I made it! I left Minneapolis at 5:45pm CST on Friday and arrived in Wellington about 24 hours later at 3:15pm on Sunday. It was uneventful, except that I scored a "premium economy" seat from LAX to Brisbane. This meant I got real silverware and lots of legroom, plus a cool reading light and a snack bar that we could go grab from. I don't know how much more that ticket cost because I didn't purchase it, but it was beautiful. (Mom: are you reading this? Get an upgrade when you come visit!)
Upon arrival in New Zealand I got stuck in customs while some very kind men inspected and cleaned my tent. My tent has never been so clean—they literally used a vacuum cleaner on it. Ecologically, I get it and I’m happy to oblige, but what about all the other things that might have Utah sand or Minnesota dirt stuck in them? I answered all their questions truthfully and I certainly don’t think I brought in anything dangerous, but the whole system seems kind of haphazard. Once my tent was clean and I got a polite lecture about bringing in clean gear next time, I exited to find my landlords and my Vic advisor had met one another while they waited for me. I seriously hit the jackpot on these people. I told my advisor there was no need to pick me up, as my landlords had offered. But she came anyway, brought me homemade shortcake, and said she just wanted to welcome me. Wow. The whole scene reminded me of SLC-- this city is so small that my landlords and advisor managed to chat with one another while waiting for me and realized they were waiting for the same person.
From the airport my landlords helped me load up my stuff, we drove home, and they showed me around my apartment. This apartment is amazing. I’m giddy about it. I mean, seriously, look at this picture:
This is the main room. Behind what you're seeing here there’s a hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom, and out the doors you see in the picture above there's a small deck over-looking a main thoroughfare. Check it out:
Upon arrival in New Zealand I got stuck in customs while some very kind men inspected and cleaned my tent. My tent has never been so clean—they literally used a vacuum cleaner on it. Ecologically, I get it and I’m happy to oblige, but what about all the other things that might have Utah sand or Minnesota dirt stuck in them? I answered all their questions truthfully and I certainly don’t think I brought in anything dangerous, but the whole system seems kind of haphazard. Once my tent was clean and I got a polite lecture about bringing in clean gear next time, I exited to find my landlords and my Vic advisor had met one another while they waited for me. I seriously hit the jackpot on these people. I told my advisor there was no need to pick me up, as my landlords had offered. But she came anyway, brought me homemade shortcake, and said she just wanted to welcome me. Wow. The whole scene reminded me of SLC-- this city is so small that my landlords and advisor managed to chat with one another while waiting for me and realized they were waiting for the same person.
From the airport my landlords helped me load up my stuff, we drove home, and they showed me around my apartment. This apartment is amazing. I’m giddy about it. I mean, seriously, look at this picture:
This is the main room. Behind what you're seeing here there’s a hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom, and out the doors you see in the picture above there's a small deck over-looking a main thoroughfare. Check it out:
I can see Te Papa National Museum across the street and I can walk to the waterfront in less than 5 minutes. I am smack in the middle of everything.
And to top it off, not only is this apartment furnished, they baked me shortbread and left me everything all sorts of food—not only baking supplies and things like oil and soy sauce, but beer, bread, milk, butter, and chocolate. “All the essentials” they joked.
After they left I wandered around the neighborhood for a bit and then explored the grocery store. I had grand plans to cook some real food for dinner, but I think I missed my window of opportunity. It’s now 9pm, I ate some red peppers and bread with hummus and I’ll be lucky if I make it to 10pm. I am exhausted! On the way to the grocery store, I walked along the harbor and took this picture. It's so hilly, I love it. My first impression is that it feels like a British version of Seattle + San Francisco.