I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to rent a flat near the university and downtown.  Here are some pictures of my new home!

I left Chicago at 3:55 pm on Saturday (Jan 28) and 3 hours flew to Houston.  I then boarded the next flight (in a comfy row!) and flew 15 hours to Auckland.  Here I boarded the last flight for an hour to Wellington, arriving on Monday (Jan 30).  That was a lot of flying!!!  I lost Sunday because we flew over the International Date Line and it became the next day.

When I arrived I was met by Judith.  She is the woman I am renting a flat from.  (First person to tell me what a “flat” is, gets extra credit in the gradebook!)

She drove me to the flat, showed me where to get groceries, took me to the bank to open an account, took me to get a cell phone number and then took me food shopping.  It was a crazy afternoon but I got so much done!  I’m very thankful she was there to help me figure things out.

The city left me a bit dizzy!  It is so different than Jacksonville!  Lots of people, buildings and traffic.  I’m going to be walking a lot and I’ll have to learn how to use the bus system.  It’ll be different!

 

Leaving a place is bittersweet- especially when it is home!  I’ll miss my students, friends, family and Maggie the cat!  That is the bitter part.  I loved that party that you were part of at school.  I especially appreciate each note that you wrote.  Thank you so much!

But the sweet part is the excitement about what will happen.  I’m excited to live in a new place and see new things.  I’m nervous about meeting new people.

But in the end, it will all be great!