helpful!

the wamu building in seattle is my favorite highrise in the city, so i recommend you bank with them.

however i bank with BoA and i've been able to withdraw funds overseas with no fee beyond the conversion fee by using the ATMs of international partner banks. there's a NZ partner bank, so maybe that would serve your purpose?

immigration at the airport?

-- sunny successor, Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:52 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

yes, and in particular the BA/Quantas/Iberia/Cathay terminal at JFK

RR, if citibank have a presence in NZ you may be able to set up linked NZ$ and US$ and get free transfers between the two. I have just got one for £,€ and $. Free withdrawals from citbank machines in the US and foriegn withdrawals almost always cost with UK banks.

so you can show up at the airport and ask for a visa? i know you used to be able to get work cards at JFK but youd have to have a visa first

I never had a problem with the debit cards over in the States. It seemed actually better and easier than using EFTPOS in Australia.

I have a Westpac account so I could use that at Bank of America with no fees at all = A+++++

What will give you the shits in no time at all is the physical money. $2 bills $1 bills! Highest coin is 25c! Why 25c anyway? 2c coins! 1c coins! Argh, I still got a load of those useless American coins!

The regionality of the US banks gave me the shits too. I was forced to go with Citizens Bank as my work had a deal with them, which meant if I went half an hour outside of Philly, I would have go to another bank's ATM and got F'd in the A with ATM fees.

2c coins? i've been missing out!

we do have $1 coins but no one wants to use them: why?? it's annoying.

$2 bills $1 bills! Highest coin is 25c! Why 25c anyway? 2c coins! 1c coins! Argh, I still got a load of those useless American coins!

There are $1 coins (like lxy said) and 50c coins, but you don't see them very often. I wouldn't want to use them really anyway because they are too big and carrying lots of them around would get cumbersome. I'm thinking of the silver dollars more so, I guess. The newer gold dollar coins are smaller, but paper bills are still much lighter and easier to carry around.

You v. v. rarely see $2 bills. Less so than 50c coins and $1 coins.

2c coins don't exist.

the one time lingert got a dollar coin he traded with me for a paper dollar. that's how much he doesn't like them.

What a great thread!

how many days left now?

hi mark c!

Hey lxy! I am back and POSTIN and want to feed off Rubes's growing excitement. Go Ruby!

hi!!!!!!

i like $1 and $2 bills instead of coins because it makes me feel richer.

i had my last day at the shoe store yesterday, and i have just one week left at the restaurant. and only 17 more days till i get to see jordan!!!!!!

exciting!!!

Is "give you the shits" an Auz/NZ-ism or just a Patoism?

deffo at least aussie-wide

it's an australianism, more commonly said as 'cracking the shits'

as in, "he was giving me the shits, so i cracked it at him"

I am going to have to try that out here in USA.

Cracked the shits is more of a Eastern states saying!

no, it isn't.

unless you mean eastern states of aus?

he does

"giving" and "cracking" are different imo.

He annoys me = he gives me the shits

he got really annoyed (with something/someone) = he cracked the shits

The USA isn't the only country with states in their East, jeez.

PS: I saw only one $1 coin in the USA. ONLY ONE FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. And I do know that there isn't $2 notes but I coulda sworn there were 2c coins...

I miss our paper notes ;_;

There are US$2 notes.

The USA isn't the only country with states in their East, jeez.

yes sorry i corrected my mistake.

I miss our paper notes ;_;
so pretty!!

a good place for $1 coins is the post office. if you buy stamps out of the machine, all your change will come in them.

an ex bf of mine was from sydney and he always used the expression 'cracked the shits'.

i always thought of giving the shits = making someone angry
cracking the shits = having an outright hissy fit

actually ive always heard it as "crackin' A shit"

about 10 days and 9 hours till i land in san fran.

Lesson 1 for bay area living (SF nomenclature):

Acceptable:
1. SF
2. San Francisco
3. The City

Unacceptable:
1. Frisco
2. San Fran

Acceptable nicknames for other bay area cities:

Oakland = Oaktown
South San Francisco = South City
San Jose = boring piece of shit town

i'm going to only ever to refer to it as san fran from now on

That's the rebellious spirit!

if u really want to piss off the natives go w/frisco

^^^ hell of pissed off seeing that in a non-denotational context even !!!!

