Alright so it's about 9:20am on Sunday morning and the Daylight Savings Time kicked in here last night so we "Sprang Forward" one hour. This pretty much means I'm a bit tired, but oh well! I was supposed to work a split shift yesterday but it was so busy in the afternoon because it was nice out and it was market day in Ponsonby, that I worked through until about 4:35pm. Then I was able to go back to the hostel and grab some food and check my e-mail and go back. I finished at about 9pm last night so that was nice!
A couple of things from my day at the bar:
1) I made $10 in tips!!!
2) A guy came in asking for a job in the kitchen and I heard a familiar American accent so I asked him where he was from. "Kallispell, Montana" Ha! Too crazy, so I told him I was from WA and we had a laugh, etc.
3) This was soooooo good I almost cried! A young couple walked in to have a drink in the courtyard and I looked down at his shirt and was speechless! Arizona State!!!! Hell yes! So I said, Where are you from? Have you been there? And he said no, but his really good friend has been going to ASU for the last year and he sent him the shirt. So I told him I just graduated from there and blah blah blah, but that seriously made my day!
Then I got back to the hostel last night and was a little tired but not in the mood to sit in front of the TV or anything so I asked Beate if she just wanted to go somewhere chill and have a glass of wine or Baileys (she loves Baileys). Of course she couldn't refuse after the mention of Baileys and so we went in search of a laid-back place. We decided to try this one place called "Dorothy's Sister" which looked busy enough to be good. After walking in and ordering martinis, we sat at the bar and talked with the bartender. It honestly took took me about 5 minutes from entering the bar to figure out that we were totally in a gay bar! Haha, I can't believe it actually took me that long to figure out! The martinis were absolutely fantastic and I had an excellent glass of Shiraz after it and before we left. It was definitely a colorful scene and an interesting experience to say the least! We had a great time and they even took our picture for New Zealand's gay magazine! I'm going to have to look that up...maybe I should send you all a copy? Haha. Anyways, it was a great night!
Today I don't work until 5pm so I'm hoping to hit the seafood festival!
-Lisa
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Working Girl
It's Saturday morning right now t about 9:17pm and I have to work today from 12:30-3 and then 5 to about 10:30 I think. It looks like I'll be working a lot of these split shifts because I'm on the schedule for tomorrow as well. I don't mind though!
Thursday night I actually made $2.50 in tips!!! Woohoo!!! Tipping isn't even an issue in the New Zealand culture and I'm thinking that may be why the prices of things are a bit expensive. The pub got pretty busy at times on Thursday night too...not later though. Most people came in for dinner and drinks or just for drinks right after work. There were a few that had lunch earlier when I worked the first part of my shift and then were still there when I got back! They stayed until 7 or so...let's just say they were completely toasted! The gal couldn't even stand by herself and she was in her 40s! Wow.
By the time I finally got done (I was supposed to be done at 8 but it was busy so I stayed until 10) and walked back to the hostel, every muscle in my body ached and I was completely exhausted! Needless to say I just ate some food and then washed up and got in bed.
Yesterday I had the day off so I did some laundry, bought some better shoes for working, took a nap and signed the contract and other papers for the job. But of course I forgot to go open up a bank account so I'll have to do that Monday so they can pay me! Then I spent the rest of the night having some drinks with Morgan, a Kiwi girl staying in the hostel, and then grabbing a late dinner of vegetarian lasagne with Beate. Tony never called me about sailing and I'm kind of glad because I was still so tired yesterday.
I've decided I'm liking this job because it keeps me busy and everyone I work with is super nice! The people that I'm serving have been great too and I even had an offer to stay with a customer's brother when I go to Coromandel! Haha.
I hope everyone's doing well!
-Lisa
Thursday night I actually made $2.50 in tips!!! Woohoo!!! Tipping isn't even an issue in the New Zealand culture and I'm thinking that may be why the prices of things are a bit expensive. The pub got pretty busy at times on Thursday night too...not later though. Most people came in for dinner and drinks or just for drinks right after work. There were a few that had lunch earlier when I worked the first part of my shift and then were still there when I got back! They stayed until 7 or so...let's just say they were completely toasted! The gal couldn't even stand by herself and she was in her 40s! Wow.
By the time I finally got done (I was supposed to be done at 8 but it was busy so I stayed until 10) and walked back to the hostel, every muscle in my body ached and I was completely exhausted! Needless to say I just ate some food and then washed up and got in bed.
Yesterday I had the day off so I did some laundry, bought some better shoes for working, took a nap and signed the contract and other papers for the job. But of course I forgot to go open up a bank account so I'll have to do that Monday so they can pay me! Then I spent the rest of the night having some drinks with Morgan, a Kiwi girl staying in the hostel, and then grabbing a late dinner of vegetarian lasagne with Beate. Tony never called me about sailing and I'm kind of glad because I was still so tired yesterday.
I've decided I'm liking this job because it keeps me busy and everyone I work with is super nice! The people that I'm serving have been great too and I even had an offer to stay with a customer's brother when I go to Coromandel! Haha.
I hope everyone's doing well!
-Lisa
Thursday, September 27, 2007
First Day of Work!
After another trip to Mission Bay and a lovelly stroll back into town yesterday, I finally changed and headed off to my "trial" work shift at The Ponsonby. Oh, but before that Beate and I had taken the link bus just up the hill because we were done walking and we were almost to our stop when crash! The bus totally rammed into some gal's car door!!! She was sooooo pissed!! And the bus driver was like, you saw me coming so you shouldn't have opened your door. It was hilarious!
I get to work at 4pm and the Manager, Hardi (I think he's Japanese), was talking to me and then he had Paul, one of the guys that worked there, show me around. After showing me around for about an hour he gave me a bunch of paperwork and a little manual to read. He wanted to me to have the contract and everything signed today, but I didn't have enough time to read everything yet. But it's okay, because I have a few days until it has to be turned in. Then it was funny because he asked if I wanted to go home and look at the contract or start working. I was like, I'm already here and in the uniform so the best way for me to decide on the job would be to work! Plus I had already planned on it. I worked until 9pm and pretty much did the job. There wasn't any "Watch what Mark is doing" B.S.--it was like hey, Lisa! Table 44 needs to order, etc. It was definitely fun and every table I served asked where I was from. The only real problems I had were with some of the words of the specials; a lot of food here has a different name than in the U.S. And I only spilt a tiny bit of a beer on my shirt (as usual) so that was pretty good!
Hardi asked if I could come back tomorrow at noon and I said of course! What else do I have to do? Haha. So I just got done working the first part of a split shift from noon to 3pm and then I go back at 5. I'm not really sure when I get done tonight though...the Kiwi's operate on a 24hour clock so I'm totally confused all the time. But right now I'm just one of the wait staff and once I get the hang of it then they want to train me in the bar so I can do everything. The company that owns these bars is called Frenzi Group and get this: If I'm with them at least 3 months or so they will pay for me to get 24 credits towards a hospitality degree! Ha! I guess this means I could eventually have another degree...sweet! Here's the website of the cafe if you guys want to check it out:
http://www.theponsonby.co.nz/
It looks like I'm not working tomorrow, but I am on Saturday and Sunday so I can probably go sailing (and get comfortable shoes with a rubber sole) tomorrow! Tony called me today so I told him to call me tomorrow and I might be able to go. The weather is absolutely beautiful today and was yesterday, which is good for the bar because good weather = people going out. That's what they tell me here in Auckland! And...I've received a lot of good feedback/compliments from Hardi, Wiki (the girl manager that I worked with today), and Riat (or something like that--he's the head chef and he's from Bali). Wiki told me that it's rare that Riat says good things about the new people so I'm lucky!
So things are going great here in Auckland and I think that I'm really going to like this job!
-Lisa
I get to work at 4pm and the Manager, Hardi (I think he's Japanese), was talking to me and then he had Paul, one of the guys that worked there, show me around. After showing me around for about an hour he gave me a bunch of paperwork and a little manual to read. He wanted to me to have the contract and everything signed today, but I didn't have enough time to read everything yet. But it's okay, because I have a few days until it has to be turned in. Then it was funny because he asked if I wanted to go home and look at the contract or start working. I was like, I'm already here and in the uniform so the best way for me to decide on the job would be to work! Plus I had already planned on it. I worked until 9pm and pretty much did the job. There wasn't any "Watch what Mark is doing" B.S.--it was like hey, Lisa! Table 44 needs to order, etc. It was definitely fun and every table I served asked where I was from. The only real problems I had were with some of the words of the specials; a lot of food here has a different name than in the U.S. And I only spilt a tiny bit of a beer on my shirt (as usual) so that was pretty good!
Hardi asked if I could come back tomorrow at noon and I said of course! What else do I have to do? Haha. So I just got done working the first part of a split shift from noon to 3pm and then I go back at 5. I'm not really sure when I get done tonight though...the Kiwi's operate on a 24hour clock so I'm totally confused all the time. But right now I'm just one of the wait staff and once I get the hang of it then they want to train me in the bar so I can do everything. The company that owns these bars is called Frenzi Group and get this: If I'm with them at least 3 months or so they will pay for me to get 24 credits towards a hospitality degree! Ha! I guess this means I could eventually have another degree...sweet! Here's the website of the cafe if you guys want to check it out:
http://www.theponsonby.co.nz/
It looks like I'm not working tomorrow, but I am on Saturday and Sunday so I can probably go sailing (and get comfortable shoes with a rubber sole) tomorrow! Tony called me today so I told him to call me tomorrow and I might be able to go. The weather is absolutely beautiful today and was yesterday, which is good for the bar because good weather = people going out. That's what they tell me here in Auckland! And...I've received a lot of good feedback/compliments from Hardi, Wiki (the girl manager that I worked with today), and Riat (or something like that--he's the head chef and he's from Bali). Wiki told me that it's rare that Riat says good things about the new people so I'm lucky!
So things are going great here in Auckland and I think that I'm really going to like this job!
-Lisa
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Job Hunt
Alright so here's the deal: It's 9:45am on Tuesday morning and I have a job trial thing tomorrow at 5:30pm at The Ponsonby (which is the Belgian Beer Cafe that I went to last week with the girl from Seattle and the English guy)! It was the 3rd bar/cafe I went into and the manager gave me an application, talked to me for awhile and then got out the schedule to see when I could come in! Pretty sweet deal! He also told me that the company that owns this bar/cafe also owns about 13 other ones across New Zealand and if I ever wanted to leave Auckland, they could find me a job at one of their other bars! Hell yes!!!
I have also talked with the gal from Moss Adams that called me about the job I wanted in Phoenix. She said they filled the position but after bonding with her over our Honors College experiences and the thesis she told me to keep in touch and call her when I get back to the U.S. and she might have a job for me in one of their many West Coast offices...woohoo!!! I'm also hoping to hear from Microsoft by the end of the week.
On another note, I moved rooms yesterday at Ponsonby Backpackers to the other dorm room because mine smelt horrible!!! Seriously, I'm not sure which of the 3 guys stunk but it even reeked in the hallway! So now I'm in a smaller room with 3 other beds which should be much better.
Beate and I just walked around yesterday and that's how I got the job at the Ponsonby. Then we went downtown so she could get bus information and I could get cash. We decided at one point to stop and have a coffee with Baileys (which is totally normal on a Monday afternoon) and it was a super idea because it started to just dump rain. Then the lightning and thunder followed! The storm was super crazy downtown where the thunder was echoing off the buildings. AWESOME!!! I guess it doesn't storm very often in Auckland either, so I was very happy to enjoy this treat!
I pretty much have no idea what I'm going to do today since the weather is so unpredictable here. It was super sunny when I got up this morning but now the clouds have taken over. I'm sure a trip to the supermarket would be a good idea...
-Lisa
I have also talked with the gal from Moss Adams that called me about the job I wanted in Phoenix. She said they filled the position but after bonding with her over our Honors College experiences and the thesis she told me to keep in touch and call her when I get back to the U.S. and she might have a job for me in one of their many West Coast offices...woohoo!!! I'm also hoping to hear from Microsoft by the end of the week.
On another note, I moved rooms yesterday at Ponsonby Backpackers to the other dorm room because mine smelt horrible!!! Seriously, I'm not sure which of the 3 guys stunk but it even reeked in the hallway! So now I'm in a smaller room with 3 other beds which should be much better.
Beate and I just walked around yesterday and that's how I got the job at the Ponsonby. Then we went downtown so she could get bus information and I could get cash. We decided at one point to stop and have a coffee with Baileys (which is totally normal on a Monday afternoon) and it was a super idea because it started to just dump rain. Then the lightning and thunder followed! The storm was super crazy downtown where the thunder was echoing off the buildings. AWESOME!!! I guess it doesn't storm very often in Auckland either, so I was very happy to enjoy this treat!
I pretty much have no idea what I'm going to do today since the weather is so unpredictable here. It was super sunny when I got up this morning but now the clouds have taken over. I'm sure a trip to the supermarket would be a good idea...
-Lisa
Monday, September 24, 2007
Another Weekend is Gone
It's 9:55am on Monday morning and I'm gearing up to go into different bars and cafes today until I end up with a job. It's bound to happen!
So what did I do this weekend? Let's see...Saturday I went and saw that movie "Stardust" which was so completely Hollywood and predictable, but very entertaining! Then I had a headache so I went back to the hostel and hung out for awhile. Beate and I went for some dinner and then just walked around Ponsonby Road. We were too tired to hit the nightlife scene, so we went back and watched a movie on TV.
Yesterday, we (Mom and Dad and I) tested out Skype! If any of you want to talk to me or anyone else overseas, this is an awesome program!!! You just download it off the internet and use some headphones and a microphone to talk on the internet. The internet is like your phone line and then you can just talk to anyone else using Skype for free! Very awesome, as long as you have a good internet connection.
After the chat I went with Beate out to Mission Bay. We had some lunch and decided to walk on the trail along the water all the way back to the city. Well not even 5 minutes into the walk it started to sprinkle and then about 15 minutes later it started to really rain! It was so ridiculous because by the time we finally caught the link bus we were soaked and totally exhausted! I imagine that the walk would have been excellent had the weather been nice. So we came back to the hostel and got into some dry clothes and just hung out on the couches since we were so tired. I made a very ambitious meal of quinoa, frozen veggies, chicken and some Tiki Masala sauce...it ended up pretty good!
So I'm still in the Ponsonby Backpackers and have decided to stay there some more since everyone's so nice and it's very home-y. I still have 3 guy roommates: Chris (the German), Talka (the Japanese guy that wants to go to the U.S. in 20 years so that that is the last place he travels to, a.k.a. save the best for last) and some Kiwi guy that gets in really late and sleeps really late or doesn't come back at all. I'm enjoying some of the other characters like Gary from Scotland and Morgan (I think she's Kiwi).
