Frustrations of a new country

We've been running into a few bumps in the road. Nothing too terrible, but still important. Allow me to elaborate...

Bank Accounts:
I've opened up a bank account here on campus and we wanted to put Jared on that account as well. Apparently, that is a huge task that no one who works at the bank can figure out. The first time we went, they told us that Jared could be on my account but he will have to bring in letters with our Exeter address on them and he could be added. So, we brought in letters from some places he applied for a job, acknowledging receipt of his resume. We were told that he actually would not be able to be added to my account and that he would have to open up his own. Also, they couldn't accept the letters we brought in as proof that he lived at our address. We were told that he had to bring in bank statements and it was fine if they were from the US and then he could open up his own account.
Jared printed off a bunch of his bank statements from our bank in the US and we took him to the bank to open up his own account. The lady at the till said that he could, in fact, be added to my account. This was good news. However, she said that they can't accept the bank statements from the states. They have to be from Exeter and have our address on there. So, *sigh* apparently you have to have a bank account in Exeter to get a bank account in Exeter. She instructed Jared to go the Inland Revenue Service and get a letter from them stating that he lives here and that would suffice for the proof of residence.
Jared went there today and the Inland Revenue Service told him that they can't do that and that the bank should not have sent him to them.

Needless to say we're going to the bank and I will not be nice to them tomorrow. The main reason this is so frustrating is that many places Jared is applying to for work need you to have a bank account to pay you. They won't even hire you if you don't have a bank account in your name. So, ultimately, this is delaying his employment!! If I could just get two people to tell me the same thing, life would seem so much easier.

There was a similar situation with Jared signing up for the National Health Insurance...which he also needs to get employment. But it all seems to be sorted out now, so I'm going to pretend that mess didn't happen.

I've added a picture of Jared to end on a positive note. Living in a new country means access to new and different foods. My new favorite thing is Aero Bar Mousse. That's right! The delicious taste of Aero Bars in a mousse!!! Yum! Jared recently found Rolo pudding cups. I've never seen him so excited about something he found in the grocery store. I had to take a picture of his happiness!