Work... Food... Time...

I have a job! Woo-hoo! I'm very thankful, and somewhat relieved! Job-hunting had become a bit of a chore. There are quite a few openings here, but with the added paperwork that an employer would need to go through for my work visa, things ended up in the too-hard basket, and a few promising job offers headed south. However, I persevered. I got out there and started pounding the pavement, introducing myself to people and making myself known. And finally I was interviewed and offered a job at a restaurant here. I'm quite happy with the offer too. It looks like I'll ultimately work in the kitchin, so I'll be able to put my McDonald's experience to good use while learning some new tricks at the same time. Not sure when I'll actually start work, though. That's all dependant on the work visa being approved... but hey, I'm pretty positive that this will be the last hurdle!

A really peculiar and interesting and exciting aspect to American culture is the food. There are lots of yummy things to eat here. On top of that, any foreign food usually has a bit of an American spin to it. I've had some great Mexican food: burritos, nachos; plus some huge steak. The meat tastes great: and there's lots of it! A ham sandwich is loaded with shavings of ham... The steak is awesome, often with marbling -- something that I had eaten little of before coming here. I still see some things at the store and I think: "What the hell is that???" but I am trying quite a few different things. One peculiar thing that is often eaten here at breakfast time is 'sausage'. And it's not sausage like we think of it, it's a flat, round patty of pork that is grilled or fried and eaten with eggs. Kind of like the sausage meat in a sausage and egg mcmuffin from McDonald's. (However, point of note: the sausage patty from McDonald's--in New Zealand at least--is actually made from beef.) I've tried eating the sausage, but it gives me a tummy-ache afterwards, so I'm going to give them a break for the time being.

Lastly, here is a really interesting fact about Alaska that I only recently discovered. Alaska used to be on the other side of the International Date Line!!! Seriously!!! The International Date Line used to run through the middle of the ocean between Fiji and Samoa (roughly) and would continue along the border between Canada and Alaska!!! How about that! So Alaska used to be the first place in the world to see the sun -- not Tonga or Gisborne!!!