Abe and Erin’s travels

Erin writing –

We decided to go into the city on Friday.  We had several chores to do – get a landline hooked up and get to an information booth for a map.  I do have to say – it is very interesting to walk around a city without a map with a specific location in mind.  The Kiwis were, and continue to be, very nice and very helpful.  However, they did not always have the name of the streets.  So, directions were like this, ” Go down there, turn left, take another left, and then turn right.”  Add the Kiwi accent (which makes everything sound proper and good) and you have our directions.  Given that maps are very important to the Raits, I had a very difficult time wandering the city in this fashion.  However, we made it. 

We walked into the city via a tunnel, which was very loud.  On the way into the harbour, we happened upon the new car lots – specifically HOnda, Toyota, and Mazda.  The cars here are smalled than in the US and look very cool.  A bit on conservation – The Kiwis are very into conservation, as evidenced by the toilet buttons, the on/off switches for the outlets, and the small cars that they import.  Recycling is big out here and was one of the first things our landlord told us about.  Portion sizes are small, consistently sized in the kid’s to small portion sizes.  Their largest coffee is typically a small-medium size coffee at Starbucks.  Everyone runs, bikes, and exercises in general here.  BAck to the day…

We found an Indian food restaurant and ate there for lunch.  We got our phone hooked up (not as smooth as in the US) and got a map.  It turns out it takes several days for the phone hookup to finalize due to the credit check.  When we have one, I will post it. 

We took the scenic route back.  This took us along Oriental Bay Parade and Evans Bay Parade.  This was an 8km walk back to the house and one that was very worth the walk!  We took this walk at sunset, getting to see the water, the kayaker’s, and the boats.  Absolutely amazing!

We got home and cooked ourselves some BLT’s that were awesome!  More adventures tomorrow! 

Erin writing:  Well, I don’t think I am as poetic, or as funny as Abe when he writes his blogs but I will do my best!!! 

Thursday morning started off extremely early as I was patiently waiting for a call from the States.  I decided to interview for a job that I applied for and the interview panel was nice enough to offer to call me.  Unfortunately, there was a tiny mixup and the cell number I gave did not work when calling internationally.  So, I called them and we rescheduled the call to occur when I got off the plane in Wellington.  So, yes, I interviewed- I stood in the baggage claim at the Wellington Airport!  A completely different interview experience – I would highly recommend it!

After the interview, we jaunted (about 5 minutes) to the house we rented on Evans Bay.  We met Julie, our temporary landlord, for a tour of the house.  She gave us keys (surprise!) and left us to our own devices!  

The house is very nice – 5 beds, 2baths – and looks out onto Evans Bay!.  The construction is a tad bit different, with power switches at every outlet to – get this – turn on the outlet!  They also don’t have fans in their bathrooms – which, if you know Abe, you know we need one.   

We got settled and then walked (which we are doing quite a bit of!) down to the grocery store to buy sheets, groceries, and get money.  Fortunately, we were able to do all this shopping in one place (Woolworth’s) and hailed a Taxi to carry back our stuff.  Unfortunately, at least for Carrie and I, we could not find a supply of our aloe drinks.  I don’t know if I have mentioned this before but I have to say this is my all time favorite drink.  My understanding is that it comes from the aloe plant.  VERY TASTY!  After we returned, for the first time since arriving in New Zealand, we made a meal for ourselves.  It felt very nice to do this.  Our first self-prepared meal was scrambled eggs with mushrooms, cheese, and roasted red peppers!

We were beat from all the travelling so…..we turned in.