This was the day I drove the guys' car without anyone in it. The car is automatic and I drove it before. The main thing now was to know where I'm going. I went to see a couple of places. The first one, really close, I couldn't see straight away because I couldn't get the keys out of the ignition! So after trying half a dozen times, each time fearing to break the key off, I had to turn around and go back home. Once I was back the key came right out and by that time I had to go see the next place. I later found out from the guys that the key won't come out when the car is not in park and that sometimes it doesn't quite get into park --- which probably what happened to me.
The next place gave me great hopes because it was close to work and it seemed a nice place from the advertisement. When I got there it turned out to be a house of a divorced man in his late thirties or early forties. He had two medium sized, loud barking dogs --- and I don't like big loud dogs and think even small quite dogs are inconvenient. On top of that he said he would have his two children --- both seemed to be under five years of age. The house had a very spacious lounge and there was a TV room. However, what would be my room was reasonably large but was very dark because it had only a single small window. It also wasn't connected to the house central heating system like all other rooms were as it was a late addition to the house. In any case, I made my decision as soon as I saw the two barking dogs racing towards me when I stepped foot into the house :)
The last room I went to see I couldn't find. I drove around for a while and even got onto a freeway by accident but could not locate the entrance to that block of houses. As it later turned out (I called the guy) I had to take a specific highway and take one of the exits from there. I was going to see it the next day, but something else turned up... It appeared now that I would be able to replace one of the German interns who's leaving in three weeks. More on that in another post.
At the end of my drive I actually hadn't reached one of the destinations at all, that was a car. When I got home disappointed from seeing only one place I rang the car guy and he was willing to come to me! So around at 9.30 pm I met him outside. It was a Colombian guy, Edgar, and his wife, both in their fifties. Edgar didn't speak English that great, but his wife seemed completely oblivious to what I was saying. The car itself was a 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage De Coupe (2 door) 1.6 Liter engine with a manual transmission and 105000 miles on the odometer, which is low over here. I had a look at the car, it seemed clean and I asked several questions about the car. Edgar didn't know much about car service history, because he only recently acquired the car. I proceeded to drive my first manual on the right. We didn't crash... I even drove it on the highway. In the end I made a deal for $2400 with the guy, because based on all the cars listed on the search page I use it was a very good value. I did take a risk on not knowing the car history, but I figured that the car is not very old and has low mileage.... It did have a blown back light which Edgar changed while I was getting the money for a deposit from our apartment. More about the car later...
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Day 2 at work and pass written driving test
Woke up early at 7 am and walked to DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to take my test. Local DMV is about 25 minutes walk from my temporary home. I couldn't find the place, because I foolishly thought I didn't need to check it's location on google maps, but trust my friends to tell me where it is... Finally, after going back and forth a couple of times and asking an innocent bystander where the devil this mysterious DMV was, I found this hangar type building. Inside was the help receptionist who everyone had to see first then fill out the appropriate forms and then she would give you a machine produced ticket with number. After sitting there for about half hour waiting for my cue I was finally called up to one of 16 windows. The guy checked my vision by me looking at a panel with ridiculously large letters, which I could easily see from twice the distance. Here was my worry of failing the eye test set to rest. After checking my documentation I was redirected to my final window where they took my photo and gave me the test to do. By the way if you'd like to see the difference between the NZ and US road rules see
http://www.dmv.org/ca-california/practice-tests.php
I did all these and the flash animation one. I also had previous test from other interns. I still got several questions that I wasn't sure about... Ironically I got all the doubtful ones correct and got one wrong by accident -- not reading the question and answer properly. Anyway, 35/36 is fine, you are allowed to get six wrong. Driving test will need to be done within the next three months, but I won't worry about that now. It's only 15 minutes long and according to people who sat it, quite easy.
After I finished with the DMV it was 10 am. I decided to go back and apply for my Social Security Number, which is very important in U.S. The local Social Security Office is located about 7 minute walk from my temp place --- same place as the mini shopping center I wrote about earlier, with "Rite Aid" as the drug store. It's hard without showing this on the map, but I will get around to labeling things that I've talked about here on Google Earth and sending bookmarks sometime in future.
