Where there is shadow, there is also light.

So far I could only write negative things about this place... And for now, it will stay that way. Auckland just stinks. It stinks of exhaust fumes, dirt, decay... And that disgusting food. Everywhere. Always. It's really bad.

But as the title says, where there is shadow, there is also light. But we'll come to that later.

Today our day started with an orientation workshop organized by our organization. Nice and competent people informed us about everything we should pay attention to and where we can find jobs, cars, and acquaintances here. But not only that, they also opened a bank account for us, applied for a tax identification number, showed us where the most beautiful spots for vacation are, and what we absolutely have to do before we leave Auckland and head to nicer areas. It was pretty long, 5 hours in total, but it was worth it. At least we didn't have to take care of everything ourselves.

Since we were not able to absorb any more information after that, we went back to the hostel and rested for a while, and then made some food. Tomato sauce and beans. It's quick and tasty.

Since we finally wanted to see the beautiful sides of Auckland, we took our feet and headed towards the harbor. At least that's what we thought, because without a navigation system, we were pretty lost. Everything looked the same, Chinese 'restaurants' everywhere, Asian supermarkets and so on. But then, after about 30 minutes, we turned into a beautiful avenue, beautiful for this place. Finally, the green we had hoped for. So we really landed in New Zealand - lucky us.

Of course, I immediately took out my phone to capture the moment, when from the rooftop terrace of a house behind us came the shout: 'Dude, let's take a selfie, SEEEELFIE!!' And so I did. He was happy. I was too. The people here are really friendly, I like it!

Eventually, we arrived at the harbor through detours and saw once again the beautiful sides and the aforementioned light in the shadow: a harbor party, good music, unknown food (although I could only bring myself to eat fries with mayo, I still don't fully trust the food here), pleasant climate, a beautiful sunset, the harbor lit up... and water. Finally, water, after all, this is an island. Beautiful. And here it's even comparatively ugly compared to the rest of New Zealand, even the locals say so. So it can only get better!

After a little trip to a nearby pier, we started heading back. It gradually became cooler and darker. Colorful lights came on everywhere and the 'Friday night partying-drinking-weekend' time began. It reminded me a bit of Hamburg, the Reeperbahn, and the places there at dusk.

Arriving at the hostel... Well, I don't want to start complaining again, but we would rather go back to the harbor and spend the night there, enjoying the fresh sea air.

Anyway, we're lying in bed now, thinking about what we want to visit tomorrow. A van would be nice right now. Maybe we'll rent one temporarily, until we find something that will accompany us permanently throughout the country...