First week in Auckland

It has been a week and half since I first arrived to Auckland, NZ from New York City and I wanted to make sure that I recorded/shared my initial experiences and thoughts so I started this blog. It's my first blog so I hope to get better at blogging as time passes. So here are some initial experiences/ thoughts that I want to share (I'll try to keep it chronological order but can't promise) I arrived to Auckland airport at 5am on February 3rd, 2010 after a 12-hour direct flight from San Francisco. I flew Air New Zealand and it was a very pleasant experience--courteous flight attendants, lots of things to watch on my personal tv, yummy food and a great selection of New Zealand wines and champagnes (even for breakfast). I am sure that the two glasses of NZ Sauvignon Blanc helped knock me out for about 7 hours. It was exceptionally easy to navigate the airport and get through customs. I exited the terminal and was pleasantly surprised to feel the warmth in the air, even before sunrise. I jumped in a cab with a friendly South East Indian driver who had moved from Delhi about 7 years ago to work and raise a family. I climbed into the back seat and he jumped into the front-right side of the car..."the driver seat." This driving on the other side of the road still confuses me, even though I lived in Japan where they also drive on the right-side. I will definitely have to get over it since it seems like I will need to get behind a wheel pretty soon--I plan to go slow and steady...I am sure that my driving experience will be another blog topic soon. Our Apartment: Clinton did all the leg work finding our great two bedroom apartment. It is located in St. Mary's Bay, across the street from Victoria Park, the Harbor and Ponsonby ( a chic strip of restaurants, boutiques and bars). The apartment is a pretty typical higher end modern apartment with clean lines and lots of sun light. We have a front and back patio which I hope to put to use. The apartment is unfurnished so Clinton and I have been doing a lot of shopping around and finally bought a few essentials--Bed (coming soon...till then a very romantic double air mattress), Flat screen 32' TV (which Clinton strong-armed and carried from the store to the house about a mile away), stereo ( I am currently listening to FM 96.10 which is playing P Diddy's Mo Money, Mo Problems...lol) and some kitchen stuff. We have couches and stuff coming by freight in about 8 to 10 weeks, hopefully. The apartment is in a cute complex, most of our neighbors are pretty quiet and stick to themselves. There is a gym (think... 2 treadmills, 2 bikes and weights) with a lap pool, hot tub and sauna...I've put them to use already. New Zealanders work out quite a lot, mostly doing outside stuff, but I needed to hit the gym first before I can be a contender for the outdoor events. Overall, I really like my place. I can't wait to get it all situated. Social Events: I have been pleasantly surprised with all there is to do here in Auckland. There are lots of great restaurants and bars and lots of events going on daily (especially weekends). Afterwork lots of folk head to the Viaduct for beers, wine and breathtaking views of the sailboats. Clinton and I have met friends there for lunch and for drinks at night...a popular spot we go to already is Pasha for champagne and Hookah. Hard liquor drinks are pretty weak here so I have turned to wine and beer...at least for now :0) Another spot that's pretty cool is Ponsonby Road. The 2nd day I arrived, I went for a walk along Ponsonby and happened to walk into this cute boutique called "Apartment 86." I saw this tall pretty black women behind the desk and decided to check out the clothes. Well, to my absolute surprise, the women is Black American and was born and raised in the Bronx!!!! She moved to Auckland about 4 and half years ago with her now-husband. She met her Kiwi-husband in NYC on 86th street hence the name of her boutique. They moved over here and then got married and she plans to become a resident of NZ. We were both so pleasantly surprised to find each other. Clinton and I have already had drinks with her and then went dancing with her and her husband this past weekend. I love events like this. Since its summertime here, there are lots of free summer festivals. The first weekend I arrived, Clinton and I went to Waitangi Festival at Okahu Bay which commemorates the Treaty that made New Zealand a part of the British Empire and it was "suppose to" guaranteed Maori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British subjects. However, the treaty is debated and is still a point of contention. The festival was quite interesting, there were lots of people, especially Maori flying the Maori Independence Flag and or wearing Bob Marley Para (I think it was Marley's Bday, too). There was several bands playing and food stand selling everything from traditional Maori foods (Hangi) to watermelon ice-cream sundays. It was a great day and we took the opportunity to walk to Mission Bay, the closest beach to Auckland City. The beach reminded me of South Beach with its clean white beaches lined with restaurants and bars. We happened to return to Mission Bay this past Friday with Clinton's IBM Colleagues and played Beach Volley Ball. So overall, NZ has been really easy to settle into. I look forward to making this home for a while.