Gotta eat

Unfortunately, New Zealand does not have Jimmy John's, California Taco or La Casa, so I've had to find new favorite restaurant and take-away foods. Fortunately, doing so has been quite easy.

Fish and chips Or "fush and chups," as the vowel-mangling Kiwis often say. This is a cheap-as (not ass--it's kiwi slang) food option, with two pieces of fish and a load of fries costing usually less than seven bucks. My favorite fish so far would have to be gurnard--light and flaky with a nice taste.

Pies New Zealanders love their pies. Every corner bakery and grocery has a large range of fresh pies--mince, steak, kidney, steak and cheese, and too many more to name. You eat them with your hands, careful not to let the gravy inside leak onto your clothes. You can also get them from the grocery store and heat them up in the microwave. In short, pies are handfuls of flaky, gooey, meaty goodness.

Butter chicken I had never had Indian food before I came to New Zealand. Wellington has countless Indian restaurants. I've come to love butter chicken--I'd say it's one of my favorite foods. Nice rich butter and tomato curry loaded with chicken, on top of rice. Oh, and you have to have garlic naan bread. Every time I have this dish is like a religious experience. I think I just convinced myself to have some for lunch.

Christmas downunder

After several days of technical troubles, I'm finally able to bring you this post.

My first Christmas away from home was also my first Christmas in another country--and my first Christmas in the Summer. And while it didn't really feel like Christmas, celebrating the holidays in the Summer is fine with me. A couple of my coworkers had a big party at their house. Being Irish, they had a lot of other Irish friends there as well. If you've never partied with Irish, you are missing out.

One of our turkeys was cooked on the grill...delicious.




There was plenty of Diet Coke and lemonade for us to enjoy throughout the day.




Shorts on Christmas day? Better believe it. An impromptu cricket game even struck up.




And the night ended with a bonfire and drunken Irish songs. Happy Birthday, Santa!

Tis the season...?

Right now is the first time I've really felt like it was getting close to Christmas. I'm in a computer lab (hostel computers are not working) and there is Christmas music playing. Kiwis--at least those in Wellington--don't seem to get too festive. Christmas is celebrated here, for sure, but decorations and seasonal spirit is lacking. Not that I'm particularly festive this time of year--I don't care for Christmas music one bit. It's just that it's hard to believe the year is coming to and end without the constant reminders of the season--trees everywhere, garland, signs in shops wishing you a "Merry Christmas!" It's just not everywhere, in your face like it is back home. But nonetheless, it is almost here, and I will get two days off from work because of it--the 26th is a public holiday here too!

Still not a whore

Seriously guys, didn't I explain how I insisted on hourly pay so I didn't become a bitch? Also, the place is owned by a Michelin-rated chef, his wife, and another chef who has a small stake; not some giant, faceless conglomerate. But what's most important is that I really enjoy my job, which I couldn't really say six months ago.


I will give you some more interesting tidbits about my job and about dining in New Zealand later this week. Or it may be next week (I put in 60 hours last week, and this one may be the same). But I will get new stuff up here soon!

Promotion

Only one month into my job as a waiter, I've been promoted. I'm now an assistant manager in training. My boss offered me the position--quite unexpectedly--this week. Initially, she offered me a salary, but we all know that salary in a hospitality job means I would be their bitch. So I asked for hourly pay and to throw in a manager meal discount as well. I'll have to close the restaurant twice a week and either organize the orders or wait on a section other nights. Should be fun, and I'll be able to save even more money.

Thanks Bogard!

Because he's a top-notch kind of guy, my buddy Bogard has hooked me up with and official Corporate Whore No More bracelet to replace the Corporate Whore bracelet that I threw into the Auckland harbor. He gave me that one for my 24th birthday last year. The new custom-made bracelet finally arrived in Wellington last week, after being made in China, sent to the US (too late for my departure), mailed to Wellington and briefly lost in the NZ mail.

