Mokos, Mission Bay, and Mt. Eden oh my!
Last Friday after I posted my last entry, Shannon and I hopped a bus over to another neighborhood called New Market. The Rialto theater is hosting a documentary film festival and we had tickets for one of the movies called Kiri Wai Inner Skin. It's about a westerner exploring the significance of the Maori tattoo called a Moko. The Maori (pronounced mawri) are the indigenous people here in NZ. It was a really good movie and Shannon and I decided that we might like to get a small moko tattooed on our ankle or something like that. We'll see though.
After the movie, we hopped another bus over to Mission Bay. This neighborhood is right on the beach. It's actually the neighborhood we'd most like to live in. There's a long stretch of beach and an even longer stretch of straight wide sidewalk that's perfect for rollerblading and bicycling. It's a posh area though that has some pretty expensive rent so it may be a while before we can afford it.
We got to the Savage memorial just at sunset so Shannon got some pictures of the sun going down over the Auckland skyline. She hasn't uploaded them yet though so as soon as she does, I'll post them. Michael J. Savage was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand. He did a lot of work integrating the Maori into the society and also played a large part in the Socialist leanings of NZ. His memorial stands on a hill overlooking Mission Bay. It's a has a monolith similar to the Washington monument only much smaller overlooking a reflecting pool. Here's a photo I found online:
After hanging out up there a while, we walked down into Mission Bay to find some food. We ended up at a Mexican restaurant. It was quite comical to see waitstaff dressed in sombreros and ponchos speaking with Kiwi accents. While we were looking over the menu, the waitress brought us a bowl of chips and salsa. Let me just say that we are certainly NOT in Texas anymore, lol. The bowl of chips had maybe ten chips about the size of half dollars and the salsa bowl had about two tablespoons of salsa. This is yet another example of why these people are not as fat as Americans, lol. We ordered taco salads that were very delicious and were even serenaded by Kiwis singing happy birthday in Spanish to the table across from us. It was a really fun dinner.
After dinner we strolled along the beach for a while. It being a Friday night, there were quite a few people around. Kids were playing rugby, lovers canoodled in the moonlight, families sat on the grass surrounded by squawking seagulls begging for scraps. It was beautiful. I really can't wait until we can live there. Getting to take that walk every night would be awesome.
The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. I was off on Monday and did quite a bit of walking around my neighborhood. This area is called Mt. Eden because there is a volcano nearby called Mt. Eden. The whole of NZ is covered with volcanoes but especially Auckland. There are about 50 volcanoes in the greater Auckland area. Some are the familiar cone with a crater shape, some look like large hills, and some are holes in the ground. Mt. Eden is a cone with a crater. Here is a picture I found online:
In the photo, the large buildings in the background are part of the Central Business District or CBD. Our house is behind Mt. Eden and to the left. There's also Mt. Eden Village at the base of the hill. This is where most of the shops, grocers, and restaurants are located. It's a nice little area but a pain in the butt to travel through because there are only two lanes of traffic so it gets quite congested during the busy times of day.
Yesterday, was my first coffee seminar at my store. When I first got here, my area manager asked if I'd be interested in hosting a seminar to teach customers about coffee. I thought it was a great idea and eagerly agreed. As the day approached, I got really worried that no one would show up but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. Two young men named Vincent and Michael came and really made it a great experience for all of us. I started off talking about how coffee is grown and harvested and then explained how Starbucks roasts it. I talked about where coffee comes from and how that affects the taste. Then we did a tasting with Verona and Kenya. I paired the Verona with a chocolate caramel slice we carry in the store and the Kenya with some slices of kiwi fruit. Something I found comical here. The kiwi fruit I bought actually came from Italy! They don't grow kiwi here. Weird, huh? Anyway, the guys asked lots of intelligent questions for which I actually had the answers! :D We had a great time talking about coffee as well as a few other things like differences between here and the US. I was stoked when I got done! It was so much fun! I can't wait to do the next one. I'm not sure if it's next week or in a few weeks. I'll find out on Monday when my manager works again.
