Horray for Summer!

Well I've been back in Auckland a little over a week now, and I've confirmed this country doesn't know what summer means. Regardless, we have had some absolutely beautiful days and I'm glad to be here and not in the winter weather I hear is going on in Texas. (Sean is now even more firm in his belief that we do actually get winter in Texas)

Lets start with the exciting news. I got my NZ driver's license in the mail today so now I feel all official. Even more exciting is that Sean got a job! He got a graduate accounting position with a company in the retirement/rest home business. Also, I have officially started playing soccer again. I joined a 5v5 co-ed team (apparently summer isn't soccer season here so its the best I could find) and we play once a week. I had my first game last Thursday and it felt great to play again and my knee didn't hurt at all.

Last week I spent running errands while taking Sean to and from interviews, did a bit of job hunting myself and did my best to get settled. I finally had enough of being indoors during all the beautiful weather and decided to find an excuse to be outside. Last Sunday we had a flat (house) potluck planned with all our flatmates and it was so nice outside we decided to go to the beach together that afternoon as well. It was great to all be together and we had a blast.

Yesterday Sean and I went to a nearby winery and brought a picnic lunch. The area was a bit more populated than expected, but the winery was still really pretty and it was a nice change from sitting around the house. Then that night we went with one of our flatmates to Silo Park for a free screening of Lion King. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening to sit outside and it was so much fun watching such a classic movie with so many people. There is nothing like thousands of people singing Hakuna Matata.

It was the first time I went to a winery in this country when the grapes were still on the vine!

Silo Park

The food stalls and mass amounts of people, plus a few more silos.

Today, I went with my flatmate and her sister to go strawberry picking. You can eat as many as you want while you are picking as well and they were so good. It was so much fun and a beautiful day again. Then Sean and I went to Mt. Wellington for a quick look around the crater before I went rock climbing with him. I'm shocked my arms are even moving right now, as I definitely do not have the upper body strength for that. Sean goes a few times a week, so it was fun to get to see him do something he loves. He also got a new trampoline delivered yesterday so he's been having fun playing on that after we put it together.

Can you see the strawberries?

On a volcanic crater (Mt. Wellington) looking at a volcanic crater (Rangitoto, the island in the distance)

Mt Wellington

He's such a little kid!

My job hunt has had its ups and downs. I have a few semi-promising leads to follow up with next week. For the most part the companies don't have any openings (or are no longer in business) but at least I am getting responses and have some possibilities. I know its a tough industry so I'm not getting my hopes too high, but I'm excited to at least have some potentials. If I don't have anything promising by sometime next week, I will contact my recruiter for a position. I've finished buying my furniture and I'll pick up the last piece tomorrow. I'm in the process of painting it all black so it matches, which gives me something to do in the meantime. My clothes are still in giant piles and I can't wait to actually be able to find things again. I also got a desk so soon I'll be able to start working on my schoolwork again. I've also been cooking some new recipes since I have the time.

Oh, and I almost forgot the most important thing. I finally caved and got a smartphone. It's nothing fancy, but it does what I need it to (and more) and it's lime green!

Hawaii

Well I have finally made it back to NZ, but first I'll fill you in on the details of my short stopover in Oahu. Stepping off the plane back into what was effectively summer was amazing. The Honolulu airport is the weirdest airport I have ever been in, but after a few weird looks (and comments) at all my luggage I successfully got to the hostel. It was a block from the beach in Waikiki. The first day I just walked around a bit, hung out by the beach and made some friends in the hostel. Then I went to bed pretty early, but thanks to jet lag wasn't able to sleep past 8 any morning.

Waikiki Beach

You can see Diamond Head poking out behind the trees.

This brought back so many memories from our Hawaii trip when I was little.

Thursday I had a lazy morning, then went on a kayaking trip with the hostel (they have different trips organized every day that you can go on). We went to the east side of the island and kayaked to an island called Chinaman's Hat. Once we got out there we hiked up to the top for some wonderful views. It rained on and off the whole trip, so it made it a bit more exciting. The hike/rock climb up to the top was really slippery/muddy because of the rain and I ended up covered in mud by the time I got back down.

Chinaman's Hat in the background

At the base of the hike. The end of it was just rock climbing

RAINBOW!!! It got stronger too

Once we finished the trip it got nice and sunny.

Friday I went with the hostel group again to hike up Diamond Head, a big crater turned military base turned tourist attraction. The views were absolutely gorgeous. We got hit with a tiny bit of rain, but hid under cover until it passed 10 minutes later. My camera died halfway through, so I had to borrow some photos from someone else in the group. That evening the hostel threw a BBQ on the beach to watch the fireworks the city shoots off every Friday.

View of the Crater (Courtesy of Andy)

View of Honolulu from the top of Diamond Head (courtesy of Andy)

Courtesy of Andy

Saturday I went with the hostel group again. (I was really enjoying not having to plan anything and the trips were so much cheaper than if I did them myself, plus automatic friends to go with). We drove pretty much around the entire island, stopped at a few beaches, did a short hike and watched the surfers at one of the best surf beaches in the world. We even went and saw the beach where the show Lost was filmed. It was a great day and we all came back pretty sandy and tired (but might I note I never got sunburned the whole trip).

This beach was so much fun to photograph

The beach in the background is where they filmed Lost

Sunday I woke up way earlier than I would have liked to go see the USS Arizona memorial and Pearl Harbor. They really did a great job with everything and it was really cool to see the ship. I spent the rest of the day lounging around and chilling by the beach waiting for my shuttle to the airport. I then confirmed Honolulu airport is the weirdest airport ever (the terminal had giant openings to the outdoors where window should have been and it started raining and blowing on us).

Circle of Remembrance

USS Arizona Memorial

 

The white buoy at the top left is where the bow of the boat is

I got to Auckland nice and early and uneventfully. I spent the day trying to run errands (all unsuccessful) and went to bed early. I don't think I have ever fallen asleep that fast. Since I got here I have gotten my NZ drivers license, gotten a bit of furniture and gotten a nice juicy burger. Thursday night I went out with a few of my friends who were in town. Playing a game called heads or tails (you predict the coin flip by putting your hand on your head or your tail, and stay in until you guess wrong) I successfully guessed about 10 flips in a row and then won a best of three rock paper scissors game to win the game. I won a 2 for 1 bungee jump off the Auckland Bridge, so looks like fate has decided for me.

Other than that, things are going well. Its been good seeing all my flatmates again and we hung out with Sean's friends last night. Tomorrow we are having a flat potluck dinner which will be a lot of fun. I'm just waiting on getting the rest of my furniture so I can get my room more organized and stop living out of suitcases. Hopefully that will be soon! In the meantime, try and stay warm while I enjoy my nice summer (despite the fact I had to wear a sweatshirt last night). I'll finish off with a nice photo from Hawaii to help you feel warm.