Thanks man

Sad news from home

Who knows why people do stupid things like what happened in Omaha today. People out doing their Christmas shopping end up dying at the hand of a suicidal gunman... Thankfully my family is OK. But since names of the victims have not been released yet, we have no idea if anyone we know was involved. The mall is only about five minutes away from my parents' house. I used to work at the Panera Bread next to the store. A lot of customers at the restaurant ask where I am from, and now this is a terrible thing for them to associate with my home; this incident is making news here. And it just fuels the stereotype that Americans are gun-toting crazies. Sad.

My thoughts are with you Omaha.

Bits and Pieces

Work Work is going pretty well. Starting to get lots of hours. Also have been given some more responsibilities. I'm just that cool. I think I might have to ask for a raise.

Sports I watched some more cricket yesterday. There's a stadium five minutes or so from the hostel where you can just go watch the games for free, sitting on the berm. Cricket is a really long, drawn-out game. There's no such thing as balls or strikes like baseball has, so the batsman can see as many balls as he wants before he hits one. Yesterday was day four of a four-day match.

In other Wellington sporting news, the city has been abuzz for the last week in anticipation of a visit from the LA Galaxy--David Beckham's new team. Becks and LA beat the Wellington Phoenix 4-1 last night. A private investor helped fund Galaxy's trip, which included a guarantee that Beckham would play at least 50 minutes of the match.

Celebrities Speaking of famous people, I had my first Wellywood star sighting last night (as I said in a previous post, Wellington is home to NZ's film industry). As we were enjoying a post-shift beer in front of the restaurant, Giovanni Ribisi (Phoebe's little brother on Friends) strolled down the street. He's in town, along with Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez, to work on a big-budget James Cameron movie. One of my coworkers apparently bumped into Sigourney at the grocery store last week.

That's about all I have of any importance right now. My life consists of lots of work, sleeping until 10:30, staying out til 3:30 and trying my best to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having. I hope everyone is staying warm back in Omaha. I'm wearing shorts.

Life at Wellywood

Since I will be living at Wellywood Backpackers indefinitely, I thought I would give you a glimpse into my living situation. The name Wellywood comes from the fact that Wellington has become the center of NZ's blossoming film industry--It's also Peter Jackson's home town.

The outside of the hostel stands out quite a bit--it's painted like a zebra:




My room is small. Depressingly small. Two bunk beds in about 150 square feet.




But I don't spend much time there anyway. Most of my spare time at the hostel is spent in the upstairs lounge and kitchen. The kitchen is in the back, and it's quite big. There are two TV lounges and tons of sofas to lounge around on.



So that's my home for the next few months. Next week, I'll introduce you further to my neighborhood: where I work, where I play, where I drink. And it's all just a short walk away!

New Zealand is full of animals

No, I'm not talking about drunken backpackers at 3:30 on a Saturday morning. Since I have my computer now, I've been able to sort through and edit some of my photos. For starters, here are some of the animals I've come across in the last couple months. Unfortunately some of the coolest ones that I have seen were not captured on my camera...

Mitsy and Teddy Bear chase after Muffin the cat at Lancaster Citrus



One of many New Zealand lambs



Cows near Le Bons Bay, Banks Penninsula



Seal takes a nap at Kaikoura



Ducks swim on crystal-clear Lake Wanaka



Seal pup on 90-Mile Beach



Starfish



Look closely for penguins on Milford Sound

Happy Thanksgiving

It's just another Thursday in New Zealand, but it's certainly an important one back in the States. Or will be tomorrow, that is. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year.

• I'm no longer a corporate whore.
• I get to spend nine months in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
• I have very supportive parents who not only taught me to be self sufficient and independent, but also let me stay in their basement and eat their food for nine months in preparation for my trip.
• I've got great friends who actually e-mail me, asking for more blog posts, if I go more than a couple days without an update.
• And, ultimately, I have the luxury to have dropped all my responsibilities and buy a one-way plane ticket to the other side of the world. It's not something I take for granted in the slightest.

And, yes, I will have more updates quite soon. I will have posts on many things, including my living situation, Wellington and New Zealand culture, and plenty more.

