My first week in kiwi land

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I've never blogged before and at this moment don't intend to beyond this trip. However, due to the circumstances I am currently blessed to be facing it seems like a necessity. I won't pretend I am a good writer or able to provide any deep insights into the meaning of life. Rather, this cyber pit stop will serve to help my scatter brain try to keep track of my journey through New Zealand and my brief visit to Australia in July. This is also intended to keep all of you friends and family in the loop of the fun things I am getting to experience while I am here. I will be posting pictures that I deem post-worthy (NOTE TO READERS - all pictures are taken from my iPhone and will most likely be average in quality, don't judge me!!!!!) to my Facebook and not here.



Most of you that have arrived at this post are probably aware, but for those that aren't I am lucky enough to have been selected by way of application to participate in a work exchange (referred to as a Secondment, hence making me a Secondee) in Auckland, New Zealand. The accounting firm I work for is a member firm in an international network of like-sized firms that work to pool their resources together in order to serve larger, more complex clientele than would be possible if operating independently. As part of this membership we also participate in the Secondment with other member firms. The firm that has taken me on board is Staples Rodway and has several locations in New Zealand. I am being housed in their Auckland office, right in the heart of downtown Auckland. They have arranged for an apartment that is about 10 minutes walk to the office in the Viaduct Harbor. Being a Kansas City boy born, raised, and place of residence my whole life - this is by far the closest I have ever and likely will ever live to the water. It's nowhere near as big of a deal to the other secondees that are here with me (at the moment my roommate Scott who is from Melbourne, Australia, Nita from Brisbane, Australia and Emily from Vancouver) as they all are located in cities on the Pacific Ocean, but for me this is pretty damn cool. As I mentioned, Scott is my roommate and has been nothing but a great guy so far (not just saying that because there's a chance he's reading this). I look forward to continuing to learn the way of the Aussies through his eyes. So far he has taught me cricket basics and has briefly attempted to explain Aussie Rules football before deciding it better that I watch the sport with him to explain it as it goes. I have a lot to learn from Scott and look forward to his entertaining lessons. Nita and Emily round out our current secondee family, with a few others joining us down the road. These are people that I will be traveling with quite a bit on the weekends as we do our best to hit the top sites around this beautiful country. I imagine that we will feel like brothers and sisters when this is all said and done as these types of experiences seem to lend themselves to intense and strong bonding. I am really lucky to have such great people around me during this time, especially when I am so far from home. Family is critical and I am grateful to be adding more.



The first week of work was fairly slow - their busy season really vamps up starting this week. However, it was a good week to get settled in and meet the team members in the host office. Everyone has been really friendly and accommodating. Before coming here I had heard nothing but great things about the kiwi people and thus far they have not disappointed. I will be traveling for clients a fair amount while I am here and look forward to the experiences that will come with that process, although I will not be looking forward to my 5:15 am taxi tomorrow to get me to the airport. Woof.



On Wednesday we had our first secondee hiccup - our car got towed from the car park (parking garage for all you yanks like me) due to the absurd complexity that is their parking space marking system. $280NZ later and we got our beautiful, baby blue Corolla back. Fortunately we were able to work with the manager of office administration at my host firm. One effective and direct email from her and the apartment management company agreed to foot the bill. Whew. That was actually the second secondee hiccup - the first was my cab ride from the airport. The host firm arranged for a cab to pick each of us up as we arrived. We were instructed to look for a driver holding a sign with our name. Round and round I went through the international arrival area searching for this driver. After about an hour of combing through the inside, outside, the domestic arrival, international arrival areas I hit my boiling point and decided I was going to get my own cab. After more than 20 hours of flight time and about 30 hours of travel, I was ready to find my way to my apartment and a bed, no matter the cost (and costly it was as you will see). As I approached the first cab driver in the taxi line I asked him for a fare estimate to the area of my apartment. His response "I cannot give an estimate, it is a metered fare." Skeptical and pushy Graham would have pressed harder on this gent, but travel-tired and defeated Graham merely nodded and got in the car. After taking a suspiciously scenic route from the airport, we finally arrive at the apartment. He gives me the fare, which definitely seems a bit steep, but what do I know and asks me if that will be the total or if I will be adding a tip. I ask him what's normal and lead him with an idiotic "15 - 20% about right?" He quickly nods and adds that to the already inflated total. After the transaction has been completed he bids me adieu with an almost emotional "God bless America". It is at this point that I realize how big of a sucker I am. The kiwis have all enjoyed hearing this story and giving me shit for it. Just a heads up to anybody heading to New Zealand or Australia any time soon or any time ever: DON'T TIP! It is not the custom here and is likely to make whomever receives it way too generously paid for what they are doing (not necessarily an absolute, but a good rule of thumb).