Getting back to SSO. Once I entered the door a security guard requested to search my bag and told me to press a button on a ticket issuing machine. These machines seem to be the way to go around here! I guess the amount of people using the services requires an orderly and efficient way to service everybody. By the way I noticed later when the he went outside, that the guard carried a medium revolver in a holster on his belt! After applying for SSN I learnt that it may take as long as six weeks to receive the card with the number! Oh well.. out of my control. Just like you have to pay security deposits on many things if you don't have credit history here in US --- and that's anyone who's never been to US and had a credit card here! We thought it was strange that they wouldn't verify that you had credit history in another country even you did have a Visa or even American Express! I guess it would be very expensive to verify reliably.
Anyway, the rest of the day I spent at work. Very light again, maybe tomorrow I'll actually start reading about the products I'm supposed to be testing later....
Tonight I'll have a look at this room. Properly flatting on my own will be a new experience and especially with a girl. I hope she isn't as weird as some think she may be... It's pretty funny that she suggested to pick me up --- weird already or simply a good samaritan? Tonight will tell.
Although... Stefan, who is the other new intern, got a room with a girl who has a problem with alcohol, but she hid it very well. It's not really bad, she apparently drinks only when emotions get the better of her. She is ok, 23 years old, drives us around sometimes... well me just once on Sunday. Anyway... this is just an example something to watch out for...
I need dinner now... rice and chicken are good!
http://www.dmv.org/ca-california/practice-tests.php
I did all these and the flash animation one. I also had previous test from other interns. I still got several questions that I wasn't sure about... Ironically I got all the doubtful ones correct and got one wrong by accident -- not reading the question and answer properly. Anyway, 35/36 is fine, you are allowed to get six wrong. Driving test will need to be done within the next three months, but I won't worry about that now. It's only 15 minutes long and according to people who sat it, quite easy.
After I finished with the DMV it was 10 am. I decided to go back and apply for my Social Security Number, which is very important in U.S. The local Social Security Office is located about 7 minute walk from my temp place --- same place as the mini shopping center I wrote about earlier, with "Rite Aid" as the drug store. It's hard without showing this on the map, but I will get around to labeling things that I've talked about here on Google Earth and sending bookmarks sometime in future.
Getting back to SSO. Once I entered the door a security guard requested to search my bag and told me to press a button on a ticket issuing machine. These machines seem to be the way to go around here! I guess the amount of people using the services requires an orderly and efficient way to service everybody. By the way I noticed later when the he went outside, that the guard carried a medium revolver in a holster on his belt! After applying for SSN I learnt that it may take as long as six weeks to receive the card with the number! Oh well.. out of my control. Just like you have to pay security deposits on many things if you don't have credit history here in US --- and that's anyone who's never been to US and had a credit card here! We thought it was strange that they wouldn't verify that you had credit history in another country even you did have a Visa or even American Express! I guess it would be very expensive to verify reliably.
Anyway, the rest of the day I spent at work. Very light again, maybe tomorrow I'll actually start reading about the products I'm supposed to be testing later....
Tonight I'll have a look at this room. Properly flatting on my own will be a new experience and especially with a girl. I hope she isn't as weird as some think she may be... It's pretty funny that she suggested to pick me up --- weird already or simply a good samaritan? Tonight will tell.
Although... Stefan, who is the other new intern, got a room with a girl who has a problem with alcohol, but she hid it very well. It's not really bad, she apparently drinks only when emotions get the better of her. She is ok, 23 years old, drives us around sometimes... well me just once on Sunday. Anyway... this is just an example something to watch out for...
I need dinner now... rice and chicken are good!
Monday, February 26, 2007
If a tree falls in a forest
If a tree falls in a forest does it make a sound if there is nobody there to hear it?
Some have suggested that "America, on the basis of my limited experience, is the most spiritually bankrupt nation in the world." I couldn't say yes or no just yet to that. I will come back to this a little later.
Some have suggested that "America, on the basis of my limited experience, is the most spiritually bankrupt nation in the world." I couldn't say yes or no just yet to that. I will come back to this a little later.