I hope everyone's Sunday is going well!
-Lisa
So what did I do this weekend? Let's see...Saturday I went and saw that movie "Stardust" which was so completely Hollywood and predictable, but very entertaining! Then I had a headache so I went back to the hostel and hung out for awhile. Beate and I went for some dinner and then just walked around Ponsonby Road. We were too tired to hit the nightlife scene, so we went back and watched a movie on TV.
Yesterday, we (Mom and Dad and I) tested out Skype! If any of you want to talk to me or anyone else overseas, this is an awesome program!!! You just download it off the internet and use some headphones and a microphone to talk on the internet. The internet is like your phone line and then you can just talk to anyone else using Skype for free! Very awesome, as long as you have a good internet connection.
After the chat I went with Beate out to Mission Bay. We had some lunch and decided to walk on the trail along the water all the way back to the city. Well not even 5 minutes into the walk it started to sprinkle and then about 15 minutes later it started to really rain! It was so ridiculous because by the time we finally caught the link bus we were soaked and totally exhausted! I imagine that the walk would have been excellent had the weather been nice. So we came back to the hostel and got into some dry clothes and just hung out on the couches since we were so tired. I made a very ambitious meal of quinoa, frozen veggies, chicken and some Tiki Masala sauce...it ended up pretty good!
So I'm still in the Ponsonby Backpackers and have decided to stay there some more since everyone's so nice and it's very home-y. I still have 3 guy roommates: Chris (the German), Talka (the Japanese guy that wants to go to the U.S. in 20 years so that that is the last place he travels to, a.k.a. save the best for last) and some Kiwi guy that gets in really late and sleeps really late or doesn't come back at all. I'm enjoying some of the other characters like Gary from Scotland and Morgan (I think she's Kiwi).
I hope everyone's Sunday is going well!
-Lisa
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Waiting...
It's Saturday morning at 10:30am and I am yet again, waiting for things to happen. Why does this always happen to me? Probably because I'm the type of person that gets things going/I'm a do-er not a sit around and wait for life to come to me type person. I still haven't heard from the Safari Lounge, I'm supposed to find out from a job at Microsoft sometime next week and I just found out that one of the jobs I really wanted in AZ is open and they wanted me...whew! So I have no clue what I'll end up doing today.
Yesterday I ended up doing little things like setting up Skype on my computer and making phone calls and grocery shopping. But then Chris, Beate and I went out again! Yay for Friday night! We realized we had to go out later if we were going to find the crowds so left at about 9:45. I really enjoy spending time with these two but...1) I find myself explaining a lot since English isn't their native language and 2) They are quiet and indecisive and want to please others, which is great but even when they're drinking they don't get any livelier and we all know that I do. So we went to a knew place: Grand Central, which had some live music that was bluesy. Finally Beate and I ditched Chris again and hit up the Crib and the Whiskey! Whoever told me that Kiwis don't buy girls drinks was a liar, because it's happened both nights now! We didn't stay out near as long because we were both pretty tired so we left at 1:30am or so. Fun times, but I guess in some respects I wish I had one of my crazy American girlfriends with me because then I wouldn't have to worry about her understanding me and or if she was having a good time or not. I guess I'm just used to more direct people.
Well, I sure hope everyone's having a fantastic Friday!
-Lisa
Yesterday I ended up doing little things like setting up Skype on my computer and making phone calls and grocery shopping. But then Chris, Beate and I went out again! Yay for Friday night! We realized we had to go out later if we were going to find the crowds so left at about 9:45. I really enjoy spending time with these two but...1) I find myself explaining a lot since English isn't their native language and 2) They are quiet and indecisive and want to please others, which is great but even when they're drinking they don't get any livelier and we all know that I do. So we went to a knew place: Grand Central, which had some live music that was bluesy. Finally Beate and I ditched Chris again and hit up the Crib and the Whiskey! Whoever told me that Kiwis don't buy girls drinks was a liar, because it's happened both nights now! We didn't stay out near as long because we were both pretty tired so we left at 1:30am or so. Fun times, but I guess in some respects I wish I had one of my crazy American girlfriends with me because then I wouldn't have to worry about her understanding me and or if she was having a good time or not. I guess I'm just used to more direct people.
Well, I sure hope everyone's having a fantastic Friday!
-Lisa
Thursday, September 20, 2007
What a night!
Alright so now it's 7:30pm on Thursday night and I just re-read my last entry...things have definitely changed! I went back to the hostel to make some dinner last night and ended up meeting a couple of great people. Beate (pronounced Bee-ah-teh) is a German girl, 21, who is here on a year holiday working visa as well. She's super sweet and we have become fast friends! Chris is also German and he's here for a few months just travelling around. All 3 of us really wanted to go grab a drink or two so I was super excited to experience a little night life in Auckland (finally!!!!!)!
I spruced up my outfit a bit...maybe added some eyeshadow and cute shoes, which is a lot considering I'm an official "backpacker". We just started walking down Ponsonby Road until we came upon a bar that we all agreed on: The Crib. Well there were only a couple of other people in the Crib because it was a Wednesday night at about 8pm, but we were able to make friends with the bartender...or rather, I was able to make friends with the Brazilian bartender because the Germans are a bit too shy. I was finally able to have a vodka tonic (my fav drink) and we ended up staying about an hour or so in the bar. We were about ready to leave when I saw them setting up for something so I asked what they were up to and surprise! They were having a live Brazilian band playing later!!! The bartender said it would get good an busy at about 11pm so we told him we'd come back. I'm pretty sure all of you know this, but I absolutely LOVE live music!
Then we walked next door, but wait! I quickly have to tell you about my 2nd drink: Feijoa flavored 42Below Vodka and apple juice...amazing! Feijoa is some kind of fruit here in New Zealand and apparently this drink is very popular among Kiwi girls. Okay, next bar we had some beer and it got really busy! I was so happy to be in a roudy/loud place. We stayed there for another length of time and then decided to move on and check something else out. After walking for awhile we decided to hit up "The Whiskey"!!! Haha, oh I think my brother would have loved this place! The back wall was lined with different whiskeys and the bar boasted signs of "Best Bar 2004 and 2005!" They had excellent old classic rock like ACDC and Guns n' Roses playing in the background, but the place was fancy and the people were 40s and over and dressed up! I loved it though, and so did Chris. I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, but just for the special occaision I decided to have a whiskey sour in remembrance of Laura's new favorite drink! The bartender was asking me questions and it was so loud and her accent was so strong I just said, "Yeah" and nodded alot. The next thing I know she's cracking an egg white into the drink she's pouring me and then shaking it up. When in rome...
We left this bar at around 11pm and Chris was completely done/exhausted so Beate and I ditched him and went back to The Crib for some music! Haha, all I'm going to say about the next several hours is that we didn't have to pay for our drinks and the music was FANTASTIC!!!! We were meeting all kinds of people and I basically had to drag Beate out of there at almost 3am because I was exhausted!!!
Needless to say I was a bit tired today, so I just did some errand-ish things like laundry and filing for a tax ID number so I can work. I slept so good and thoroughly enjoyed my new friends so I extende my stay at the Ponsonby Backpackers until Monday. I was so happy to finally be able to get some of that night life I've been missing since AZ, which was probably last April! I have to remember I'm still only 22, so live it up!!!
Okay, I think it's going to be an early night for me so I hope you all have a great night like mine sometime this week!
-Lisa
I spruced up my outfit a bit...maybe added some eyeshadow and cute shoes, which is a lot considering I'm an official "backpacker". We just started walking down Ponsonby Road until we came upon a bar that we all agreed on: The Crib. Well there were only a couple of other people in the Crib because it was a Wednesday night at about 8pm, but we were able to make friends with the bartender...or rather, I was able to make friends with the Brazilian bartender because the Germans are a bit too shy. I was finally able to have a vodka tonic (my fav drink) and we ended up staying about an hour or so in the bar. We were about ready to leave when I saw them setting up for something so I asked what they were up to and surprise! They were having a live Brazilian band playing later!!! The bartender said it would get good an busy at about 11pm so we told him we'd come back. I'm pretty sure all of you know this, but I absolutely LOVE live music!
Then we walked next door, but wait! I quickly have to tell you about my 2nd drink: Feijoa flavored 42Below Vodka and apple juice...amazing! Feijoa is some kind of fruit here in New Zealand and apparently this drink is very popular among Kiwi girls. Okay, next bar we had some beer and it got really busy! I was so happy to be in a roudy/loud place. We stayed there for another length of time and then decided to move on and check something else out. After walking for awhile we decided to hit up "The Whiskey"!!! Haha, oh I think my brother would have loved this place! The back wall was lined with different whiskeys and the bar boasted signs of "Best Bar 2004 and 2005!" They had excellent old classic rock like ACDC and Guns n' Roses playing in the background, but the place was fancy and the people were 40s and over and dressed up! I loved it though, and so did Chris. I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, but just for the special occaision I decided to have a whiskey sour in remembrance of Laura's new favorite drink! The bartender was asking me questions and it was so loud and her accent was so strong I just said, "Yeah" and nodded alot. The next thing I know she's cracking an egg white into the drink she's pouring me and then shaking it up. When in rome...
We left this bar at around 11pm and Chris was completely done/exhausted so Beate and I ditched him and went back to The Crib for some music! Haha, all I'm going to say about the next several hours is that we didn't have to pay for our drinks and the music was FANTASTIC!!!! We were meeting all kinds of people and I basically had to drag Beate out of there at almost 3am because I was exhausted!!!
Needless to say I was a bit tired today, so I just did some errand-ish things like laundry and filing for a tax ID number so I can work. I slept so good and thoroughly enjoyed my new friends so I extende my stay at the Ponsonby Backpackers until Monday. I was so happy to finally be able to get some of that night life I've been missing since AZ, which was probably last April! I have to remember I'm still only 22, so live it up!!!
Okay, I think it's going to be an early night for me so I hope you all have a great night like mine sometime this week!
-Lisa
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
And another hostel!
Okay so I got up this morning, much earlier than I wanted but my phone rang and it was Tony asking me if I wanted to sail tomorrow. I told him I'd call him back once I made my decision about going south for the weekend or staying. I went downstairs to talk to the guy about which room I would be staying in tonight and he replied, "We're totally full." So because some guy f-ed up last week, I had to move to another hostel today. Luckily the manager called the Backpackers down the street and got me in there. After sweating through another haul of my luggage on the bus and then off to Ponsonby Backpackers, I decided I'd better get to making my decision.
A whole lot of agonizing later, I came to the conclusion that no, I would not go south or go sailing but I would go into some bars and cafes and get myself some sort of job for the time being. I found this place, "The Safari Lounge" that had a sign posted: Bar Staff Needed. I called the guy and he told me to meet him at 4pm. I had two hours to go to the grocery store and what not before the meeting. At 4 I met with Brad and his partner, the owners of the bar, who are super laid back. We chatted and then Brad showed me around the bar and gave me a form to fill out. He told me that he'd let me know in a couple of days and as they have a few people to go through, and the only thing against me is the lack of experience. But he also said it would be easy to teach me because they mainly just serve beer.
So I guess the plan for the next couple of days is to check out some more bars/cafes in case Safari Lounge doesn't work! Also, I'm staying in a dorm room with about 7 other people tonight, so that might totally suck. I'm going to try and find another place for a week or so. Anyway, so that's the update!
-Lisa
A whole lot of agonizing later, I came to the conclusion that no, I would not go south or go sailing but I would go into some bars and cafes and get myself some sort of job for the time being. I found this place, "The Safari Lounge" that had a sign posted: Bar Staff Needed. I called the guy and he told me to meet him at 4pm. I had two hours to go to the grocery store and what not before the meeting. At 4 I met with Brad and his partner, the owners of the bar, who are super laid back. We chatted and then Brad showed me around the bar and gave me a form to fill out. He told me that he'd let me know in a couple of days and as they have a few people to go through, and the only thing against me is the lack of experience. But he also said it would be easy to teach me because they mainly just serve beer.
So I guess the plan for the next couple of days is to check out some more bars/cafes in case Safari Lounge doesn't work! Also, I'm staying in a dorm room with about 7 other people tonight, so that might totally suck. I'm going to try and find another place for a week or so. Anyway, so that's the update!
-Lisa
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
1st night at the Verandahs
It's about 11am (I kind of slept in) and I'm sitting at the Starbucks on Ponsonby because I know they have wireless internet. I'm also surrounded by no less than 10 children, all under the age of 5 and several moms. All of these kids are actually extremely well behaved!
First, before I talk about my night I realize I need to explain myself as far as the cute stingray-feeding guy. The "Kiwis" (the New Zealand people) are still very British; they look British (I hate stereotyping but yes, most have bad teeth), they act more uptight and are not as apt to smile, etc. I've heard from quite a few girls that getting a Kiwi guy to talk to you, let alone ask you out is pretty much impossible. So I honestly have seen only a hand full of cute guys since I left the states and of course, most of them are not from New Zealand...such as the cute (and ridiculously quiet) German guy at the last hostel. Anyways, this should explain my situation a little bit better. Last night I heard that the guys on the beaches of the south island are definitely cuter.
Okay, so I got back to the hostel last night and was able to get my key! I asked where the nearest supermarket was, and the girl said about 15 to 20 minutes walk...yeah right. I was super hungry so I just decided to find something cheap and easy and I'd save the supermarket for tomorrow. Now you're totally going to laugh at where I ended up: Burger Wisconsin, home of the world's best burgers (apparently). I was so hungry and tired that I didn't want to walk any further. I'm not sure if it was the best burger I've ever had but it was most definitely the biggest! Then I headed back to the hostel to sit down with the rest of my bottle of wine and my book.
I didn't once open my book, but started talking to a German girl and another girl sitting at the computer. And you guys are never going to believe this!!! I finally had the chance to ask the girl at the computer where she was from...and guess what? Seattle! But, this is even better, when she was 12 they moved to Ellensburg!!! HA!!! She about died when I told her I was from Wenatchee! Her name's Jessica and she's 29, almost 30. I met a couple of other people too: Anika (I think that's) from England who was sitting with a liter bottle of coke and a liter or more of Jack Daniels, and Russell (30) who's also from England and he's here working at an architecture firm but he did the backpacking trip last year. Russell had me listen to a popular New Zealand band called: Fat Freddy's Drop. Excellent stuff! Definitely reggae/dub music so seriously everyone should check them out.
