Surviving the First Week

Wednesday marked 1 full week of being in Auckland. It was quite the first week, when I look back at it I was surprised at how much I had done, how quickly it had gone by and all the things that I am still figuring out.

While talking with a friend she had asked me for a list of things I liked about being here and a list of things that I missed from the States (and yes, I have started to call it the States! That's what they refer to it as here!). Thought that was a good idea so here are three of each:

1. The Green. One of the things I am loving about New Zealand is how green and full of flowers it is! I have tried not to overload the blog with flower pictures but this was one of my favorites from Waiheke. I am not sure what kind of tree this was but it was amazing. The flowers were as big as my hand and almost covered the tree.
   
2. The Exchange Rate. While not something extremely different (and somewhat canceled out by how expensive things tend to be) it is pretty fun to pull up your credit card statement and see that things were less than what you paid for them. I got a travel card before leaving that doesn't charge any foreign transaction fees which is a huge plus if you are traveling.
3. The People. I have found it very fascinating how many travelers I have me and how few Americans there have been among them. It has made for such a huge variety of languages to hear, home countries to learn about and foods to taste. Not to mention just how nice everyone here has been. This includes the people I have met who are locals while setting up my bank account, cell phone and getting a library card. The  slower pace seems to really make people better at real interaction. I am sure that is part of what draws so many different travelers here.

On the other hand here are some things that we do better at home.

1. COFFEE CREAMER! So I have been to three different grocery stores and have not found a single drop of coffee creamer at all. Largely I have found free dried coffee and the only option to put in it is actual cream. When asked for at a coffee shop... you will get weird looks!
2. Left Side Driving.This whole driving on the other side of the road is quite weird. Even though I have not tried to drive yet I have definitely noticed it! For one when you are walking along a street and glance over to see a small child or someone reading a paper in the front right seat, or even worse it's empty, you tend to have a gasp reaction for a second. I am getting better but that is the side of the car I look to automatically still. This also affects crossing the street. To cross you need to look to the left to see if a car is coming, and I still am completely confused about where cars are turning. So I try to very carefully follow the crosswalk signs!
3. Smoking. While I was very pleased to find that New Zealand has also banned smoking in public buildings I was a bit shocked at how many people are smokers. New Zealand, like the US, taxes cigarettes a lot so I would have thought the prices would have been a larger deterrent.

I have decided I am going to keep track of my mileage while I am here in New Zealand and since I have heard you can't see my Garmin webpage without a password here are my totals for the first week.

         Running - 15.59 miles
         Hiking/Walking - 11.46

I am hoping to run over 1000 miles while I am here in New Zealand and have a goal to complete at least one half marathon while I am here. I would also like to climb a real mountain, something with snow on top. And as for biking, my goal is to bike the trail around Stewart Island and hopefully the new trail around Rotorua.

All in all its been a pretty great first week. Leaving everyone has been very hard but I am starting to get settled. I spent one more day in Auckland and Friday I travel to Palmerston North where I will be staying for two weeks.