Greetings from New Zealand!!!

Hello from New Zealand!

Just thought I would start a little blog as promised….

Well it’s been just a few days here in Auckland and already I can tell this is going to be an interesting/awesome experience. Auckland is absolutely full of people just like me, solo travelers who didn’t feel like finding a real job back home so instead decided flying to the other side of the world and living from a backpack amongst beaches, rainforests, glaciers, and mountains was a better option. Presently, I would say this is quite a good option. Apparently there are a bunch of jobs here, people are super friendly, and the nature is beautiful. Pretty good sich. If anyone wants to come down here and join me, just let me know! (Mom I promise I will come back).

So let me give you a rundown of the last few days:

Day 1:

I arrive at my 500 person hostel and start questioning my decision. Wasn’t sure how I was supposed to make friends with a gazillion people everywhere, many speaking different languages (mostly German), living with randos, etc. However, I immediately met people, made friends, and haven’t really been “alone” since.

I also noticed that birds love flying around inside of buildings here. I am currently in a coffee shop and a bird keeps landing on my table. ??

Day 2:

Walking/bus tour of Auckland with my new friends. It’s alright. There’s a reason New Zealand isn’t known for it’s cities….

I notice that not only do they drive on the other side of the street, but they also walk on the other side of the sidewalk. You never realize how much people follow the rule of sticking to the right until you keep running into hoards of people in a city that does the opposite. Note to self, look right for cars and walk on the left.

Day 3:

Orientation for IEP, the program I am here through. Find out 3,000 are currently in New Zealand on this program, and that does not include the thousands of people here without doing the program. In fact a vast majority of people just show up without any sort of program. Again, apparently I am not the only person with this idea. I also find out all the different ways to go about this whole NZ work/travel thing.

At night, head down to the hostel bar with more new friends for a free glass of pink champagne (just like Milwaukee, you get free drinks if you are a girl). Found out having a casual drink doesn’t work so well at hostel bars, as hostels here in Auckland try really hard to develop a “crazy good party bar” reputation. Won’t go into details, but we did not stay there long.

Day 4:

Free BBQ at a beach outside the city. This consisted of 3 pieces of white bread, a small burger and hotdog with a sketchy consistency. Oh well, better than nothing plus the beach was fun and some people started a rugby game which was fun to watch. Since this was everyone’s first time really getting out of the city center I noticed that this place is beautiful! Just ten minutes outside the city and you can see all these islands and mountainous looking hills in the distance. Houses nestled along the cliffs and beaches. And this place is known for not being beautiful. Can’t wait to explore the rest of the country.

I definitely learned that the term free is used pretty loosely here. This was especially reinforced after a few of us switched hostels for a cheaper price and a “free meal.” We did receive free food but the portions size would probs not be enough for a baby. However, for cheap you can upgrade to a legit sized meal. Still a good deal. I guess beggars can’t be choosers.

Day 5:

Got a temporary (meaning like maybe 2 days, maybe 10 days) job working for this company that’s developing a new website. Basically I just need to click around on the website and tell them what doesn’t work or make sense. All for $12 US dollars an hour. Works for me.

Well that ends my play by play. I have no idea where I will be or what I will be doing in a few days, so the next entry should be a bit more exciting. I can guarantee you will not be getting a daily play by play as internet is not free here and luckily I have other things to do besides sit at my computer and write about myself. But I will surely continue to write about my whereabouts!