Weekend with Dog - Auckland Week 3

By now, we have settled into our jobs. It's not the best job in the world, but it's okay and we are definitely learning English. The inspections (I won't explain what we do again, please read my last post) are not the most fun, but they get us out of the office and we get to know the city well over time. And come to think of it, I actually have fun quite often. Like with almost everything else.😄

I just got a bit scared during an inspection at an Indian family's house, thinking they might try to marry me off to their daughter.

Here's a quick assessment of how our colleagues Stefan and I are perceived:

Taylor* likes us, Sharpay thinks we're a bit dim, Gabriella hates us, Ms. Darvis (our supervisor) is hard to gauge, but she gives me high fives. The boss, in my opinion, has no idea who we are or what we actually do. But well, we don't know either.😄

The office dog peed on my backpack recently, that can be interpreted in multiple ways. He's lucky that I love dogs. But if he does it again, I'll get back at him on his backpack.

After losing my backpack temporarily on Tuesday due to the unfortunate circumstances described above, I didn't have access to my gym bag either. Sunscreen leaked in it on Wednesday. It was quite a mess. But well, as long as these are the biggest problems...

Do you happen to have a sports bag for me, Robin?

Last Monday, Stefan and I started work earlier and finished earlier (worked from 8 to 10 net), to watch the Super Bowl with my (and Carlo's) Patriots. We went to a sports bar at the harbor for that.

Conclusion of the Super Bowl:

• Watching the Super Bowl at noon feels weird. It should be at night.
• Watching it with Americans in a bar is fun.
• Watching it with drunk Americans is even funnier.
• It's even funnier when I'm a little buzzed.
• Alcohol in Auckland is expensive.
• The Pats are still number one.

And after the game is over, there's one question that bothers me the most.

Where do the fans come from who fill the football field during the halftime show? The stands are still full, but somehow the field is too. Are they only allowed into the stadium for the halftime show?

I would be very happy if someone could answer this question for me, or discuss it with me.

By the way, before I left for my trip, my mother told me at least twenty times not to fall in love with a New Zealander. Otherwise, I might stay on the other side of the world. It could happen with a colleague, she's very beautiful. But when she was googling wedding dresses during work the other day, it led me to two realizations: first, we're not the only ones not working at Impression, and second, if she wasn't looking for our wedding, I probably won't end up stuck on the other side of the world after all.

If I were to introduce a New Zealander to my family, it would have to be a traditional, 130-kilo heavily tattooed Maori rugby player. But since I would probably be scared of her myself, I'd rather not do that either. So no worries, Mom, I won't stay here because of a woman.😄

On Friday, Sophia, Ilona, Stefan, and I drove to the Bay of Islands, which is four hours away, with a rental car. It's a large bay with many small islands off the east coast of the Northlands. The main attractions there are adventure tours by boat. We did one of those too. It started in Paihia and lasted for 5 hours, visiting various islands. The highlights were the viewpoints, snorkeling, the bays with beautiful beaches, trying sea urchin (not so great), and the guide's sense of humor. It matched mine exactly.😄

In the late afternoon, we drove to Whangarei by car. We visited the Whangarei Falls there. This name sounds like a remote place, but it isn't, and there's no Dracula here either. The Whangarei Falls are worth a visit.

They are beautiful, but not more spectacular than the Triberg Waterfalls. Props to the Black Forest.🌲

We stayed in an AirBnB. It was my first AirBnB where we actually stayed with a family. Except for our room, everything was shared. In the evening, the program was watching rugby with the dad, who is a referee in the highest rugby league in New Zealand (accordingly, Ilona liked him😄) and getting cricket explained by him. I will probably start a team in Kehl now. Anyone interested? Gudrun is already on board.

Afterwards, we planned the next day in our room, which even had a refrigerator. It looks something like this:

The next morning, we got to meet the mother and the two 1 and 3-year-old sons. Cool bunch.

And they even had a dog. A so-called sausage dog or dachshund. I got along well with him, maybe we'll become pen pals.

On Sunday afternoon, we returned the car in Whangarei and went hiking there. Including conquering many stairs to reach the following viewpoint.

In the evening, we took the bus back to Auckland.

When you drive over the Harbour Bridge on a Sunday evening after such a trip and see Auckland, you feel a bit like coming home. As it should be at home, you throw yourself on the couch in the apartment. Oh wait, not for us (see Week 1 in New Zealand). Otherwise, you'll catch every disease there is.

Greetings to everyone (except the video assistant referee of the Freiburg match... dummy)

Lukas

*Since the colleagues at Impression have probably found my blog on the internet by now, the names have been changed. And to make it feel more familiar to me, all the fake names are from High School Musical.