Chaddertons via email

Hi Dad

We just got the computer set up two days ago - we've been having some teething problems with the wireless mouse not working properly at times so this is my first successful attempt at using the computer.

Yes we heard about the earthquake on the day it occured about 9.30am your time. TC had heard at work and called home to see if I could find out if family was okay. I gave the Ch/Ch Petty's a call to see if I could get through and Mark answered the phone. We had a good long chat and they seemed relatively unscathed with a means to heat, clean & cook and just needed tidying up to do over the next couple of days. I think they were very lucky no serious damage was done.

It was on the news here for a few days, we saw a good dose of damage, it's all very exciting from our end of the world!

We are still trying to sort out purchasing a car. Being foriegners and in the middle of a recession, the risk of lending us any amount of money is considered risky even if we are financially stable to borrow. Without any credit history in the US that simply means they don't know you well enough to lend, whereas in NZ no credit history means you are reliable and obviously can pay the bills. We were told to get credit history we would need to borrow but of course that wont happen if no one is willing to lend. Even our bank here aren't prepared to lend. We don't have to borrow to purchase, but we don't want to break into our savings back home in case of a real emergency happening while over here. Plus our budget for setting up house purchases later on can't be dipped into either.
Generating a credit history is one thing, but to successfully purchase a car and get it off the car yard we would need a Californian Drivers Licence and car insurance pre-arranged. That sounds reasonable enough. The drivers licence we thought would be a breeze as we had enqired about it on our previsit. We were told all we would need is our birth certificate or passport and our NZ licences then sit a written test and pay a small fee to get things transferred to a Californian licence. We got everything ready and TC's document for entering the country [homeland security at customs] had crossed a date out then inserted a replacement date which the DMV [Department of Motor Vehicles] wouldn't accept. I guess because it looks like it has been tampered with. So once TC has sorted out getting a replacement "original" document we will sit the test.

Plus I wasn't exempt from beauracracy and didn't have an "I 94" document from customs blah blah blah which turns out I don't actually need because I'm not eligible for a social security number anyway. The licence actually has a question to sign saying I understand I'm not eligible for a social security number to waive that requirement. [Dummies - Social Security are getting tired of DMV employees not understanding that waiver question, it wastes everyones time so they said if that happens again to ask to speak to the employees supervisor and explain it to them instead.]

As for the car insurance, that is taking a while as we had to call NZ Transport to request both our Certificate of Particulars and Demerit Point & Suspension History Reports for the insurance people here to accept/decline our car insurance application. We are just waiting for one of my reports to be sent through via email, but I guess they're doing it by post as we haven't received it yet.

We are currently looking at leasing a vehicle which ends up being cheaper than buying with the added perk of not having to sell it when it's time to leave. You just give it back. But of course that sounds too easy and we would need to meet some form of criteria Im sure. We are hoping this will be our compromise towards getting a car. We never imagined having such difficulty in getting a vehicle. It wouldn't of been possible for us to accept the job if anyone had known. [TC's predecessor came to the US pre-recession so everything was relatively easy for him. Some of his advice is redundant for our current situation. TC is constantly updating that advice for future employer & employee reference.]

If we were successful at getting car finance through a car yard company, the borrowing interest rate for our "circumstance" calculates to being 24% - which works out to be paying almost 3 times as much as the original cost of the car! - so lending really isn't an option for us. Bank lending for cars are only around 5 -7% - Oh and I forgot to mention that you also have to pay taxes on top of the carsale price so that would work out to be a few more thousand dollars needed.

Purchasing a car in this country is not proving easy for us Kiwi foreigners. We've always paid cash when purchasing our vehicles, but we thought borrowing a sum of money for a car here would help us to establish a credit history. I guess if all our options fail, Plant & Food will need to come to the rescue in some way. Whether that's buying a car for us and paying them back or purchase a "company car" for our use or bringing us back home because we can't afford to live here will be the next big question. TC's work will need to pay for a rental car for a while longer yet, so we'll see how patient/generous they are before being forced to give us a hand if we can't do it on our own. We might end up having to do a car loan from our NZ bank instead.

