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DV 2015 Oceania winners

In this forum, that's probably the biggest prize of all.

I've had a corruption in our file so am taking it offline until I can get it home and fix. Should be ok by this evening.
 
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Essey said:
I was wondering about this, whether to bother bringing my degrees or not as well, even though I have my VCE Certificate and results. So basically would you say don't bother with the tertiary education documents if you've met the normal education requirements?
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Don't bother bringing any education results apart from what they ask you to bring which is evidence you completed high school successfully, full stop. :)
 
I've just received my DV package from the Auckland consulate which I've made an electronic copy of at work. Doesn't seem to be anyone else who has said they're interviewing in Auckland, but if here are any other kiwis are out there lurking, let me know if you'd like to have a look.
 
Visa and passport arrived this morning,. very relieved. I have a question, has anyone who recieved their visa got their chest x ray results on a dvd? Is this fine to take the the states when activating the greencard? On the activation enveleope they give you it says chest xray film.
 
CC1 said:
Don't bother bringing any education results apart from what they ask you to bring which is evidence you completed high school successfully, full stop. :)
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CC1 I had to laugh at "full stop". I used to say it all the time when in the US and my partner had know idea what I meant. For some bizarre reason they say 'period'. It took me a bit to used to. Just sounds weird to me. AND if you get a cat dont go looking for it calling here pussy pussy pussy. Been there done that and got the weirdest looks.:rolleyes: Its kitty kitty kitty
 
OC_EMS said:
CC1 I had to laugh at "full stop". I used to say it all the time when in the US and my partner had know idea what I meant. For some bizarre reason they say 'period'. It took me a bit to used to. Just sounds weird to me. AND if you get a cat dont go looking for it calling here pussy pussy pussy. Been there done that and got the weirdest looks.:rolleyes: Its kitty kitty kitty
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TBH, I wouldn't be saying 'here pussy' here (Australia) either! Agree the 'period' thing is weird. I argue with my American partner all the time about the 'correct' word for things though, the list is endless. It's amazing how many words we have use which are different to the US. I have found that Americans use one term to cover a number of things, whereas we would be more specific.
 
Essey said:
It's amazing how many words we have use which are different to the US. I have found that Americans use one term to cover a number of things, whereas we would be more specific.
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Indeed. And this is an interesting case: Americans say 'different than' or 'different from'. Spotting a 'different to' is one of the best ways to sniff out Brits or Aussies trying to hide their Anglo-Antipodean backgrounds :p

In a similar fashion, many Americans leave out the 'of' when saying 'a couple of whatevers'. Some of the more old fashioned ones leave out the 'on' when saying 'I went to the store on Monday'. Idiom persists even in this digital age...
 
Essey said:
TBH, I wouldn't be saying 'here pussy' here (Australia) either! Agree the 'period' thing is weird. I argue with my American partner all the time about the 'correct' word for things though, the list is endless. It's amazing how many words we have use which are different to the US. I have found that Americans use one term to cover a number of things, whereas we would be more specific.
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Essey, I walk my dog at night and you wouldnt believe how many times I hear people calling their cats pussy. It makes my head turn real quick and I cant help but have a wee chuckle. Perhaps its the older generation. It did take a bit for the American meaning of pussy to get downunder. Oh the joy of different cultures.:)
 
ozimattskey said:
Visa and passport arrived this morning,. very relieved. I have a question, has anyone who recieved their visa got their chest x ray results on a dvd? Is this fine to take the the states when activating the greencard? On the activation enveleope they give you it says chest xray film.
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Yeah, ours was on DVD. CBP offcier wasn't intererested in it at all, told us to give it to our doctor when we found one...
 
Crawf33 said:
Honestly, I didn't really notice the elevation except for when I was exercising, because obviously breathing heavily in thinner air will mean it takes longer to catch your breath. I think it took me two weeks of running a mile a day to acclimatize, and after that it wasn't much of an issue breathing-wise.

You might notice your skin being drier, which gave me a couple of minor nosebleeds (due to dry nasal passage walls, I guess), and you might get drunk a little quicker due to the altitude, but it really wasn't that big of a factor that I noticed.

