It has been a busy couple of days. My strategy has changed a bit on how to allocate my time here. As my dad says, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Ok, that's kind of morbid. I never really though of what that saying was actually inferring. Moving along. I decided, after seeking the counsel of someone who has traveled the whole of New Zealand, to only spend a few days in the Northland (where I was planning on spending a few weeks). So I came on up last night to begin a tour. I spent the night last night in Whengere (the "wh" makes an "f" sound, so it's pronounced "Fangaray").
On the way there, I took a back road excursion to see a waterfall. This was a bit precarious, as New Zealand roads are already windy and hilly (comes with the topography), the dirt road that I was on was very interesting; but I got there in one piece, and it was so worth it. Absolutely beautiful.
I stayed the night in Whengere, and went to the Whengere falls this morning. Another waterfall, this one was huge, and once again beautiful. I took a hike down the river and into the forest. I got my first look at Kauri trees there. These are the redwoods of New Zealand, and they are indeed huge. On my return south, I plan on visiting a place that the manager of the hostel I am staying at told me about. He said there are trees in this particular forest that are 8,000 years old.
After I finished at Whengere falls, I had lunch and headed further north. On the road I stopped at the Waro Limestone deposit. I couldn't find much info on it, but it apparently at one time was a limestone hill or mountain that has slowly eroded away due to rainwater, as limestone tends to do. The formations were bizarre, and many looked as if they had been formed by hand (but they hadn't, I did find enough information to substantiate that). It looked like something straight out of Lord of the Rings.
Further down the road I stopped at a glo worm cave. That was pretty awesome. It was a long limestone cave, with a stream running through it, there was a platform to walk built over the stream because there were 6 ft. carnivorous eels in the stream, I saw one (and was very glad I had a platform to walk on). Once your eyes get accustomed to the dark, and you look up, in parts of the cave it looks almost like stars (well green stars) on a clear night. There were that many. It was pretty amazing, especially since I was half expecting a hole some guy had dug in his sheep pasture and hung Christmas lights in to make a buck off some naive tourists.
I intended to stay the night at Bay of Islands, which is gorgeous, but turned out to be very touristy. So I continued on to find a place to stay. I ended up stopping on Karikari Peninsula, and I am currently at a hostel that is empty except for me, that is nice, it's quiet. It has just been renovated and it is super nice, just not full because the season is just beginning to get into the swing. If you ever happen to be traveling on the Kirakira peninsula, stay in "the Rusty Anchor Backpacker's Hostel". I highly recommend it.
When I got here, the manager told me of a bay and a beach just ten minutes up the road at the end of the peninsula. He said he has been around the world and these were the most beautiful he had ever seen. I headed his advice and went to have a look. He was not lying. They each were the most beautiful I have ever seen, and to see them within 10 minutes of each other is amazing. It's pretty astounding that they are not completely inundated with tourists. But the roads to them are not good, and they are far enough off the track that no one bothers I suppose. If I had to spend the rest of my time here at either the Matai bay, or Karikari beach' I think I would be fine with that. Absolutely breathtaking.
Tomorrow I go to Cape Reinga at the very northern end of the North Island where the Tasmin gulf and Pacific Ocean meet. The only thing I forgot to bring with me is the battery charger for my camera, it died on the way here (I was taking pictures of everything!). So I bought a couple of disposable cameras, certainly not ideal, but hopefully the pictures will turn out.
I leave you with the words of a New Zealand news caster who was reading a viewer letter this morning on the news in Whengere. "My husband told me that women are made to have children because they are closer to the ground... He is now my ex-husband." I assure you a great deal of ravenous laughter ensued upon my hearing this statement.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I'm too tired to think of a cool title tonight. ...
...but rest assured if I had it would be quite witty.
Today I went on a tour of Auckland, as sort of my last ho-rah in the city. We went to the sky tower, where much to my disappointment I was not a quick enough volunteer to get to do the sky jump... that's right one guy in our group jumped off the tower... lucky.
From there we went on to the Michael Savage memorial, a memorial to the first Labour prime minister of New Zealand, he brought socialism to New Zealand, was well respected and died of cancer after only four years in office.