8.5 days OMG TIME IS DRAGGING SO GODDAMN SLOWLY

but yay i finally sold the last of my belongings.

Even your clothes and your computer. You are posting naked from a webcafe in the darkest winter and wondering why everyone is looking at you that way.

Don't worry Ruby, you'll get used to the staring before too long.

Maybe we should all start knitting RR some clothes for when she get here, guys

"we"

hop to it, Needles

Well first I have to finish knitting you a nice Minnesotan house to live in.

real men knit, HI DERE.

less than 6.5 days to go

33 for me

and a half

I still want to go this year...

fuck my fucking flatmates. they've known my departure date for 3 months, and knew the fridge would be leaving with me. at the start of the week i told them to organise themselves a replacement because it needed to be emptied out by friday. today (friday) i told them it needed to be emptied out that evening so i could clean it. i come into the house at 8pm and it's not been touched. so i say to my flatmate: 'uhhh can you empty the fridge' and he removes about 5 things. so i dumped everything out all over the whole kitchen, where it has been left - they've all come in and out and seen it, and seem content to leave piles of melting frozens everywhere. it seems they've also broken and thrown out one the shelves without bothering to tell me, so i'm lucky that i've sold it to my boss, who won't give me a hard time about it, rather than some stranger who would be pissed and demand a semi refund.

oh, and i've just been told - less than 48 hours before i move out - that i have to pay $240 into our flat account, because apparently it's 'short'. fucking fuckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry for the rant but i am tired and stressed and haven't actually eaten in about 2 days so i'm pretty grumpy.

Okay, you have the right to be grumpy and stressed. Please eat something and try not to kill your flatmates, although I can see where you would be sorely tempted. (It is harder to stay in the US if you are wanted for murder.)

Can they take legal action against you if you don't pay into the house fund? If not, fuck them.

(not literally)

In the USA, there's virtually nothing that can be done if one party has moved out of state.

no, they can't really do anything of a legal nature, but they know friends of mine, so it could get awkward. and i may have to temporarily move back to this town next year. i'm just gonna pay it, but with hatred in my heart for all of them.

Well THAT sucks.

Still excited that you will soon be in USA!!!

me too!!

you should excitedly tell your flatmates that you lined up a new fridge for them, and excitedly lead them to the kitchen, only to show them a pile of ice cubes on the floor where the fridge used to be, and "FUCK YOU" written in ketchup and mustard on the wall.

yep.

Okay that wins for creativity.

Maybe she could integrate some pickle relish in there, for texture.

actually, your flatmate probably needs the $240 to get the tobacco stains off of his girlfriend's horse teeth.

Sir, you are cruel, uncouth and insulting. Well done.

because of my above post about not having eaten for a couple of days, estela was greatly concerned about my health today and tried repeatedly to buy me lunch, but my stomach was just too tense, so i let her feed me chocolate cake instead.

i'm about to head out for a farewell dinner now, and really hope i can get something down.

I hope so, too. It is miserable to be sick and unable to eat.

i managed to eat some super rich pasta! but i did not drink. my boss gave a toast to me and then cried, but i didn't (but almost) and told me that the family loves me very much, will always be my family, and will always be there for me and jordan. it was very sweet. now i've pretty much packed everything and halfway thru cleaning my room. the nerves have settled quite a bit since eating, so i'm feeling better.

Eat something vitamin laden and healthy before getting on the plane.

thanks ed.

suitcases are packed, room is clean and emptied, leaving wellington for new plymouth in 1.75 hours.

Have safe travels, RR!

happy trails!

oh god there's already been problems and drama. estela called me on my cell just as i was in the midst of having a panic attack because the woman at the check-in point told me i couldn't take my excess luggage for free on a domestic flight - despite the fact i'm flying out of auckland in 4 days - because i didn't book all my flights together.

i'm at my parents', on their v v v slow computer, and my dad is watching motor racing. i am already completely bored out of my brains.

i don't think i can survive 4 days of this ;_;

Are you flying same or different carriers for both sectors?

That sounds crazy about the reason for not being able to take your luggage for free...?

Sorry you are so bored at your parent's house: even when I am only going to my parent's house for a few hours, I always bring a stash of books and my iPod at least. I hope you have found something to do!

Sounds crazy and a few years back they may have let it slide, however now the airlines want to wring every last brass farthing out of you.

