Will and I are celebrating as we are finally ready to send in our Visa applications. It has been a long tedious process! The guides for filling out the Work and Visitor Visas were each 20 pages long. With all the various forms and evidence, we will be sending in 88 pages along with our passports. Today I called the New Zealand Immigration Office in California to see how long it would take to get our passports back. I was told that it generally takes 3 weeks. I thought to myself, "Good. We have plenty of time." But then she said that they would be having a Christmas break beginning Dec. 23 and ending on Jan. 3. I did some quick calculations, and my next thought was "Oh no! This is going to be close!" I am glad that we didn't know how much work it would be when we started this process as we might have gotten discouraged and given up. In addition to the Visas, Will had to fill out an application, verify his education and work experience, and get recommendations .
Looking at the New Zealand travel books and hearing friends tell of their experiences in NZ has kept us going.