Also, if you have anything in particular you'd like to see me do or write about, or have any questions about what I'm up to, let me know. I'm happy to oblige my readers.

Doing my thing

Well, for now I have decided to live at the hostel. I am now in a "long-term" room that is smaller than my freshman year dorm, yet has two bunkbeds. It's tight. But there's a lot of fun people here (lots of Irish) and as I said before, it's extremely convenient.

I work my third shift at the restaurant tonight, and my first waiting tables. I've gotten to know the menu pretty well, but it's still going to be a test to keep up with the service expectations.

So now I'm just trying to get into a bit of a rhythm. It can get kind of boring with lots of people doing daytime temp work and me working nights. But I think I'm going to get some roller blades (they're freakin expensive over here!) once I get paid, so that should keep me a little busier. And once my computer gets here, I hope to do some freelance articles and sell some photos to online content stores like Associated Content.

I'm still alive

I know you were worried--more than two days without a blog post. Your finger must be hurting from clicking "refresh" so many times over the last 72 hours. Take an aspirin. Go ahead; I'll wait.


Better? Good. OK, so I've been enjoying my new home the last few days. I worked my first shift on Thursday--it's going to be interesting. It's a great restaurant, but it's very fast-paced. There's a lot of things on the menu that I've never heard of, and we do everything manually. That is, we don't enter the orders into a computer. Rather, we have an old-school triplicate order pad that we hand to the kitchen. I've noticed that this seems to be the way things work in restaurants here in NZ. I'm convinced that much of this country is stuck in 1989 America. More on that in future posts. Anyway, the job should be a fun challenge and should help me ease my savings account's pain.

As far as accomodation goes, I have been staying at the Wellywood Backpackers, casually considering my options. One is that I can get a weekly rate here for quite a bargain of a price. A lot of the flat rooms and house rooms available are only free for the summer, or until about mid-February, as they're pretty much all sublets from university students. And many of them cost more than it would cost to stay here. And at the hostel, I'm a three minute walk from work, a one-minute walk to many of the popular bars and five minutes from anything else I might need. It's hard to argue with that. So it's likely that I'll start with the weekly rate here and if something good comes up elsewhere, I'll take it.

Lastly, I probably will be having my laptop shipped to me. (I didn't take it initially because that's a hell of a liability to worry about when you're traveling constantly and sharing rooms with seven people you have known for less than two hours.) This (I hope) is good news for you, as I will be able to provide some enhanced content: more videos, gorgeous panoramic shots that I've taken, etc. And it's good news for me because I won't have to use dodgy shared computers that run Windows.

More exciting things to come soon--I've been sketching out a bit of an "editorial calendar" in my mind. And please don't lose hope if I go a couple days without an update. I have a lot of bars to hit and only six or seven months to do it in.

Sights of Wellington

Since I'm not working yet (some training tonight and first shift next Thursday), I've been taking the time to get to know the city I'll call home for the next several months. Every city has its iconic places that are must-sees. New York has Times Square, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. Paris has the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

Can you name any of Wellington's iconic sights? I didn't think so. But you can now:

Being the capital of the country, Wellington hosts New Zealand's parliamentary offices. Are the prime minister and her cabinet set up in some grand building of marble and towering pillars? Nope. They're in a Beehive.




Wellington is only half the size of Omaha, yet it feels at least twice as big. The downtown area is a buzzing place. Lambton Quay (say "key") is the heart of the downtown area.




If you want to get out of the concrete jungle, Wellington's got a great option. The city's cable car has been hauling people up the hill since the early 1900s.




At the top station is the city's botanical gardens. They make Omaha's garden look like an amateur's backyard.






There's all sorts of New Zealand flora to walk among, including many things that I've never seen before in my life...




So that's a glace at some of Wellington's important features. You'll hear plenty more from me on this awesome city over the next several months...but I won't let it get boring, I promise. Next week, I'll give you a glimpse at the odd things that Kiwis tend to find fashionable. Let's just say some of them seem to be stuck in the US in the late 80s/early 90s. Full House, anyone?