Then Jessica, Russell and I went for a walk to find Jessica some fish and chips (at 9pm, naturally) and were definitely having difficulties just finding something that was open on a Monday night. We ended up at this Belgian pub where according to Anton (the young bartender) they were "just open". Luckily Jessica was able to have some fish and chips and quite a few dark beers, Russell drank some white Hoegarrden (which is like a hefewizen) and I didn't bring any money so I had water. We were most definitely the last people there and Anton, the redheaded Kiwi, joined us. He bought us all a beer and then played a game of chess against Russell. We didn't leave until almost midnight. I was so exhausted. Poor Russell was trying his hardest to get with Jessica, who ended up walking far behind with Anton...needless to say, it was a very interesting evening!
I have no clue what I'm going to do today...but the cutest little curly-haired boy just waved at me! I think I'm going to like this hostel though...
Here are some pictures I took over the last few days:
-Lisa
First, before I talk about my night I realize I need to explain myself as far as the cute stingray-feeding guy. The "Kiwis" (the New Zealand people) are still very British; they look British (I hate stereotyping but yes, most have bad teeth), they act more uptight and are not as apt to smile, etc. I've heard from quite a few girls that getting a Kiwi guy to talk to you, let alone ask you out is pretty much impossible. So I honestly have seen only a hand full of cute guys since I left the states and of course, most of them are not from New Zealand...such as the cute (and ridiculously quiet) German guy at the last hostel. Anyways, this should explain my situation a little bit better. Last night I heard that the guys on the beaches of the south island are definitely cuter.
Okay, so I got back to the hostel last night and was able to get my key! I asked where the nearest supermarket was, and the girl said about 15 to 20 minutes walk...yeah right. I was super hungry so I just decided to find something cheap and easy and I'd save the supermarket for tomorrow. Now you're totally going to laugh at where I ended up: Burger Wisconsin, home of the world's best burgers (apparently). I was so hungry and tired that I didn't want to walk any further. I'm not sure if it was the best burger I've ever had but it was most definitely the biggest! Then I headed back to the hostel to sit down with the rest of my bottle of wine and my book.
I didn't once open my book, but started talking to a German girl and another girl sitting at the computer. And you guys are never going to believe this!!! I finally had the chance to ask the girl at the computer where she was from...and guess what? Seattle! But, this is even better, when she was 12 they moved to Ellensburg!!! HA!!! She about died when I told her I was from Wenatchee! Her name's Jessica and she's 29, almost 30. I met a couple of other people too: Anika (I think that's) from England who was sitting with a liter bottle of coke and a liter or more of Jack Daniels, and Russell (30) who's also from England and he's here working at an architecture firm but he did the backpacking trip last year. Russell had me listen to a popular New Zealand band called: Fat Freddy's Drop. Excellent stuff! Definitely reggae/dub music so seriously everyone should check them out.
Then Jessica, Russell and I went for a walk to find Jessica some fish and chips (at 9pm, naturally) and were definitely having difficulties just finding something that was open on a Monday night. We ended up at this Belgian pub where according to Anton (the young bartender) they were "just open". Luckily Jessica was able to have some fish and chips and quite a few dark beers, Russell drank some white Hoegarrden (which is like a hefewizen) and I didn't bring any money so I had water. We were most definitely the last people there and Anton, the redheaded Kiwi, joined us. He bought us all a beer and then played a game of chess against Russell. We didn't leave until almost midnight. I was so exhausted. Poor Russell was trying his hardest to get with Jessica, who ended up walking far behind with Anton...needless to say, it was a very interesting evening!
I have no clue what I'm going to do today...but the cutest little curly-haired boy just waved at me! I think I'm going to like this hostel though...
Here are some pictures I took over the last few days:
 |
| A little bit of Sailing, Mission Bay and the Aquarium |
-Lisa
Monday, September 17, 2007
Mission Bay
I'm sitting in an internet cafe (it's my favorite one I've found so far and it's on Queen Street right next to Britomart which is right next to the wharf where the ferries depart) since it's cheaper than the new hostel and in order to write about my day. It's about 4:30pm and I've been up since before 7am. I read my watch wrong, as I usually do this morning and decided I'd better get up and going so I could pack and leave the City Garden hostel. I'll have you know that I did sleep very well last night...but maybe not long enough!
Anyway, after getting my act together this morning I finally huffed up the hill to the bus stop carrying my huge and trusty duffle, another duffle, my backpack, my food bag and my purse. I was totally sweating by the time I got the bus stop, as I should be with any weight lifting that takes that much effort. It was actually parly cloudy and the sun was shining bright. The temperature has mabye varried from high 60s to high 70s today, so it's been really nice! I caught the link bus all the way to the end of Ponsonby Road at the "Art Station (no idea what that is)" and walked the block to the Verandahs hostel, where I'm staying now. It's another big white house, but I'm thinking it has even less rooms than the last place. I walked in and a guy (the manager) asked me my name and information. Apparently the guy that took down my info screwed up and put me in a single or something, so this guy changed some things around and put me in a double at the special rate of $25 New Zealand. I'm in a twin bed with just one other guy in another twin bed! As long as he doesn't snore, I'm going to sleep so well tonight. Also, I made the reservation for 3 nights, but this is only for 2 nights...then I have no clue where they'll put me. The place looks decent, they were cleaning when I got there at about 10:30. I don't have a key yet, the guy had to go to the locksmith's during lunch and have them cut me another. That might sound a bit sketch, but I'm not worried...they seem nice.
So I left and decided that I would finally find a way to get to Mission Bay today. I walked all the way down to Britomart and found a bus that could take me to Mission Bay! I grabbed a diet coke and a banana while I waited. The ride took about 10 minutes total along the shoreline and then I was there! It was such a beautiful day to go and there were actually people swimming!!! I was starving and so I was checking out all the cafes and their menus before deciding. I stopped at an Italian restaurant to look and the hostess came out to talk to me in a thick Italian accent. She hovered, so I felt obligated to eat there. It did look wonderful. I ended up with a fabulous glass of Pinot Gris and the Garlic prawns! Very good! And, this was maybe the first place where the service was good too! The Mission Bay area is pretty small and on the other side of the street is about two blocks of cafes and that's it. After I finished my meal I walked along the shore, back towards the city.
I stopped at a popular site: Kelly Tarlton's Underwater Aquarium. I had heard that I needed to go there, so I was excited to check it out. A lot of the museum is based on Antarctica excursions and there was a little ride that took you around the penguin tank! I guess New Zealand is a couple thousand miles away from Antarctica; not as close as South America, but the next closest! The penguins were fun to watch...they just look fake, like stuffed animals! Then I was talking to one of the guys that worked there and he told me to stick around for the Stingray feeding and talk, so I went around the fish and shark tanks before heading to the Stingray tank. I didn't care about the rest of the aquarium because at that point I saw just about the cutest guy I've seen (in a month of leaving the states), in a wet suit, feeding the stingrays! I totally pretended to listen to him talk--though it was hard because of the accent and the muffled microphone--and watched him...I mean the stingrays of course! Haha. The session ended quickly and he told everyone to stick around if they had questions. Of course I was last one still sticking around and tried to come up with as many questions possible as my face got redder and redder. I was stupid and asked if they lay eggs (they're a mammal for gosh sake!) and he kind of laughed at me and said no, they have pups, etc. He told me that the fish in the tank, King fish (the fast ones), are really good to eat especially if you catch them yourself. I ran out of conversation and almost dove into the water after him, before I decided to move on. We'll just say that that was the highlight of my day...
Now I'm going to head back to the hostel, get my key, and hopefully find a supermarket!
-Lisa
Anyway, after getting my act together this morning I finally huffed up the hill to the bus stop carrying my huge and trusty duffle, another duffle, my backpack, my food bag and my purse. I was totally sweating by the time I got the bus stop, as I should be with any weight lifting that takes that much effort. It was actually parly cloudy and the sun was shining bright. The temperature has mabye varried from high 60s to high 70s today, so it's been really nice! I caught the link bus all the way to the end of Ponsonby Road at the "Art Station (no idea what that is)" and walked the block to the Verandahs hostel, where I'm staying now. It's another big white house, but I'm thinking it has even less rooms than the last place. I walked in and a guy (the manager) asked me my name and information. Apparently the guy that took down my info screwed up and put me in a single or something, so this guy changed some things around and put me in a double at the special rate of $25 New Zealand. I'm in a twin bed with just one other guy in another twin bed! As long as he doesn't snore, I'm going to sleep so well tonight. Also, I made the reservation for 3 nights, but this is only for 2 nights...then I have no clue where they'll put me. The place looks decent, they were cleaning when I got there at about 10:30. I don't have a key yet, the guy had to go to the locksmith's during lunch and have them cut me another. That might sound a bit sketch, but I'm not worried...they seem nice.
So I left and decided that I would finally find a way to get to Mission Bay today. I walked all the way down to Britomart and found a bus that could take me to Mission Bay! I grabbed a diet coke and a banana while I waited. The ride took about 10 minutes total along the shoreline and then I was there! It was such a beautiful day to go and there were actually people swimming!!! I was starving and so I was checking out all the cafes and their menus before deciding. I stopped at an Italian restaurant to look and the hostess came out to talk to me in a thick Italian accent. She hovered, so I felt obligated to eat there. It did look wonderful. I ended up with a fabulous glass of Pinot Gris and the Garlic prawns! Very good! And, this was maybe the first place where the service was good too! The Mission Bay area is pretty small and on the other side of the street is about two blocks of cafes and that's it. After I finished my meal I walked along the shore, back towards the city.
I stopped at a popular site: Kelly Tarlton's Underwater Aquarium. I had heard that I needed to go there, so I was excited to check it out. A lot of the museum is based on Antarctica excursions and there was a little ride that took you around the penguin tank! I guess New Zealand is a couple thousand miles away from Antarctica; not as close as South America, but the next closest! The penguins were fun to watch...they just look fake, like stuffed animals! Then I was talking to one of the guys that worked there and he told me to stick around for the Stingray feeding and talk, so I went around the fish and shark tanks before heading to the Stingray tank. I didn't care about the rest of the aquarium because at that point I saw just about the cutest guy I've seen (in a month of leaving the states), in a wet suit, feeding the stingrays! I totally pretended to listen to him talk--though it was hard because of the accent and the muffled microphone--and watched him...I mean the stingrays of course! Haha. The session ended quickly and he told everyone to stick around if they had questions. Of course I was last one still sticking around and tried to come up with as many questions possible as my face got redder and redder. I was stupid and asked if they lay eggs (they're a mammal for gosh sake!) and he kind of laughed at me and said no, they have pups, etc. He told me that the fish in the tank, King fish (the fast ones), are really good to eat especially if you catch them yourself. I ran out of conversation and almost dove into the water after him, before I decided to move on. We'll just say that that was the highlight of my day...
Now I'm going to head back to the hostel, get my key, and hopefully find a supermarket!
-Lisa
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Interesting Weather...
It's already Sunday at 4pm! Wow, this weekend has actually gone pretty fast! What I mean by "Interesting Weather" is that yesterday it probably reach mid to high 70s in Auckland! Then last night it was "misting" at about 10pm and this morning I woke up to rain. Today it has rained really hard and then completely stopped for hours and then started again. I've changed clothes several times and have been too hot in jeans, sandals and a tank top; but freezing again in jeans, a sweater, a jacket and shoes! I've just been used to dressing for warm/really hot weather every day for the last 4 years I guess...
Anyway! Since it was so beautiful yesterday I ended up having a fabulous breakfast out (Spanish omelette and hashbrowns) and then wandering around the big park by the museum. I got a call when I was wandering from the family that I know here in Auckland! Some of you know them: Robert Speer, who is Uncle Sterling's (my grandfather's best friend) son. He's lived here for about 25 years and has a family and everything here. I met him the one time I came here about 7 or 8 years ago. This has been a super busy time for them but we finally were able to meet up yesterday afternoon. Him and one of his youngest daughters (they're twins), Lauren, met me for some lunch and conversation. This is an extremely active family by the way. Lauren is a competitive swimmer (just like her older sister Jordan used to be) and is going in a couple of weeks to Samoa for about 10 days to train. Her twin sister (I totally can't remember her name) is a cyclist and is going to race in the National Championships which are at the end of this week. The oldest, Richard, has competitively race bicycles for a long time and just finished racing in the U.S. circuit/is recovering from an injury. He's roughly my age, maybe a year older. The twins are about 9th grade age so maybe 15 and Lauren must be about 19 or 20--she's in university. Whew, so you probably didn't need to or want to know all of that but I hardly got a word in all afternoon since Robert was talking almost the whole time. When Lauren was able to talk I could barely understand her because of the strong accent combined with braces! I just smiled and nodded...
Robert drove me around a bit basically showing me everything I've already seen (but that's okay) and then told me that if I would like to, I could catch a ride with him and the other twin down to the Southern part of the North Island on Thursday morning because that's where the National Bike Championships are. He said it's about an 7 hour drive and I would get to see a lot of NZ and it's also very close to Wellington. I told him I'd think about it.
Last night I decided to go see another movie since I was desperate for something to distract my mind. I ended up at the Independent film movie theater again and saw "Romulus, My Father" which is an Australian movie with Eric Bana, the gal from the Bourne trilogy (Damon's girlfriend), and another guy that I've seen in a couple movies before. It was pretty slow, but definitely good. You had to make a lot of conclusions on your own and I guess it's based on a true story. It was set back in 1950s in Australia and it was from the point of view of the kid who was maybe 11 or 12. Tough stuff.
I got back to find one roommate asleep. I ended up with 3 guys last night, and surprisingly none of them snored! But...one was super loud. He kept coming in and out, talking maybe on his phone or something, coughing, etc. Needless to say I'm exhausted today and definitely woke up in a foul mood especially with rain coming down. I'm not even going to go over my pissed-off morning, but it's turning around this afternoon! I came to Starbucks and found that they have the iced green teas! I haven't been to one cafe in the entire city that has iced tea yet, so this was very pleasing to me. The rain has also stopped and tonight is my last at City Garden Lodge. I've booked a few nights at a place called "Verandahs Backpackers Lodge" which is right off Ponsonby Road and it looks fabulous! I'm ready for a change and have decided to make some decisions this week about where I'll be living and working. One winery has offered me a part time job...so I'm looking into that, otherwise I'm definitely just going to get something going for sure this week. I've decided that it doesn't have to be the ideal job yet, I just need something until that comes along. Basically my brain seriously needs some kind of stimulation because there's only so much English these bloody Germans can speak! Haha, just kidding...
