[Rosangela]

Dear All,

I really appreciate the cordial and friendly atmosphere of this space - you are all helpful and quite a few questions have already been answered by just reading you. Thanks all!

I have been following this forum for some time and somehow today it felt like a good day to introduce us: my husband, our two boys (nearly 7 and 5) and myself have recently been granted the much longed for PR (permanent resident) blue stickers.

I was the principal applicant and will be heading to Christchurch in November to look for a job and a place to stay and husband and kids will follow in December.

As most of you undoubtedly have experienced, this has been quite an adventure and one which we are registering here:

http://europe-newzealand.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Take care,

Rosângela

[JandM]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.:) Good luck with your journey. The beautiful aerial picture of NZ on your blog brought tears to my eyes.

[Nienke]

Welcome to the forum! And it is a beautiful picture on your blog.:clap

[peebles16]

Hello and welcome along from us too :)

Karen

[tea drinker]

Hello and welcome :)

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Hello and welcome

[SharpBlade]

Hi there and welcome;
There are a few belgian people here in Chch, mostly Flemish but a few Walloons too. My husband and I are actually from Belgium. We left for Ireland in 1997 and then moved to Chch in 2005. I think it would be very hard for us to go back to Belgium, difficult to get used to the way of life, the mentality, the politics etc.. Let us know if you need any help with your move or when you get here. The Belgian consul is actually a relative of a friend, so if you need help with regard to paperwork etc.. he might be able to help.
best of luck, Laurence

[dilanium]

Hello and welcome!!!

[Hagabel]

Bienvenue to the forum. Great start to your blog. My family and I are also from Europe, London and have been living in the USA for the past 16 years. We also have 2 boys, 1 and 3 and have just had our EOI selected from the pool.
We recently had an Au Pair from Belguim stay with us for 1 year and we loved her. She is now back in Brussels. I have been to your country several times and I absolutely love Brugges.
Bon chance et Au Revoir.

[mgbridges]

Congratulations on getting those blue stickers and welcome to the Forum. All the best of luck with the rest of the move.

Anneliese

[slider]

Hello, and welcome to the forum :)

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Hello and welcome.

[Rosangela]

Dear All,

Many thanks for your kind reactions.

A few comments along the way:

We also like the blog's satellite picture of New Zealand very much. The sight of those two islands surrounded by deep blue sea so far away makes us dream and ponder... Like many of you, we are also looking for a better quality of life and hope that we will find that in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Bonjour Laurence:),

We have learnt about the Belgian Café in Christchurch and have made some contacts with a few Belgians in the Garden City. We were delighted to know that they regularly get together and we are certainly looking forward to meeting compatriots!

We had the opportunity to write to the Belgian Consul in Christchurch at the very beginning of our decision to move and he was indeed helpful.

Husband and kids are from Flemish origin, I was born and bred in Brazil but have been living in Europe for some time (in France and Belgium). I'm confident speaking in either French or English but I can make myself understood in Dutch ;). At home, both Dutch and French are spoken and we hope the kids will not have much trouble in picking up a third language.

Needless to say, we are really looking forward to the move and hopefully getting to know you all.

Warm regards,

Rosângela

[dusk]

belated hello, congratulations and good luck :D

[SharpBlade]

Hi again,
Do you know that the belgian consul has changed recently (July I think), so if you need the email of this new consul, just send me a pm.
Yes, the Belgian café in town is where most of the belgian meetings seem to happen, we have only been to two of those because it is not really an appropriate place for children. However, it has always been very enjoyable. We will probably organise a picnic or something in the summer, a beach day etc..
We are actually Walloons, we speak French at home , my Flemish is very rusty I have to say (and I used to be very good at it!). I am sure your children will pick up another language quick enough. What age are they ?
Anyway, good to see that you seem to have nearly everything sorted out, well done.
Laurence

[Rosangela]

Hello All and bonjour Laurence,

Thanks for your message. It looks like I will only have access to private messaging after my 5th post. The present is my fourth, so I’m almost there.

Good to know that the Belgian consul’s address has changed – we will certainly need the new address to enroll husband and kids at the consulate when they arrive. I will have to go elsewhere (I have the French + Brazilian nationality).

Our two boys are nearly 7 and 5 years old so we hope it will not be difficult for them to learn English. We hope they will neither forget Dutch nor French and we plan to go on speaking both languages at home once we’re over there. What about you? Do your kids speak French? Do you mingle both languages or is it easy to maintain the linguistic boundaries?

Those of you on the other side of the globe are almost ready to go to sleep - so, bon dodo!


Cheers,

Rosângela

[vic11]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I think it's absolutely wonderful that your children will know so many languages! I wish you all the best for your move to NZ.