These fush end chups ahh tasty es!

One thing that I have noticed in the time I have been here is that New Zealanders are very proud of the Kiwi culture (New Zealanders are known as Kiwis). It is a culture of tolerance, and a very friendly culture. They are a bit European, but with a dash of several other cultures. Although they are a small nation, they are indeed proud of their homeland, and a culture that is all their own.

One thing they are very proud of is their Kiwi accent. Until I came to New Zealand, I thought that Aussie and Kiwi accents were the same. And although they are similar, they are very different. Kiwis often give a "u" sound, where there is an "i". So, fish and chips, when spoken sounds like "fush and chups." I have noticed that vowels are the main difference. They are pronounced much shorter, and often sound like other vowels. For example, "best" would be pronounced "bist". It takes some getting used to, the first time I heard a kiwi talking about the local beaches... I wasn't too sure what to think. I'll let that soak in for a minute.... Ok.

I am finally able to understand most of what is said to me. The first couple of days I had to ask people to repeat themselves several times. If you are interested, I found a video that talks about the kiwi accent. Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ePwKYJcEOo&feature=related

I drove without Skylar yesterday, that was fun. More than anything, when he rode with me he was my navigator. The streets here are very confusing, no straight lines, lots of roundabouts, things are crazy. I needed to go downtown, and didn't know how to get there. The sky tower is taller than anything by far around here, it can be seen from everywhere, so I just followed it into downtown. When I was done, by some miracle, I found my way back to the house after a few stops.

I got a mobile yesterday. The number is 64 021 0227 9014. A really cool thing about mobiles in NZ, if someone calls you they assume all the charges, it is free for you. Same with text messages. That system really makes more sense to me anyway. So that means, if you would like to call me, I would love for you to assume all the charges... I mean, I would love to hear from you. I can make international texts pretty cheaply, so if you can as well, text-ing is a good way to communicate; of course along with email, and blog.

Found some good leads yesterday, as far as what I'm going to be jumping into next. I am looking at WOOFING, that is an acronym for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. Lots of backpackers do this, at least for a while while in NZ. Essentially you trade labor for accommodations (food and lodging); and while there, you have time to travel the area and see the sights. It's a great way to see the sights on a budget.

I am looking in the Northland right now, which if you are looking at a NZ map, is the relatively small area north of Auckland. There is a great deal to see and do up there, lots of hiking, beaches, and beautiful territory with waterfalls etc.; I've been told it's a beautiful area. I am also finding a lot of opportunities in renewable energy up there, so that is exciting. Who knows.

Is this the right side? Excuse me... the correct side.

Yesterday I got settled in with the Ely's. I don't know how long I'll be here, but it's nice to know that I have a place if all else fails. My room is more that I could have asked for, or expected; and they are great people.

Today I got my first experience with driving on the wrong side of the road. Well I suppose technically, it was this way first... but let's not quibble. It's funny how one's mind gets trained in a certain way and it takes a concerted effort to break that instinct when necessary. Even before I got behind the wheel, I came to realize that at cross walks I always try to make eye contact with the driver, to make sure they see me; I never really noticed that I did it, until I came here and I kept looking into empty passenger seats.

So, I rented a car today. It is a manual, but since the steering wheel is shifted, it means you are shifting with the left hand instead of the right. I had no problem shifting from the left, but I found myself always reaching to the right first, fumbling through space for the stick shift only to realize that it was on the other side. Skylar Ely rode with me to make sure that everything went alright. I only turned into the wrong lane a few times... only on empty streets. I think it's only fair that if they insist on going the wrong way, they should at least have big flashing arrows all over the place to tell you which side to drive on!

One thing that took me by surprise is that the blinker is on the opposite side as well, so I kept turning on the windshield wipers when I was trying to signal. I did that several times, at intersections, on the freeway, at roundabouts (traffic circles) and the list goes on. I kept thinking, "You would think, someone with a college degree could figure this out." I cant help but think that some New Zealander probably saw me and just shook their head at the crazy American driver.

We decided to have pizza for supper, so on the way home Skylar and I stopped to get pizza. We waited and carried it out, and I hopped in to crank up the car. After only a moment, I got out of the passenger seat, walked around to the drivers side, got in and cranked up the car. That's right... I got in the wrong side. Skylar helped my bruised ego a bit though, in telling me that he still does that from time to time.

