Kia Ora!
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2007
1
3
91
Trip End
Jan 11, 2009
Auckland,
North Island,
New Zealand
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Sorry, had to. That is the Maori greeting... for hello or something?
Anyways, here I am in Auckland awaiting my IEP orientation. IEP is the program I have signed on to that helps with job assistance, visa and banking and all that fun stuff. Luckily they provide free internet as well :)
Well, the beginning of my trip has been pretty anti-climactic thus far. Waiting in the airport for 2+ hours is not the best way to start your journey. On the plus side, I started-and finished- the entire 7th Harry Potter book. I am not going to say anything about it here though!
After a 1/2 hour delay due to "maintenance issues" we took off to LA with quite a few of us worried
1 The skytower.. first photo in NZ!
. I chatted a bit with the guys next to me, but when it was time to use the washroom they didn't budge and I practically had to crawl over them. There was just a short wait in the LA airport before it was time to board the Air NZ flight. It was actually an awesome plane. Each seat had its own personal TV with a choice of Cds, movies, tv shows games etc. I only used this for a little bit though because I really wanted to read the HP book. I had a hard time sleeping and only got about 5.5 hours in on the whole journey. It is now almost 10am Friday here, which is like 6pm Thursday at home.
Anyways, we arrived in a shroud of darkness since it was before 6am. (The flight was faster than scheduled). And it was so cloudy that when it did start to lighten, it wasn't anything too special! I arrived at the ACB hostel about 7:30, but check in isn't til 1... so I have been biding my time, trying to stay awake and had some burger king for breakfast. Turns out the few coins Kristy gave me are out of circulation now!
Anyways, hopefully things start getting more interesting after the orientation. I saw a sign posted for a 6-hour cruise and BBQ tomorrow for $50 (NZD... they exchange is about 14%, the Canadian dollar being better), so if I am still bored, I might book into that. I haven't even taken any photos yet... and for me, that shows how much I need some sleep!
Hopefully the next entry brings some more exciting things to read about!!
XOXO
Shawna
Comments
Happy...
Happy to hear you made it there safe and sound. I wonder how long it will take to adjust to New Zealand time...
Love Mom & Dad xoxox