KBP, i'm flying air new zealand both domestic and international. it just seemed a shitty thing to give me a hard time about, esp since i had my internation ticket plus my np to auckland ticket, to prove i was flying out a few days.

less than 3.5 days till i arrive in the US!!

i bought this trashy thriller by james patterson to read today, and it is set in sf and oakland - which i didn't know till i started reading it! it's all about murders and bombings and stuff so i'm not sure i should keep reading it...

OMG I HAS BAD NEWS... i said i bought snifters, along with a bunch of other new zealish lollies, but i didn't cuz they'd run out. so i went to another supermarket tonight to look for them... AND THEY'VE RUN OUT LIKE OVER THE WHOLE COUNTRY OR SOMETHING. my sis was explaining that it's most likely because new packaging is being introduced. i can't find them anywhere! i hope they're back in stock by thursday or jordan will be so upset ;_;

also: i was so bored today that i ate almost an entire 200g block of cadbury macadamia chocolate. seems i have my appetite back!!

Yeah, if you're flying same carrier for both flights it's pretty dumb to charge that excess baggage. Air New Zealand of all airlines should bloody well know that anyway.

The rule is, generally, they are only obliged not to charge you if the flights are on the same booking (largest baggage allowance applies throughout). It is a stupid rule and one that wasn't too strictly adhered to until recently.

RR, I dont think Jordan is going to be thinking about candy when you arrive!

http://www.bsnpubs.com/nyc/bang211.jpg

ONE DAY TO GO

sunny, when i met up with ruby the other day we talked about you, we said we <3 you.

awww. i <3 you guys too. we the american lovers, southern hemisphere chapter.

You really are all quite awesome.

you were on the <3 list too, sara.

i <3 a <3-fest
and i <3 you all
and i <3 that ruby is going to be here soon
and i <3 that ruby and estela got to meet
and i <3 that ruby is so thoughtful as to bring us candy
because i <3 candy

you were on the <3 list too, lxy.

i hope that isn't too big of a shock for you on top of the jetlag.

aw

<3

(sorry, i had to.)

Okay, so any Americans or NZers want to chat to an English person, on the actual phone?

yes, estela and i had quite the <3 fest over itr.

two more days till i arrive in the US!! actually, it's just a little under 48 hours. i'm repacking my bags today, to make sure i have room for the 4kg of lollies i am bringing.

v. exciting 4 u

tell me all about the mysterious estela

i would, but like i said: she is v v shy!! i promised estela that i would not gossip about her!!

BUT hanging out with her is the most fun i've had in AGES.

41 hours and counting!!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

hey thanks itr for being so goddamn freaking awesome through the last 90 or so days of my countdown to america. this is by far the weirdest, most exciting, life-changing event to ever happen to me, and it's been so cool to be able to blab about it here and not get given a hard time or anything.

oh no i'm getting sentimental ;_; can you imagine the blubbling that's going to occur in 41 hours?? i've been holding it all in, but i feel like a major tearfest might be building up....

you're going to throw up at the airport

it'll be weird

then you're going to be completely unable to get a wink of sleep during the entire flight

Which means you should have a good, distracting book with you. And possibly some kleenex.

I'm so excited for you to get here, RR! I really admire what you are doing; I have only visited other countries... but MOVING to one is WOW. (Although I'm envying your move to California, no joke. I love that state.)

Have one last Kiwiburger before you go. Or not.

ALSO -- persuade your ne'er-do-well boyfriend that you should both go down and visit the Monterey/Carmel area in mid-August. In that I'll be there and you can see how great the place is. (Tombot can confirm this.)

mid august we will be going nowhere - i've basically picked the worst time of the year to come over because jordan is completely rushed off his feet at work, has to leave town for a week in early august, and is getting shit from his coworkers for taking a mere two days off when i first arrive. and this won't ease off till october.

Ooh that happened to me when my bf first moved over here too, I took 2 days off and work gave me a right drubbing :( Stupid work! I shake my fist at your bfs work Rubes!

aww thanks trayce! the best part is that a bunch of other people are taking like THREE WEEKS OFF right now.

34 hours to go

your entertainment selection (take a book)

New Zealand Classic Movies!

BLACK SHEEP!!

BLACK SHEEP!!!!

have an awesome trip!!! yayyy!!!

hi ruby, i am back in australia now, bon voyage<3<3

Safe travels, RR! Can't wait to welcome you to the U.S. (admittedly from a distance, but still!)