Beyond those two events, things have gone really smoothly. When I traveled to Italy for study abroad in college there was some serious culture shock. Certain dynamics of that trip (different language, small/remote town, younger and with less resources, etc.) made being that far from home much harder to adjust to. There are so many things here that make me feel like I am in America or something like it that has made this transition much easier. It has been really comforting hearing music currently popular in the US as well as tongs of songs that I grew up listening to - it really makes me feel closer to home than I actually am. Having my cell phone (albeit with a local phone number) has also helped. I've been able to call home twice for cheap and will be able to continue doing that to catch up with my parents, which is huge. I've also been able to keep up with lots of you on Snap Chat, Facebook and Twitter, which has also made me feel much closer to home. You gotta love technology sometimes.





Yesterday I had my first experience driving here. I successfully drove Scott and myself to the supermarket - a whole fifteen minute journey. No grave injuries or serious accidents to report - so I have to consider it a success. It will definitely take some time adjusting to driving on the other side of the road and on the other side of the car. Pray for me, people. Actually, pray for my passengers more than anything! We drove up to Mt. Eden Domain (Google image it as my pictures don't do it justice - a trend I fear I will experience during a lot of this trip) to get out of the apartment for a bit a catch some breathtaking views of the Harbor and downtown. Seriously Google image it, cause it was really cool and even cooler that it was only a ten - fifteen minute drive from our apartment.





Today we took a ferry to Waiheke Island - just a forty five minute ride from the harbor (which is only a five - ten minute walk from our apartment). The weather couldn't have been better and contributed to an amazing day. Waiheke is known for it's vineyards and a few beaches as well as picturesque hiking spots. The ferry ride offered us some quality views of the waterfront skyline of Auckland as well as the seemingly common, yet spectacular views of the surrounding terrain. This country is by far the most beautiful place I've ever been and the crazy thing is I haven't even scratched the surface. The various mountains and hills surrounded by water with lush green is literally something straight out of a postcard. Did I mention my cell phone camera isn't doing it justice? The kiwis are spoiled with spectacular visuals at almost every turn of the head. The ferry docks in a beautiful cove on the island. With only a rough idea of what we wanted to do, myself and the other secondees hopped on a bus and went to an area towards the center of the island where there was a concentration of several vineyards. In the fall and winter months the hours are shorter so we needed to be efficient with our time. We went to:

Stonyridge - we sat on their Yoga deck and enjoyed a tasting of their premium reds. I ordered a cheese plate of their Brie and found it to be quite delightful (WHO AM I?!?!?). We had a German server who claimed he moved to New Zealand because of the last wine we tasted. He had an almost erotic relationship with this wine, it seemed, but I enjoyed his enthusiasm. On our way out I bumped into a couple from San Diego on their honeymoon and we chatted for a bit. Reminded me again of how lucky I am to be where I am: a place where people are choosing to honeymoon.

Te Motu - a smaller vineyard with a small amount of wine produced, however all aspects (or close to it) of the wine-making is by hand and el natural. This place was much smaller than Stonyridge, but a good stop for the four of us adventurers to chill out for a while. We tasted five of their red wines and enjoyed reading the descriptions of the wines (Scott found himself partial to the inky wines with the long finish) seeing as how they all tasted pretty similar to us. I should mention none of us drink much wine and therefore are lacking in the "sophisticated wine palate" department.

Wild On Waiheke - this was quite a unique place. A vineyard, brewery (only one on the island) and outdoor games spot all rolled into one. This place offered archery, skeet shooting, a game that looked something like horseshoes, a trampoline, bocce ball, and oversized chest. We stuck to the adult beverages and watched others indulge in the games, but it was a really cool setup. We all decided we would try the beer and deviate from the wine. We found it to be just average, but still had a good time soaking up the sun.





The settings for all three of these locations were stunning. I had to continually pinch myself as I looked around and tried to soak it all in. It really seemed surreal. We hopped on a bus and made our way to one of the beaches on the island to hang out for a bit, take an obnoxious group selfie, have a person take a more respectable group photo of us to document proof that we were actually there, and just hang out for a bit. After the beach we made our way back to the ferry and headed back to our home away from home. This was by far the best Sunday/day I've had in I don't know how long. It was so relaxing and such a gift to experience. I can't believe that this was just the first of many amazing adventures that I will get to experience while I am on this trip.



That's all I have for now. I will plan to post about once a week. Love you all - cheers!

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