I hope everyone's weekends are going great! Go Devils and Cougs!!!
-Lisa
Anyway! Since it was so beautiful yesterday I ended up having a fabulous breakfast out (Spanish omelette and hashbrowns) and then wandering around the big park by the museum. I got a call when I was wandering from the family that I know here in Auckland! Some of you know them: Robert Speer, who is Uncle Sterling's (my grandfather's best friend) son. He's lived here for about 25 years and has a family and everything here. I met him the one time I came here about 7 or 8 years ago. This has been a super busy time for them but we finally were able to meet up yesterday afternoon. Him and one of his youngest daughters (they're twins), Lauren, met me for some lunch and conversation. This is an extremely active family by the way. Lauren is a competitive swimmer (just like her older sister Jordan used to be) and is going in a couple of weeks to Samoa for about 10 days to train. Her twin sister (I totally can't remember her name) is a cyclist and is going to race in the National Championships which are at the end of this week. The oldest, Richard, has competitively race bicycles for a long time and just finished racing in the U.S. circuit/is recovering from an injury. He's roughly my age, maybe a year older. The twins are about 9th grade age so maybe 15 and Lauren must be about 19 or 20--she's in university. Whew, so you probably didn't need to or want to know all of that but I hardly got a word in all afternoon since Robert was talking almost the whole time. When Lauren was able to talk I could barely understand her because of the strong accent combined with braces! I just smiled and nodded...
Robert drove me around a bit basically showing me everything I've already seen (but that's okay) and then told me that if I would like to, I could catch a ride with him and the other twin down to the Southern part of the North Island on Thursday morning because that's where the National Bike Championships are. He said it's about an 7 hour drive and I would get to see a lot of NZ and it's also very close to Wellington. I told him I'd think about it.
Last night I decided to go see another movie since I was desperate for something to distract my mind. I ended up at the Independent film movie theater again and saw "Romulus, My Father" which is an Australian movie with Eric Bana, the gal from the Bourne trilogy (Damon's girlfriend), and another guy that I've seen in a couple movies before. It was pretty slow, but definitely good. You had to make a lot of conclusions on your own and I guess it's based on a true story. It was set back in 1950s in Australia and it was from the point of view of the kid who was maybe 11 or 12. Tough stuff.
I got back to find one roommate asleep. I ended up with 3 guys last night, and surprisingly none of them snored! But...one was super loud. He kept coming in and out, talking maybe on his phone or something, coughing, etc. Needless to say I'm exhausted today and definitely woke up in a foul mood especially with rain coming down. I'm not even going to go over my pissed-off morning, but it's turning around this afternoon! I came to Starbucks and found that they have the iced green teas! I haven't been to one cafe in the entire city that has iced tea yet, so this was very pleasing to me. The rain has also stopped and tonight is my last at City Garden Lodge. I've booked a few nights at a place called "Verandahs Backpackers Lodge" which is right off Ponsonby Road and it looks fabulous! I'm ready for a change and have decided to make some decisions this week about where I'll be living and working. One winery has offered me a part time job...so I'm looking into that, otherwise I'm definitely just going to get something going for sure this week. I've decided that it doesn't have to be the ideal job yet, I just need something until that comes along. Basically my brain seriously needs some kind of stimulation because there's only so much English these bloody Germans can speak! Haha, just kidding...
I hope everyone's weekends are going great! Go Devils and Cougs!!!
-Lisa
Friday, September 14, 2007
2 weeks in Auckland!
Wow, so as of today I've been in Auckland 2 weeks! It's been 4 weeks since I left the U.S. and it feels much longer than that! I woke up in kind of a meloncholy mood probably because I sat drinking with the English guys last night! I can tend to feel a bit down after a wonderful night like that...wow, that sounded like an English sentence if I've ever said one. Anyway, one of the guys--Carl--had been drinking with his boss since about 3pm and so I decided to join him, 3 other Englishmen, one Kiwi girl and a German guy when I was finished eating. After laughing for about 2 hours straight I went to bed and slept REALLY well.
This morning I was definitely in more of a "downer" mood due to the alcohol and decided to walk it off. I walked towards Mission Bay which is down the hill from Parnell. Wow, once again the homes are amazing! I walked for almost an hour before I decided to try and catch the bus back. Well, I would have had to wait another 45 minutes for a bus so I had the lovelly task of walkin up the steep hill I had just descended. I was definetly perspiring by the time I reached the top and decided to have a snack or something at the organic coffee shop I've been walking past....bad decision. Sometimes eating "organically" isn't worth it for the taste. I went back to the hostel and ended up taking a nap on the couch.
Finally I left for the marina (I had to be there at 3:15pm today to sail) and got there with plenty of time to have a cup of coffee before I met Tony. We had a whole different crew today besided Tony and I including Tim (tall, kind of cute, in his 30s), Andy (owns his own boat but the motor is broken, maybe in his 40s, very nice) and Andrea (friends with Philipa--that's the gals name from yesterday!--maybe in her late 30s, blonde, has an 11 month old baby). The winds were all over the place today so luckily the race was short. I'm totally sore almost all over both my legs from climbing from one side of the boat to the other! I realize that may seem easy to those of you that haven't done this but: I'm sitting with my legs over one side in between a metal rod holding up the fence (a rope that encircles the entire boat) and some wires holding up the mast. Once they say "Jive" or (damn, I can't remember!) something like "On board" I have to slide under the sail and over the cabin which is covered with ropes, as fast as possible to the other side where I still have to slide my legs over the edge. They told me to go head first, so I've at least go that down. I was able to go much quicker today, but we had to move more often and it makes my heart race for some reason, maybe because I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to fly overboard or completely dissappoint Tony. Anyway, the race only lasted 1 hour and we came in maybe 6th or so because we got a "bad start." It was fun though!
Of course I had another 2 rum and cokes before I left and Andy drove me up to a bus stop on Ponsonby Road. This was another rum race! Tony told me yesterday that he learned from the naval men that drinking "a spot of rum" is the norm when sailing or on the sea. I have no idea when I'm going again, but he said some of his crew returns from various things next week and even if there's no room for me on his boat, he'll find room on another. What a life.
So I grabbed a pizza on the way home and am drinking the fabulous Waiheke Syrah! What an end to a fabulous week!
-Lisa
This morning I was definitely in more of a "downer" mood due to the alcohol and decided to walk it off. I walked towards Mission Bay which is down the hill from Parnell. Wow, once again the homes are amazing! I walked for almost an hour before I decided to try and catch the bus back. Well, I would have had to wait another 45 minutes for a bus so I had the lovelly task of walkin up the steep hill I had just descended. I was definetly perspiring by the time I reached the top and decided to have a snack or something at the organic coffee shop I've been walking past....bad decision. Sometimes eating "organically" isn't worth it for the taste. I went back to the hostel and ended up taking a nap on the couch.
Finally I left for the marina (I had to be there at 3:15pm today to sail) and got there with plenty of time to have a cup of coffee before I met Tony. We had a whole different crew today besided Tony and I including Tim (tall, kind of cute, in his 30s), Andy (owns his own boat but the motor is broken, maybe in his 40s, very nice) and Andrea (friends with Philipa--that's the gals name from yesterday!--maybe in her late 30s, blonde, has an 11 month old baby). The winds were all over the place today so luckily the race was short. I'm totally sore almost all over both my legs from climbing from one side of the boat to the other! I realize that may seem easy to those of you that haven't done this but: I'm sitting with my legs over one side in between a metal rod holding up the fence (a rope that encircles the entire boat) and some wires holding up the mast. Once they say "Jive" or (damn, I can't remember!) something like "On board" I have to slide under the sail and over the cabin which is covered with ropes, as fast as possible to the other side where I still have to slide my legs over the edge. They told me to go head first, so I've at least go that down. I was able to go much quicker today, but we had to move more often and it makes my heart race for some reason, maybe because I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to fly overboard or completely dissappoint Tony. Anyway, the race only lasted 1 hour and we came in maybe 6th or so because we got a "bad start." It was fun though!
Of course I had another 2 rum and cokes before I left and Andy drove me up to a bus stop on Ponsonby Road. This was another rum race! Tony told me yesterday that he learned from the naval men that drinking "a spot of rum" is the norm when sailing or on the sea. I have no idea when I'm going again, but he said some of his crew returns from various things next week and even if there's no room for me on his boat, he'll find room on another. What a life.
So I grabbed a pizza on the way home and am drinking the fabulous Waiheke Syrah! What an end to a fabulous week!
-Lisa
Thursday, September 13, 2007
My first time Sailing...ever!!!
Okay, so to start it is 7:03pm here on Thursday evening. A quick update on yesterday: I got a slow start but ended up going to the suburb of Mount Eden. It was extremely nice wandering around the cute shops, cafes and the beautiful homes in the area. I seriously wandered around and got lost for awhile, but didn't really care. I came back early because I had bought some food at a supermarket in Mt. Eden and needed to get it in the fridge. I had been texting this girl, Suzie, I had met through Lindsey and was awaiting her directions on going out, but ended up watching 300 on one of the German girls' computer instead! For anyone who hasn't seen 300...do it!!! But, I have to admit it was way better in the theatre on the big screen.
I got up this morning and decided to do a little laundry before I went sailing this afternoon. After putting the money in for the second round of the dryer (no matter how high the heat is or how many clothes you have in the load, you have to dry almost everything twice) I decided to take a walk down the nearby hill since it was absolutely beautiful and almost warm outside! Suzie had told me that if I went down the hill I would eventually get to a walkway right on the shore of the water. Well, I never did get to that but I did see some of the most amazing houses ever! I just love how there isn't one house that is the same here because even in the nicest of neighborhoods in the US, it's still suburbia with at least 1/4 of the houses looking alike. Yuck. Here they have beautiful gardens, odd windows, old-looking, brand new modern-looking, etc.
Finally after folding laundry and getting everything together I took off early for sailing. I went to Victoria Market, which I basically turned around and left because I think it would be much better on a weekend or in the summer. Then I decided to go to the marina area and find some lunch before walking out to where I was supposed to meet Tony. I remembered this great Pub that I passed on my last trip to the Marina called "Swashbucklers" (or something like that) and decided to go back there for lunch. Okay so the worst meal I've had yet in Auckland--actually this is the only one that's been bad except for my own cooking of eggs in the morning--and the priciest meal! I'm not even going to tell you what I paid for fried scallops with a side of fries. I hate fried fish/seafood...I should have known better than to order this, but it was one of the cheapest things on the menu! I only learn from these dumb mistakes I guess.
Finally I changed into my "windsweats" and layers and met Tony right outside pier H. He showed me the access code and told me to go to Peter who was getting the boat ready. Tony is bald and maybe in his late 40s, while Peter was maybe late 30s or early 40s, used to own a sailboat and had a ponytail. Besides Peter, Tony and I there were 3 other crew members: Greta (woman in her 50s that was really flakey/funny), Neil (he gave me a ride to the bus stop when we were finished, in his 40s, large nose, very nice), and I'm drawing a blank on the other gal's name...something like Pippola or something that started with a P. She was probably mid 30s with short black hair and apparently a newborn baby. Definitely an interesting group! Peter started showing me some things about the boat and I learned so much new vocabulary I probably won't remember any of it tomorrow.
We finally took off and I really have no idea what time it was...2:45 or close to 3 maybe. Luckily the sun was out without too many clouds and it was kind of warm. Oh, I've completely forgot to mention one important thing: we are going to race! Seriously, we were going out because of a race--a rum race to be precise! Yes, we were actually racing for a bottle of rum! Peter told me before we left that Tony is a very competitive racer and is very good! He's had this sailboat for 25 years! My main job is to wait for the words "____"(Haha, I totally can't remember...something like "aboard" or I don't even know) and then slide lowly, as to not hit my head on the mast/sail, across the boat to the other side and sit on the edge with my legs hanging off to balance the boat. (It's very important actually!) So as we're getting ready and sailing close to the marina and the bridge, there's a point where everyone's miscommunicating and all of a sudden I'm sliding and I hear "Lisar (for with their accent, my name has an r at the end)! Other side!" I start climbing to the other side and I'm holding on to the wood beam on the top of the boat and am completely upright! The boat is totally on it's side and I'm just hanging on for dear life while they try and get it back in it's upright position. Haha, so finally they do and I get to the other side and there are many apologies as everyone checks to see how I'm doing...like I had anything to do with getting us back up! But since I was new to this, they were all sweetly concerned. My heart was definitely pounding and my stomach in knots, but I was totally having the time of my life!
Okay, so I don't want to drag this on forever. The breeze was really good and pretty strong so I didn't have to scramble from side to side very often. They told me I'd have plenty of bruises on my shins after today from going back and forth and I can already tell I'm sore in a couple of spots. The whole race took about an hour and a half and we had three different buoys/markers to go around. I spent most of the time with my legs hanging off the boat trying to lean in the opposite direction of the boat. My feet got wet with some of the waves crasing and it was just such an amazing experience to see the harbour that close! We ended up coming in 3rd out of maybe 20 or 25 yachts, so that was pretty good! I helped fold up the sails and put everything in the cabin when we were finished. Then we all (except for Peter because he had to leave) sat down for a little bit and had some rum and coke! We didn't win the bottle, but Tony brought some anyway. The other two girls left and then Tony poured himself another and insisted I have another (this is the first time I've had hard alcohol since I left the U.S.! For probably a month!!! I know you're all completely shocked :) . We sat and chatted for awhile and then Neil drove me to the bus stop in Ponsonby so I could catch it back to the hostel. I'm so excited to go back tomorrow!!! Seriously, this was such a fabulous experience I can't wait to do it again. There's a lot to learn though about every little position and all the ropes and sails and how to go fast/slow. I definitely recommend sailing for anyone that's get a chance! Maybe I just liked it so much because I love the wind...
Anyway, I'm sure I'll sleep great tonight (especially now that Edward the guy from HongKong is gone...he was kind of driving me crazy) and I'm excited to go back for another race tomorrow! I'm sorry I don't have any pictures...they asked me when I first got there if I could swim because it's easy to fall off! I'll try and take one of the yacht tomorrow though!
-Lisa
I got up this morning and decided to do a little laundry before I went sailing this afternoon. After putting the money in for the second round of the dryer (no matter how high the heat is or how many clothes you have in the load, you have to dry almost everything twice) I decided to take a walk down the nearby hill since it was absolutely beautiful and almost warm outside! Suzie had told me that if I went down the hill I would eventually get to a walkway right on the shore of the water. Well, I never did get to that but I did see some of the most amazing houses ever! I just love how there isn't one house that is the same here because even in the nicest of neighborhoods in the US, it's still suburbia with at least 1/4 of the houses looking alike. Yuck. Here they have beautiful gardens, odd windows, old-looking, brand new modern-looking, etc.