First day at IBM
First day at work... Not knowing what to expect...
Today, Monday 26 Feb, was the worst day weather wise so far -- it rained constantly and it was around 8 deg. Cels. I first had to go fill out some paper work at another IBM location from where I'm based. Jono dropped me off around 8.45 am and I signed in at this museum-like large area -- high ceiling, wall sized windows and dinosaurs almost expected around the corner... It was still amusing talking to American (native) receptionist (look and the accent). The guy who took me through my paperwork was pleasant and efficient just the right amount. I could tell (and know) he has done this many, many times before. After filling out and signing a dozen forms I headed to my work location (555 Bailey Avenue, you can see it on google maps/earth). I'll send out GoogleEarth bookmarks to everyone later when I know where I'll live and also I don't have GoogleEarth here at the moment.
SVL (Sillicon Valley Lab) is quite a large facility consisting of a number of buildings arranged in a rough circle with space inside -- a little similar to the Pentagon, with Cafeteria located roughly in the middle to the side... The buildings are four stories high, with the first floor being underground from which it's possible to access all buildings without going outside.
Before the dotcom bubble there used to be 3000 employees, however a lot of workers lost their jobs after the burst in 2000 so now there is around 2000. Plenty of parking space and, of course, access only using access card or through reception. That's pretty standard everywhere now, so that wasn't that different. Once my manager got me at the reception he took to me to get the photo security swipe card done. There is a special security office -- you could tell that security is taken seriously here.
I didn't expect IBM to give me laptop, but they did as that is the main work machine that you can take home. This means I won't have to buy a PC -- at least initially. Admittedly it's not the latest model, but it does the job and reasonably small. Now comes the odd part, the other equipment. The keyboard is about 15 years old and the two button mouse looked about 20 and the first one didn't even work! The second mouse did have something close to a scrollwheel -- it was similar to a light switch -- pressing up would scroll up and down would scroll down. It works, for now, but I did request a proper scrollwheel mouse. The monitors are these 10-15 years old 20-21" IBM CRT monitors. Luckily I got 21" and even though the colours are a little faded it seems to work fine with 1280x1024 at 90HZ so it's big enough and doesn't heart the eyes. Eventually I might do what Jono has done -- he bought a 19" LCD for work -- you can get them here for just over $US100.
IBM's explanation is that they want to save money so they rotate and keep using all equipment until it completely folds. It was ironic to me, but hey, they are paying me good money so not all is bad.
The office I share with a guy from our team, Steve. He worked as a tester for something like five years. Initially I was concerned that I was going to be testing for my 18 months here. I talked with my manager and conveyed to him that really my ultimate aim, at least at this time is to be a product developer. He explained that IBM wants interns to start at that level to get to know what's involved and how to use the applications and get a solid start. After sometime I can move around to an area I'm more interested in. IBM doesn't want to trap interns in working somewhere they don't for the whole term, but it does want exposure. Anyway, I've asked an pretty much everyone did several months of some kind of testing. Also, in what's involved I might be writing a testing tool in java so that could be fun. It's a nice easy start anyway. The manger told me to take a couple of weeks to just get myself familiar with all the products and how they work because the testing team that I'm in is systems integration, which means they care about how all these product fit together, rather than testing functionality of an individual products/applications.
So in the end, I'm ok, I just made clear to everyone what I wanted to do in the end and I think that was a really good idea. Always say what you really (think) want to do earlier rather than later -- that's my motto.
In the end I did no actual work... I did carry two monitors on a trolley (they call them carts here, trolley means a tram/train/bus) . Swapped a dead monitor for a good one from one of our team members. The other monitor was for me. [This is not very story-like... oh well no time to organise thoughts]
In terms of internal communication IBM uses their proprietary internal messenger, called Sametime. Everyone uses it a lot, rather than mail because it's very easy to post logs etc into it and it's instant messaging so easier than talking over the phone or bringing the whole machine/PC to someone else to help you.
