I started work on Tuesday (Monday was Auckland’s Anniversary and was a public holiday).

So far I’ve met a lot of my coworkers, received a great orientation to the company, started working on some Maori cultural education, and shadowed the GP I’ll be working with.

There is a lot to take in about New Zealand as a whole in addition to all the differences between the healthcare system here.

Funny differences in words or pronunciation for today:

Cerv-I-cal instead of cervical

Mel-EE-na instead of melena

Bowel opening instead of bowel movement

They did the art even for a takeaway coffee. 

The view of the lake and mountains on my lunch break:

We don't have a dryer. Turns out, most of New Zealand doesn't have a dryer. So we hang everything to dry now. I thought the sun would do most of the work but it seems equal parts wind and sun. There is ALWAYS a breeze in NZ. 

Cha-Cha-Cha Chili

 The temps here have been unseasonably cool with a lot of rain, so we decided to make some chili for dinner. It seemed like an easy meal - just a bunch of cans of beans and tomatoes + seasonings.

Now, let me say first that I have been mainly going to a single grocery store in town - Pak’n’Save. This is in part because it’s the more budget friendly grocery store and in part because even one grocery store trip is overwhelming because so much is new and unfamiliar.

Okay, so with that caveat…

I went to the store looking for chili ingredients. I found canned tomatoes - check. But, I couldn’t find any canned tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel). So I looked for canned green chiles alone - no luck. Alright… no fresh chiles or peppers either… I settled on the one jar of pickled jalapeños I could find. Kidney beans - check. Their bean selection was more limited than I’m used to, but I did find a good number of canned beans labeled “chile beans” with a variety of styles. I picked the one I thought made the most sense and figured it couldn’t be that far off.

Boy, was I wrong.

I opened the chile beans only to discover that they tasted a lot like a very sweet variation of baked beans. Of course, by that time, I’d already dumped it into the pot with beans and tomatoes… “Surely we can fix this,” I thought, “let me grab that chile powder and see what I can do.” Fortunately for us, we discovered that the “ground chile” was cayenne and not chili powder when we were opening it and not after we poured a bunch into the pot of chili. It took 30 minutes and an additional grocery run to make the pot of “chili” edible. We ended up adding paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, oregano, soy sauce, salt, and jalapeño brine. We finally decided it was salvageable if you also added sour cream (remember, it tastes a bit like Greek yogurt) and cheese.

Chris and I were cracking up the entire time. We could not stop laughing.

Taco… Monday?

We are all very much over eating out for nearly every meal, so we planned our go-to meal for dinner tonight - Tacos.  

Now, I know that New Zealand is multicultural but Latin American may be the smallest influence here. It was weird to see a single shelf dedicated to Latin American cuisine in the grocery - especially since most of it was “Old El Paso.” We picked up some taco seasoning (we don’t yet have a full spice cabinet), flour tortillas, and even a jar of salsa. We couldn’t find any fresh or canned peppers outside of capsicum, as they call it here (red bell pepper). We also couldn’t find refried beans. “Not to worry!” I thought, “I’ll just make my own.” But I couldn’t even find pinto beans! It was also very difficult to find tortilla chips because all of the ones we could find were cheese or Thai chili flavored. We did eventually find one that was plain and labeled “corn chips.”

In the end we had seasoned mince chicken (they don’t have ground turkey here, from what I can tell), seasoned black beans, brown rice, sour cream (tasted closer to Greek yogurt), Colby jack cheese, “corn chips” (they were unsalted!), and a jar of salsa.

Let me just tell you that this jar of salsa tasted like sweetened tomato paste. It was so sweet, I wondered if we had accidentally picked up mango salsa or something. It was… not good.

I had anticipated this hurdle, but I also forgot how much this style of food is a staple in our house.

Whirlwind take 2

Wednesday felt like the longest day ever, but somehow, we just kept doing things.

Thursday, we tried a bakery near our Airbnb called Wild Wheat. Bekah immediately fell in love with meat pies (a national dish here in NZ). After that, we spent some time looking for a car and fortunately found one in short order. Then we went on a short hike on Mangere Mountain situated in the middle of Auckland. It was beautiful. We all cracked up when it started raining on us when we reached the top and had to hike the whole way back down to the car. Guess we should have planned for NZ’s constantly changing weather. The kids enjoyed a sensory maze and some delicious ice cream before driving home. Chris was the only one awake by the time we pulled into the Airbnb and we were all out within seconds of heads hitting pillows once we got inside.

Friday we spent at the Auckland Zoo which was really fun and relaxing. Then we went to pick up our new car. Unfortunately, within 2 hours of picking it up, we noticed that the doors were making funny sounds so now we need to talk with the dealership again.

In just a few hours, a friend that I met online is coming to help carry half of our bags back from Auckland to Taupo where we’ll be living.

Auckland

 We’re here!

We landed in Auckland at 5:55 AM on January 14. 

Chris took a taxi to pick up the rental car (we didn’t realize when booking that it wasn’t on site at the airport), then drove back (on the left side of the road, mind you) to pick up myself, the kids, and our 13+ bags. 

Fortunately, our Airbnb graciously allowed us an early check-in, so we were able to head straight there. And due to some good planning, it was only 15 minutes from the airport in a less developed section of town. Once we got the bags inside, we rested just a brief 30-45 minutes before heading out to explore. 

I grabbed my first flat white and we went to open our new bank account here in New Zealand. After that, we went to this amazing Japanese restaurant just down the street. Chris said the sushi was amazing, but I think it was a bit too interesting flavor-wise for the kids. 

We went to a Kmart (they are nice here - like a Target) at a mall, checked out a Noel Leeming for an x-box cord, and got a burger for Quinn at Macca’s (McDonalds).

We also went to look at a car at a dealership on the far northside of town and then to a place called Andy’s Burgers where a robot brings you your food (gimmicky but fun).

We leave tomorrow

I can’t believe we leave tomorrow morning. 

Chris’s family drove up to help pack up the last of our house and take us to the airport. My folks (despite getting diagnosed with flu just a few days ago) drove from Asheville to take care of the 1 million things that need doing after we are off to the airport. (Masked and dosed up on Tamiflu). They’ll pack up the last of it in a U-Haul and store the remainder of our lives at their house. 

Everyday for months it seems I would wake up and say, “whoa, now it feels real!” But I’m past that and now each day just feels more and more surreal. I wonder what it will feel like once we’re actually in New Zealand?

Whirlwind

 I haven’t gotten to post much because December was basically a whirlwind of activity.

Saying goodbyes, holiday time, finishing up work, selling cars, packing all the things. Just so. Much. To. Do. December was highly directed chaos, and I barely remember it happening.

Christmas was lovely. We were able to see both sides of the family and it was just a really, really nice time.

But shortly thereafter, one by one, the kids developed 103 F temperatures which complicated our plans - specifically seeing friends before we leave on Monday. I mean, I don’t know it’s the flu, but it’s the flu. Chris and I are taking large doses of vitamin C and zinc daily and praying that our flu shots and immune systems can save us. So far, we have avoided the plague. Fingers crossed it keeps working.

I have packed and repacked our checked luggage bags. I thought we had it down to 7 checked bags, 3 roll carry-ons, 2 small carry-ons, and 5 backpacks, but it’s going to end up being 8 checked bags + all the rest. I keep leaving out the clothes that are in the wash, the toiletries, and last minute items.