Cyber Henry

The other day, pinamana na sa amin ni Janjing (Henry's bro.) yung luma nilang pc. Medyo mababa ang specs non pero ok na rin (libre naman). Henry was so excited to checkout the cyber world. Although matagal na syang may email address, ako ang taga-open non. Whenever he needs to research on something, ako ang secretary nya. Wala kasing ganon sa office nila. Last month nga lang sila nagkaron ng email.
Hwebes Santo lumabas pa kami para maghanap ng mouse. nasira na kasi yung luma namin. Wala na syang time nung Good Friday kasi umuwi kami sa Bulacan. Pag-gising ko nang Saturday, aba nakababad na yung asawa ko sa computer. I was quite surprised na marami na syang napuntahang sites (pati yung tinatambayan kong www.emigratenz.org).
Dapat daw ngayon pa lang magaling na syang mag-internet kasi pagnasa NZ na sya, yung daw ang communication tool namin. Mas mura nga naman yon kesa sa phone call o text. Ang kaso, nagpapabili sa akin ng notebook na dadalhin nya. ngiiihhh... lalo pa akong napamahal.

Application Timing

Listed below are the stages of our application and its corresponding timing.

NZQA assessment: Oct. 2003
EOI Submitted: Sept 22, 2004
EOI Selected: Sept 29, 2004
Decision Successful: Dec. 2 2004
ITA Arrived: Dec. 23, 2004
Application Submission: Mar. 16, 2005

Now what do we do? we wait once more for the interview advice from Bangkok. I hope it happens very soon so that we get the visa before winter starts in NZ.

Medical Exam Results

One of the requirements in NZ immigration is a medical cert. They are very strict on this one. The reasons behind this are 1) they don't want you to burden them with your medical expenses, and 2) they want to be sure that you do't bring any communicable diseases with you.
Iba ang systema ng medical dito sa Pinas. First, it has to be done by one of their 2 accredited clinics. One is in Cebu and the other in Makati (Peralta). Our first visit to the clinic was on Feb. 5. Natapos kami sa mga requirements on March 3 (sa dami ng hiningi). Henry picked up the results this afternoon. I'm sending it off to Bangkok tomorrow. Yun na lang kasi ang hinihintay namin before we submit the application.

The NZ Dream

Yes, we plan to migrate down under, to the land of the long white clouds, where the sheeps out-number humans, where the air is fresher and the government cleaner. We've been working on it since 2002. Ang tagal na pala. So how did this all started? Mahabang kwento po... Here it goes.

In 2001, Henry and I thought that we are almost at the peak of our careers and we feel that we are not yet financially ok. Di naman kapos pero sapat-sapat lang. The thought of having a second child worried us. Mabigat na yon. Canada is too cold. US is too fast-paced. Australia is a good option. We already started researching about the place and how to move there. Until one day, I received an email from a classmate in high school - Len. She's settled in Auckland since 1995. It wasn't very difficult for us to consider NZ. It's such a great place.

First step is for Henry to take IELTS exam in April 2002. May 2003, we sought the assistance of an immigration consultant refered by a friend who is also in the same process. Dagdag gastos pero gusto naming sigurado ang moves namin. Pero nagbago ng rules ang NZ Immigration Service, naisang tabi ang application namin. Our points would not qualify us anymore. Ang chance lang namin eh magkaron ng job-offer. Dito kami nagsimulang maghiwalay ng landas ni bading na consultant. Wala syang maibigay ng job offer. Kiwi companies would not welcome applicant from overseas. Muntik nang gumuho ang mundo ko.

June 2004, we came up with Plan B - Henry to go to Auckland on a visitor's visa. Sa kasamaang palad, denied sya. Bago kami makaisip ng Plan C, naging mabait na sa amin ang NZIS. The points were lowered to 100 (110pts kami!!!). Mahaba pang kasunod nyan. The story has just started pero sa susunod na edition na yung iba.