I've got the weekend off so tomorrow Shannon and I are getting up at the butt crack of dawn to take the ferry over to Rangitoto. It's a volcanic island about a fifteen minute ferry ride away. It's a giant black rock with some trees around the base. Hopefully it won't be too hot. It's supposed to be in the 60s so it should be quite nice but it can get awfully hot on the black rock with no shade. We're going to pack a lunch and make a day of hiking to the top. It should be a lot of fun. I'll post all about it when we get back.
After the movie, we hopped another bus over to Mission Bay. This neighborhood is right on the beach. It's actually the neighborhood we'd most like to live in. There's a long stretch of beach and an even longer stretch of straight wide sidewalk that's perfect for rollerblading and bicycling. It's a posh area though that has some pretty expensive rent so it may be a while before we can afford it.
We got to the Savage memorial just at sunset so Shannon got some pictures of the sun going down over the Auckland skyline. She hasn't uploaded them yet though so as soon as she does, I'll post them. Michael J. Savage was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand. He did a lot of work integrating the Maori into the society and also played a large part in the Socialist leanings of NZ. His memorial stands on a hill overlooking Mission Bay. It's a has a monolith similar to the Washington monument only much smaller overlooking a reflecting pool. Here's a photo I found online:
After hanging out up there a while, we walked down into Mission Bay to find some food. We ended up at a Mexican restaurant. It was quite comical to see waitstaff dressed in sombreros and ponchos speaking with Kiwi accents. While we were looking over the menu, the waitress brought us a bowl of chips and salsa. Let me just say that we are certainly NOT in Texas anymore, lol. The bowl of chips had maybe ten chips about the size of half dollars and the salsa bowl had about two tablespoons of salsa. This is yet another example of why these people are not as fat as Americans, lol. We ordered taco salads that were very delicious and were even serenaded by Kiwis singing happy birthday in Spanish to the table across from us. It was a really fun dinner.
After dinner we strolled along the beach for a while. It being a Friday night, there were quite a few people around. Kids were playing rugby, lovers canoodled in the moonlight, families sat on the grass surrounded by squawking seagulls begging for scraps. It was beautiful. I really can't wait until we can live there. Getting to take that walk every night would be awesome.
The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. I was off on Monday and did quite a bit of walking around my neighborhood. This area is called Mt. Eden because there is a volcano nearby called Mt. Eden. The whole of NZ is covered with volcanoes but especially Auckland. There are about 50 volcanoes in the greater Auckland area. Some are the familiar cone with a crater shape, some look like large hills, and some are holes in the ground. Mt. Eden is a cone with a crater. Here is a picture I found online:
In the photo, the large buildings in the background are part of the Central Business District or CBD. Our house is behind Mt. Eden and to the left. There's also Mt. Eden Village at the base of the hill. This is where most of the shops, grocers, and restaurants are located. It's a nice little area but a pain in the butt to travel through because there are only two lanes of traffic so it gets quite congested during the busy times of day.
Yesterday, was my first coffee seminar at my store. When I first got here, my area manager asked if I'd be interested in hosting a seminar to teach customers about coffee. I thought it was a great idea and eagerly agreed. As the day approached, I got really worried that no one would show up but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. Two young men named Vincent and Michael came and really made it a great experience for all of us. I started off talking about how coffee is grown and harvested and then explained how Starbucks roasts it. I talked about where coffee comes from and how that affects the taste. Then we did a tasting with Verona and Kenya. I paired the Verona with a chocolate caramel slice we carry in the store and the Kenya with some slices of kiwi fruit. Something I found comical here. The kiwi fruit I bought actually came from Italy! They don't grow kiwi here. Weird, huh? Anyway, the guys asked lots of intelligent questions for which I actually had the answers! :D We had a great time talking about coffee as well as a few other things like differences between here and the US. I was stoked when I got done! It was so much fun! I can't wait to do the next one. I'm not sure if it's next week or in a few weeks. I'll find out on Monday when my manager works again.
I've got the weekend off so tomorrow Shannon and I are getting up at the butt crack of dawn to take the ferry over to Rangitoto. It's a volcanic island about a fifteen minute ferry ride away. It's a giant black rock with some trees around the base. Hopefully it won't be too hot. It's supposed to be in the 60s so it should be quite nice but it can get awfully hot on the black rock with no shade. We're going to pack a lunch and make a day of hiking to the top. It should be a lot of fun. I'll post all about it when we get back.