From there we went to Mt. Eden, a dormant volcano, and sacred Maori site right smack in the middle of Auckland, the view from the top is one of only two places in the world that you can see two oceanic bodies of water that don't actually touch each other. To the east you have the bay connecting to the Pacific ocean, and to the west, another bay connecting to the Tasman gulf (between NZ and Australia). There is a crater in the top of the mountain that is beautiful, but we weren't allowed into it because the Maori (who still own the mountain) forbid it. The view here is stunning, as you can see for miles.
New Zealand is very tectonically and volcanically active. It is a very young land mass, the youngest on earth. And its formation process continues to this day.
A prime example, Rangitoto island in the Auckland harbor is a dormant volcano that was non-existent 600 years ago. The 5.5km wide, 850ft. tall (this is no pebble we're talking about) shield volcano erupted from nothing on the ocean floor and reached about half of its height in about 8 hours time, raising the rest of the distance over the next week. It only erupted once, and is now dormant. There were actually Maori living on an adjacent island in the harbor during the eruption. That island that now joins Rangitoto on one side. Imagine waking up to that little shenanigan occurring in your back yard swimming pool. Geologists expect that at some point in the next 100 years, there will be another volcanic eruption somewhere in the harbor that will yield similar results; making for quite a fireworks show to be sure.
Seeing how Auckland is laid out from the top of Mt. Eden, one realizes that it is actually on a fairly narrow isthmus that connects the two parts of the north island. This coupled with the fact that it is on top of a volcanic field, in which new volcanoes just pop up, who knows where, and grow to considerable size (ie. Rangitoto island, Mt. Eden, and several others in the area) really makes one wonder... was this really the best place to put a city? Maybe its just me, now I'm a pretty risk tolerant guy and all, but this may be taking it a bit far. Then again, I suppose for Frodo this may not be a bad proposition. Why go to Mt. Doom, when if he waits around long enough... Mt. Doom will come to him. Brilliant!
After that we had lunch, we went to the harbor bridge. Now merely for clarification, this is no small bridge. We walked on walkways suspended under the bridge to the center of the bridge (a ten minute walk; not for those afraid of heights or water), to a platform mounted under the tallest suspended part of the bridge. From this platform, if you so choose, you may bungee jump to your heart's content (for a nominal fee). No one in our group did, (as this jump was not free for the volunteer as was the afore mentioned sky tower jump) and so a guide jumped so the trek there was not entirely wasted.
The American election was followed very closely here today. Every TV screen I saw all day had coverage of the election on, and when I got home there were 2 or 3 channels on TV dedicated entirely to the US elections. One channel in particular had the New Zealand anchor seated in front of a green screen with a giant American flag on it for the duration of the coverage. It is fascinating to me that in the US, there are so few signs of the global society that we live in, (ie. when was the last time you clicked onto CNN and saw Anderson Cooper with a huge NZ flag behind him, covering the NZ elections), and yet when you travel outside of the US signs of a global society are ubiquitous, and the idea that we share in a world together permeates. That is a topic for another day perhaps.
There are fireworks everywhere tonight. Kiwis can only pop fireworks one day a year, for Guy Fox Day; celebrated in the UK and many of it's former territories. This is the same Guy Fox from the movie "V for Vendetta" if you have not seen the movie, google either Guy Fox or "the gunpowder plot." They take their fireworks very seriously here, it sounds a bit like a war zone, and has for the past several hours. I may not get any sleep tonight.
Today I went on a tour of Auckland, as sort of my last ho-rah in the city. We went to the sky tower, where much to my disappointment I was not a quick enough volunteer to get to do the sky jump... that's right one guy in our group jumped off the tower... lucky.
From there we went on to the Michael Savage memorial, a memorial to the first Labour prime minister of New Zealand, he brought socialism to New Zealand, was well respected and died of cancer after only four years in office.