Colorado is absolutely beautiful country, by the way. I thought Denver was a great place too: not so big as to be intimidating, all the creature comforts of a modern city but with plenty of personality and different neighborhoods, a fantastic beer scene, and of course there's outdoor activities everywhere for miles around. The hiking is great, and obviously there's a ton of skiing (which I don't do) and other snow sports. Obviously it depends on your situation family-wise and whatever, but as a young single professional I'd absolutely endorse the Mile High City.

And that's not to mention the weather: Denver gets 300 days of sunshine a year. When I got back there in November last year, right before I moved to Maine, it was cold as hell, but the weather was still gorgeous. Blue skies for miles. I'd truly love to find a job there and move back.
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Thanks for your reply, it's much appreciated. I read about the nosebleeds and my hubby and both kids get them in the heat (one has had her nose quarterised). Like you mentioned there is lots of outdoor things to do and they even do white water rafting in Golden in the Summer. I'll do some more research, it's good to hear about it from you as you have actually lived there. It's hot in Melbourne today, about 31c and I really don't think I would like living in the Texas heat. The Colorado weather does sound good even the snow after living in a dry hot climate all our lives. Getting drunk faster due to the altitude, probably not really a problem! Thanks again for your reply, your blog is great too.
 
SusieQQQ said:
I'm not Crawf or Aussie but I think colorado is amazing. It doesn't take long to adjust to the elevation. Plenty trees at least where we were (denver and near). Really friendly people, reasonable property prices, amazing outdoorsy lifestyle. It would have been our second choice after the Bay Area.
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Thanks Susie, compared to Texas housing seems a lot more but it seems like people move there for the lifestyle. Another positive reply and like I said in my last post I'll start seriously consider Colorado again. Thanks!
 
Alright, spreadsheet fixed. Our link now connects to a Dropbox folder with the spreadsheet and the screen shots from the wonderful OC_EMS.
 
AussieGemma said:
Took the kids trick or treating tonight for the first time. They are so excited to be in the USA next Halloween, I think it may be a little different!!
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So did we! The kids are really into it in our suburb. Halloween friendly houses hang decorations so the kids aren't bothering people who don't want to participate. My two are on the couch in a sugar coma.
 
AussieGemma said:
Thanks Susie, compared to Texas housing seems a lot more but it seems like people move there for the lifestyle. Another positive reply and like I said in my last post I'll start seriously consider Colorado again. Thanks!
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Haha, compared to the Bay Area housing seems a complete steal in Colorado! We have friends in both Denver and Longmont. Lifestyle seems awesome. Not only winter sports as there is lots of hiking etc to do in summer.
 
ozimattskey said:
Visa and passport arrived this morning,. very relieved. I have a question, has anyone who recieved their visa got their chest x ray results on a dvd? Is this fine to take the the states when activating the greencard? On the activation enveleope they give you it says chest xray film.
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Hi Matt, yes we got ours as a cd, I think they changed to cd's the day we had the medical done, there are a few things changing with the DV's trying to modernise the processes I think:)
 
OC_EMS said:
CC1 I had to laugh at "full stop". I used to say it all the time when in the US and my partner had know idea what I meant. For some bizarre reason they say 'period'. It took me a bit to used to. Just sounds weird to me. AND if you get a cat dont go looking for it calling here pussy pussy pussy. Been there done that and got the weirdest looks.:rolleyes: Its kitty kitty kitty
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Thank god you told me that, we are planning on taking a cat so that will be useful info haha
 
connectedspace said:
Indeed. And this is an interesting case: Americans say 'different than' or 'different from'. Spotting a 'different to' is one of the best ways to sniff out Brits or Aussies trying to hide their Anglo-Antipodean backgrounds :p

In a similar fashion, many Americans leave out the 'of' when saying 'a couple of whatevers'. Some of the more old fashioned ones leave out the 'on' when saying 'I went to the store on Monday'. Idiom persists even in this digital age...
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I have also noticed a lot of phone conversations have no goodbye at the the end, they say what has to be said and then hang up, I don't know if this is common throughout the whole of the U.S. or just California as I have noticed it there a lot. Anybody know where this stems from??
 
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