Oh yes, the facility is something like 20-30 years old and still has the old set out of having offices instead of open plan. So it works well for me as it's quiet, warm (thermostat is set to 70F = 21C). I sit in a corner office so I face the window and there is generally a lot of natural light as opposed to some of the offices situated closer to the center of the building. Shelves and draws seem to be the same age as the facility and have the grey colour of early 1980's. But I got used to that quickly.
That's pretty much it for that part.
Had dinner today, pretty much the same as yesterday -- chicken breast and white rice. I bought the chicken breast from Costco, which is similar to MoreWilson's. So I got about 16 chicken breasts, they are packed in convenient packs of two in a plastic belt so when you freeze all 16 you can tear away two at a time very easily. No need to sort it! However, the store (never shop always store) needs a card which you need to pay $50. Obviously, we used someone's card when we did shopping on Sunday... I skipped that experience (maybe I'll post Sunday ... or not). Supermarkets and shops... there are many many different labels and none of them are the same as in NZ. But hopefully I can find one or two places where I can stock up on my supplies.
Tomorrow after work I should be looking at a flat. We'll see, as it sounds ok but the girl, Alla, seems odd to some people. She works at IBM only in the other facility and Stefan (intern who's arrived about three weeks before me) gave me her contact. Her room mate will be moving out on Wednesday... Aparantly there is no couch as Alla got rid of her couch because her roommate had her own furniture and now it wont be there. I'll live without a couch, but eventually I'd need something. Apparently it's possible to get almost free or completely free stuff, but the problem will be picking it up. The truck may cost as much as $60... we'll see. The room could be unsuitable so this is wondering into the clouds again too much...
Today, Monday 26 Feb, was the worst day weather wise so far -- it rained constantly and it was around 8 deg. Cels. I first had to go fill out some paper work at another IBM location from where I'm based. Jono dropped me off around 8.45 am and I signed in at this museum-like large area -- high ceiling, wall sized windows and dinosaurs almost expected around the corner... It was still amusing talking to American (native) receptionist (look and the accent). The guy who took me through my paperwork was pleasant and efficient just the right amount. I could tell (and know) he has done this many, many times before. After filling out and signing a dozen forms I headed to my work location (555 Bailey Avenue, you can see it on google maps/earth). I'll send out GoogleEarth bookmarks to everyone later when I know where I'll live and also I don't have GoogleEarth here at the moment.
SVL (Sillicon Valley Lab) is quite a large facility consisting of a number of buildings arranged in a rough circle with space inside -- a little similar to the Pentagon, with Cafeteria located roughly in the middle to the side... The buildings are four stories high, with the first floor being underground from which it's possible to access all buildings without going outside.
Before the dotcom bubble there used to be 3000 employees, however a lot of workers lost their jobs after the burst in 2000 so now there is around 2000. Plenty of parking space and, of course, access only using access card or through reception. That's pretty standard everywhere now, so that wasn't that different. Once my manager got me at the reception he took to me to get the photo security swipe card done. There is a special security office -- you could tell that security is taken seriously here.
I didn't expect IBM to give me laptop, but they did as that is the main work machine that you can take home. This means I won't have to buy a PC -- at least initially. Admittedly it's not the latest model, but it does the job and reasonably small. Now comes the odd part, the other equipment. The keyboard is about 15 years old and the two button mouse looked about 20 and the first one didn't even work! The second mouse did have something close to a scrollwheel -- it was similar to a light switch -- pressing up would scroll up and down would scroll down. It works, for now, but I did request a proper scrollwheel mouse. The monitors are these 10-15 years old 20-21" IBM CRT monitors. Luckily I got 21" and even though the colours are a little faded it seems to work fine with 1280x1024 at 90HZ so it's big enough and doesn't heart the eyes. Eventually I might do what Jono has done -- he bought a 19" LCD for work -- you can get them here for just over $US100.
IBM's explanation is that they want to save money so they rotate and keep using all equipment until it completely folds. It was ironic to me, but hey, they are paying me good money so not all is bad.
