Week 1 in Auckland - Whole life is beautiful

One goal I had for my blog was to keep it running longer than Wolfi's from India. I have achieved that with my second entry here. With this feeling of success, the text is much easier to write.

Last Sunday, January 21, 2019, Sophia and I landed in Auckland at 5:35. I couldn't sleep well on the plane again, which was really annoying this time because we lost the night due to the 6-hour time difference compared to Bali.

Well, first we were diverted to immigration. Since the soles of my shoes were dirty, I was taken by customs.

Fortunately, it was only to disinfect my not-so-clean shoes to protect the local flora and fauna. (I just heard Mama gasping in horror in my head😄). New Zealanders are trying to protect their unique flora and fauna, which is why external germs are rather unpopular.

From the airport, Sophia and I took the bus to our apartment in Auckland. Let's leave out the part where we initially took the wrong bus.

The port city is not the capital of New Zealand, but with about 1.4 million inhabitants, it is the most populous city. It is not a metropolis as one would imagine. Among skyscrapers and office buildings, there are partly old houses with brick walls in elaborate Victorian style. These contrasts, together with the pleasant climate (lots of wind and lots of sun), give the city a pleasant atmosphere. Here, you won't be overwhelmed by the city, it presents its advantages in a pleasant way.

Our local roommate Ilona, a student from Kehl who is doing her internship at a museum in Auckland, picked us up at the bus stop and showed us the way to the apartment. It is located in a large building complex called Empire Apartments.

Luckily, we knew that we shouldn't expect top-notch standards and we are not easily bothered, so the reality of the apartment was not a big shock.

The apartment is a slightly hideously ugly place with three rooms, a kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and a kind of common room. It was reasonably clean but still a bit run-down. The walls are paper-thin, the carpet somehow gross, we had no kitchen utensils, and the ultimate enemy of everyone with a sense of cleanliness is the couch. If I die here, it's the main suspect.

But in the two months that we are in Auckland, location matters more than comfort. And in terms of finding a place to stay, where we are 5 minutes away from work and 10 minutes away from the city center, it's unbeatable. Also, the cleanliness in the bathroom and the bed are fine, so we can manage here. Unfortunately, we don't have Wi-Fi, but we have a New Zealand SIM card and partial digital detox.

After our arrival at the shared apartment, we dropped off our backpacks, fought jet lag with a two-hour nap, and then spent the rest of the day sightseeing. In the evening, we had burgers, which was a welcome change after a week of Asian food.

The next morning, our internship started. Sophia and I are working at the real estate management company Impression Real Estate. If you ever want to buy an apartment in Auckland, contact them. If you want to meet hard-working interns, then maybe not.

We found out about the company through students from the 16th cohort. Thumb up to Katha.

What can we say about the first week at Impression? There are about 30 employees working there, and currently, there are 6 German interns. Three of them went there right after high school, and three are from our university in Kehl. The Kehl interns are Sophia, Stefan Schaumo Schuhmacher, and me. We already met Stefan when we arrived at the airport.

In the first week, Sophia, Stefan, and I formed a team. We got to do simpler tasks that one person could easily handle alone, but we did them together, like sorting keys (there are quite a few at a real estate management company), running errands, or even emptying a closet. It's actually fun to do it together. Sometimes. Occasionally. Rarely. Unfortunately, none of us has our own PC though.

I can also say that I experienced the low point of my professional career here. When there was nothing else for me to do, I had to sort out the broken transparent sleeves from a stack of empty ones. But that's how it goes ...

But the best part is that working hours are only from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If anyone from the administration of HS Kehl is reading this: Activities of the higher civil service are, of course, also included. So basically, only that. 😄

In February, three more interns from our university will join. Then it will get completely wild, because they also have some screws loose.

For me, it's good to get an insight into a foreign company, and it helps me improve my English.

Honestly, I am not in New Zealand to perform tasks of the higher civil service. Firstly, because there aren't any and secondly, I want to develop linguistically and personally and see as much of the country as possible. In my opinion, a later employer will also benefit from this development.

On Monday, I had my first ride in a company car in left-hand traffic. It wasn't easy. I struggled a bit with the lateral distances because the steering wheel is on the right side. But fortunately, everything worked out and I didn't drive us to death here either.

On Monday evening, we paid our first rent, which is due weekly. It's quite expensive and somehow the whole organization of the house seems weird and unprofessional. It wouldn't be surprising if the South Korean mafia were quartered here.

Otherwise, there isn't much interesting to tell about the workdays. You can get a warm lunch in the city for the equivalent of 5 euros, which is quite ok.

We (Stefan, Sophia, Ilona, and I) have also signed up for a good offer for our time in Auckland at the gym. Fitness is not really my thing, but I won't do push-ups on our apartment floor and jogging on pavement is not good for my knees in the long run. After going a few times now, I can say that fitness is a good way to balance things out.

So, that's all the interesting (and probably some uninteresting 😄) stuff about the workweek.

Our first real weekend in Auckland was a long one because Monday is a regional holiday. Auckland Anniversary or something like that. It's probably also a holiday in Bavaria.

From Saturday to Monday, Larissa and Kathi, who are doing their internship in Tauranga, visited us. With the two of them and Stefan, we explored Auckland. From the Sky Tower at sunset, Mount Eden, and Devonport to the harbor festival with a final fireworks. Also, Sophia had her birthday on Saturday, so happy belated birthday. I hope the day was nice.

On Sunday, we even randomly met a fan of SV Hausach at Auckland Domain Park. Unbelievable...

This is for everyone who didn't believe me about the sweater at the airport.

Since I am used to living with crazy women at home (if you are reading this and feel addressed, you should think about that), it was a really cool and funny weekend. Thumbs up to the girls. :)

And thumbs down to Max and Willy, who preferred to do something else in Tauranga.

In general, Auckland and even our ugly apartment have become a bit like home for me. Well, that might be an exaggeration. But I don't feel homesick for Hausach. No offense, Baumann family. I do miss you, of course.

Things are going very well in the shared apartment. There are two strong-willed bosses and an apprentice who prefers to dish it out rather than take it. Who that is, remains a secret. 😄

No, seriously, it harmonizes very well with Sophia and Ilona.

It's Monday evening now, I'm lying in bed behind my fake wall, and I'm pretty exhausted from the weekend. But I'm already looking forward to the next one and to start our return visit in Tauranga.

Greetings to everyone and especially to my sister, who will start her teaching internship in February.

Lukas