Kia Ora! Hello from the island of New Zealand. I am happily settled in here in Gisborne (or Gizzy if you are familiar), and finished with my first day of orientation at Gisborne Hospital. It is also my first day on my own. And driving. Now that's scary...
But let's back up a few days first. I arrived in Gisborne from Auckland on Thursday. Now get this: I go to check in at the Auckland airport for my domestic flight on Air New Zealand, and I approach the automated kiosk. Here I get my boarding pass, AND it prints out the label for my luggage. Huh, interesting. I put my own label on, take my bag to the luggage conveyor, put it on the belt and proceed to security. No one checks my ID, no one screens my bag...At "security", someone looks to see that I am getting on the right flight, and that is IT. No undressing, no liquid check, no metal detector! Whoa...weird. Now that is laid back...
Friday for me, Thursday for most of you, was all about laid back. Slept in, unpacked my backpack (no luggage yet, still true today, boo...), and hung out with Becky, my predecessor. The apartment that I am staying in is on the wharf with a view of the bay. The big double sliding doors face south onto a balcony that wraps around, making breath-taking views of sunrise and sunset possible. In the small harbor, cargo ships come in one at a time and unload goods. This may sound very industrial, but it is actually very cool to watch, and it is impressive how quickly they get in and out. The little tug boats are my favorite and they dredge the waters day and night to smooth disruption from incoming river flow. A five minute walk puts you on Wainui beach, where we headed Friday afternoon to watch the O'Neil Cold Water Classic Surfing Championship. The sun was shining, and the waves were sick, and that is about all of the surfing lingo I know. I do hope to take a few surfing lessons this week, see how it suits me...
The city itself is small, with a one street downtown, shops apparently close before 6pm. There is some diversity of restaurants, but most people eat at home due to cost. There is a video store, a library, an indie theater, and a community theater, but not much more. There is a running club, a tennis club, horseback riding, hiking, surfing, swimming, essentially all things outdoors to make up for the slight paucity of indoor activities. Going to invest in some board games for the upcoming long winter nights...;)
Saturday and Sunday were lovely--some sun, some rain, a couple jogs on the beach. Saturday morning we hit the Farmer's Market, the hotspot for that time of the week, to shop for a little party at the apartment, a farewell/welcome party, since she was leaving. This gave me the chance to meet a dozen great people and their very cool kids, and to start sampling New Zealand wine. A blend I had not heard of before: Shiraz-Viongier. Can't wait to try it...
So now it is Monday...Becky caught a flight back to the states today, leaving me to my own devices. She did leave me well prepared, however. Still, the first time I hit the "driving on the left side" streets, well, let's just say that it was the riskiest and most stressful thing I did all day! God help those around me...I honestly want a sign that instead of saying "student driver", says "American driver"--that ought to scare people! I think tomorrow I will ride the bike to work...
Well, early to bed tonight...still trying to get my sleep pattern straightened out. Cheers to all...
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