The office I share with a guy from our team, Steve. He worked as a tester for something like five years. Initially I was concerned that I was going to be testing for my 18 months here. I talked with my manager and conveyed to him that really my ultimate aim, at least at this time is to be a product developer. He explained that IBM wants interns to start at that level to get to know what's involved and how to use the applications and get a solid start. After sometime I can move around to an area I'm more interested in. IBM doesn't want to trap interns in working somewhere they don't for the whole term, but it does want exposure. Anyway, I've asked an pretty much everyone did several months of some kind of testing. Also, in what's involved I might be writing a testing tool in java so that could be fun. It's a nice easy start anyway. The manger told me to take a couple of weeks to just get myself familiar with all the products and how they work because the testing team that I'm in is systems integration, which means they care about how all these product fit together, rather than testing functionality of an individual products/applications.
So in the end, I'm ok, I just made clear to everyone what I wanted to do in the end and I think that was a really good idea. Always say what you really (think) want to do earlier rather than later -- that's my motto.
In the end I did no actual work... I did carry two monitors on a trolley (they call them carts here, trolley means a tram/train/bus) . Swapped a dead monitor for a good one from one of our team members. The other monitor was for me. [This is not very story-like... oh well no time to organise thoughts]
In terms of internal communication IBM uses their proprietary internal messenger, called Sametime. Everyone uses it a lot, rather than mail because it's very easy to post logs etc into it and it's instant messaging so easier than talking over the phone or bringing the whole machine/PC to someone else to help you.
Oh yes, the facility is something like 20-30 years old and still has the old set out of having offices instead of open plan. So it works well for me as it's quiet, warm (thermostat is set to 70F = 21C). I sit in a corner office so I face the window and there is generally a lot of natural light as opposed to some of the offices situated closer to the center of the building. Shelves and draws seem to be the same age as the facility and have the grey colour of early 1980's. But I got used to that quickly.
That's pretty much it for that part.
Had dinner today, pretty much the same as yesterday -- chicken breast and white rice. I bought the chicken breast from Costco, which is similar to MoreWilson's. So I got about 16 chicken breasts, they are packed in convenient packs of two in a plastic belt so when you freeze all 16 you can tear away two at a time very easily. No need to sort it! However, the store (never shop always store) needs a card which you need to pay $50. Obviously, we used someone's card when we did shopping on Sunday... I skipped that experience (maybe I'll post Sunday ... or not). Supermarkets and shops... there are many many different labels and none of them are the same as in NZ. But hopefully I can find one or two places where I can stock up on my supplies.
Tomorrow after work I should be looking at a flat. We'll see, as it sounds ok but the girl, Alla, seems odd to some people. She works at IBM only in the other facility and Stefan (intern who's arrived about three weeks before me) gave me her contact. Her room mate will be moving out on Wednesday... Aparantly there is no couch as Alla got rid of her couch because her roommate had her own furniture and now it wont be there. I'll live without a couch, but eventually I'd need something. Apparently it's possible to get almost free or completely free stuff, but the problem will be picking it up. The truck may cost as much as $60... we'll see. The room could be unsuitable so this is wondering into the clouds again too much...
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Car drive
I drove an automatic 1994 Sable, Murcury owned by the three guys living in the flat. It's a reasonably powerful american car. First I drove to the Bank of America branch close by to get an account. Driving for those five minutes was relatively easy -- no highways and traffic lights all the way. Staying tight to the left once in the lane wasn't as hard as I thought. I still seem to leave a little more space on the left though.
I went for a much longer and eventful drive later, around 7 pm to have a look at one room and a car. First highway (aka Motorway in NZ) experience. Five lanes each way with one or often two most outer lanes being exit lanes. Exits/offramps are to each major road, which means on everage less than half a mile so no problem with getting out of the highway. Speed restriction is usually 65 mph, but 10 mph over is considered fine. A lot of people drive faster. Driving after this second time seems more natural. The main problem now is to know where I am and where to go as there are more places to go to and a lot more space to cover. Not like in Wellington, where if you get lost and drive you'll arrive somewhere familiar pretty soon. Here you can drive for many hours and get lost in the web of major highways and streets. That's why I bought a road atlas...
