...filled with partying, sleeping, wandering around and jobsearching i’m starting to feel more at home here. the first weeks are always weird, i know that by now, but when i left holland, i was able to spend time with my family, which makes homesickness more avoidable. when i travelled to indonesia by myself, i knew i would be back in singapore after a month. but this is something new and different, since i’ll be here for a year and need to look for a job, take care of myself and arrange all the things required when staying in another country for such a long time. and most importantly, i left a special someone behind and that sucks and hurts more than i could have ever imagined. it feels nice don’t get me wrong, after a long stage of numbness it’s a relief to know that there is someone that can actually touch you and make you feel again. a friend of mine once told me to enjoy every single feeling you have and trust me, life gets a lot easier that way.
so what have i exactly been doing? hmm let’s see. the most important thing for me was to find a job which hasn’t really happened yet. i’ve dropped my cv at various temp agencies, applied online to numerous jobs around the city and gone by a lot of cafes/bars and restaurants and seriously nobody needs anyone. i’ve talked to some people here in the hostel about jobs and everyone seems to be having the same problem! it is so frustrating since i haven’t worked for a while now and i really miss it. i don’t know if it has anything to do with the whole credit crisis or the fact that the holidays are coming up and most students are working now, but if i don’t get a job soon i might have to leave auckland and stay on a farm in the middle of nowhere (backpackers can work at farms for free accommodation and usually also food). but clare and maurits are arriving and i don’t want to leave yet! just keep hoping and trying i guess... i did work as a‘glassie’one night at a nightclub around the corner, and i can work there on call.
so besides looking for a job i’ve opened a bank account, got a simcard and an IRD number (which is something like a social security number, you need it to work, to pay taxes and stuff).
i found out that the gay scene in auckland sucks ass, but there are a lot of other cool places to party. hung out with my roomies, discovered many cheap places to eat (mostly asian foodcourts, mmm noodles), found out where the cheapest supermarket is and that it’s really not that bad to eat very unhealthy for about three weeks.
my camera is working again woohoo, so i’ve finally been able to wander around and take pictures, but i just went to the park so far (auckland domain, huge beautiful park and not that far from the centre). it was nice to get away from the always busy and noisy queens street where my hostel is located and to smell the trees and flowers and hear the birds (omg i’m such a hippie). unfortunately my hay fever is acting up again (a hippie AND a nasal spraying nerd, how about that!) but nothing i can’t handle. internet is costing me so much money and posting pictures will take forever, so i’ll do that some other time.
i finally talked to clare and she, maurits and giles (clare’s brother) are stuck in thailand and can’t fly out of bangkok, so they’re gonna travel down to singapore and fly to auckland from there. i’m still staying at ACB and booked a couple of beds for them in my room for when they arrive next week. it was so good to talk to them again after like six months!
uhm, what else is new...oh right! i booked a flight to sydney!!! i’ll be going feb 28th til march 9th, to experience mardi gras, apparently the biggest gay festival in the world and that special someone i was talking about is also coming so i’m filled with excitement. it’s a great feeling knowing that i don’t have to wait a whole year to see her again. i also discovered a website where you can look for couches to crash on: www.couchsurfing.com . it’s a fantastic way to meet locals wherever it is you’re going and more importantly to safe money on accommodation. i’ve heard a lot of stories from people who have been travelling for a while, just crashing on couches and never spending anything on accommodation! (mom and dad, stop worrying, it’s a legitimate site ok) i was lucky enough to find an awesome chick who is more than happy to let me crash at her place. so to be honest everything is actually going pretty good, besides the jobhunting. but it’s gonna be ok, no worries!
