Kia Ora

Kia Ora from New Zealand! Claire and I have almost been here a week and it's been quite the journey so far! We have limited access to internet which is why I have been a bit MIA lately. So much has happened that I hardly know where to start!

The flight over was LONG, but thanks to the ambien that the doctor gave me I slept for about 10 of the 13 hours to Auckland. Once we arrived Claire and I were pretty dazed. The expat from Boise in the office, Renae, came and picked us up and made sure we stayed awake our first day to try and start adjusting. (I JUST got over my jetlag) Seriously, Renae has been a lifesaver - she takes us grocery shopping, helped us get sorted with our phones, and even took us driving a few times so we wouldn't be complete novices on our first weekend trip!

Speaking of, right now I'm in a hostel in Rotorua. Claire and I rented a car and drove the 3.5 hours to Rotorua. That's right - I drove on the left side of the road, on the right side of the car, in the dark and rain - and survived!

It is COLD and raining like mad here. But we braved it all and went to a geothermal Maori village with a name I still can't pronounce. Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao is the full name of the village. (Quite a mouthful). We saw the geysers, hot pools, hangis, and a really cool cultural performance. I think it was the first time that it REALLY hit me that I'm in NEW ZEALAND!

Since it was so cold and wet we couldn't do the luge today, but we're really looking forward to the polynesian spa. We have to drive back to Auckland tomorrow night to be at work bright and early Monday morning. Our hostel is quite interesting. It's super clean, which will make my mom happy, but there's no central heating. There's something called underground heating. Supposedly there's heat coming up through the floors. It's warm enough that we don't die, but I still have to go to bed in my flannel pjs, knee socks, and hoodie and I'm still cold. Oh well, it's only one more night.

Our apartment in Auckland also doesn't have central heating, but we have electric heaters in our bedrooms and one in the livingroom/kitchen. And surprisingly we stay really warm. Our apartment is RIGHT next to the harbour. The view is so beautiful, and we're literally right across the street from the office. It was really convenient last week as I was working in the office. But I start working on a client site on Monday so my commute will be quite a bit longer. Everyone in the office is really nice and quite keen on getting to know the new US interns. In fact, we've been invited to go out several times with the G1s and G2s (1st and 2nd year associates).

Next weekend we're going to see a proper Rugby match - the Warriors. I'm pretty excited. We're going with a bunch of people from the office. Renae made sure that some of the guys were coming with us so they could explain everything. (Little do they know I already know a wee bit about Rugby).

Claire and I are going to start going to cafes near our apartment with free wifi after work so I should be able to upload pictures soon. Sorry for the novella with no pictures, but now you're all caught up on my adventures and next time (hopefully) there will be pictures.

I miss you all and love getting emails/fb messages. Ask my dad or fb me if you want my work email - I'll be able to respond more quickly that way. xoxo