Saturday, March 22, 2014

Getting Rooted in New Zealand by Jamie Baywood

Craving change and lacking logic, at 26, Jamie, a cute and quirky Californian, impulsively moves to New Zealand to avoid dating after reading that the country's population has 100,000 fewer men. In her journal, she captures a hysterically honest look at herself, her past and her new wonderfully weird world filled with curious characters and slapstick situations in unbelievably bizarre jobs. It takes a zany jaunt to the end of the Earth and a serendipitous meeting with a fellow traveler before Jamie learns what it really means to get rooted.


Jamie Baywood took the opportunity to work abroad.  This is her first person accounting of what happened while she was there.

First, it takes a lot of courage to put out a book that paints you in a less than perfect light, so I applaud her for this.  Although I didn't find the book humorous or entertaining, I did find it fascinating.  The author has a knack for getting into some interesting situations.  

There's quite a bit of information regarding what living in New Zealand could be like for an American.  Having different cultures, there can be a little bit of culture shock there.  This book doesn't paint Americans, Buddhists or Kiwis in a positive light, so be prepared.  Some of you may be offended.  Just remember when reading that this is the author's experiences and her views.  Don't take it personally.

Not only is this a look at an American attempting to work abroad, we get several glimpses into Jamie's personal life as well.  As a person, she's relatively interesting.  Her romance with Grant is worth picking up the book for.  Of all the characters, I found him to be the most believable and likable.  



*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Shawn

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The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.

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