Video of the week - VIII

I am a fan of Michael Moore. I am sure that those who know a little bit of his journey are as well. He and his incredible team have my respect. And this video shows us a little bit of his courage:

I'd like to point out one of the comments one user posted in the above video on Youtube:

"It's sad that most of the celebrities there were too afraid to applaud him just because of what a bunch of conservative rednecks will think of them. Michael Moore has the balls to stand up against whats wrong... movie stars are willing to play heroic characters in films but here they are just cowards." - blavia77

Brilliant! That pretty much sums up how I feel about this episode.

Congratulations Michael!!!

Quote of the week - X

"I have never learned how to play around with somebody else's emotions. And I hope I never will."

Tiago (myself)

GST

GST stands for "Goods and Services Tax"¹. It is a tax on most goods and services in New Zealand, most imported goods, and certain imported service.²

99% of the time, the price you see in the stores already include the GST. However, you might find some exceptions...

Nevertheless, this is the only store I know so far that presents the price like that. I honestly don't think that's something you need to be careful with.

That's it! If you wish to know more details about this tax, just check the excellent official references below.

See you! =)


## References ##

1) http://www.ird.govt.nz/gst/
2) http://www.ird.govt.nz/gst/gst-registering/gst-about/

Kiwi Bank

I opened up my bank account in a Kiwi Bank¹. It is really easy. All you need is your IRD number, your passport (the original one), a proof of address and a small amount of money to deposit. The bank teller told me that it could be any amount, so I chose to deposit NZ$ 20.00 (if you read the brochures, however, they say that you need to deposit at least NZ$ 50.00... go figure!). After that you just need to go to a Kiwi Bank and schedule an appointment (they will usually schedule it to the next day). You receive your card (EFTPOS²) on the spot and can immediately start using it!

There are dozens of accounts to choose from. I chose the one called "Free up"³, because almost everything is free. Just pay attention that, if you ever need to withdraw some money, you should do this only in the Kiwi Bank's ATMs, otherwise you'll be charged.

• Internet Banking

The Internet Banking system of the Kiwi Bank is the best one I have ever seen. Really clean and well designed, you find just the information you are looking for.

Setting up your Internet Banking account is also a piece of cake. When you open up your account, they give you a card with your Internet Banking ID (a.k.a Access Number) and a temporary password. All you have to do is go to the IB website⁴ and put those information in the form.

The system will then ask you to change your password, and to create some pairs of questions and answers (a.k.a KeepSafe). Next time you log in into your account you will be asked for your password and for one of the questions you have previous set up. Really easy! =)

Hope you found this post useful! If you have any queries, feel free to ask me!



## Links & Resources ##

1) http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
2) http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/personal-banking/ways-to-bank/atm-and-eftpos/eftpos.asp
3) http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/personal-banking/everyday-banking/freeup.asp
4) https://www.ib.kiwibank.co.nz/

My name is Bond, Rent Bond.

Never mind my dreadful title... (I had to try... =P)

A bold is just the money that you have to pay when you are moving into a new place. The amount is usually 2, 3 or 4 weeks of the regular rent. So, in case you break something in the house, they will use your bond to repair everything. Otherwise, you will get it back when you leave the house.

All homes/apartments require you to pay the bond, there is no way around it (unless you live in a backpack or a home stay). I would recommend you, however, to do so by transferring the money from your bank account to the owner's bank account. That way you have a receipt that you did pay him/her, whereas if you just give him/her the money in cash, the person can try to pull your leg.

TV ad

This Sky ad has been aired in New Zealand for quite a while. I have seen it several times.

"You can't choose your guests, but you can choose how you entertain them." =P

Quote of the week - IX

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

Jiddu Krishnamurti

PS: This is one of my favorite quotes ever! So powerful and so true.

Video of the week - VII

Home stay - Considerations

Since I arrived in Auckland, I've been living in a home stay. Now, however, I'm moving out and I'm going to share a rented house with other people. With that in mind, I believe now I have a good knowledge on how it is like to live with a foreign family, so, I'm going to share with you some Pros and Cons regarding my personal experience:

## Pros ##
1) It's a good chance to practice your English.
2) Privacy - You usually have your own room for moments of privacy.
3) You don't need to make your own dinner (95% of the families prepare the dinner for you).
4) I could get a ride to downtown every morning.
5) My home stay mom went pick me up in the airport for free (keep in mind that this is very rare though. The families usually charge you about NZ$ 40.00 to go pick you up at the airport). This was really helpful (especially because I arrived in the middle of the night and, as you could see in this post, the street lighting isn't very good in Auckland).
6) There are no bonds to pay.

