Living in Queenstown

I can't believe I've been here over a week! I found a job and a flat in Queenstown just days after arriving. My flatmates are super cool. Two are kiwis, and one's from California. I love the kiwi accent. They say "hay" in the middle and end of every sentence. It's so cute. And they use the word "heaps" all the time, meaning "alot." So, for instance, "they heaps of caas fa sale righ now, hey." Translation: there are alot of cars for sale right now. Ha ha! I also chuckled when one of the English girls at the hostel said, "wha' a bugga'," when I told her I had to work that day. I've come across so many different accents here--australian, kiwi, scottish, irish, english, japanese, brazilian, you name it! i almost always have to ask people to repeat stuff. The flat I'm living in is sweet. It's up on a hill and there's a great view of the lake and mountains from the living room window. My room is small, but very cozy. Emma is one of my flatmates, she's a kiwi and works as a beauty therapist. She did my toenails last night. :) Joe is my flatmate from California, he works at a video store and always brings home movies for us. He's gonna bring some bollywood films for me, hopefully soon. :) And Lee owns the house, he's a kiwi and he works as a plumber. Lee has made this place very homey for us all. So the living situation is great. I've decided to stay in Queenstown for only 3 months, and then head up to the area around the town of Nelson, a hippie beach town. There's a Anahata yoga retreat center up there that I'm planning to stay at for a couple of weeks. They offer reduced rates for accommodations in exchange for work. They have an organic garden, use only solar power, and the retreat center sits on top of a hill overlooking the ocean. The work part of it involves cooking veggie meals, gardening, and cleaning. I also just made a booking for another 4-5 day hike up in the Abel Tasman National Park, which is near Nelson. So that's TWO long hikes that I'm doing during my stay in New Zealand. Man, I hope I survive. The Abel Tasman is along the coast, and it should be so awesome!