Let's go! - But where exactly?

Actually... here: 36° 50' 54.455' S 174° 45' 47.993' E 

I'm simply trying to leave a sign of life here - for all those who are interested - and to inform a little about my activities. (As regularly as possible...)

First of all, you should know that I'm one of those who finished school and then just don't know what to do next. Whether it's studying or apprenticeship, the choice is simply incredibly large. One would think that this variety has a positive effect and makes the decision easier. Instead, I find myself confronted with a total information overload! At least that's how it is for me... - but I'm digressing.
After all, the idea came up to go abroad for a year. But... at the very beginning it was only about half a year and the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to go to an English-speaking country. Slowly it became clear that...

...I may have already made a decision inside me and in the end found reasons against all other countries. My love for the books and films 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' was probably not entirely innocent either. (Besides, it's also very far away from home... ahem - don't worry, I still love my family very much!).

It was also not clear from the beginning that I would go abroad as an au pair. Actually, I wanted to work as a demi pair - part-time au pair with language school - in order to continue receiving child benefit and obtain a certificate of English skills.
! Important for everyone who wants to go abroad: Child benefit is only paid after the 18th birthday if the 'child' continues to be in education - for example, in a language course with a certain number of hours per week !
However, in the end, a whole year as an au pair turned out to be a bit cheaper than half a year as a demi pair with child benefit.
For me, that was the decisive point in the end - as a student, you don't really earn much!... - and I have now found a very nice host family as an au pair.

When it came to deciding where to go, it really helped me that my friend was almost as clueless as I was at times and we thought about it together. She has been a demi pair in Wellington since January - at the other end of the North Island - with her family.
Despite the 493.76 km as the crow flies that separate us, I think it's really cool that we are both there and can do things together (Ahem... Hobbiton).
If you are interested in her experiences, you can find her blog at: https://ablondefarfromhome.travel.blog.

So once I have arrived, I will be at the top of the North Island, more specifically in Auckland. It is usually mistakenly assumed that Auckland is the capital of New Zealand - I myself bet a portion of baked cookies on that and lost O.o (Sad but true). Auckland is actually the largest city and Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.

So I will be living with my second family for a year, working as an au pair, and hopefully experiencing and discovering a lot of new things on the side!
Until departure in 16 days (!!!) there is still a lot of work waiting for me! (>_<)'.