## Cons ##
1) Price - It is more expensive than a shared/rented house.
2) The home stay is usually not close to the city center.
3) You have to cope with a few unpleasant habits of the family you are staying with.

Of course some of the items above might vary from family to family, but, in short, those were the Pros and Cons I had in living in a home stay.

Now, the question everybody have in mind: Is it worth to stay in a home stay? Well, my answer is: yes, it is! At least for the first week, I would recommend you to stay in a home stay. Unless your family is composed just by a bunch of idiots that treat you exclusively as an extra source of income, they are likely to help you and to give you valid tips in the beginning. Also, during the period you stay with them, you can get more comfortable in the city and go find another place by yourself.

Remember, just go to another country with an open-mind and I am sure you'll have a great time in your home stay!

Scottish music in Auckland

HOP Cards

A HOP Card (or just HOP) is a smart card that you can use to pay for public transport.

Hop Cards used to be free, but now you have to pay NZ$ 10.00 for it.

You always get 10% off, no matter how much money you use to top it up. So, weather you top it up with NZ$ 2.00 or with NZ$ 100.00, you always get the same 10% off discount.

I advice you to register your card online. That way, if you lose or somebody steal it, you can buy another card and keep all the credits you had in the previous one. The process is really simple. You just have to go to this link¹ and fill out the form bellow:

In that website, you can also check your balance. Be aware that the balance system is only refreshed once a day (during the night), so it's better to check first thing in the morning.

Pay attention, though, that HOP Cards are not accepted in all means of transportation. For instance, you can't use a HOP Card in a train or a ferry². There are even some buses that you cannot use the HOP card (usually buses that go too far from the city center).

However, if you really use public transportation a lot, you can get the monthly, weekly or even daily pass. If you use public transportation more than twice a day, it is almost certain that these kind of passes are the best ones for you! For instance, you could take a day off and go visit the main sightseeing of Auckland paying just for a daily pass, without having to expend NZ$ 40.00 in the Sightseeing bus³.

Finally, using a HOP is a piece of cake. Just tag on when you get on the bus and tag off when you leave it. The GPS in the bus will automatically charge you the right amount of stages you have used.

By the way, here goes some things that might help you if English isn't your first language:

To tag on: to put your card next to the reader machine so the system knows you have just got on the bus.
To tag off: same thing as above, except that now the system knows you are getting off and then calculates how many stages you have traveled in order to charge you the right amount of money.

And here are 2 recorded sentences you will often hear when you tag on/off:

"Please, remember to tag off." (When you tag on)
"Please, check your balance." (When you tag off)

PS: When I first arrived in Auckland I though the later was "Please check your bags!!" (you know, so you make sure you are not leaving anything inside the bus). Just two weeks later, with my ears getting used to the accent, I realized that it was "balance", not "bags"!! =P



## Links, Resources & Extra information ##

1) https://www.myhop.co.nz/About-HOP/Pages/3-Steps-To-Using-HOP.aspx
2) In some rare times, they let you use the HOP card in a ferry or a train. You just have to check in their website.
3) http://www.explorerbus.co.nz/

Nirvana Way

One month!!

Today I complete one month in New Zealand. It's funny to say that because it seems to me I've been here much longer than that...

I would like to thank everybody that have been visiting this blog. The number of visits increases every day! Hopefully this will be like a guide for people in the future.

See you! =D

Quote of the week - VIII

"By the end of the first month, I didn't miss TV."

Narrator, Fight Club

Video of the week - VI

Things I DON'T like about New Zealand - III (Street lighting)

I first noticed this while on my way to my homestay, from the airport. The street lighting in Auckland isn't very good... I would say it's as bad as in Brazil. I wasn't expecting roads full of lights and everything, but I was indeed expecting more lights.

But don't take my word for it, see these pictures for yourself:

If you want to get a deeper knowledge on the subject, the Auckland City Council has a good page¹ with some information about the city's public lighting policy.


## Links ##

1) http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/lighting/default.asp

The Amazing Race

There I was, walking around the Sky Tower area, when I guy comes up to me and says:

He: "Hi there!"
Me: "Hello!"
He: "Do you speak any other language apart from English?"
Me: "Yes, I do."
He: "Let me explain to you what we are doing. Do you know The Amazing Race TV show¹?"
Me: "Yep, I think so."
He: "Oh, good! We are one of the contestants of that show. Or at least, we are trying to be... So, this is one of the games that we have to play. We need to find people that can speak another language and ask them to say anything in that language to that lady there."
Me: "Oh, is that so? I don't think that's a good idea..."
He: "Oh, come on! You just need to say anything in your native language to that woman over there. It won't take more than 3 seconds!"
Me: "Humm, ok then. But do I have to give you any personal information, like my passport number or my address?"
He: "No! You just have to say a sentence in your native language. That's it!"
Me: "Ok , I'll do it then."
He: "Cool! Thank you!! Let's go there then. Where are you from?"
Me: "Brazil."
He: "Oh, really? Which part? São Paulo?"
Me: "That's right!"
He: "I know São Paulo. I've never been there though. Oh, here we are..."
Lady: "So, say something in your language."
Me: "O que você quer que eu fale?"
Lady: "Wow! I didn't understand a word! But that's enough, thank you very much!"
Me: "Is that it? LOL!"
Lady: "Lol! Yes! That's it!"
Me: "Cool. Just for you to know, I said "What do you want me to say?" in Portuguese."
Everybody: "LOL!"
He: "Oh, here, take this. It's kind of a prize for you to have helped us."
Me: "Wow! Thanks a lot!"
He: "You are welcome!"
Me: "Humm, I'm liking this you know... Listen, can I say something else so I can win more things?"
Everybody: "LOL!!!"

And that's the kind of people you meet while walking around Auckland! =P 

Here are the "prizes" I got:

And here are the people. Take a look at them carefully. Maybe two of them will be famous in the Amazing Race! =P

## Links ##

1) http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/

Britomart Transport Centre

For those of you who asked me to upload more videos about Auckland, here it is! =)

Telecom, Vodafone and 2-Degrees - Which one should you choose?

There are 3 main telecom companies in New Zealand: Vodafone, Telecom and 2-Degrees.

There is no golden rule to make the decision on which one you should choose. However, I'm going to share with you the little knowledge I have about those companies so far

1. Text message

A piece of advice: stay away from "casual rates for text" plans. In fact, stay away from any "casual rates for something". They usually cost an arm and a leg (and maybe a kidney). You need to buy the packages the companies offer you instead, otherwise the texts will be TOO expensive! For instance, by Telecom, a single text message costs you NZ$ 0.20 each in the "casual rates" plan. However, you can buy a NZ$ 6.00 package and get 150 text messages (that is NZ$ 0.04 per text message). The only downturn is that the messages expire 30 days later, whether you use them or not! Yet, I think it is worth it. If you happen to use more than the 150 messages available, they will start to charge you the standard "casual rates" again (NZ$ 0.20 for each extra message), so pay attention to your text message "balance"!

Nonetheless, I still find NZ$ 0.04 per text message a rip-off. 2-Degrees, for instance, has a plan of 2500 text messages for NZ$ 10.00¹, which gives you a rate of NZ 0.004 / message.
However, unless you really send about 80 messages a day (2500/30 = 83) I don't think it is worth to buy this plan. You'd be better off sticking with the first one that charges you NZ$ 6.00 (which gives you 5 text messages per day). Again, it all depends on how often you send text messages.



2. 3G network

It is also worth mention that, if you are going to use the 3G network, then it is nice to take a look at Vodafone. They offer you 10MB of data for free every day. After that they charge you NZ$ 1.00 per MB exceeded (which is another rip-off). Telecom has the same plan, except that they charge you NZ$ 1.00 for the first 10MB!!! O__O Stay away from Telecom if you are on a prepaid plan and need to use some 3G.



3. Voice

And last, but not least, there is the voice plans. Honestly, I don't think any of them are worth it. You should just have some credit in order to be able to receive calls and that's it! If you need to make calls, use Skype instead. It's way cheaper. Of course you have the inconvenience that you have to be connect to the Internet, but I still think it is much more worth it.

So, what conclusion can we get from all this? I advise you to stay away from Telecom. Use Vodafone or 2-Degrees instead. To be honest, there might be some cases where Telecom is the best one to choose, however, I didn't find one single situation where that is the case. Everything I looked up (always with a prepaid plan in mind) was more expensive in Telecom. Keep in mind, however, that these are only my first impressions. They might change along my stay in New Zealand. I'll let you guys know if they do!


By the way, here goes some cell phone related vocabulary that might help you:

• To top up: to buy credits for your cell phone.

• Airtime: time during which a cellular phone is in use, including calls made and received (I'm not sure if this definition en globe text messages as well...)

• Stay Key: key called "estrela" in Portuguese.

• Hash key: key called "jogo da velha", "hash" or "cruz" in Portuguese

• Landline: any phone that is not a mobile one (we call it "telefone fixo" in Portuguese)

Hope you found this post useful! If you have any tip and would like to add more information to this post, feel free to do so in the comments!



## Links & Resources ##

1) http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/prepay/pricing/value-packs/text-pack

New York City??

No! Just Queen Street!! =D