Finally after folding laundry and getting everything together I took off early for sailing. I went to Victoria Market, which I basically turned around and left because I think it would be much better on a weekend or in the summer. Then I decided to go to the marina area and find some lunch before walking out to where I was supposed to meet Tony. I remembered this great Pub that I passed on my last trip to the Marina called "Swashbucklers" (or something like that) and decided to go back there for lunch. Okay so the worst meal I've had yet in Auckland--actually this is the only one that's been bad except for my own cooking of eggs in the morning--and the priciest meal! I'm not even going to tell you what I paid for fried scallops with a side of fries. I hate fried fish/seafood...I should have known better than to order this, but it was one of the cheapest things on the menu! I only learn from these dumb mistakes I guess.
Finally I changed into my "windsweats" and layers and met Tony right outside pier H. He showed me the access code and told me to go to Peter who was getting the boat ready. Tony is bald and maybe in his late 40s, while Peter was maybe late 30s or early 40s, used to own a sailboat and had a ponytail. Besides Peter, Tony and I there were 3 other crew members: Greta (woman in her 50s that was really flakey/funny), Neil (he gave me a ride to the bus stop when we were finished, in his 40s, large nose, very nice), and I'm drawing a blank on the other gal's name...something like Pippola or something that started with a P. She was probably mid 30s with short black hair and apparently a newborn baby. Definitely an interesting group! Peter started showing me some things about the boat and I learned so much new vocabulary I probably won't remember any of it tomorrow.
We finally took off and I really have no idea what time it was...2:45 or close to 3 maybe. Luckily the sun was out without too many clouds and it was kind of warm. Oh, I've completely forgot to mention one important thing: we are going to race! Seriously, we were going out because of a race--a rum race to be precise! Yes, we were actually racing for a bottle of rum! Peter told me before we left that Tony is a very competitive racer and is very good! He's had this sailboat for 25 years! My main job is to wait for the words "____"(Haha, I totally can't remember...something like "aboard" or I don't even know) and then slide lowly, as to not hit my head on the mast/sail, across the boat to the other side and sit on the edge with my legs hanging off to balance the boat. (It's very important actually!) So as we're getting ready and sailing close to the marina and the bridge, there's a point where everyone's miscommunicating and all of a sudden I'm sliding and I hear "Lisar (for with their accent, my name has an r at the end)! Other side!" I start climbing to the other side and I'm holding on to the wood beam on the top of the boat and am completely upright! The boat is totally on it's side and I'm just hanging on for dear life while they try and get it back in it's upright position. Haha, so finally they do and I get to the other side and there are many apologies as everyone checks to see how I'm doing...like I had anything to do with getting us back up! But since I was new to this, they were all sweetly concerned. My heart was definitely pounding and my stomach in knots, but I was totally having the time of my life!
Okay, so I don't want to drag this on forever. The breeze was really good and pretty strong so I didn't have to scramble from side to side very often. They told me I'd have plenty of bruises on my shins after today from going back and forth and I can already tell I'm sore in a couple of spots. The whole race took about an hour and a half and we had three different buoys/markers to go around. I spent most of the time with my legs hanging off the boat trying to lean in the opposite direction of the boat. My feet got wet with some of the waves crasing and it was just such an amazing experience to see the harbour that close! We ended up coming in 3rd out of maybe 20 or 25 yachts, so that was pretty good! I helped fold up the sails and put everything in the cabin when we were finished. Then we all (except for Peter because he had to leave) sat down for a little bit and had some rum and coke! We didn't win the bottle, but Tony brought some anyway. The other two girls left and then Tony poured himself another and insisted I have another (this is the first time I've had hard alcohol since I left the U.S.! For probably a month!!! I know you're all completely shocked :) . We sat and chatted for awhile and then Neil drove me to the bus stop in Ponsonby so I could catch it back to the hostel. I'm so excited to go back tomorrow!!! Seriously, this was such a fabulous experience I can't wait to do it again. There's a lot to learn though about every little position and all the ropes and sails and how to go fast/slow. I definitely recommend sailing for anyone that's get a chance! Maybe I just liked it so much because I love the wind...
Anyway, I'm sure I'll sleep great tonight (especially now that Edward the guy from HongKong is gone...he was kind of driving me crazy) and I'm excited to go back for another race tomorrow! I'm sorry I don't have any pictures...they asked me when I first got there if I could swim because it's easy to fall off! I'll try and take one of the yacht tomorrow though!
-Lisa
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island is now among the top 5 places I have ever been!!! I didn't get on the ferry until 10am yesterday (Tuesday) but that ended up being the best time since I decided I wanted to take the bus tour around the island immediately after the ferry arrived. Bus tours aren't usually my thing, but this was a great decision since the Island was very hilly/didn't have any flat land whatsoever. I was able to get the general idea of the island and some very interesting facts. It's not a huge island, but at least 1/3 of the land on the Eastern part is completely undeveloped and is used for farming (I think mainly sheep). About 8,000 people live on the island and another 6,000 own holiday homes there. In peak summer season, which is January, there are about 35,000 people on the island at any time! But it's only been an attractive destination for the last ten years. It was mainly used for farm land all the way up to the 90s and in the last 15 or so years, the real estate market has gone up 700%!!!! Basically all the land that is allowed to be developed, is and therefore if you want to buy something, you would have to buy an already built house and it's surrounding property because of the laws. Apparently the hippies came to Waiheke about 15-20 years ago and now most of them have been driven out because of the cost of housing. Also, they don't have any running water so everyone has rain catchers and they use rainwater for everything. Usually the run out in the summer so then they can buy it from one of two reserves. Almost everyone has solar power too. This is a seriously "green" island and it's absolutely beautiful!!!
We were able to stop at a couple of points on the bus trip in order to take pictures. I'll try and post my pictures with this part of the blog so you can see! The weather on Waiheke is generally about 5 degrees warmer than Auckland...and it totally was! When the tour was over I got off at Oneroa, the largerst "town" on the island so I could look around. Every shop I went into I wanted to buy something because the people were incredibly friendly! I went into this t-shirt and wool sweater shop and ended up finding this fantastic recycled glass jewelry! I just HAD to get something so I got a necklace with a pendant made out of an Absolut vodka bottle! Hell yes!!!
Then I decided that I needed to have a snack/lunch and at least one glass of wine since this Island is known for it's boutique wineries. I went to this place called "Vino Vino" that had a tremendous view of Oneroa Bay. Apparently in the summertime about 50 or so boats travel into this bay for lunch time and the owners all eat and drink a couple bottles of wine. Then they wander up the shoreline into the town where they tend to drink a bit more. By night time, when they decide to return to the bay and find their dingy and then proceed to find their boat, there are around 800 other boats in the bay!!! Can you imagine that!? So I had a platter of bread and three different spreads: Roasted pepper, hummus and pesto; a bowl of locally grown green olives and two glasses of different red blends! Fabulous! The second glass was just so much better than the first. The first was a Goldwater Wine blend (the oldest winery on the island), the next was a Passage Rock blend. When I finally got up to leave I decided to go next door to the wine shop and see what I could buy. The guy told me that the Pinot Noir's were good so I finally decided on one, only to have him tell me that the island was known for it's Syrah's. Hello! Those are my favorite!!! I swear, I'm meant to live on this island at some point in my life. I basically turned around and had him show me the best ones and ended up with Passage Rock's Syrah. This wine has one several medals before and was only twice the amount of money I had originally decided to spend. But I have to tell you, I could almost justify the Stoneyridge wine because of the exchange rate. Apparently one of Stoneyridge's wines has one the top medal in the world in 3 out of the last 7 years!!! You can't beat that! Apparently one of the bottles was recently auctioned off for $10,000!!! The one I was looking at was $195. But I think I'm going to be super happy with my purchase.
At this point in the trip I decided I was exhausted and should head back so I could spend some quality time on the internet, applying for work positions at all of the wineries on Waiheke Island. I decided I would take the "short 15 minute walk" down to Matiatia wharf instead of wait for the bus. Well...of course I completely took the wrong road and ended up at a different bay: Owhanake. Well, the road was going to end if I took it up the next hill and I'm not a fan of retracing steps. Why not take the little trail off to the side that climbs the mountain at a steep grade? I'm so ridiculous that here I was in my nice sandals with my huge suitcase of a purse filled with a bottle of wine among many unnecessary things climbing this ridiculous wet grassy trail up the side of a mountain. The map said it would reach another road that should hopefully get me to Matiatia. Oh my god, I'm so glad nobody was watching me slide around huffing and puffing up this hill. I'm so ridiculous, I swear any sane person would have just turned around and walked back up the road to the bus stop. I finally made it to the top and was awarded with a fabulous view of almost every side of the Island! I took some pictures and then found another trail to take to the road that would lead me to Matiatia. This was probably one of the most hastily made decisions ever. I only fell twice, thankfully, but there was one point where there was no clear sign of which way to go. I was in some thick forest-y area with leaves literally praying out loud that I wouldn't run into a snake or some huge ferocious animal. Finally I found myself staring at a pasture with sheep and figured the area was harmless. The trail ended on a dirt road. Thankfully I went the right way and ended up only about a mile away from Matiatia wharf! Wow...what an adventure!
So I took the ferry back and struggled not to fall asleep. I went to the suprette (tiny grocery store) close to the hostel so I had some food for later and then returned to the hostel. Auckland was at least 10 degrees cooler when I got back from Waiheke! I sent an e-mail to 8 wineries last night! I've heard from one that said no, and the owner of another winery texted me! Ha, he told me to send my resume to a different e-mail address since he was in Switzerland!!! Hopefully this works out.
Today, I think I'm going to the Museum and just going to get some quality time outside because it's really nice and sunny out! Hope everyone is well! Here are the pictures of Waiheke:
-Lisa
We were able to stop at a couple of points on the bus trip in order to take pictures. I'll try and post my pictures with this part of the blog so you can see! The weather on Waiheke is generally about 5 degrees warmer than Auckland...and it totally was! When the tour was over I got off at Oneroa, the largerst "town" on the island so I could look around. Every shop I went into I wanted to buy something because the people were incredibly friendly! I went into this t-shirt and wool sweater shop and ended up finding this fantastic recycled glass jewelry! I just HAD to get something so I got a necklace with a pendant made out of an Absolut vodka bottle! Hell yes!!!
Then I decided that I needed to have a snack/lunch and at least one glass of wine since this Island is known for it's boutique wineries. I went to this place called "Vino Vino" that had a tremendous view of Oneroa Bay. Apparently in the summertime about 50 or so boats travel into this bay for lunch time and the owners all eat and drink a couple bottles of wine. Then they wander up the shoreline into the town where they tend to drink a bit more. By night time, when they decide to return to the bay and find their dingy and then proceed to find their boat, there are around 800 other boats in the bay!!! Can you imagine that!? So I had a platter of bread and three different spreads: Roasted pepper, hummus and pesto; a bowl of locally grown green olives and two glasses of different red blends! Fabulous! The second glass was just so much better than the first. The first was a Goldwater Wine blend (the oldest winery on the island), the next was a Passage Rock blend. When I finally got up to leave I decided to go next door to the wine shop and see what I could buy. The guy told me that the Pinot Noir's were good so I finally decided on one, only to have him tell me that the island was known for it's Syrah's. Hello! Those are my favorite!!! I swear, I'm meant to live on this island at some point in my life. I basically turned around and had him show me the best ones and ended up with Passage Rock's Syrah. This wine has one several medals before and was only twice the amount of money I had originally decided to spend. But I have to tell you, I could almost justify the Stoneyridge wine because of the exchange rate. Apparently one of Stoneyridge's wines has one the top medal in the world in 3 out of the last 7 years!!! You can't beat that! Apparently one of the bottles was recently auctioned off for $10,000!!! The one I was looking at was $195. But I think I'm going to be super happy with my purchase.
At this point in the trip I decided I was exhausted and should head back so I could spend some quality time on the internet, applying for work positions at all of the wineries on Waiheke Island. I decided I would take the "short 15 minute walk" down to Matiatia wharf instead of wait for the bus. Well...of course I completely took the wrong road and ended up at a different bay: Owhanake. Well, the road was going to end if I took it up the next hill and I'm not a fan of retracing steps. Why not take the little trail off to the side that climbs the mountain at a steep grade? I'm so ridiculous that here I was in my nice sandals with my huge suitcase of a purse filled with a bottle of wine among many unnecessary things climbing this ridiculous wet grassy trail up the side of a mountain. The map said it would reach another road that should hopefully get me to Matiatia. Oh my god, I'm so glad nobody was watching me slide around huffing and puffing up this hill. I'm so ridiculous, I swear any sane person would have just turned around and walked back up the road to the bus stop. I finally made it to the top and was awarded with a fabulous view of almost every side of the Island! I took some pictures and then found another trail to take to the road that would lead me to Matiatia. This was probably one of the most hastily made decisions ever. I only fell twice, thankfully, but there was one point where there was no clear sign of which way to go. I was in some thick forest-y area with leaves literally praying out loud that I wouldn't run into a snake or some huge ferocious animal. Finally I found myself staring at a pasture with sheep and figured the area was harmless. The trail ended on a dirt road. Thankfully I went the right way and ended up only about a mile away from Matiatia wharf! Wow...what an adventure!
So I took the ferry back and struggled not to fall asleep. I went to the suprette (tiny grocery store) close to the hostel so I had some food for later and then returned to the hostel. Auckland was at least 10 degrees cooler when I got back from Waiheke! I sent an e-mail to 8 wineries last night! I've heard from one that said no, and the owner of another winery texted me! Ha, he told me to send my resume to a different e-mail address since he was in Switzerland!!! Hopefully this works out.
Today, I think I'm going to the Museum and just going to get some quality time outside because it's really nice and sunny out! Hope everyone is well! Here are the pictures of Waiheke:
 |
| Waiheke Island |
-Lisa
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Shopping for the Cheap Stuff
So yesterday (Monday) I went shopping around for a waterproof jacket and some long underwear for sailing! Luckily I found just about everything I was looking for before the wind kicked up too much and it started to get pretty cold. The best part of the day was when I went to Auckland's "2nd best cafe": Cafe Cezanne. I know this because they boldly announce the fact that it's the 2nd best cafe above the entrance. Now I really want to know where the best one is because this place was soooo good I thought I was in heaven. This was by far the best meal I've had in Auckland and you'll never guess what I had! A smoked chicken and veggie omelet!!! It was incredible! Huge and accompanied by some fabulous rosemary toast.
