Kia Ora from Aotearoa

Kia Ora!

So, after a 4 hour, 15 minute flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles, a 9 hour layover at LAX, and then a 12 hour, 15 minute flight from L.A. to Auckland, I am now officially in New Zealand.

And I'm tired.

And, truth be told, homesick.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the hardest part of this whole process was not deciding to make the trip, but to make the trip with the knowledge that I know NOBODY here.

I have yet to see much of Auckland as I was busy for a couple of hours today attending an orientation from the company that sponsored my Visa--tax information, bank account information, travel, activities, weather, geography, etc. The first thing on my list to-do is to check-in to the hostel and then open a bank account. The moral of the orientation story was not so subtle: get out of Auckland. Pick a place to visit, if you like it, find cheap accommodation and stay for work. Daunting, if you think about it. Showing up in a foreign country and sauntering away from the big city to the more pastoral and quaint parts of the country. Again, knowing nobody.

I've also got to brush my teeth.

So, now that I'm actually here, what am I thinking? Well, there really shouldn't be any mystery to this: I feel today the same way I felt when I landed in Prague. My mind is saying, "what did you do?" I'm naturally homesick, because I'm out of my comfort zone. I miss my family; saying I was going to miss them was only words back in Atlanta.

And I'm tired. I'm 16 hours behind where I was yesterday (or was it two days ago?). I had hoped some food would help me before I showed up for the information session, and so I had a sausage McMuffin from McDonald's. It didn't work. I hate this feeling.

I trust I'll feel better tomorrow. Today is the very epitome of "culture shock," even if New Zealand is every bit as Western as any other country that falls under that designation. Today is the day I keep asking myself, "okay, now what?"

And the only answer is to take baby steps. Open a bank account. Find a job soon. A flat. Acquire a sense of normalcy, a routine in which I can rely on others who are in a similar position as me.
Decide if it's Auckland or somewhere else. Do NOT think that this feeling will last very long.

I've got to go check-in to my hostel and find the right branch (for "migrants") for my new bank.

CT