21 hours to go!

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee itr, see you in america!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

eventually we will steal all of you aussie NZ types.

congrats!!! be safe!

america suuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

oops. too late for that kinda talk.

suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks you right in with our freedom and democracy and apple pie and top hatted uncle of awesome you mean

here in america everyone can eat as much meat as they want and are in fact required to do so by law

^^^^^^ it's true!

precisely. and cheesy appley pie with squeezy hugs and things at that.

yuo know justine's chap's a vegan? she go' be sneakin' out for her meat. apart from that of the unmentionable kind.

100 COMPLETELY TRUE FACTS ABOUT AMERICA

BYE RUBY GIVE US A CALL WHEN YOU GET THERE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzmg-_XPp0Q

Best wishes Ruby, kia kaha!

that is perfect, kiwi, i deeply love that song.

arohanui ruby<3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz77TI7t7Do

Welcome to our country, Ruby!

i actually researched the best hamburger place in the east bay to take RR to this weekend. she's in america, she should eat a burger.

plus, nothing is worse than when i dated a vegan girl who made me wrap my wang in tofu. men can be vegan, but it's not practical for women for that very reason.

"my wang in tofu" = leading contender for new username for Fluffy Bear Hearts Rainbows

just talked to rubyredd... she's about to get on her plane and will be here in about 13 hours. get ready america... there's already a heatwave over cali right now, but you's about to get hotter!

also, she says to say, "I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU!" to all the ILXers. well, except Upt0eleven.

:D

safe trip, and happy landings

Jordan, plz liveblog the next twelve hours here, on this very thread! Cos you'll be too excited to sleep, right?

actually, i'm friggin exhausted right now. i haven't been sleeping well this week, so i tried to stay up late, hoping i'd fall asleep swiftly that way. i read "gynecology" by dan clowes (excellent) and then read about meth labs (creepy).

welcone to the us, rr. a seattle fap next year would be something else.

RR should be above grady right now.

Jordan you should go to one of those flightplan sites and take screenshots of where her plane is at.

"my wang in tofu" = leading contender for new username for Fluffy Bear Hearts Rainbows

So, so true.

I suspect right now RR is like me on a long trans-Pacific flight -- tired and waiting to finally get back on the ground at last.

But without the frankly sociological sideburns hate. Do you have sideburns, Jordan?

Gah! SocioPATHIC, sigh.

I suspect right now RR is like me on a long trans-Pacific flight - tired and cranky and staring at the breasts of the Mexican girl sitting next to me.

Unless she made the right choice and watched BLACK SHEEP!!

I bet she has an uncomfortable semi, too.

Sociology explains much about hate.

And messiah complexes.

Go in peace and sin some more.

she says to say, "I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU!" to all the ILXers. well, except Upt0eleven

SPECIAL MENTION WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!

...and will be here in about 13 hours. get ready america...

-- ytth, Thursday, 10 July 2008 06:23 (13 hours ago)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/Stompel/coming_to_america.jpg
l-r ruby, ytth right now

They look so different when they are together and IN AMERICA!

She's only now beginning the ten-hour deprogramming.

lol whats up w/ my post getting deleted??

you are the bad fairy of ilx, deeznuts.

i hope immigration are quick and kind and that ruby has a beautiful first day in america.

so she should be on land now, ja? weeee!!!!

She is in CALIFORNIA land of good things and what is best.

In Cali
Everything is fine

ballys not chucks

http://www.sfkiwis.com/

The Five Stages of Culture Shock

Culture shock is divided into five stages. Each stage can be long standing or appear only under certain conditions. It is important to realize that culture shock is a perfectly normal condition which affects persons differently, just as grief, shock and other pressures in life. Some people show stronger reactions than others and not all experience all the five stages of culture shock. Some people do not progress through to the final stage.

The first stage is often called the "honeymoon stage". It is characterized by tension and expectations. While it is going on, people enjoy the excitement that arises from being in a new place where everything is interesting. Some people never leave this initial stage of the excitement that goes along with being abroad. They are constantly experiencing a mild ecstasy and behave like eternal tourists: travel to new and interesting places, make friends only with their fellow countrymen and retain their old way of living. For most people however, the honeymoon passes by and they enter into the second and most difficult stage of the culture shock.