Anyway, I have to be quick because I'm catching a ferry in 19 minutes! I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I went to bed fairly early at about 9pm since I didn't sleep well the previous night. Karina left so we got another new roommate: Edward, from Hong Kong. What a sweetheart. Since the other 3 of us are female, he announced that he would leave and let us get ready for bed and then come back. This is definitely his first hostel experience. Yet again, I barely slept last night because Sue, the English woman in her forties, was either snoring or loudly blowing her nose all night long!!! I wanted to strangle her!!! Thank God she left this morning! Edward must have known I didn't sleep much since I was tossing and turning all night and so he literally gave me a piece of paper this morning with a bible verse from the book of Matthew and then proceeded to sing it to me! Ha! It's wonderful how some people deal with lack of sleep...
Okay, I'm off to Waiheke Island today!
-Lisa
Anyway, I have to be quick because I'm catching a ferry in 19 minutes! I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I went to bed fairly early at about 9pm since I didn't sleep well the previous night. Karina left so we got another new roommate: Edward, from Hong Kong. What a sweetheart. Since the other 3 of us are female, he announced that he would leave and let us get ready for bed and then come back. This is definitely his first hostel experience. Yet again, I barely slept last night because Sue, the English woman in her forties, was either snoring or loudly blowing her nose all night long!!! I wanted to strangle her!!! Thank God she left this morning! Edward must have known I didn't sleep much since I was tossing and turning all night and so he literally gave me a piece of paper this morning with a bible verse from the book of Matthew and then proceeded to sing it to me! Ha! It's wonderful how some people deal with lack of sleep...
Okay, I'm off to Waiheke Island today!
-Lisa
Sunday, September 9, 2007
A Quiet Sunday
This morning I got up and definitely got a slow start to the day. I finally realized today that the stove burners will produce more heat if I don't have them turned up all the way. The first thing you should know is that the stoves are gas and so I have to light them with a lighter every time I want to cook something. I have never done this before...those of you that really know me, know that I can barely cook anyway. It took me a long time the first day to figure out how to get the burners to work. Anyway, it took FOREVER to get the water to boil for some eggs this morning. I think I was standing there for at least 1/2 hour before I finally stuck them in there with the lid on and just said whatever, I'm going to make this happen.
Anyway, I didn't really know what I was going to do today and it was just one of those Sundays that was cold and rainy and if I were at "home" I would turn the TV on and lay around all day. I can't do that here since there isn't a TV, so I decided to walk up to Newmarket and just wander around a bit. But before I left I got a call from Tony, the yacht broker!!! He said I'm going sailing at "quarter past 2 on Thursday and quarter past 3 on Friday"!!! Hell yes!!! He told me where to meet him and everthing and said to dress warmly. I just can't even explain how thrilled I am! So in Newmarket I bought a $5 pair of windsweats so I can stay dry and then got annoyed with the slow people shopping and decided to go back to the hostel and grab my computer. I uploaded the pictures and did some other things and then headed back to grab some food.
I was trying to stay warm and finish my book by the fire (and decide if I should stay longer at this hostel or move on) when John--the Kiwi guy that asked Lindsey and I to go salsa dancing on the first night--basically told me to go with him to the supermarket since he doesn't like to go by himself. "It's lonely" he said...going to the supermarket? Weird. Anyway, he has a car so I went along for the ride. John spends part of his time here in Auckland and the other part up North. He basically runs a driving school/works for the government in determining whether or not people can drive. He grew up down the street from the hostel and has known the owner for most of his life so he just stays at the hostel when he's in Auckland. He used to be a fisherman up North! He was telling me all the ridiculous stories about catching Marlin and huge Snappers and Sharks. It was crazy! He said he lived off the meat from one of the Snappers for 2 and 1/2 months!!! He's definitely a character to say the least...
Then I went outside to talk to Ian (the hostel owner) about staying some more nights here and ran into Lidia (the Irish girl) and her sister! They asked if I wanted to go on walk down to the harbour so of course I said yes. Lidia's sister is actually younger, and she's here for about a year on this scholarship during her "gap year", to tutor boys at this boarding school for the underprivledged boys and orphans in Auckland. She's basically a glorified R.A. that also is a tutor and she doesn't pay for housing or food and they give her a monthly stipend! What a sweet deal! Her name is Charmon or something like that.
Now I'm finally back at the hostel after 9pm and winding down. I realized that I've got a good thing going at this hostel so I may as well stay some more nights. Plus the German girl that works here that drives me crazy was really nice to me this morning...we had an entire conversation! Haha, I have had a couple of other interesting encounters: I was eating pea pods out of sack the other day (I love raw pea pods) and one of the German girls was like, What? You're eating them like that? Not cooked? I said ya, try it! They're good! So a couple of them tried and really enjoyed them raw! Then tonight I pulled out a celery stick and started eating it when Lidia was like, what? You're eating like that and not cooked? I said, oh yea! It's fun with dressing or peanut butter too so I gave her a bite and she was also a fan! Funny how different cultures eat vegetables...
Okay, the computer buzzed! I'm out.
-Lisa
Anyway, I didn't really know what I was going to do today and it was just one of those Sundays that was cold and rainy and if I were at "home" I would turn the TV on and lay around all day. I can't do that here since there isn't a TV, so I decided to walk up to Newmarket and just wander around a bit. But before I left I got a call from Tony, the yacht broker!!! He said I'm going sailing at "quarter past 2 on Thursday and quarter past 3 on Friday"!!! Hell yes!!! He told me where to meet him and everthing and said to dress warmly. I just can't even explain how thrilled I am! So in Newmarket I bought a $5 pair of windsweats so I can stay dry and then got annoyed with the slow people shopping and decided to go back to the hostel and grab my computer. I uploaded the pictures and did some other things and then headed back to grab some food.
I was trying to stay warm and finish my book by the fire (and decide if I should stay longer at this hostel or move on) when John--the Kiwi guy that asked Lindsey and I to go salsa dancing on the first night--basically told me to go with him to the supermarket since he doesn't like to go by himself. "It's lonely" he said...going to the supermarket? Weird. Anyway, he has a car so I went along for the ride. John spends part of his time here in Auckland and the other part up North. He basically runs a driving school/works for the government in determining whether or not people can drive. He grew up down the street from the hostel and has known the owner for most of his life so he just stays at the hostel when he's in Auckland. He used to be a fisherman up North! He was telling me all the ridiculous stories about catching Marlin and huge Snappers and Sharks. It was crazy! He said he lived off the meat from one of the Snappers for 2 and 1/2 months!!! He's definitely a character to say the least...
Then I went outside to talk to Ian (the hostel owner) about staying some more nights here and ran into Lidia (the Irish girl) and her sister! They asked if I wanted to go on walk down to the harbour so of course I said yes. Lidia's sister is actually younger, and she's here for about a year on this scholarship during her "gap year", to tutor boys at this boarding school for the underprivledged boys and orphans in Auckland. She's basically a glorified R.A. that also is a tutor and she doesn't pay for housing or food and they give her a monthly stipend! What a sweet deal! Her name is Charmon or something like that.
Now I'm finally back at the hostel after 9pm and winding down. I realized that I've got a good thing going at this hostel so I may as well stay some more nights. Plus the German girl that works here that drives me crazy was really nice to me this morning...we had an entire conversation! Haha, I have had a couple of other interesting encounters: I was eating pea pods out of sack the other day (I love raw pea pods) and one of the German girls was like, What? You're eating them like that? Not cooked? I said ya, try it! They're good! So a couple of them tried and really enjoyed them raw! Then tonight I pulled out a celery stick and started eating it when Lidia was like, what? You're eating like that and not cooked? I said, oh yea! It's fun with dressing or peanut butter too so I gave her a bite and she was also a fan! Funny how different cultures eat vegetables...
Okay, the computer buzzed! I'm out.
-Lisa
Pictures of Devonport and Harbour Cruise!
I finally have my latest pictures up!!! Here's the link to the Devonport Village pictures:
Here's the link for the Auckland Harbour Cruise Pictures:
-Lisa
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| Devonport |
Here's the link for the Auckland Harbour Cruise Pictures:
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| Auckland Harbour Cruise |
-Lisa
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Sailing & Drinks
I woke up yesterday and rushed to get my clothes in the laundry. I finally finished using the washers and dryer at about 1 in the afternoon!!! Argh! I finally left, took the link bus to the "Britomart" station (which is right next to the harbour), and walked all the way out to the marina. I asked one of the girls that worked at the marina about putting my name on a list for learning how to sail/to be on one of the crews. She was really great and gave me a ton of information! She said I could go to any or all of the different yacht clubs and ask them, she gave me a list of websites to go to and then she told me to talk to a specific guy--Tony Smith--who is a yacht broker, because he takes a lot of people on his boat and knows a lot of people. Basically he's just well connected! Luckily, I found him and gave him my name and number and he said that they usually go out on Thursdays and Fridays but he knows other people so if they need some help, he'll give them my name!!! YAY! I just decided that I would give him my info for now and see how that goes before I through my name out there on some of the other lists. Apparently it's in between racing seasons right now so it's a little bit slower but I guess the next season will get going at the end of September or first part of October. I am soooooo stoked!
Then I walked back and decided to check out the Maritime museum that's right down on the warf. They had a bunch of little boats that they used to sail and a whole wall of motors/props! It was fun to walk through and check out all of the the old pictures and models of ships. I've been hearing alot about "America's Cup" which I guess is the big sailing race that's held maybe every two year or so. The last one was in San Diego I think, but they had it here in Auckland back in 2000! You should see the pictures of all the thousands or maybe millions of people right next to the harbour! CRAZY! Oh, also, the Rugby world cup begins today apparently in France or something but one of the final matches is further North in New Zealand (at the end of the month or something)! I guess New Zealand is one of the best teams...it comes down to NZ, France and the UK.
After the museum I was hungry and decided I wanted a drink (since it's Friday of course) so I looked at all the fun cafes and restaurants on the water where I could have an appetizer and beverage. My final choice was: "The Loaded Hog". I had one of their own beers (some golden ale that was okay) and some interesting nachos. The chips were seasoned like doritos, there was just a hunk of chicken breast on top and the guacamole was sweet! But I still ate it!!! It was really fun to sit and look at the harbour and the sun even came out for a little bit.
I finally left and decided to go back to the hostel and mabye just man up and ask someone if they wanted to get a drink (or more) at some pub with me since I was desperate for some conversation and a chance to sample the night life in Auckland. I grabbed a bottle of wine on the way back just in case I didn't make it out and for the next couple of nights.
When I got back I saw the new guy roommate that arrived the day before and talked to him for about the bottle of wine I brought back. A little while later he came back with our other new roommate and a bottle of wine in hand. He poured a glass and started to go outside to smoke so I just followed him out with my glass and bottle. His name is Johnny and he's from Northern England and he looks like that excellent young soccer player on the Manchester United team that played for England in the world cup last year...red hair...I think his last name is Rooney or something. Anyway, he's really funny and smiley and he wears an Indiana Jones-looking hat and a fanny pack!!!! Yes, it's classic. So I was only talking to him for awhile before this other girl that I had exchanged a few words with earlier, came outside to smoke and joined us. She ended up walking up the street and buying a bottle of wine and coming back to talk with us! Her name is Sam, and she's from Calgary (Canada). The other new roommate--Karina from Germany--joined us with a cup of tea since she doesn't like wine. Anyway, we all sat outside for quite some time and just drank wine and laughed about the cultural differences between us and New Zealand. I had a blast!
This morning I woke up and had originally planned to go to Waiheke Island (known for vineyards and great beaches) but decided I didn't really want to do that today. I decided I would just wander around the Ponsonby Road area again and maybe look at the help wanted signs in the cafes as well as find a fun cafe to watch some of the rugby matches. While I did find some places that were looking for help, I didn't find a cafe to watch rugby and instead found a little cafe that wasn't completely full of people and had a "flat white" coffee and a sausage and capiscum (peppers) roll. It was pretty good! The weather was a little bit warmer today without as much wind, so that was nice. I ran into Sam on Ponsonby Rd. and we decided to meet up later at one of the pubs in Parnell. Well, we ended up running into each other again like an hour later and decided to just wander around together. We looked at some of the vintage clothing shops because she was looking for a sweater and then we decided to find a pub and have a beer. We found one off of Queen Street that of course was Irish, and ordered a local NZ beer: Monthein's (I think that's it) Radler. Okay, so the guy told us this beer is made with lemon and lime and is REALLY good. It was AWESOME!!! I can't even tell you how good it was! So much better than the crap golden ale I had yesterday! If you ever get a chance to have a "Radler," do it! We also had some sweet potato fries and they had another name for sweet potatoes....something like "Kamara".
We left that place and started walking toward the warf area where I was yesterday and ended up at another Irish pub where we sat inside next to a fire!!! We had Monthein's Gold ale which was also incredible. This Monthein's or Manthein's brand is really good (FYI). We sat there for a long time enjoying the warmth and relaxing. We finally left and caught the link bus back to Parnell. Sam was craving something sweet so we went to this Chocolate Boutique and had a cup of coffee and dessert. My stomach feels really disgusting now since I haven't had anything healthy since breakfast...but the Chocolate Mud Cake was amazing!!! So now we're back at the hostel regrouping and just making it a low key night since Sam is leaving in the morning.
-Lisa
Then I walked back and decided to check out the Maritime museum that's right down on the warf. They had a bunch of little boats that they used to sail and a whole wall of motors/props! It was fun to walk through and check out all of the the old pictures and models of ships. I've been hearing alot about "America's Cup" which I guess is the big sailing race that's held maybe every two year or so. The last one was in San Diego I think, but they had it here in Auckland back in 2000! You should see the pictures of all the thousands or maybe millions of people right next to the harbour! CRAZY! Oh, also, the Rugby world cup begins today apparently in France or something but one of the final matches is further North in New Zealand (at the end of the month or something)! I guess New Zealand is one of the best teams...it comes down to NZ, France and the UK.
After the museum I was hungry and decided I wanted a drink (since it's Friday of course) so I looked at all the fun cafes and restaurants on the water where I could have an appetizer and beverage. My final choice was: "The Loaded Hog". I had one of their own beers (some golden ale that was okay) and some interesting nachos. The chips were seasoned like doritos, there was just a hunk of chicken breast on top and the guacamole was sweet! But I still ate it!!! It was really fun to sit and look at the harbour and the sun even came out for a little bit.
