Hope you enjoy my adventures! Sorry if I ramble lol
So apparently my dad and I came on a very popular holiday weekend called The Sevens, which is hosted here in Wellington. Little did we know this when we wandered around the city at 8am looking for a place to eat and stay awake until our hotel room was ready. First of all, getting off the plane and arriving at our hotel (The Duxton) was kinda surreal. The view from our room was absolutely amazing, with the city curving around us on either side and the harbor straight ahead. I couldn’t really grasp the fact that this is where I would be living for the next five months, no matter how long I stared out the window, which was actually quite often lol.
Anyway so as we wandered around the city for the first time I couldn’t help but feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb. It was like everyone that looked at me knew right away that we didn’t belong here and had no idea where we were going. The first street we happened to wander down was Cuba Street. Not the best first impression of the city of Wellington. I thought my dad was going to drag me back on a plane home right then and there. The street was pretty much deserted, a few ragged people wandering around or sitting on the ground looking half drunk. And there was garbage everywhere, not to mention several smoke shops and adult stores. It was like Berkeley’s telegraph avenue x 100. It was a bit shocking to say the least and my poor dad was freaking out. LUCKILY there was a good explanation for Cuba Streets current state, as we soon found out: because the night before had been The Sevens, everyone had basically partied in the streets all night and were now wandering home or sleeping it off, which was why it felt as eerie as it did. I’m am glad to say that we went back to Cuba Street many a time and had quite a different (and much better) experience. It is actually one of my favorite places now, its very young and lively and has a lot of cool cafes, restaurants and second-hand stores (or Op-shops as they are called here).
I’m so grateful my dad was here with me, and it was so fun getting to know the city with him. We were able to pretty much walk ourselves around the majority if city. I was surprised to be honest by just how compact the city is. It has the skyline of a city yet it feels much different, I can’t really explain it. Less fast paced, easier to get around and almost more homey feeling. The harbor is absolutely gorgeous, with walkways surrounding the waters edge and little art pieces everywhere. And people everywhere! It was amazing the number of people in suits sitting outside around the water eating lunch, taking a walk or just relaxing with a coffee in the middle of the day. And so many people out jogging! It gives the city a very warm and friendly feeling, like everyone is out enjoying all the Wellington has to offer. Very different then any place I have been to in the U.S.
This post is getting long, so I’m not going to retell everything that we did over the week but I will detail a few of our adventures.
-We went to a Wellington Phoenix soccer game- SO MUCH FUN! And everyone gets really amped up for the game.
-Took the commuter train to Johnsville- nothing much there but got to see how beautiful and green it is everywhere, its incredible.
-The Moari have a very heavy cultural influence on the country – almost everywhere you go signs are written both in English and in the moari language. A lot of people will also say “kia ora” which I am guessing means something alongs the lines of Hello, welcome.
- The dairy here is SO bizarre tasting. I’ve slowly been getting used to it but my dad steered clear of the butter, ice cream etc. I think it’s much richer then US dairy, I bet New Zealanders would be grossed out by how watery our milk is haha.
-At restaurants we always sat there awkwardly trying to figure out if they bring the bill to the table or if you go up to the register to pay… never did figure that one out lol.
- SO WINDY- I heard it was called Windy Wellington but the wind so far is already way more intense then I expected.
-There was an earthquake! Not a very big one but it startled us awake at 2 am.
Anyway, now I’m here by myself in my flat. It’s definitely been weird and difficult being alone. My first night here alone (last night) was a bit surreal feeling, I don’t think it fully hit me until that moment that I am going to be staying here for 5 months! Surprising I was doing ok until I went to brush my teeth and the second I turned on the light, it flickered then blew out. Silly I know, but that put me over the edge and I had a momentary break down. I walked around the city a bit more today by myself, its strange being in a new place and not knowing anyone. My friend Kelly gets here tomorrow and my roommates on Friday so I’m definitely looking forward to that!
Here's some pis from around Welly:
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