The second stage is the actual shock. It can be characterized with loss of courage and general discomfort. Changes in character occur, depression, lack of self-confidence and irritation, people become more vulnerable and prone to crying, more worried about their health, suffer from headache, bad stomach and complaint about pain and allergy. Difficulties with concentration often occur and reduce the ability to learn a new language. These factors increase the anxiety and the stress. In this period, the self-awareness dissolves and people have trouble with solving simple problems. Conversations on this stage are about things that can not be bought, what you must get along without, and everything that the people in the new country do wrong (which means "differently").

This stage can be characterized with escape, because in this period you always think of returning to the old country. People tend to regard ones own culture as the only way to do the things. This attitude has been called "ethnocentrism". That is the belief that ones own culture, race and nation is the navel of the world. Individuals identify with their own group and its habits. All critical remarks are regarded as a provocation to the individual just as the group. "If you criticize me, you are criticizing my country, if you criticize my country, you are criticizing me." Therefore people often show hostile and aggressive resistance against the host country on the second stage of the culture shock. This hostility comes from natural difficulties that a family or individuals run into in the adjustment process. "I feel terrible in the new country, there must be something terribly wrong here"!!! There are problems in school, difficulties with language, trouble with lodging and employment as well as the fact that the people in the host country just don't care about these problems or don't seem to understand them.

The result is aggressiveness and discomfort because the people don't seem like foreigners at all. Therefore it is important to understand culture shock and what is going on in relations between people. It is important to consider carefully the conduct toward people suffering from culture shock. In the beginning, people are often well received, but when time passes and the novelty disappears, the attitude often turns into indifference or dislike which immigrants experience as hostility. Thus aggressive hostility can escalate on both sides. Instead of regarding the difficulties in a cultural context, people speak about these problems as if they were specially invented by the host country, in order to get the visitor into trouble. Under such circumstances, circulating stereotypes emerge, which can lead to collisions if people don't practice tolerance. "These Icelanders", or "these immigrants" are so and so.......!

The third stage of culture shock is characterized with one's plunging into new ways of living. With patience, it is possible to reach this stage by the end of the first year. Key aspects in a new culture are being learned and the earlier chaos and lack of direction seldom appears. Relations with the native population are initiated, such as neighbours and workmates or schoolmates. The vocabulary and pronunciation is being learned. Instead of standing outside and watching the culture with critical eyes, people plunge into the life of the new country.

The fourth stage is the final stage of the assimilation, characterized with full participation in the way of life in the new country. People seldom think of "them" and "us". They have assimilated to life, regarding both emotions and general activities and life just as easy as before moving.

The fifth stage: Long after people have moved back to the homeland, something unexpected happens. They experience the fifth stage of the culture shock. It is called a reverse culture shock or returning shock, and appears after the return home again. The homeland is not comfortable any more because people have been away from home for a long time and have become comfortable with customs and habits belonging to a new lifestyle. Much has changed and it takes some time to get used to way of life, gestures and symbols of one's own culture.

(Source of "Five Stages of Culture Shock" is unknown. Appropriate credit and references will be added when available.)

still in stage two

Conversations on this stage are about things that can not be bought

Which is why you buyeth the iphone and are keeping it hush hush?

OMG WTF LOL I AM HEEEEEERRRREEEE IN AMERIIIIIICAAAAAA!!!!

SO FAR: FUCKING FREAKIN AWESOME

AS YOU ALL KNOW, THIS WAS OUR FIRST MEETING IN PERSON.... AND IT WAS ABOUT 1000 X BETTER THAN I IMAGINED BUT NOW I HAVE TO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I'LL BE BACK WITH DETAILS SOOOOOOON

I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW I DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE WORDS FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

that was quick

:) x millions!

you made it!!!!! congrats!!!

yay!!!!! so happy for RR!

HOORAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome Rubyredd!!!

hey, congorts.

need to change thread title

that right there is what we in the business like to call "mod magic"

^_~

Heheheh.

I'LL BE BACK WITH DETAILS SOOOOOOON

Not ALL the details, I trust. We are a family audience.

Oh, we are not.

BUT YAY WELCOME SOOOOOOOO EXCITED THAT YOU ARE HERE, RR!!!

Glad you are safe, too!

