68. Back in the ol' I.T (Wellington, New Zealand)
Things have been going surprisingly well for me since I've returned to the land of the long white cloud. Firstly, a good friend of mine Trent gave me a week long IT (Information Technology, i.e. computers) contract which I could do from anywhere I had an internet connection, i.e. my parent's place. That gave me a chance to catch up with my family for a week, as well as catching up on Mum's home cooking.
And just as I finished off that contract, another friend Dean scored me a 2 month IT contract at his work - perfect timing since I am only here for 2 months and that was the duration they wanted. They even flew me down for the job interview. The only catch is the job is in windy Wellington, a city I've never enjoyed the few times I've visited. But so far the city (and the weather) here in the captial has treated me nicely. Even today, on Easter long weekend, traditionally the start of autumn and typically 4 days of rain every year , is sunny.
The road through the Rimutaka Range outside of Wellington, Easter Sunday
So, thanks to those guys I'm back in the I.T world (on contractor's rates no less!), albeit as a tester, but it sure beats packing kiwifruit for NZ$10.50 an hour which is what I would have been doing. I'll have my credit card paid off in no time and should take back enough cash to buy plenty of Argentine pesos.
Last weekend I was up in Hamilton for the stag night of my friend Stu, whose wedding I have returned for. It all went to plan and a great day (and night) was had by all, something which had caused me a bit of anxiety since it was my duty as best man to organise the day.
Stag-night Stu in his costume for the night, laying down the law
Yesterday was a top day - a group of us went wine-tasting for the afternoon in nearby Martinborough, which involved leasurely walking vineyard to vineyard and tasting their wares. Some of the time the samples were free, other times we had to pay a small tasting charge. But the vineyards were mostly small and close together which made the walking easy. After a BBQ for dinner we camped out in our tents.
Next weekend I'm back up in Hamilton (latest marketing catch-phrase: Hamilt-ON) for Stu's wedding where I'll have to cavort with bridesmaids and deliver a witty best-man speech.
On the blog-front - the visitor-count has exploded to over 8000, (was at about 5000 not too long ago) which is probably because I've started the Bloggers in Argentina page (link in my Links section to the right). I hadn't really taken an interest what other expat bloggers were writing until I was leaving Argentina. Now I count on them (especially Good Airs) to keep a finger on the pulse back there. Actually, looking now at the logs most of my visitors are from the US and find my page using Google, where they had searched for 1. suitcase on wheels, 2. mattyboy argentina, 3. blog suitcase argentina, 4. english teachers buenos aires, and 5. "largest testicles in the animal kingdom". I'm somewhat flattered my blog gets returned with that last one. Fnar fnar.
It's been great being back home though. If I hadn't been starting a business over there perhaps I wouldn't be returning - If I'm honest with myself at the moment I'm a bit Argentina-d out. I miss my girlfriend though - a lot. So I'm looking forward to seeing her again more than anything.
The obvious question is why didn't she come with me? Well, firstly because I couldn't afford her ticket, and secondly, she can't speak English so can't work and would be rather bored while I'm at work. I'll have to step up her English classes when I go back though.
Reader's question:
I didn't look for IT work when I first arrived, because at the time I couldn't speak Spanish so I figured that would be a hurdle. And from what I'd heard speaking to other Argentines, the pay in IT wasn't that great. I could make about the same (i.e. not much) teaching English, so I decided to do that, as at the time I was bored with my IT career.
And just as I finished off that contract, another friend Dean scored me a 2 month IT contract at his work - perfect timing since I am only here for 2 months and that was the duration they wanted. They even flew me down for the job interview. The only catch is the job is in windy Wellington, a city I've never enjoyed the few times I've visited. But so far the city (and the weather) here in the captial has treated me nicely. Even today, on Easter long weekend, traditionally the start of autumn and typically 4 days of rain every year , is sunny.
The road through the Rimutaka Range outside of Wellington, Easter Sunday
So, thanks to those guys I'm back in the I.T world (on contractor's rates no less!), albeit as a tester, but it sure beats packing kiwifruit for NZ$10.50 an hour which is what I would have been doing. I'll have my credit card paid off in no time and should take back enough cash to buy plenty of Argentine pesos.
Last weekend I was up in Hamilton for the stag night of my friend Stu, whose wedding I have returned for. It all went to plan and a great day (and night) was had by all, something which had caused me a bit of anxiety since it was my duty as best man to organise the day.
Stag-night Stu in his costume for the night, laying down the law
Yesterday was a top day - a group of us went wine-tasting for the afternoon in nearby Martinborough, which involved leasurely walking vineyard to vineyard and tasting their wares. Some of the time the samples were free, other times we had to pay a small tasting charge. But the vineyards were mostly small and close together which made the walking easy. After a BBQ for dinner we camped out in our tents.
Next weekend I'm back up in Hamilton (latest marketing catch-phrase: Hamilt-ON) for Stu's wedding where I'll have to cavort with bridesmaids and deliver a witty best-man speech.
On the blog-front - the visitor-count has exploded to over 8000, (was at about 5000 not too long ago) which is probably because I've started the Bloggers in Argentina page (link in my Links section to the right). I hadn't really taken an interest what other expat bloggers were writing until I was leaving Argentina. Now I count on them (especially Good Airs) to keep a finger on the pulse back there. Actually, looking now at the logs most of my visitors are from the US and find my page using Google, where they had searched for 1. suitcase on wheels, 2. mattyboy argentina, 3. blog suitcase argentina, 4. english teachers buenos aires, and 5. "largest testicles in the animal kingdom". I'm somewhat flattered my blog gets returned with that last one. Fnar fnar.
It's been great being back home though. If I hadn't been starting a business over there perhaps I wouldn't be returning - If I'm honest with myself at the moment I'm a bit Argentina-d out. I miss my girlfriend though - a lot. So I'm looking forward to seeing her again more than anything.
The obvious question is why didn't she come with me? Well, firstly because I couldn't afford her ticket, and secondly, she can't speak English so can't work and would be rather bored while I'm at work. I'll have to step up her English classes when I go back though.
Reader's question:
Since you too are in the IT field, did you try looking for a job [in Buenos Aires]? How easy or difficult was it?
I didn't look for IT work when I first arrived, because at the time I couldn't speak Spanish so I figured that would be a hurdle. And from what I'd heard speaking to other Argentines, the pay in IT wasn't that great. I could make about the same (i.e. not much) teaching English, so I decided to do that, as at the time I was bored with my IT career.
posted by mattyboy at
2:18 pm
2 Comments:
hey man i just got back to the states after 15 months and i was/am culture shocked. How was it for you.
kalin
By
Anonymous, at 5:04 pm
Hey Kalin,
Good hearing from you man. I have to say I'm not culture shocked at all - which is no doubt because things have gone well for me since I've been back - i.e. I walked into a well paid job. And while I was pretty jaded by the time I left BA, I think you were doing quite a bit of travelling which I imagine was exciting, so to come home after that perhaps is deflating for you. But then I don't know your exact situation as you haven't told me.
I know that when I came back from a long stint travelling around SE Asia in 2003 I had a hard time re-adjusting (i.e. culture shock), as I'd come back from an exciting life on the road to being broke and living with my parents while I tried to find a job. That sucked.
-Matt
By
mattyboy, at 3:54 pm
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