I finally left and decided to go back to the hostel and mabye just man up and ask someone if they wanted to get a drink (or more) at some pub with me since I was desperate for some conversation and a chance to sample the night life in Auckland. I grabbed a bottle of wine on the way back just in case I didn't make it out and for the next couple of nights.
When I got back I saw the new guy roommate that arrived the day before and talked to him for about the bottle of wine I brought back. A little while later he came back with our other new roommate and a bottle of wine in hand. He poured a glass and started to go outside to smoke so I just followed him out with my glass and bottle. His name is Johnny and he's from Northern England and he looks like that excellent young soccer player on the Manchester United team that played for England in the world cup last year...red hair...I think his last name is Rooney or something. Anyway, he's really funny and smiley and he wears an Indiana Jones-looking hat and a fanny pack!!!! Yes, it's classic. So I was only talking to him for awhile before this other girl that I had exchanged a few words with earlier, came outside to smoke and joined us. She ended up walking up the street and buying a bottle of wine and coming back to talk with us! Her name is Sam, and she's from Calgary (Canada). The other new roommate--Karina from Germany--joined us with a cup of tea since she doesn't like wine. Anyway, we all sat outside for quite some time and just drank wine and laughed about the cultural differences between us and New Zealand. I had a blast!
This morning I woke up and had originally planned to go to Waiheke Island (known for vineyards and great beaches) but decided I didn't really want to do that today. I decided I would just wander around the Ponsonby Road area again and maybe look at the help wanted signs in the cafes as well as find a fun cafe to watch some of the rugby matches. While I did find some places that were looking for help, I didn't find a cafe to watch rugby and instead found a little cafe that wasn't completely full of people and had a "flat white" coffee and a sausage and capiscum (peppers) roll. It was pretty good! The weather was a little bit warmer today without as much wind, so that was nice. I ran into Sam on Ponsonby Rd. and we decided to meet up later at one of the pubs in Parnell. Well, we ended up running into each other again like an hour later and decided to just wander around together. We looked at some of the vintage clothing shops because she was looking for a sweater and then we decided to find a pub and have a beer. We found one off of Queen Street that of course was Irish, and ordered a local NZ beer: Monthein's (I think that's it) Radler. Okay, so the guy told us this beer is made with lemon and lime and is REALLY good. It was AWESOME!!! I can't even tell you how good it was! So much better than the crap golden ale I had yesterday! If you ever get a chance to have a "Radler," do it! We also had some sweet potato fries and they had another name for sweet potatoes....something like "Kamara".
We left that place and started walking toward the warf area where I was yesterday and ended up at another Irish pub where we sat inside next to a fire!!! We had Monthein's Gold ale which was also incredible. This Monthein's or Manthein's brand is really good (FYI). We sat there for a long time enjoying the warmth and relaxing. We finally left and caught the link bus back to Parnell. Sam was craving something sweet so we went to this Chocolate Boutique and had a cup of coffee and dessert. My stomach feels really disgusting now since I haven't had anything healthy since breakfast...but the Chocolate Mud Cake was amazing!!! So now we're back at the hostel regrouping and just making it a low key night since Sam is leaving in the morning.
-Lisa
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Sydney Harbour Cruise
Yesterday I kind of just layed low. I wasn't feeling very well in the morning and it was absolutely freezing cold and raining outside. I spent most of the day reading a book snuggled up in bed with the heater and all my clothes on. When I finally got up, I went to the supermarket in Newmarket and bought another couple cheap sweaters on the way back.
This morning I woke up early--because everyone else did too--and made myself some breakfast. As I was eating, the good-looking guy that I helped yesterday started talking to me. He's from Israel and he's going to be in New Zealand for 3 months just traveling around. His name is Ollie or Ulie or something like that. I gave him directions on how to get around the city. Then I made a phone call to a guy that e-mailed me about one of the winery jobs I applied for! He said that they wanted someone more permanent for the Cellar Hand job, but he thought that they had some part time work available if I wanted it. So he said he would check with the events manager (they have concerts, parties, etc.) and see if they might need some help too! He'll let me know in the next couple of days and hopefully set up an appointment to meet them next week!!! That could be a really awesome way to get my foot in the door and start making some money. I could always get a bartending/waitressing job on the side or something.
So after this wonderful news I decided to go downtown and look around for awhile and then take the Sydney Harbour Cruise on one of the ferries! I can't wait to load my pictures (I'm having difficulty hooking my own computer up to the free internet at the cafe) and post them up here! We passed a marina that literally could moor 1800 boats/yachts!!! It's the largest marina in the Southern hemisphere! Apparently there is a statistic saying that something like 1 in 5 people that live in Auckland own or have access to a sailboat. WOW! Also, Auckland (the largest city in New Zealand) apparently houses about 1/3 of New Zealand's total population!!! It just doesn't feel that big to me. But the best news so far was that I (anyone) can go to one of the yacht clubs by the marina and put my name down on a list if I want to go out on a sailboat, and it's especially good if I want to learn how to sail!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my God! That piece of information was so worth the price of the cruise! I'm going down there tomorrow and putting my name on at least one list.
I finally returned to the hostel to try and warm up since the sun faded behind the clouds and I swear it dropped 10 degrees. I think I'm on my 4th cup of tea, I had soup for dinner and finished the red wine!
I keep forgetting to tell you all about the little things I've noticed that are different here:
- Makeup is absolutely ridiculously expensive! Revlon mascara (is like average of $9 at home right?) is about $25 here!!! They sell it at department stores!
- At busy intersections they wait until all the cars have gone and then they let you cross all at the same time...either way or diagonally!
- You don't tip unless it's REALLY good service. I think they might include some sort of gratuity in the cost of the food.
- There are a lot of hills here in Auckland...like Seattle.
- The price of new CDs is about $25.
- They pay rent by the week. But the rent can be really cheap considering how large the city is!
- There are a ton of Germans at my hostel! As soon as a couple leave, more come! It takes them about 24 hours by plane to get to New Zealand!!!! They always stop somewhere like Thailand or Hong Kong.
Okay, hope everything's well with all of you!
-Lisa
This morning I woke up early--because everyone else did too--and made myself some breakfast. As I was eating, the good-looking guy that I helped yesterday started talking to me. He's from Israel and he's going to be in New Zealand for 3 months just traveling around. His name is Ollie or Ulie or something like that. I gave him directions on how to get around the city. Then I made a phone call to a guy that e-mailed me about one of the winery jobs I applied for! He said that they wanted someone more permanent for the Cellar Hand job, but he thought that they had some part time work available if I wanted it. So he said he would check with the events manager (they have concerts, parties, etc.) and see if they might need some help too! He'll let me know in the next couple of days and hopefully set up an appointment to meet them next week!!! That could be a really awesome way to get my foot in the door and start making some money. I could always get a bartending/waitressing job on the side or something.
So after this wonderful news I decided to go downtown and look around for awhile and then take the Sydney Harbour Cruise on one of the ferries! I can't wait to load my pictures (I'm having difficulty hooking my own computer up to the free internet at the cafe) and post them up here! We passed a marina that literally could moor 1800 boats/yachts!!! It's the largest marina in the Southern hemisphere! Apparently there is a statistic saying that something like 1 in 5 people that live in Auckland own or have access to a sailboat. WOW! Also, Auckland (the largest city in New Zealand) apparently houses about 1/3 of New Zealand's total population!!! It just doesn't feel that big to me. But the best news so far was that I (anyone) can go to one of the yacht clubs by the marina and put my name down on a list if I want to go out on a sailboat, and it's especially good if I want to learn how to sail!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my God! That piece of information was so worth the price of the cruise! I'm going down there tomorrow and putting my name on at least one list.
I finally returned to the hostel to try and warm up since the sun faded behind the clouds and I swear it dropped 10 degrees. I think I'm on my 4th cup of tea, I had soup for dinner and finished the red wine!
I keep forgetting to tell you all about the little things I've noticed that are different here:
- Makeup is absolutely ridiculously expensive! Revlon mascara (is like average of $9 at home right?) is about $25 here!!! They sell it at department stores!
- At busy intersections they wait until all the cars have gone and then they let you cross all at the same time...either way or diagonally!
- You don't tip unless it's REALLY good service. I think they might include some sort of gratuity in the cost of the food.
- There are a lot of hills here in Auckland...like Seattle.
- The price of new CDs is about $25.
- They pay rent by the week. But the rent can be really cheap considering how large the city is!
- There are a ton of Germans at my hostel! As soon as a couple leave, more come! It takes them about 24 hours by plane to get to New Zealand!!!! They always stop somewhere like Thailand or Hong Kong.
Okay, hope everything's well with all of you!
-Lisa
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
A Trip to Devonport
It's 10:38am on Wednesday morning and I'm wondering what I'm going to do today since there's a constant drizzle coming down outside.
Yesterday I made my way down to the ferry center and bought a round trip ticket to visit the old village of Devonport. The ferry ride was only 12 minutes and the village was super cute! I walked around and looked at all the shops and then climbed up the hill that is known as Mount Victoria. There's a military fort on top and I could see all of Auckland and all the islands/land around me! I saw the volcano (I think it's Rangatito or something like that) and it was just amazing! I have pictures, but was having a hard time uploading them this morning so I'll put them up later. It was cloudy and windy and a little bit misty, but so wonderful! I just can't believe the view.
Then I went down to a little Irish/English/Welsch/New Zeland Pub and had some green-lipped mussels (cooked in garlic and white wine) and an Irish coffee! It was heaven! The mussels were huge and orange...mmm. I finally caught the ferry back to Auckland and then took the bus up to a fun-looking area I found the other day when I rode the link bus all the way around it's loop. The area is called Ponsonby because it's right on Ponsonby Road, and there are a bunch of fun shops, funky cafes and some great looking bars! I just looked around and kept walking into a slightly sketchy area with a lot of adult movie stores and cabaret's. It was fun to see all the people in these areas and it was kind of nice outside since the sun was shining.
I got back at about 5:30 and then checked my e-mail and Lindsey found me. She asked if I wanted to go see a New Zealand comedy since the movie prices were cheap on Tuesday nights. Of course I said yes and she had another German friend come with us. Suzie, is the German girl's name and she goes to the University of Auckland. She was lots fun! So of course we left kind of late and ended up running/jogging all the way to the movie theatre...luckily it wasn't too far! The movie was called "Eagle vs. Shark" and it was kind of a Napolean Dynamite type of humor. Of course this means I laughed really hard (and loud). There was this girl (Lily) that liked this guy (Jared) that came into her fast food restaurant where she worked every day. He fell for her once she went to an "Animal costume" party wearing a shark outfit and beating everyone but him in this ancient fighting video game. It was super funny and they were both serious nerds...he had a mullet! Anyway, I have no idea if it will ever come to the U.S., but it would be worth seeing if you wanted something different for a change.
Anyway, everything's going good here and I've decided to stay at City Gardent Lodge until Monday at least. Lindsey left this morning for Queenstown, and I was thinking about going to another Island today, but not in the rain. I think may just hang out today...we'll see!
-Lisa
Yesterday I made my way down to the ferry center and bought a round trip ticket to visit the old village of Devonport. The ferry ride was only 12 minutes and the village was super cute! I walked around and looked at all the shops and then climbed up the hill that is known as Mount Victoria. There's a military fort on top and I could see all of Auckland and all the islands/land around me! I saw the volcano (I think it's Rangatito or something like that) and it was just amazing! I have pictures, but was having a hard time uploading them this morning so I'll put them up later. It was cloudy and windy and a little bit misty, but so wonderful! I just can't believe the view.
Then I went down to a little Irish/English/Welsch/New Zeland Pub and had some green-lipped mussels (cooked in garlic and white wine) and an Irish coffee! It was heaven! The mussels were huge and orange...mmm. I finally caught the ferry back to Auckland and then took the bus up to a fun-looking area I found the other day when I rode the link bus all the way around it's loop. The area is called Ponsonby because it's right on Ponsonby Road, and there are a bunch of fun shops, funky cafes and some great looking bars! I just looked around and kept walking into a slightly sketchy area with a lot of adult movie stores and cabaret's. It was fun to see all the people in these areas and it was kind of nice outside since the sun was shining.
I got back at about 5:30 and then checked my e-mail and Lindsey found me. She asked if I wanted to go see a New Zealand comedy since the movie prices were cheap on Tuesday nights. Of course I said yes and she had another German friend come with us. Suzie, is the German girl's name and she goes to the University of Auckland. She was lots fun! So of course we left kind of late and ended up running/jogging all the way to the movie theatre...luckily it wasn't too far! The movie was called "Eagle vs. Shark" and it was kind of a Napolean Dynamite type of humor. Of course this means I laughed really hard (and loud). There was this girl (Lily) that liked this guy (Jared) that came into her fast food restaurant where she worked every day. He fell for her once she went to an "Animal costume" party wearing a shark outfit and beating everyone but him in this ancient fighting video game. It was super funny and they were both serious nerds...he had a mullet! Anyway, I have no idea if it will ever come to the U.S., but it would be worth seeing if you wanted something different for a change.
Anyway, everything's going good here and I've decided to stay at City Gardent Lodge until Monday at least. Lindsey left this morning for Queenstown, and I was thinking about going to another Island today, but not in the rain. I think may just hang out today...we'll see!
-Lisa
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Tuesday Morning
It's Tuesday at 9:16am and I'm sitting at the little cafe "Dunk" where there's an outlet and free internet. I've decided that Dunk's coffee is overrated, but the date scones are absolutely fabulous!!! I don't even really like dates, but the scones are nice and soft. One thing about Australia and New Zealand is that they don't have any drip coffee here. You cannot just get a cup of black coffee...the closest thing would be an americano with water. They have what's called a flat white, which I'm very fond of because it is like a cappuccino but without all the foam! Yay!
So I've just been taking it easy the last couple days because since I've arrived here I've been a little tired and I've decided that the reason I feel more comfortable here is because it's a slower pace of life. My "west coast" persona is happy in this relaxing environment. Yesterday I put in a couple more job applications so hopefully I'll hear at least something by the end of the week. Then I spent the day with Lindsey as we went shopping (I didn't buy anything) and walked around downtown Sydney. We had a couple of new roommates on Sunday night: Lidia, who's from Northern Ireland. She's this petite girl who is from Belfast and had only been on a plane one other time to France! She's here visiting her sister for a few weeks before going back to University. The other gal, Diana, is from Germany and she's pursuing a career in film journalism. Very interesting!