Jeez, this is making me really HAPPY and EXCITED. RAH!!!

subtle title change is A++++

thank you, I am a genius

This thread will now be the detailed anthropological study of RR's investigation of America: The Country firsthand.

This thread will now be the detailed anthropological study of RR's investigation of America: The Country firsthand.

Like de Tocqueville.

kerrazy

de Tocqueville, Dickens, Wilde, Sanche de Gramont aka Ted Morgan...RR

Probably more like Gertrude Stein - There is no there. Welcome to Oakland :).

i would like to say RUBY a bunch of times in a row, but i'm afraid i'll get in trouble again. so instead:

RUBY

welcome to the united states of america

what trouble, lxy, who, when, i <3 trouble.

This is now West Coast Flight of the Conchords.

estela's wdyll, now it can be told
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v359/ames2024/whatever/c6c43443.png

Congrats, RR. Dinner w/beau on me, whenevs.

She's in a proper time zone at last. Now all the roffles will be in fully real time.

Nice work Rubes. Nice work Jordan. See you guys here in a week!

:D

what trouble, lxy, who, when, i <3 trouble.

-- estela, Friday, 11 July 2008 03:55 (12 hours ago) Link

one time i typed ruby's name 4 times in a row and was criticized because apparently that is a song lyric by a band i've heard of but have never heard a single song by. some people yelled at me!

It IS a bad song, lxy. But it's their problem for knowing the bad song well enough to get it stuck in their heads.

Sweepstake on who the first (non-ytth) AmerILXor to meet Ruby will be?

awwww ruby I am so happy for you!

Rubyredd, I'm away for the week on vacation, but call me or leave me an e-mail and I'll check in w/you when I get back and we can grab a libation or two.

Jealous!

You should be -- M. is THE person to hang with at a bar in SF. (Aside from my sis, of course -- and she and M. have a mutual appreciation society going for that very reason.)

i am jealous, too!!!!!!!!!1

we are going to berkeley today!! i will take photos!! itr, you might just be the first ppl we know to see us together!!

uhhh this is ruby, not jordan! i'm using jordan's computer!

p.s. have just had the most amazing 24 hours of my entire life :) :) :)

RUBY RUBY RUBY RUBY !!!!!!!!!!!!!

(i don't care what the haters say. I AM EXCITED!!!!!)

Wow, it sounds like you are having fun. With jetlag and everything!

SO glad you are here and happy!!!! <3 <3 <3

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2660107704_fce0e05719.jpg

i look retarded but couldn't be bothered trying to get a better photo - most unusual for me, considering how vain i normally am.

the photoshopped picture looked more real ;)

wot a fine looking pair.

awww<3

You look very, "Yeah, I'm good, and he knows it." Which is not an untoward approach.

Now what TRUE FACTS have you discovered about America so far?

Oh wow congrats! This makes me all nostalgic :) Mrs Poo had to do the same thing 5 years ago. Lazy blokes making girls travel all across the world for them, I dunno.

awes

Fantastic photo!!!! Thx for sharing. You guys are *glowing*!!!

Makes me almost nostalgic for an LDR! Almost.

You really are a cute couple. Jordan is HANDSOME. And he reminds me of me just a tiny bit...

hell yeah

you guys need to go here: http://www.thetrappist.com/

Fantastic. You guys give me great hope for the arrival the object of my of my LDR in september.

My two LDRs have both involved said girl moving to London to be with me, becoming miserable and overwhelmed and the relationship collapsing. Just in case you needed the other side of the coin :(

Well, we will probably end up back in america or doing LDR with positions reversed for a bit as well.

That sounds wrong.

(Anaheim plan still in place, right Ed? Went to one of my favored vegeterian restaurants in OC, Au Lac, yesterday -- completely remodelled and as fantastic as ever, you gotta go.)

i am starting to wonder if i should start looking across the pond or to another hemisphere for better luck...

Not wrong just a logistical nightmare.

Anaheim is definitely on although, as yet we have no accommodation. Trying to get priceline to work for us. Flights are booked though so we better get a move on.

tza, it seems to work for me, it is hard work, though and I have had one failure at the intercontinental LDR before, but I had a lot less money then and money does make it easier, being able to hop across the pond has been beneficial.