The room that I looked at turned out to be in a Vietnamese family house. Nice, but will be my plan B as I don't want to live in around a family.
The car I think I'll buy. It's TOYOTA '93 Tercel for $1500. It's automatic and low power, only 1.5L and has three not four auto gears. Time is of the essence and I do want an economical Japanese car for under $2000. After extensive car search on the web nothing much was coming
up. I test drove it and asked as many questions as I could and looked at as many things as I could. Everything was fine. The minuses are that it's relatively noisy on the highway due to it having only three gears, but nothing alarming. Also it doesn't have central locking and it's leaking oil, but the seller will fix it before I buy. I think I need to get a permit to buy the car, which means I have to sit the written theory test. After that I get a temporary permit and need to sit the practical test within the three months.
Just remembered. We went to a supermarket yesterday and the toothpaste was huge! It was 180 grams instead of the regular 110 grams. I'll have to take a photo of it some time and show the difference.
Today has gone much more quickly than yesterday, because I did so much more.
Called parents on the pnone card Jono lent me. The quality was unbelievably good, better than my home one! It costs nothing too, something around 3 cents/minute.
Apartment and generally the complex is really quiet AND these guys don't own a TV. Blayne, one of the flatmates just downloads everything, but only he and Duncan watch. Jono and his wife Ingrid don't seem to watch anything except for an odd movie or two a week. It's different, but it makes me write this instead of spending mindless hours watching the screen change pictures! To add to the relative silence is the fact that Blayne and Duncan (and his girlfriend) are away as I mentioned earlier I think.
Just to tell you about the taxing. It's 7.5% and it's not added on anywhere so you have to calculate it in your head. I haven't had to pay tips, but apparently it's only compulsory in restaurants. Everywhere else you don't have to, but the general going rate is 10-15%.
Feel tired... Will think of more to say later and take photos in a month or so.
Small piece of trivia: electric switches flick up to turn on and down to turn off -- the opposite way to NZ.
I went for a much longer and eventful drive later, around 7 pm to have a look at one room and a car. First highway (aka Motorway in NZ) experience. Five lanes each way with one or often two most outer lanes being exit lanes. Exits/offramps are to each major road, which means on everage less than half a mile so no problem with getting out of the highway. Speed restriction is usually 65 mph, but 10 mph over is considered fine. A lot of people drive faster. Driving after this second time seems more natural. The main problem now is to know where I am and where to go as there are more places to go to and a lot more space to cover. Not like in Wellington, where if you get lost and drive you'll arrive somewhere familiar pretty soon. Here you can drive for many hours and get lost in the web of major highways and streets. That's why I bought a road atlas...
The room that I looked at turned out to be in a Vietnamese family house. Nice, but will be my plan B as I don't want to live in around a family.
The car I think I'll buy. It's TOYOTA '93 Tercel for $1500. It's automatic and low power, only 1.5L and has three not four auto gears. Time is of the essence and I do want an economical Japanese car for under $2000. After extensive car search on the web nothing much was coming
up. I test drove it and asked as many questions as I could and looked at as many things as I could. Everything was fine. The minuses are that it's relatively noisy on the highway due to it having only three gears, but nothing alarming. Also it doesn't have central locking and it's leaking oil, but the seller will fix it before I buy. I think I need to get a permit to buy the car, which means I have to sit the written theory test. After that I get a temporary permit and need to sit the practical test within the three months.
Just remembered. We went to a supermarket yesterday and the toothpaste was huge! It was 180 grams instead of the regular 110 grams. I'll have to take a photo of it some time and show the difference.
Today has gone much more quickly than yesterday, because I did so much more.
Called parents on the pnone card Jono lent me. The quality was unbelievably good, better than my home one! It costs nothing too, something around 3 cents/minute.
Apartment and generally the complex is really quiet AND these guys don't own a TV. Blayne, one of the flatmates just downloads everything, but only he and Duncan watch. Jono and his wife Ingrid don't seem to watch anything except for an odd movie or two a week. It's different, but it makes me write this instead of spending mindless hours watching the screen change pictures! To add to the relative silence is the fact that Blayne and Duncan (and his girlfriend) are away as I mentioned earlier I think.