Everything else in life seems to be dandy though. We're really proud of the kids handling their transition into a new school system - and boy is it different. Davis has a reputation for being very education oriented, and they weren't kidding. It's very strict with a full on schedule and homework every night. It isn't uncommon for a student to be doing 4 hours of homework per night! It's all in preparation for attending university. Education here can be considered like a business, not a right or priviledge as in NZ. Here, they are investing in you so you had better step up to the plate and get on with it or you will be punished with more work if you don't keep up.

There is no excuse for being "tardy" [you are considered tardy if you are not SEATED by the time the bell goes. If you are away sick with a ligitimate excuse you are still required to catch up on all the work & homework you missed out on on top of the regular days work when back at school. There is no tolerance nor incentive for truancy here! I only hope the kids don't get sick to warrant staying home for more than a day.

School schedules vary, Lauren & Vaughan's schedule starts at 6.30am early morning Seminary ending 7.20am to get to school on time. School starts all days except Wednesday at 7.45am ending at 3.30pm. Wednesday they start everything an hour later. Even Seminary expectations mirror that of the school system here. They get points being on time, bringing scriptures etc and lose points if they haven't done the reading for the day's lesson etc. Being prepared is expected which is good.

There is a maximum of 7 subjects per day. Lauren has 7 subjects - one is a study period; Vaughan has 6 subjects only, and finishes early at 2.30pm because he doesn't have a scheduled study period. If Lauren's study period was last, she would come home early too, but not so. Half the student body end the day around 2.30 pm like Vaughan does.

Lauren's subjects are Grade 11 Drawing/Painting [Art], Study, American Literature [English], US History [Modern], Spanish, Fashion/Textiles [Sewing] & Into to Analysis [Maths].

Vaughan'sn subjects are Grade 10 English, Algebra/Trigonometry [Maths], PE, World Civilisation [Modern History], Photography & Chem/Comm [Chemistry].

Caleb's day starts at 8.06am ending at 3.18pm. He has 8 subjects, one is a study and two subjects are 1/2 & 1/2 per year. [One for each semester] He is taking Grade 8 Science, PE, English, Algebra, Study, United States History, Multimedia & Computer Programing/Robotics.

It's been a transformation in our house doing regular homework, but they seem to be coping. Thank goodness TC can still help them with math homework. Having the computer up and running at last will be very helpful now. You should see the text books they all have. They are huge, heavy and thick.

This week has had much cooler temperatures in the high 70's & low 80's. What a relief that's been. Today rained for the first time since we've been here, in fact it's the second time we've seen any cloud in the sky. It's clearing up pretty quick. I think we are in for a rainy season in a couple of months time during winter. The kids first day at school was 43 degrees celsius! What a way to be welcomed to a new school, the poor wee blighters they didn't know what hit em. I've had to pick Lauren up most of the time because her books are too heavy and it's been too hot to expect her to walk. Vaughan doesn't seem to mind and will walk home even if it's hot. Caleb walks to and from school because it's not far. He's got a mild cold at the moment from changing into hot & cold temperatures all day long. The constant air conditioning can't be too good for health, having to breathe in recycled germs all the time.

The Youth program is great. The boys are enjoying scouting, and in general is enjoying participating in organised activities - not just doing sports because no one bothered to plan anything like it had been in Nelson. Lauren is used to attending organized activities so everthing is normal for her. She has made a couple of nice friends at church. Age wise she is probably in the middle. There aren't many YM, but the boys are a nice bunch of YM to socialize with.

Caleb brought around 2 boys yesterday after school for me to meet. I've given them our name/number for their parent's to call so I can arrange a "play date" after school next week sometime. [It's Caleb's birthday, so it would be nice to do something with his two new friends]

The other two kids have a couple of friends at school from various classes, but nothing "solid" as it were. They don't have time to socialise really. Buying lunch on Friday and watching TV on weekends will be a well earned reward for them. I think they are appreciating what they had in Nelson in a whole new light!

We forgot about Fathers Day - of course it's on a different date here so I'll have to remember then Dad! Hope you had a nice day anyway.

It's nearly time for kids to start coming home soon, I better get food organized.

Love to you both,
Cerian.