Anaheim is definitely on although, as yet we have no accommodation

Step on it. Not trying to be flip, you just don't want the Disneyland visitors booking you completely out of the area.

hi everyone!

ok, jordan is at work today so i will give big update:

(first of all - i HIGHLY recommend letting go of your inhibitions about internet/LDRs and attempting to find someone by unconventional methods. i didn't exactly go looking for jordan, but when i found him i didn't dismiss what we had just because of the circumstances in which we met.)

plane ride was pretty awful. don't want to do that again in a hurry.
customs was weird. when i went through the first customs official - the one where they get your fingerprints/eye scan etc. - the guy held me up for quite awhile because my sevis # (the number on my DS-2019 form that permits me to work) wasn't also on my visa. so then i had to go to a secondary customs office, and be questioned by a big scary black guy. it was really really hot in the airport, i was completely dehydrated, nauseous and incredibly anxious (close to having a panic attack since about an hour before landing), and i couldn't breathe properly, so of course i looked suspicious. but the guy just made me sit there for awhile why he sorted out my visa, after asking me about my plans.

so i get out of there and go get my luggage. i had been told by the customs guy that my luggage would be searched because i had declared all those goddamn lollies on the customs form. so i get to federal inspection and prepare to load my bags up on the x-ray thing. but the guy sees my form, asks me about the food, i explain they're new zealish lollies, and he just waves me through. i was completely confused - i was expecting to have to go through more, but suddenly i was in the arrivals area and there was jordan.

it was so so SO weird - i saw him standing there and i couldn't really comprehend it. i had thought i would probably bawl my eyes out, but i was so overwhelmed and so nervous that i didn't! at first, he looked really different: i don't know how to explain it, but i guess it was just seeing him in 3D. we hugged and it was sort of awkward - neither of us could really believe this was actually taking place.

but then on drive back to his place it started to be more real - i kept looking over at him and he started to look more and more familiar. i have to say that he is honestly even more hot in person than i thought, and i already thought he was gonna be a total babe. so then we got home....

TMI ALERT:

i absolutely will not go into detail here about what we did within 5mins of getting in his front door, but i will say this: everyone who went on at me about 'pheromones' and the importance of attraction in person blah blah blah and about how there was a good chance that in person we wouldn't be into each other at all: you were all completely wrong!!! if anything, the physical side of things was even more intense than i had imagined. from the first hug, all i could think was how fantastic he smelled, and how great he felt to touch. so yes: to sum up, we had amazing, amazing chemistry :) :) :)

so that was thursday. on friday we went bookstore hopping and hung out on telegraph street, saturday more book store hopping and my first burrito, sunday we went for a big hike. it's been an amazing four days - all those little things we haven't been able to do together before, those have been so incredible, just simple things like sitting on the couch and watching tv, getting to hold hands and walk down the street. just stuff like that.

while things with jordan have been fantastic, it has been extremely overwhelming being here. on the plane, about an hour before we landed, i suddenly started to panic when it well and truly hit me, the enormity of what i was doing. it was incredibly hard to deal with. everything here feels totally alien to me; the streets freak me out because the whole system is different, and i get scared just crossing a busy road. i'm really really nervous about finding a job, trying to not think about it for the next week while i settle in. and i've already encountered a problem with my visa: i'm supposed to log on to the govt visa monitoring site with my contact details, which i tried to do last night, but it said there was a problem. i've emailed, and will call later today, but it has me a little worried.

i guess that's about it for now!

oh, and some more photos:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2668301012_4595552c9d.jpg

Is fine by me, that means we can go and stay on the Queen Mary.

xpost

TZA you might just need a different state?

WOAH xpss

awww.....rr. all of that sounds VERY familiar. im so glad you got here. xxxx<3<3<3

Nice work rubes (I think I've said that before). BALD MEN ARE THE SEXIEST

i absolutely will not go into detail here about what we did within 5mins of getting in his front door, but i will say this: everyone who went on at me about 'pheromones' and the importance of attraction in person blah blah blah and about how there was a good chance that in person we wouldn't be into each other at all: you were all completely wrong!!! if anything, the physical side of things was even more intense than i had imagined. from the first hug, all i could think was how fantastic he smelled, and how great he felt to touch. so yes: to sum up, we had amazing, amazing chemistry :) :) :)

Ah yes, one of the great LDR things is the unleashing of certain pent up desires once you finally manage to get together.