From there we went to Mt. Eden, a dormant volcano, and sacred Maori site right smack in the middle of Auckland, the view from the top is one of only two places in the world that you can see two oceanic bodies of water that don't actually touch each other. To the east you have the bay connecting to the Pacific ocean, and to the west, another bay connecting to the Tasman gulf (between NZ and Australia). There is a crater in the top of the mountain that is beautiful, but we weren't allowed into it because the Maori (who still own the mountain) forbid it. The view here is stunning, as you can see for miles.
New Zealand is very tectonically and volcanically active. It is a very young land mass, the youngest on earth. And its formation process continues to this day.
A prime example, Rangitoto island in the Auckland harbor is a dormant volcano that was non-existent 600 years ago. The 5.5km wide, 850ft. tall (this is no pebble we're talking about) shield volcano erupted from nothing on the ocean floor and reached about half of its height in about 8 hours time, raising the rest of the distance over the next week. It only erupted once, and is now dormant. There were actually Maori living on an adjacent island in the harbor during the eruption. That island that now joins Rangitoto on one side. Imagine waking up to that little shenanigan occurring in your back yard swimming pool. Geologists expect that at some point in the next 100 years, there will be another volcanic eruption somewhere in the harbor that will yield similar results; making for quite a fireworks show to be sure.
Seeing how Auckland is laid out from the top of Mt. Eden, one realizes that it is actually on a fairly narrow isthmus that connects the two parts of the north island. This coupled with the fact that it is on top of a volcanic field, in which new volcanoes just pop up, who knows where, and grow to considerable size (ie. Rangitoto island, Mt. Eden, and several others in the area) really makes one wonder... was this really the best place to put a city? Maybe its just me, now I'm a pretty risk tolerant guy and all, but this may be taking it a bit far. Then again, I suppose for Frodo this may not be a bad proposition. Why go to Mt. Doom, when if he waits around long enough... Mt. Doom will come to him. Brilliant!
After that we had lunch, we went to the harbor bridge. Now merely for clarification, this is no small bridge. We walked on walkways suspended under the bridge to the center of the bridge (a ten minute walk; not for those afraid of heights or water), to a platform mounted under the tallest suspended part of the bridge. From this platform, if you so choose, you may bungee jump to your heart's content (for a nominal fee). No one in our group did, (as this jump was not free for the volunteer as was the afore mentioned sky tower jump) and so a guide jumped so the trek there was not entirely wasted.
The American election was followed very closely here today. Every TV screen I saw all day had coverage of the election on, and when I got home there were 2 or 3 channels on TV dedicated entirely to the US elections. One channel in particular had the New Zealand anchor seated in front of a green screen with a giant American flag on it for the duration of the coverage. It is fascinating to me that in the US, there are so few signs of the global society that we live in, (ie. when was the last time you clicked onto CNN and saw Anderson Cooper with a huge NZ flag behind him, covering the NZ elections), and yet when you travel outside of the US signs of a global society are ubiquitous, and the idea that we share in a world together permeates. That is a topic for another day perhaps.
There are fireworks everywhere tonight. Kiwis can only pop fireworks one day a year, for Guy Fox Day; celebrated in the UK and many of it's former territories. This is the same Guy Fox from the movie "V for Vendetta" if you have not seen the movie, google either Guy Fox or "the gunpowder plot." They take their fireworks very seriously here, it sounds a bit like a war zone, and has for the past several hours. I may not get any sleep tonight.
Monday, November 3, 2008
And the search continues
Sunday I went to worship with the Elys. We went over to North Shore, there is an established congregation there, that has been there for some time. One of the things I was looking forward to about this trip was getting to worship with the people here. Churches here are not nearly as established as in the states, especially in comparison with the bible belt. It's a bit more like Europe in that respect I suppose. It is a passion of mine, participating in different ways of worship, in a realization that we all worship the same God; He is always the same, the difference is us, and in this case our cultural context. It is my opinion that gaining more perspective, or experiencing things though other's perspectives, only yields a more complete understanding of the world we live in, and therefore a more complete individual, not just in terms of religion, but in all aspects of life. I truly enjoied the time I spent in worship with the people here.
