Black and New

In my experience, the first few days in a new place always feel very long. As there is no established routine and even basic things are new and different, it is that much more interesting and challenging to navigate through a full day. So, naturally, I have spent my first few days doing the things that will allow me to establish a routine and become familiar with my new surroundings.

After arriving in Auckland early on Thursday morning, I spent the day riding the bus from Auckland airport to Wellington. Although I was worn out, I was excited to take the opportunity to see the North Island from the ground. The ride passed by plenty of green hillsides, the absolute beauty of Lake Taupo, and sheep. Lots of sheep. I passed the time by reading, enjoying the bus driver's accent, and talking to the Samoan-Maori woman sitting next to me about all things New Zealand.

Friday was my first full day in this country, and I quickly set about making myself at home in Wellington, where I plan to spend the next few months. After successfully setting up a cell phone (say that with a lisp), I started a bank account with ANZ bank. The good news is the staff were as friendly as Kiwis are famous for being and I now have a bank account here; the bad news is that my money order is not going to be accessible for a month while my check clears. That obviously puts severe constraints on my activity, and the teller was considerate enough to ask me if I'd be able to last that long without it. I was being completely serious when I told her yes. I was already planning to look for a job here; now it's just a little more urgent.

One major difficulty was spending a weekend here so soon after arriving, as job hunting is better done during the business week. But thanks to the free internet connection at McDonald's – the only place that has one here – I was able to do plenty of research on housing and jobs in Wellington. I've since moved into a hostel that rents by the week to avoid the extra costs of deposit and bills that would come with renting a room in an apartment, and sent in numerous job applications via the internet. Monday was my first day of job hunting in earnest, and it was certainly more encouraging than similar hunts I've done in North America.

But I didn't just come to New Zealand for its friendly job market. The challenges of being in a new place are what make it interesting, and although I've been kept busy making myself at home here, I have been able to notice the things that make this place different from Canada and the United States. One unavoidable topic of interest here is the Rugby World Cup, which begins on September 9^th. Rugby in general is always in the news, as I expected. Here's a brief anecdote to help explain just how rugby-mad this country is:

Prior to the World Cup, New Zealand's rugby team is competing in the Tri-Nations, an annual competition between the three major rugby nations of the southern hemisphere (South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand). They played their first match of that tournament here in Wellington on Saturday night, but that wasn't the only first on Saturday. As stores all over town had been advertising, the team revealed their highly-anticipated World Cup jersey in that match. The new design was the subject of a major ad campaign and much speculation. That amount of fanfare for a jersey is common in sports, but the nickname of the New Zealand rugby team is the All Blacks. I wondered to myself how much one could modify a jersey that fit the specifications “all” and “black”. The major topic of discussion in Sunday's newspapers? The white collar on the new jersey.