Admin stuff sucks. I hate the visa line coming in and I am always just on the no moral turpidute green form which is much less painless than your experience. Perhaps should have warned you not to declare the food on the form as that can be tricky, can't be infecting US candy with new zealish chocolate viruses.

Mark C is on dodgy ground here.

omg ruby, how lovely! i am soo soooooo happy for you guys!!

yeah sunny, maybe different state. i know this sounds ridiculous, but i don't think living in new york is actually helping me in this area.

Yes sorry Ed, long, impossibly matted hair with god knows what living in it is sexier :P

Tehresa, you could get any number of UK boyz. Give it a go!

hmmm...

Mark C has a very hygienic head.

nothing wrong with that.

RR, wow it sounds great - except the end of the plane ride and the culture shock part. The trouble you went through to bring New Zealish candies! Good heavens.

SO glad you are here in the U.S. - and hang in there - it probably will get less overwhelming with time. I imagine that if I tried to move from Northfield (small, rural-ish college town) to New York City that would be a huge adjustment... and you have that on a MASSIVE scale.

i'm not sure how many of the lollies are going to survive... jordan broke his ethics and tried some gelatin-containing pineapple lumps and a perky nana. i need to mail them out soon before i eat them all!

now, what i'm going to do is buy little bags and split the lollies up. here's who is on my list:
lxy
jergins
remy
lingbert
sara
john justen
ned

am i missing anyone?

wow I had no idea you were in Americas, congrats! You're last little update was very sweet and has given me HOPE for LUV.

awww, rubyredd, you are sweet. (& congrats -- i have been following your move w interestz). when are you coming to seattle?

xp Awwwww, you are sweet, RR. You have to send me your address so that I can send something to you! Although I really think I should do this when the weather is cooler, because if it's not chocolate, I don't know what to send...

guys pineapple lumps are INCREDIBLE

remy, when i met estela we seriously discussed an ITR fap in seattle or portland. estela visits this part of the US fairly frequently, so figured maybe some time early next year, next time she's over here.

also: i will just send yours and lingbert's lollie bags to lxy and jergz's address, okay?

i don't know how to explain it, but i guess it was just seeing him in 3D. we hugged and it was sort of awkward - neither of us could really believe this was actually taking place.

Ha - I totally know how weird this is. The first time L and I met in person at the airport we had said beforehand that we'd just kiss right away so that we had a plan and would skip the awkwardness. We totally both fumbled the kiss were like two pubescent idiots. We figured it out a couple mins later in the elevator but it was still pretty funny.

Hope the immigration wesite stuff gets sorted out soon!

yeah, it's funny how awkward it is at first, but how incredibly quickly it dissipates. i still can't stop staring at him, it almost hurts my eyes because he's just so beautiful. he still makes me feel sort of weak at the knees! there is definitely something to be said for getting to know someone from a distance for a long time; i know i've said it before, but there's a kind of intimacy i have with jordan that i've never had with anyone else. i would go so far as to say that despite having had several other long term relationships, i honestly feel like this is the only time i've been truly in love.

rubyredd, this whole thing you've done is pretty amazing to me. congrats.

yeah, sending my LOLlies to lxy/jergins works just fine.

Thank you!

yeah, it's funny how awkward it is at first, but how incredibly quickly it dissipates . . . here is definitely something to be said for getting to know someone from a distance for a long time; i know i've said it before, but there's a kind of intimacy i have with jordan that i've never had with anyone else.

Very v true - enjoy it! There is honestly nothing quite like it. It's an amazing experience.

ps - You can expect something in the mail sometime next week. ;-)

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks erica <3

relax, have fun! sounds great!!!

Good happiness to all this. :-)

I've done LDRs before -- didn't work out and I will not repeat that again just because I realize that ultimately it's not the best for me (and therefore would not be the best for the other person). But that is just my experience, and much here on this thread sounds quite familiar. And I smile to think about it. :-)

I remember the crushing weight of "OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE" in the car when leaving the airport when I went over there. Even through I was only going there for a set amount of time (which ended up being shortened due to circumstances beyond my control), already had a job over there and wasn't going over to meet anyone, I was totally freaked out by everything...

...and then we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts.

Anyway, great to hear about the chemistry! (I think.)

yay, thanks, rubes. i can't wait (also it gives me an excuse to see jerg & lxy again)

ummm don't get too excited... there's a good chance we might accidentally eat them all before i get round to posting them out... ;)

:-(