There is quite a difference though, driving on the left side of the road, in the right seat. It's deceptively challenging. One would think... well, just do it all backward, but the mind doesn't work that way. I suppose the challenge comes from the fact that it is just counter-intuitive to the instinct that has been there for all of my driving experience. There is also a crazy traffic law called "give way," I'm not going to waste your time in this blog trying to explain it, because it would take a novel. Just suffice to say that it is annoying. If you really want to know what it is, let me know... and I'll tell you to google it.

Now that I have the car, hopefully things will begin to pick up. I have looked into a few jobs, and finding at least some leads is the goal for tomorrow. It's a good time to be going job hunting. No idea what the job will be in, but it will be a job. I may not be staying in Auckland, so that will have a bearing as well.

Today's New Zealand driving tip: If someone honks at you while passing, they are thanking you for being a courteous driver... No, seriously.

Sweet as bro!

Yesterday was a long day. After my post I walked around the city some. Auckland is a very modern, VERY clean city. Down pretty much any street there as an assortment of any type of shop you could ever want. Most of them just open directly to the sidewalks, no doors, and there are always lots of people walking.

I went to the Sky Tower, which is a bit like the space needle in Seattle. It is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The view of the city and harbor was amazing. It gave me some idea of the things I want to do in the time I spend in Auckland. If you want to see the sky tower, just Google an image of Auckand, you can't miss it. Downtown essentially is on the harbor, so the Sky Tower is right there.

I finally got what I had been wanting for all day yesterday when I went to bed. I don't think I have ever slept quite that well.

This morning was orientation with BUNAC, the organization that I am here under. It went well, and afterward I went and did all the boring stuff, like setting up a bank account, applying for an IRD (a NZ tax ID number). Next step is getting a mobile.

I just met a guy in the hostel who is from Dallas, that's about he closest I have found. There are actually very few Americans at the hostel. There are, however, a lot of Europeans, especially from England, Ireland, and Scotland.

The title of this post "sweet as bro," is a phrase used by New Zealanders. It means "its all good." Often they will just say "sweet as." They also use "as"on the end of their sentences very often. Such as "I'm full as," or "I'm mad as." Throws you off at first, because you're waiting for the rest of the sentence. My stay thus far has been sweet as... (gotcha!)

Today I will be meeting up with the Ely's and getting settled for the next little while.

Made it!

There are two things I have learned from this trip already... 1) 12 hours straight is a retardedly long time to spend on a plane. 2) Quantas is about the coolest airline there is, at least of the ones that I have traveled with.

I spent some time in LA yesterday during the long layover. I went out to Santa Monica Pier and walked around. There were a lot of people there, even the taxi driver said it was way more than usual. It was fun, but when you have luggage in-tow it cuts down considerably on the cool factor. Everyone was looking at me like I was crazy. Oh well, maybe I am, that wouldn't come as too much of a suprise to me.

The flight to Auckand was un-eventful. It wasn't full and it was a 747, so we had room to streach out. But no matter how much one streaches out, 12 hours is a long time to be held captive in an aluminum tube. But the service was exceptional, and there were lots of good movies to choose from. I got a bit of sleep, but not much. There were not a line of executives waiting outside the plane to give me a job, much to my dissapointment.

I went through immigration and then customs. My bags had to be searched. I stepped up to he counter and the customs officer asked me about my bags and began opening them. His very next question was if I had voted. There was no one else in line behind me, so this began a 20 minute conversation about the American voting system, foreign, and fiscal policies. No big deal, they just wanted to get an American's perspective. Its amazing to me, they knew more about American policy etc. than most Americans I know. Just thought it was funny.

All of the people I have encountered have been very friendly. The custom's officers especially. From what I have seen of it, Auckland is a beautiful city. I plan on seeing a bit more of it today.

... leavin' on a jet plane.

Today I fly. I left Houston at around 8:00 this morning and I am in Dallas. I leave here around 11:00 for LA. In LA I have a 7-1/2 hr. layover, so I will probably go see what I can see (close to the airport). From there its on to Auckland. I leave LA at 8:30PM-ish Pacific time, and will arrive in NZ at around 5:30AM NZ time (which will be around 11:30AM central standard, or "home" time). I also fly over the international date line, so I will completely skip Monday. I will touch down in Auckland on Tuesday morning. Although I understand the principle behind it, its still a bit tough to wrap one's mind around. Jet-lag, here I come!