Then I had to switch rooms last night and tonight because I made reservations a little bit late and the previous room was already full. I'm out in this bunk house now, that luckily wasn't cold last night. I didn't get to meet all three roommates there, but one is from San Diego and she's been studying for a Phd. in Ecology in Wellington for the past 2 years! She used to work at the San Diego Zoo! I keep forgetting her name...but I went in the room at one point last night to find a guy. I had just assumed I was booked into another all female room. Whatever, I was really only worried that he would snore and thankfully, that didn't happen!
I realized I haven't given you much info about Lindsey. She's from Houston, Texas but went to the top boarding school in the U.S. which is in the New England area. She went to undergrad at Yale and I think she did some or maybe all of a master's at Harvard. She worked at Goldman Sack's (the prestigious financial firm) for awhile, was a photographer and journalist for a magazine for awhile and she sang in band in Japan for awhile. She's pretty intense, but not stuck up or anything like you would have imagined someone that attended Yale to be.
Today I'm hoping to go on one or more ferries, maybe check out one of the islands that has a bunch of wineries or one of the historic villages on one of the islands near by. I definitely need a day to myself again, so I might do all the above. Meanwhile I have to decide if I'm going to stay at the City Garden Lodge (which is probably a yes). I hope everyone is doing well!
-Lisa
So I've just been taking it easy the last couple days because since I've arrived here I've been a little tired and I've decided that the reason I feel more comfortable here is because it's a slower pace of life. My "west coast" persona is happy in this relaxing environment. Yesterday I put in a couple more job applications so hopefully I'll hear at least something by the end of the week. Then I spent the day with Lindsey as we went shopping (I didn't buy anything) and walked around downtown Sydney. We had a couple of new roommates on Sunday night: Lidia, who's from Northern Ireland. She's this petite girl who is from Belfast and had only been on a plane one other time to France! She's here visiting her sister for a few weeks before going back to University. The other gal, Diana, is from Germany and she's pursuing a career in film journalism. Very interesting!
Then I had to switch rooms last night and tonight because I made reservations a little bit late and the previous room was already full. I'm out in this bunk house now, that luckily wasn't cold last night. I didn't get to meet all three roommates there, but one is from San Diego and she's been studying for a Phd. in Ecology in Wellington for the past 2 years! She used to work at the San Diego Zoo! I keep forgetting her name...but I went in the room at one point last night to find a guy. I had just assumed I was booked into another all female room. Whatever, I was really only worried that he would snore and thankfully, that didn't happen!
I realized I haven't given you much info about Lindsey. She's from Houston, Texas but went to the top boarding school in the U.S. which is in the New England area. She went to undergrad at Yale and I think she did some or maybe all of a master's at Harvard. She worked at Goldman Sack's (the prestigious financial firm) for awhile, was a photographer and journalist for a magazine for awhile and she sang in band in Japan for awhile. She's pretty intense, but not stuck up or anything like you would have imagined someone that attended Yale to be.
Today I'm hoping to go on one or more ferries, maybe check out one of the islands that has a bunch of wineries or one of the historic villages on one of the islands near by. I definitely need a day to myself again, so I might do all the above. Meanwhile I have to decide if I'm going to stay at the City Garden Lodge (which is probably a yes). I hope everyone is doing well!
-Lisa
Monday, September 3, 2007
First Auckland Photos
As I sit in this cafe and work on job applications as well as listen to Brittney Spears "Hit Me Baby One More Time," I just wanted to give you all the link to the latest photos I've uploaded:
-Lisa
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| First Days in Auckland |
-Lisa
Sunday, September 2, 2007
The Backpacker Lifestyle
Alright, I'm at an internet cafe now so I won't have to stop early because of a buzzer! When I returned with my groceries yesterday afternoon I met another new roommate...who's also American! Haha, she's from Florida! Her name's Beth and she's already left today so I didn't get to know her to well but she was super laid-back and nice. She actually had been in Hawaii for about 7 months before coming to NZ for 2 and 1/2 months. She participated in the "wwoof" organization in Hawaii. I had no idea Hawaii had that. For those of you that don't know, wwoof stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. If I don't find a job in the city, I might do that for awhile.
Then I went with Lindsey to the movie theater and we watched "Premonition"--that Sandra Bullock movie where her husband dies and then he isn't dead or whatever. It sucked, so don't see it. After that we snuck in and watched the Bourne Supremacy...haha, 2 for the price of one! I had already seen this, but it didn't matter because it was just as good if not better than the first time. After that we went to this bar I found called "The Ivory Lounge." It was a dueling piano bar!!! Obviously it wasn't anything like the Big Bang (a crazy piano bar in Tempe for those that don't know), but it was kind of upscale and much more of a lounge-y feeling. To give you an idea, it was dark inside with some amazing black and white photos of piano keys and I had a glass of Syrah that was fabulous! If you ordered wine at the Big Bang, and if they had any, I think someone would pick up the glass and dump it on your head. We finally left the bar (I have no idea when bars close here) and came back to the hostel and chatted for awhile. Basically that means she talked my ear off for another hour, which was fine by me. :)
This morning came quickly and I ate a granny smith apple that I bought yesterday...OMG! No wonder Wenatchee isn't the apple capital of the world anymore! This granny smith was HUGE and definitely the best one I've ever had!!! But don't worry, I'm still loyal to Stemilt ;). So today I went to the Sky Tower and rode the elevator up to the observation deck! I'll have pictures up soon. It was super high up there! Apparently it's the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. There are some areas where they had glass under your feet and you could look straight down...my fear of heights kind of came in at that point and my legs almost gave out. I went and ate a Kiwi Palova (or something like that) and coffee at the Sky Lounge cafe so I could sit and look out at the harbour for awhile. I was joined by a gal from Sao Paolo, Brazil! She had just got in and was a professor in Brazil. She's only staying in New Zealand for a few days and then to Australia for a conference. I couldn't understand everything she was saying so I'm not sure what she was researching/what she taught.
Now I'm just at an internet cafe on Queen Street which is just downtown and I'm going to go back to the hostel to take a hot shower and cook some lunch. I made the mistake of taking a shower in the morning yesterday (when everyone is taking showers) and it was hardly lukewarm! Yikes! So I'm waiting a bit today for the water to heat up. I booked two more nights at the City Garden Lodge so I'll be staying until Wednesday. Then we'll see from there. I absolutely love the atmosphere of this hostel though! I've met some great people and it's a cute place. I miss the easy access to the internet though. I hope everyone's well!
-Lisa
Then I went with Lindsey to the movie theater and we watched "Premonition"--that Sandra Bullock movie where her husband dies and then he isn't dead or whatever. It sucked, so don't see it. After that we snuck in and watched the Bourne Supremacy...haha, 2 for the price of one! I had already seen this, but it didn't matter because it was just as good if not better than the first time. After that we went to this bar I found called "The Ivory Lounge." It was a dueling piano bar!!! Obviously it wasn't anything like the Big Bang (a crazy piano bar in Tempe for those that don't know), but it was kind of upscale and much more of a lounge-y feeling. To give you an idea, it was dark inside with some amazing black and white photos of piano keys and I had a glass of Syrah that was fabulous! If you ordered wine at the Big Bang, and if they had any, I think someone would pick up the glass and dump it on your head. We finally left the bar (I have no idea when bars close here) and came back to the hostel and chatted for awhile. Basically that means she talked my ear off for another hour, which was fine by me. :)
This morning came quickly and I ate a granny smith apple that I bought yesterday...OMG! No wonder Wenatchee isn't the apple capital of the world anymore! This granny smith was HUGE and definitely the best one I've ever had!!! But don't worry, I'm still loyal to Stemilt ;). So today I went to the Sky Tower and rode the elevator up to the observation deck! I'll have pictures up soon. It was super high up there! Apparently it's the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. There are some areas where they had glass under your feet and you could look straight down...my fear of heights kind of came in at that point and my legs almost gave out. I went and ate a Kiwi Palova (or something like that) and coffee at the Sky Lounge cafe so I could sit and look out at the harbour for awhile. I was joined by a gal from Sao Paolo, Brazil! She had just got in and was a professor in Brazil. She's only staying in New Zealand for a few days and then to Australia for a conference. I couldn't understand everything she was saying so I'm not sure what she was researching/what she taught.
Now I'm just at an internet cafe on Queen Street which is just downtown and I'm going to go back to the hostel to take a hot shower and cook some lunch. I made the mistake of taking a shower in the morning yesterday (when everyone is taking showers) and it was hardly lukewarm! Yikes! So I'm waiting a bit today for the water to heat up. I booked two more nights at the City Garden Lodge so I'll be staying until Wednesday. Then we'll see from there. I absolutely love the atmosphere of this hostel though! I've met some great people and it's a cute place. I miss the easy access to the internet though. I hope everyone's well!
-Lisa
A chill day
Now it's Sunday at 9:52am.
Yesterday I was stading at the bus stop trying to figure out what to do with my when the two German roommates came by and asked if I wanted to go to breakfast with them. Of course I said yes and we went to this super cute place called the "Strawberry Alarm Clock." We shared a bowl of fruit and then I had an english muffin with this amazing home-made citris honey. Then the girls had to check out and I got on the bus to go down town for more exploring. I actually missed the stop I should have got off on and just decided to keep riding (since it went in a loop) to find another place to stop. Pretty soon I just decided to ride the whole loop and go back and take a nap! Haha, I was thoroughly exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before and maybe from the whole week.
After my nap I wandered up Parnell Road to Newmarket which is another fun area with a lot of shopping and restaurants. I ate some tomato soup and then went into the Westfield mall to look around. I found a grocery store!!!! I was sooooo excited! Those of you that really know me will get a laugh at this: I happen to have a shirt or two that I spilled on and for some reason I was having the hardest time finding spot/stain remover! Aaaah! So I got some food and laundry stuff and came back happy!
I'll have to tell you about the rest later...my computer buzzed!
-Lisa
Yesterday I was stading at the bus stop trying to figure out what to do with my when the two German roommates came by and asked if I wanted to go to breakfast with them. Of course I said yes and we went to this super cute place called the "Strawberry Alarm Clock." We shared a bowl of fruit and then I had an english muffin with this amazing home-made citris honey. Then the girls had to check out and I got on the bus to go down town for more exploring. I actually missed the stop I should have got off on and just decided to keep riding (since it went in a loop) to find another place to stop. Pretty soon I just decided to ride the whole loop and go back and take a nap! Haha, I was thoroughly exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before and maybe from the whole week.
After my nap I wandered up Parnell Road to Newmarket which is another fun area with a lot of shopping and restaurants. I ate some tomato soup and then went into the Westfield mall to look around. I found a grocery store!!!! I was sooooo excited! Those of you that really know me will get a laugh at this: I happen to have a shirt or two that I spilled on and for some reason I was having the hardest time finding spot/stain remover! Aaaah! So I got some food and laundry stuff and came back happy!
I'll have to tell you about the rest later...my computer buzzed!
-Lisa
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Interesting Roommates
Hello everyone! It's almost 10am on Saturday morning here in Auckland. I arrived yesterday afternoon and took a shuttle to the hostel. The hostel is in this fabulous suburb of the city called "Parnell." It's so cute with all of the cafes and fabulous restaurants and shops! I am probably going to have leave just so that I don't spend all my money here! I walked by a restaurant last night that smelled like mussels/clams simmering in garlic and wine and I almost fainted, it smelled so good!
After I checked in to the hostel, which is another old house on a quiet street, I left to find food and some necessessities like shampoo and a SIM card for my phone. I walked all the way down and into the city, stopping to eat the biggest chicken burger I have ever had! It had spring greens, brie, pears, aioli sauce and a sweet relish...yum!!! I felt right at home down on Queen Street (which is a major street in downtown Sydney), because there was construction! It reminded me of AZ of course. I was seriously having issues finding everything and was starting to get irritated when I realized that it was because I had less than 5 hours of sleep in me...oh yeah! So I walked for ever until I found the bus stop to take me back to the hostel. The bus is called "The Link bus"!!! Only my fellow Wenatchians will get that...
I got back to the hostel and met a couple of my roomates: Lindsey (from Texas/Boston) and I think her name is Sandy or Sandra from Germany. I proceeded to sit down and chat with them and then Lindsey talked my ear off for the next couple hours! It was fun thought to talk to a fellow American. She's been here for like 7 months! Later I met my other two roomates, another girl from outside Koln (I told her I'd been there because my brother lived outside Dusseldorf for a year) and a French girl. I can't remember the French girls name but the other German girl is Mareike (very close to my previous roommate's name except it's like Mah-r-eye-kah). Everyone was extremely nice and I was even invited to go salsa dancing! Needless to say, that didn't happen as I was exhausted and completely freezing!!! We are so lucky because we have a heater in the room that someone left, otherwise I would have frozen to death last night for sure!
So today I need to get back out there and start taking pictures for all of you to see! The buildings are really cute here and there are a lot of side streets/allies that have fun cafes. I think I'm really going to like it here!
-Lisa
After I checked in to the hostel, which is another old house on a quiet street, I left to find food and some necessessities like shampoo and a SIM card for my phone. I walked all the way down and into the city, stopping to eat the biggest chicken burger I have ever had! It had spring greens, brie, pears, aioli sauce and a sweet relish...yum!!! I felt right at home down on Queen Street (which is a major street in downtown Sydney), because there was construction! It reminded me of AZ of course. I was seriously having issues finding everything and was starting to get irritated when I realized that it was because I had less than 5 hours of sleep in me...oh yeah! So I walked for ever until I found the bus stop to take me back to the hostel. The bus is called "The Link bus"!!! Only my fellow Wenatchians will get that...
I got back to the hostel and met a couple of my roomates: Lindsey (from Texas/Boston) and I think her name is Sandy or Sandra from Germany. I proceeded to sit down and chat with them and then Lindsey talked my ear off for the next couple hours! It was fun thought to talk to a fellow American. She's been here for like 7 months! Later I met my other two roomates, another girl from outside Koln (I told her I'd been there because my brother lived outside Dusseldorf for a year) and a French girl. I can't remember the French girls name but the other German girl is Mareike (very close to my previous roommate's name except it's like Mah-r-eye-kah). Everyone was extremely nice and I was even invited to go salsa dancing! Needless to say, that didn't happen as I was exhausted and completely freezing!!! We are so lucky because we have a heater in the room that someone left, otherwise I would have frozen to death last night for sure!
So today I need to get back out there and start taking pictures for all of you to see! The buildings are really cute here and there are a lot of side streets/allies that have fun cafes. I think I'm really going to like it here!
-Lisa
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