Aotearoa

I have fallen out of the habit of writing, but I'm going to start again, right... now!

A few things I have done over the past ten months, since I wrote last, include: delicious potlucks, a persimmon war, driving from New York City to Madison Wisconsin, living in San Francisco for five months, visiting Portland Oregon (something I have wanted to do for years!), baking cupcakes for cupcake challenges, playing lots of board games, driving from Anchorage Alaska to San Francisco California, living in a tent while working as a raft guide for three months, going to Burning Man with three of my siblings. There is much to say on all of these topics, and others, but I feel like I would rather write about the present.

I have returned to New Zealand. When I was here in 2009 I loved it and before I even left I knew that I wanted to return. As the summer progressed this year I played with a lot of options for the winter. Then I asked myself for reasons why I wouldn't go to New Zealand again, and I couldn't come up with anything. So I bought a one way place ticket and applied for a one year work holiday visa. I arrived in Auckland on Monday the 20th of September.

The first day here I opened a bank account and applied an IRD number (the number needed to work legally, for taxes purposes). Shortly after, I got a mobile phone number. Phone plans are WAY different in NZ vs USA. For two week I hung out in Auckland while waiting for the IRD number to come via snail mail, before setting off to other parts of the country.

There is one day I feel compelled to write about that was particularly humorous. It was a Friday. The first part of day consisted of coffee with a new friend then taking advantage of a free musical performance at the university. While walking down the street towards a coffee shop I had read was particularly good, I decided I would wear my horns. These horns are made from twisted clay: purple, green, black, and white. Holes were poked in them and they were baked at Burning Man, then affixed with an elastic cord. These horns had been in my backpack, waiting for an opportunity to see the New Zealand sun. I figured now was a perfect enough time.

I had lunch in one of the coolest cemeteries I have seen yet. If you find yourself in Auckland, check out the Symonds St Cemetery. I choose to sit at the site of John and Jane Smith. No joke. I thought it was hilarious that someone named John Smith, the typical fake male name in the US, chose to marry a Jane, therefore making her Jane Smith, the typical fake female name in the US. Sure, it was over a century ago that they died, but still. Too funny.

All day I was planning on attending a CouchSurfing party in the evening. After a few hours of drinking coffee, reading and walking I found myself with still 30 minutes to go before I could show up the CS party. So I continued to walk. On the street a guy stopped me, saying that he recognized me from earlier because of the horns. This is the beginning of a very amusing evening. Over the next four hours I think about fifteen percent of what was told to me may have been true.

There were three of them, all in their late thirties perhaps. After the first statement of recognition I am asked why I am walking around alone and if I have eaten dinner yet. I am invited to join them. I promptly say yes. They're surprised, unbelieving that I really just said yes. We start to walk together, in the direction they were headed, back the way I had just come. They're looking for a restaurant to eat dinner, in a very haphazard sort of way. First they tell me they're bowling instructors, then fish trainers, then some other profession. Initially they tell me they're all married, though none of them are wearing rings. I find out later that at least one of them IS married for real; I saw pictures of his wife and child on his handy dandy iPhone. I'm told that wedding rings aren't allowed when you're pilot because they're a hazard. I'm also told by the one wearing a ring on his middle finger that he never takes it off.

We ended up going into a Thai restaurant that is full. First the server tells us there is no room. Then he says we can sit at a table good for three, if we want to squeeze. Of course we do. Many, many laughs were had. The table next to us even asked us to keep it down. At one point we involved another table in our conversations. I'm not sure what started the involvement but the graffiti written on the window in the condensation became a topic. One of the girls added words to the lewd picture. I commented that she forgot to add an apostrophe before the s. That's me, editing graffiti! :-)

At the end of dinner I am confused why this place was so crowded/popular. The food was no where near the quality of the Thai food I had a few days prior in a food court, for half the price. The flavors in the main dishes are mild at best and the desert is... not great. The fried banana has more soggy batter than banana, topped with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles! They only have vanilla flavored cream. One dining recommendation for Auckland is to skip Thai Me Up; instead, head to Food Alley and go to the Thai place a the back. WAY better flavor! The Tom Yum Noodle Dish: de-lish! Another dining recommendation: drink coffee.

I am not a coffee drinker. I enjoy the smell of the coffee but I have never been a coffee drinker. In Auckland however, I found myself drinking more coffee than I have in the past year. What can I say? They have some tasty coffee. Plus people kept inviting me out to coffee. Sure, I could have had tea or hot chocolate, but with coffee like that... When in Rome.