I am now a blogging fool.
I hope this site gets used by our friends and family as we start trapsing all over the world. I will try to put in some things about our travels and the adventures that we run into. Pictures will be cool to share too!
We are now 6 weeks from leaving our home in Colorado, where we met and have lived for 12 years. I will tell you that it is really FUN to think of the future and look at web sites and try to make plans for a new phase in life. And it wakes me up at night too, more so the closer it gets. There is plenty to be be afraid of, all of which can be planned for and against to prevent pitfalls. But it is still a daunting task at hand.
We are in the process of garage sale selling everything we own except for a few keepsakes and the clothes on our back. Corbin and Chandler are keeping a tally on how much they get so they can have cash on arrival for new stuff. 
Elena arrives this week for a visit and wedding party for the extended friends and family that aren’t going to Jamaica for the ceremony. Crista is done working at the salon end of July and I am done at American Family August 15th.
We will shove off for Minnesota as soon as possible after that, probably by that following weekend. Then a month in Chaska to spend some quality time with Mom & Dad (read also fishing, sleeping, canasta, etc). Sept 22nd to Jamaica for Elena & Jay’s wedding ceremony, and then Sept 26 directly from there to Auckland, New Zealand.
We picked the North Island to be near friends that we had made here in Colorado. They are there now and getting themselves reset, as she is a native Kiwi. We are working on setting lots of job contacts and trying to line up interviews for finding work on arrival. I hope to continue in insurance, and Crista will surely cut hair again. We are not really worried about that at all. Return tickets are pre-paid so there is a safety net if needed. Might see you all back here for Christmas if it doesn’t work!
I’ll post some stuff about the process of immigration (really eye opeing to see how it should be done, in light of how it is not being done in the American southwest…), the cultural differences, the social and political stuff, and whatever you all want to hear about. Feel free to e-mail me suggestions for topics, or you can post a comment on the space below.
That is all for now. We love everyone we are leaving, but we are taking our adventure for this life. This will be exactly what we need, the four of us. And remember, we’ll be back someday!
Love – Cord & Crista, Corbin and Chandler
July 10, 2006 at 11:34 am
We are so excited for you guys, and so excited that we will have a month with you before you go off on your grand adventure! The blog seems like a great way to keep everyone posted on your plans and progress.
One comment regarding immigration processes: although I agree that there are huge problems with U.S. immigration policies and enforcement, especially on the SW border, I don’t think there’s a fair comparison with NZ’s situation. NZ, having no land border with any other country, and not having markedly better economic and social opportunities than its neighbors over the water, can’t have a fraction of the immigration pressures that the U.S. has. Even if the U.S. adopted some version of NZ’s screening/rating process and other procedures, there would still be huge numbers of people that didn’t qualify trying to get in. NZ also does not have the problem of being a primary target of terrorists, compounding the problem of how to fairly evaluate potential immigrants and visitors. (Of course, they aren’t going around the world inciting more terrorists, either – I saw an oh-too-true bumper sticker the other day: “We are creating enemies faster than we can kill them.”)
At any rate, I’m very glad that NZ’s immigration policies are clear and fair and that you have the opportunity to experience them. I’m sure Mike and Bree must have told you what their immigration into the U.S. was like. When you are here in August, we should have you visit with our friends Joe and Kerryn Thompson about their experiences immigrating to the U.S. from Australia. (Like Mike and Bree, Joe is a U.S. citizen and Kerryn is the foreign national – Australian in this case.)
We will be especially interested in more information about the cultural/social/political differences. We’ve been told that cultural differences can be more difficult when they’re subtle than when they are very obvious and expected.
It just occurs to me that this is my first ever response to a blog – and I think only the second time I have ever been to one. You guys will drag me kicking and screaming into the 21st century yet!
Enough for now – looking forward to your next postings.
Love, Mom