Just to tell you about the taxing. It's 7.5% and it's not added on anywhere so you have to calculate it in your head. I haven't had to pay tips, but apparently it's only compulsory in restaurants. Everywhere else you don't have to, but the general going rate is 10-15%.
Feel tired... Will think of more to say later and take photos in a month or so.
Small piece of trivia: electric switches flick up to turn on and down to turn off -- the opposite way to NZ.
First day in San Jose
Arrived 30 min early. Passport control was fine, except had to stand in line three times as I had to fill out a form. Customs was strange as there was none -- I just picked up my bags and was shown to the exit! So far nothing seems to be missing.
Jono, a friend from Victoria Uni who is here a year with two others, picked me up from the airport. He agreed to "look after me" and others took on the other two arrivals, Brendan (with his fiance Kristina) and Stefan. Right now Jono's flat is half empty as the other two flatmates are skiing in Canada for the weekend. Good for me as I get to stay in one of their rooms and get my own bathroom :D
I walked around the neighbourhood. Roads are multilane, everything is really spaced out. Mostly San Jose is a residential city, especially Palm Valley apartments neighbourhood. I walked to some shops -- mini supermarket and some others. Lots and lots of takeaway food outlets congregated together. Probably around ten. And those kinds of little shopping centers are here every 2-3 kms. Othere than that there's not much to see. Definitely need a car to get around this place.
Cars aren't too different. There are more Japaneese cars here than any other state so maybe that's why.
The apartment complex feels expensive, at least on the outside. Palm trees everywhere. The day was sunny and relatively warm so it didn't feel too different to the summer I left. Grass is dark green and looks almost plastic or artificial, because it's so perfect. Once I buy a camera I'll take some photos.
Generally the environment doesn't feel too different. Still there are hills similar to tawa, except much larger distances and a lot more flat ground in between. Vegetation is different -- palm trees in places, but it's not that different -- it's not a rainforest or anything.
Emotionally, only the first night, lying in bed, I realised finally that I'm by myself. Similar feeling to when we first moved to NZ, but somehow feels even further away. I guess it's the first time I'm really on my own. Anyway, it doesn't feel so bad now -- morning of day two.
Things to do are find a flat and get a car. But I may need to wait for the relocation money to be paid to purchase a car.
Well I have to go now. Probably will be my first drive today. I should be ok...
Jono, a friend from Victoria Uni who is here a year with two others, picked me up from the airport. He agreed to "look after me" and others took on the other two arrivals, Brendan (with his fiance Kristina) and Stefan. Right now Jono's flat is half empty as the other two flatmates are skiing in Canada for the weekend. Good for me as I get to stay in one of their rooms and get my own bathroom :D
I walked around the neighbourhood. Roads are multilane, everything is really spaced out. Mostly San Jose is a residential city, especially Palm Valley apartments neighbourhood. I walked to some shops -- mini supermarket and some others. Lots and lots of takeaway food outlets congregated together. Probably around ten. And those kinds of little shopping centers are here every 2-3 kms. Othere than that there's not much to see. Definitely need a car to get around this place.
Cars aren't too different. There are more Japaneese cars here than any other state so maybe that's why.
The apartment complex feels expensive, at least on the outside. Palm trees everywhere. The day was sunny and relatively warm so it didn't feel too different to the summer I left. Grass is dark green and looks almost plastic or artificial, because it's so perfect. Once I buy a camera I'll take some photos.
Generally the environment doesn't feel too different. Still there are hills similar to tawa, except much larger distances and a lot more flat ground in between. Vegetation is different -- palm trees in places, but it's not that different -- it's not a rainforest or anything.
Emotionally, only the first night, lying in bed, I realised finally that I'm by myself. Similar feeling to when we first moved to NZ, but somehow feels even further away. I guess it's the first time I'm really on my own. Anyway, it doesn't feel so bad now -- morning of day two.
Things to do are find a flat and get a car. But I may need to wait for the relocation money to be paid to purchase a car.
Well I have to go now. Probably will be my first drive today. I should be ok...
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