After worship I had a conversation with a lady, about American politics and the election. That is a popular topic here. Even with their own elections coming up on Saturday, many Kiwis would rather talk about the American election. It is neat to see the way that other people participate in government. Though, I must admit the election system here is a bit perplexing to the outside observer. Through my observations thus far, here is what I have gathered. Voters do not vote for individual politicians, but instead make a party vote, to elect what party should be in power. The party leadership then determines who should be in the particular positions. There are a multitude of parties, the labour (labor in American-ese) and national parties being the largest; but there are multiple small parties as well. These include the Maori party (Maori's are native New Zealanders), the New Zealand Pacific party, the green party, and surprisingly enough the legalize cannabis party among others. If you don't know what cannabis is, google it, I didn't know until I saw one of their commercials.
After politics, we talked about her son who is almost college age. She asked me about Lubbock Christian. She said she wasn't sure he could do with being so far away form the ocean. She recounted her own memories of going to the interior of England, and feeling "trapped". I told her that LCU is a great place, but it is indeed quite far from the ocean, much further than one would be when in the interior of England.
Not much going on right now, the search for a job continues. I'm getting leads, but it may be a few more days possibly a week before anything pans out. I spent a couple of hours at the BUNAC office yesterday polishing up on my CV (a Kiwi resume). Then I drove around the bay a bit. I got a little outside of Auckland, where the road skirts the bay, and the drive is breathtaking. I stopped at the Michael Joseph Savage monument, which is a monument to the first Labour prime minister of NZ. It is on a hill, overlooking the harbor, and boasts a fantastic view.
About my phone, I discovered that when dialing form the states, you need to drop the first zero. So then, if you are calling or text-ing from the states, the number you would dial is (64) 21-0227-9014. My apologies if you have tried to contact me. My parents had a hard time I know; this earned a scolding for not having checked in, or being acessable every hour on the hour. Sorry mom. The trek to cast the ring into Mt. Doom was taking up too much time to blog yesterday.
Things continue to go great. Love it here. Just looking out for a job up north.
After worship I had a conversation with a lady, about American politics and the election. That is a popular topic here. Even with their own elections coming up on Saturday, many Kiwis would rather talk about the American election. It is neat to see the way that other people participate in government. Though, I must admit the election system here is a bit perplexing to the outside observer. Through my observations thus far, here is what I have gathered. Voters do not vote for individual politicians, but instead make a party vote, to elect what party should be in power. The party leadership then determines who should be in the particular positions. There are a multitude of parties, the labour (labor in American-ese) and national parties being the largest; but there are multiple small parties as well. These include the Maori party (Maori's are native New Zealanders), the New Zealand Pacific party, the green party, and surprisingly enough the legalize cannabis party among others. If you don't know what cannabis is, google it, I didn't know until I saw one of their commercials.
After politics, we talked about her son who is almost college age. She asked me about Lubbock Christian. She said she wasn't sure he could do with being so far away form the ocean. She recounted her own memories of going to the interior of England, and feeling "trapped". I told her that LCU is a great place, but it is indeed quite far from the ocean, much further than one would be when in the interior of England.
Not much going on right now, the search for a job continues. I'm getting leads, but it may be a few more days possibly a week before anything pans out. I spent a couple of hours at the BUNAC office yesterday polishing up on my CV (a Kiwi resume). Then I drove around the bay a bit. I got a little outside of Auckland, where the road skirts the bay, and the drive is breathtaking. I stopped at the Michael Joseph Savage monument, which is a monument to the first Labour prime minister of NZ. It is on a hill, overlooking the harbor, and boasts a fantastic view.
About my phone, I discovered that when dialing form the states, you need to drop the first zero. So then, if you are calling or text-ing from the states, the number you would dial is (64) 21-0227-9014. My apologies if you have tried to contact me. My parents had a hard time I know; this earned a scolding for not having checked in, or being acessable every hour on the hour. Sorry mom. The trek to cast the ring into Mt. Doom was taking up too much time to blog yesterday.
Things continue to go great. Love it here. Just looking out for a job up north.
Friday, October 31, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, October 27, 2008
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.
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.
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