Our visas are here!

Finally, our visas have arrived. And they are pretty colours. Brendan's first comment was, "I look like a criminal [in my photo]!" I think my passport one's worse, I like the one on my visa much more. I don't look "angry", to quote Geoff. Brendan's has an envelope from the consulate stapled into it, saying, "TO BE OPENED BY IMMIGRATION OFFICER AT PORT OF ENRY". Scary! Wonder what it says? Probably just Brendan's certificate of sponsorship. I doubt they would give us a visa if they thought we were bad people, everything is so tightly controlled. I thought we'd given them to the consulate, but he almost had kittens when he disovered he couldn't find them, poor thing.

It suddenly hit me this morning that we were leaving in just under a week! (Probably along with the realisation of how much work I still had to do - it grew exponentially today.) I was so excited!! (More than slightly scared, too, but mostly excited.) I wanted to bounce, but people were watching. Wish Mealz was here - she'd bounce with me.

Saturday went well. (We have great friends. Even if I give some of them three hours' notice.) And it was fun to write our names in the dark with sparklers. Many many many spirit bottles sit in the recycling... Two people who shall remain nameless stayed up to 6am with us and drank the rest of the tequila with coke almost all by themselves... well done. And thank you everyone for drinking up all our acohol for us. we didn't want to waste it on Geoff - sorry Geoff but you know you mostly drink beer. But at least you don't drink Ranfurly.) Must remember lemon sorbet, lemonade and feijoa vodka is very nice... and Fia, don't worry about the bathroom at all. Honestly.

Brendan's looking at Google Earth at the place we're going (and the apartment block we want to live in). There's a gym and a library and lots of food shops opposite. We are going to have to work very very hard not to get fat. And it's right next to the motorway, which probably explains why it's cheaper. When we said we wanted to go there, the guys from Vic at San Jose thought it was a very flash place, and that the price we would be paying was cheap.

San Jose currently has a high of around 9 degrees C, is partially sunny, and has a low tomorrow morning of -2 degrees C. Yucky.