Hello Auckland. How are you?
So. Auckland.
It’s been two weeks now. I’m starting to get the hang of the job down here: unlike the US where it is phone calls with admin in between it is actually reversed in NZ. In general it is a nice break from all those nasty calls though we tend to get some unhappy calls here as well but nowhere near the amount that we did in the States. People, in general, tend to be much greener in New Zealand. I had a mini-conversation with a taxi driver on why deep sea oil drilling is bad. Strange, but kinda cool nonetheless.
Outside of work, I haven’t been doing all that much sightseeing; it’s just not as much fun on your own. With that said, I have had a chance to go to Tiritiri Matangi island to see all the local birds, Devonport for all the old WWII fortifications, and this past Saturday I went to the Waitomo caves to see all these sparkly blue glowworms that hang out on the underside of dark caves. The caves were pretty cool if ridiculously expensive due to booked tour bus and needing to catch a taxi into the city (as there is no public transportation before 7am on the weekend). I’ve also had a chance to visit the Auckland museum and the zoo yesterday. I only went to the zoo, though, to see the cute nocturnal kiwis. Sooooo adorable!!
This week will most likely be more hang out at home time M-F and then Saturday if all goes well Hobbiton! I’ve convinced one of my co-workers here that a pint at the Green Dragon Pub in Matamata would be a brilliant idea; she agreed. That was probably one of the only things I HAD to do while in NZ so I’m super happy that is going to happen. I was hoping that we’d go to Rotorua as well but I’m not sure yet if that is still in the works.
So. Auckland. Not too bad. There are lots of bugs and the internet outside of the office is utter shyte but I am enjoying summer and the more laidback attitude of everyone here. With all of that said I think I will be happy to return to more technology-advanced Washington D.C. even if I am not looking forward to the cold weather. Well, and it’d be nice to have my own room back. I have my own room here but it lacks all of my stuff and with no internet I've been finding myself curled up on the back porch a lot reading or watching kiwi TV with the flatmates. Nice and all for a short while but variety is the spice of life so I'd like having other things to do. I guess I should FIND other things to do. Ahhh, being laidback over here is detrimental to my sightseeing experiences, haha.
It’s been two weeks now. I’m starting to get the hang of the job down here: unlike the US where it is phone calls with admin in between it is actually reversed in NZ. In general it is a nice break from all those nasty calls though we tend to get some unhappy calls here as well but nowhere near the amount that we did in the States. People, in general, tend to be much greener in New Zealand. I had a mini-conversation with a taxi driver on why deep sea oil drilling is bad. Strange, but kinda cool nonetheless.
Outside of work, I haven’t been doing all that much sightseeing; it’s just not as much fun on your own. With that said, I have had a chance to go to Tiritiri Matangi island to see all the local birds, Devonport for all the old WWII fortifications, and this past Saturday I went to the Waitomo caves to see all these sparkly blue glowworms that hang out on the underside of dark caves. The caves were pretty cool if ridiculously expensive due to booked tour bus and needing to catch a taxi into the city (as there is no public transportation before 7am on the weekend). I’ve also had a chance to visit the Auckland museum and the zoo yesterday. I only went to the zoo, though, to see the cute nocturnal kiwis. Sooooo adorable!!
This week will most likely be more hang out at home time M-F and then Saturday if all goes well Hobbiton! I’ve convinced one of my co-workers here that a pint at the Green Dragon Pub in Matamata would be a brilliant idea; she agreed. That was probably one of the only things I HAD to do while in NZ so I’m super happy that is going to happen. I was hoping that we’d go to Rotorua as well but I’m not sure yet if that is still in the works.
So. Auckland. Not too bad. There are lots of bugs and the internet outside of the office is utter shyte but I am enjoying summer and the more laidback attitude of everyone here. With all of that said I think I will be happy to return to more technology-advanced Washington D.C. even if I am not looking forward to the cold weather. Well, and it’d be nice to have my own room back. I have my own room here but it lacks all of my stuff and with no internet I've been finding myself curled up on the back porch a lot reading or watching kiwi TV with the flatmates. Nice and all for a short while but variety is the spice of life so I'd like having other things to do. I guess I should FIND other things to do. Ahhh, being laidback over here is detrimental to my sightseeing experiences, haha.