Job!

I applied for a job, had a trial shift and was offered the job all in less than 10 hours today. I think zibibbo will be a great place to work.

Looks like I will be on the schedule next week. Now I just have to figure out my living situation. Sweet as.

My new home

After much back-and-forth over the last three weeks, I've decided to live in...


Wellington!




And as you can see, the weather was much more hospitable on my return.

My journey to Wellington was quite fun. I opted to take the train from Christchurch to Picton, before hopping on the ferry. Much of the track runs right along the Pacific coast, and there's an open-air viewing car. Very cool.




So, I will renew my job search today. I think my employment prospects will be a lot higher here. That, and I get to live in one of the coolest capital cities in the world!

Where am I?

Good question. I'm not telling yet. You'll find out soon.

Milford Sound

Today I took a day trip to Milford Sound, one of the (if not the) top natural wonders of New Zealand. It was formed over two million years of glacial activity.


View Larger Map


We stopped at a mountain stream on the way. The water was as good as water gets.




To get to Milford Sound, you have to drive through a mountain via a one-mile tunnel, as well as a no-stopping avalanche zone.




Welcome to Milford Sound. The mountain on the left, Mitre Peak, extends one mile out of the water.










Looking into the sound from the Tasman Sea.




This waterfall is 150 meters tall--three times the height of Niagara Falls.




And a video to give some more perspective:



These photos hardly do this place justice. It was amazing. In addition to the natural wonders, we also saw penguins and fur seals.


So what's next for me? Summer job, for sure. But where? That's a hard question, and one that I haven't entirely decided yet.

-I'm leaning away from Queenstown, because it's an over-commercialized tourist haven, and I would spend all of my money. I love the place, but I think it suits me better as a vacation spot, rather than a place to settle for five or six months.

-I'm in Te Anau now. Very nice town--much smaller than Queenstown though. But far less commercialized, and quite friendly. I have a job offer here to work at a hotel. That would probably help me save a lot of money, but it would mean I'm dealing with package-deal tourists from Germany and Japan all summer. I think I've already learned once that money shouldn't be your deciding factor when seeking employment.

-I am leaning toward going back to the North Island and settling in Wellington. I've always been more of a city person, and Wellington really caught my attention.

So, I'm weighing my options now and will make a decision soon. I've definitely seen some of the top sights on the South Island, so I won't regret it if I head back north. Stay tuned for updates!

Bits and pieces

Dunedin (out of the backlog...) I liked Dunedin quite a bit, though it was shite weather while I was there. Among the sites I took in while there:


--Baldwin Street is the steepest in the world. I didn't dare try to drive up it in my shitmobile for a car.



--Lots of wildlife. Saw a fur seal colony and wild blue penguins. It was night time, so I don't have any penguin photos, unfortunately.

--Toured the Cadbury factory. Hershey really does make a shitty product.

Puzzling World Went to Wanaka's Puzzling world on Monday with some folks from the hostel. I suddenly grew by four feet:



Took the Roman toilets for a spin:




And found my way through a maze:




Afterward, we climbed Mt Iron for a great panoramic view. You can see Wanak behind us.




Heading back to Queenstown today. I want to decide where I'm going to stay soon. Going to check out the job prospects this evening. I'll be honest--despite Queenstown's total awesomeness, it's hella expensive. To support my goal of traveling Asia after New Zealand, I may be better off in a city so that I can conserve my money a little better. I will figure that out over the weekend.

Wanaka

As I said in my last post, I'm now in Wanaka. It's quite a bit smaller than Queenstown. In fact, I could quite possibly lose my mind here after a few weeks. But there's plenty for me to do for a few days or so. Lots of good hikes, and today I'm going to Puzzling World! Photos to come.



Here is where I am staying:




And if I turn 180 degrees...




A little closer...





Oh, and take a look at this photo. Something doesn't seem quite right eh? I see this all the time...