A whole 'New World'

Well, it's half past nine and here I sit on my hostel bed along with the rest of my four dorm mates...apparently we all that the same idea to just chill and relax in the comfort of our rooms.

But, I did have a lovely afternoon. The weather here in Auckland today was gorgeous. It was sunny and breezy and just the perfect temperature. I could definitely get used to this! I was in a tanktop, jeans and sandals when I walked to the grocery store. Beautiful!

The super market, “New World,” has a fitting name for travelers, don't you think? I was pretty hungry by the time I went there but I managed to do pretty well and get some good essentials for the next day or so – bread, cottage cheese, apples, peanut butter, carrots, cereal, yogurt, and some trail mix. Mmm mmm!

On my walk, you couldn't help but notice the sound of the Cicadas!! My goodness are they loud. I actually got a good close-up picture of one in the backyard of the hostel. Big fellas!

When I ate lunch, I visited with two of the Asian workers at the hostel. The girl is here to go to university and study English. The guy, Suguloo, had just graduated but was continuing to work at the hostel for some hand-on English practice. He was like, “You are helping me study!” Lol, awesome :-) I taught him what “book exchange” and “odd” meant.

I went online to check out the SEEK.com website for jobs. There is one through the US Postal Service as a “Postie” - cycling around and delivering mail! Sounds like fun!! It's in Gisborne which is still in the North Island, so I am going to fix up my resume and send it in.

I really have a different feel about this trip (trip? work vaca? work holiday?) then I have about my travels in the past. Since I have such a long time here, I am just taking it easy and going at a slower pace. It is really nice! I don't feel in this super rush to “get everything done and see everything asap!!” because I'm leaving in a month. I much prefer this pace.

After browsing for jobs, I visited with Wan, my Australian dorm mate. He showed me some cool pictures of the Carnival in Rio that he was at last weekend. Looks like quite the party! I am excited for Cate and I to go to Brazil together after she graduates!!

I read for a little bit and was actually feeling pretty good as far as sleep goes. But, my eye started to droop a little, so I figured I'd sleep for a bit. Well, 5 hours later...I woke up to cats running past the door and Wan making odd sighing noises in his sleep! haha. I felt so rummy after waking up - like I had been drugged or something! I was really hoping that because I got quite a bit of sleep on the plane, that my jetlag wouldn't be quite as intense. But, apparently there's no avoiding it... Aww shucks, hehe.