So Much to Explore on the Weekends!
When I was awarded my Watson year, I had visions of me as what I viewed as a perfect fellow. This picture was of a dedicated scholar who spent every hour, 8am - 5pm, during the week focused intently on her project, always going somewhere, interacting with someone, doing something. The evenings were filled with exciting nightlife excursions (despite me not liking being out at night, parties, and usually being asleep being 10:30pm…) to classy restaurants, small concert venues, and general hubs of activities that allowed me to meet some people in the country I was visiting who are around my own age. The weekends were reserved for bigger activities - long road trips, sightseeing that deserved a half- or full-day to soak in, action-packed enough to intrigue family and friends at home and to share with those I met with in the country to prove that I was exploring all their land had to offer! Mixed in with all of this, I was filling pages and pages with nightly journal entries documenting what I did each day, my feelings, worries, excitements, reflections, and observations. And, I was going to post two blog posts a week - one focused on my discoveries related to my project and one focused on all my adventures. Plus, we couldn’t forget about the stunning, aesthetically-pleasing Instagram I was to maintain with multiple posts a week with images that would cause even the most seasoned traveler to feel some sense of envy and wanderlust.
Well… little of that has happened. I’m trying my best, though. I can’t say that I am going out every evening, but some afternoons if I finish my work early, I go and explore the art scenes, nearby parks, or cute cafés. I also definitely have not lived up to my expectations of nightly journaling or constantly updated Instagram. I hate to admit it, but after a long day of observing, listening, and engaging with my project and with New Zealand culture in general, sometimes the last thing I want to do is spend another 45 minutes recording these moments, thoughts, and discoveries, writing until my hand is cramping, my script is messy, and the detail is less, well, detailed. It can feel a bit like a chore… So, I have let that expectation go. I try to summarize what I have done, seen, learned, felt challenged and excited by, and remarked on every few days, before I forget it all. As my loyal readers may have also noted, I have also not created two blog posts every week. I very much underestimated the amount of time they take to compose! But, I will keep trying to post often enough to prove to you that I am still alive, exploring, and dedicated to my project, but in a way that feels balanced so writing these posts does not detract from actually doing those things.
With all of that said, I have had some pretty spectacular weekends! I have been able to find a happy split in my time between activity and relaxation/recovery.
August 13, 2022
This Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to catch a bus to the city center to meet some fellow Americans visiting Auckland! I got to connect with Megan and Trudy from the International Coalition of Girls Schools (where my mom works!) during their tour of Australia and New Zealand. Timing worked out great that we overlapped in Auckland and took advantage of the opportunity to do some sightseeing together. We caught a ferry to Waiheke Island, a top recommended destination to visit when in the area.
On our ride over, we chatted about their trip, my project, traveling, and more. The 45-minute ferry ride flew by. As I was disembarking from the boat, a man with an evident American accent walked up to me and said that he overheard my plans to visit Senegal. In our conversation, I discovered that he was from Louisiana, lived in Senegal for two years as part of the Peace Corps, and now was in New Zealand. Of all the places he stayed in Senegal during his time, he was in the two locations that are on my itinerary to live during my stint there - what are the chances?! He gave me some good advice and a parting message in French before we had to go our separate ways. If that wasn’t serendipity, I don’t know what is! I should point out that he was sitting on the clear other side of the ferry, which was quite packed and noisy from chatter, the mechanical noises from the engines, and the waves, and we weren’t talking all that loud in our conversation in the corner during the journey either!
On Waiheke Island, we joined a group for an indulgent food and wine tasting tour around some of the most popular vineyards on the island. It was a tour full of fantastic scenery, lots of good people-watching, and, obviously, a lot of good things to sample!
After the tour was complete, we decided to get dropped off in the town for some more exploring and to get to experience the island a bit longer. It was a good thing we did, too! Shortly after we got off our van, we walked up a small hill and encountered the world’s most vibrant, complete rainbow! We stood there, admiring it (and snapping plenty of photos) until it all but faded away.
It was just about the right time for afternoon tea, so we stopped at a little cafe with some spectacular wrap-around views. We split a fudgy brownie and caramel slice and each enjoyed a hot drink. I felt like the treats weren’t enough chocolate, so I opted for a hot spiced chocolate chai as my choice.
With full bellies, we wandered through the shops along the street, before making our way to the ferry station to head back to the Auckland CBD. To finish off the night, we grabbed dinner at a very tasty French tapas restaurant. Suffice to say, by the time the day was over, I was ready for a hot shower and a cozy bed.
August 14, 2022
Sunday morning, I tackled the normal things one must do on a weekend - laundry, grocery shopping, tidying up. I also had a number of Watson-related tasks to complete, including booking my flight out of New Zealand and on to Chile for the end of October before my visitor visa expires. I had gotten a Google Flights notification that the prices had dropped and comparing graphs of the dates around my selection, it looked like it wasn’t going to get any lower. I typed in all my necessary information and clicked “Book Flight”. Then, I got an error code and was told to try again. So, once more I typed in everything and pressed the big blue button at the bottom of my screen. Error. I did the whole process again, before I looked at my debit card statement to see 3 partially processed payments and an alert of suspected fraud… Of course…
So, I had to call the card company to let them know that I did, in fact, want to purchase the plane ticket from NZ to Chile. This call required me verifying every purchase I had made on the card over the past 2.5 weeks in New Zealand, despite me alerting them before I left of my plans and them having clear records of that in their system. I am very glad that I got SIM card plan that offered me 120 minutes of international calls because this singular issue used 80 of them and I’m not sure what I would have done if I had chosen the option with 0 minutes.
With that all resolved, I can now say that I do have a firm plan to leave New Zealand and a flight to prove it! And after the stress of that morning, I really, really needed to get out of the house and do something to calm my now heightened fight or flight response. So, I took a short walk through the domain to visit the Winter Gardens, which I had not yet checked out. That was the perfect decision! It was spectacular! The flowers were gorgeous. There was a whole maze-like area dedicated to ferns. And, a peaceful fountain in the middle where I sat and listened to two really interesting podcast episodes I had been saving for a time where I could be more fully present to their content.
While I was sitting at the fountain, I got a message from Megan and Trudy saying they were actually heading to the domain if I wanted to meet them! Again, just perfect! We walked around for a bit, before heading into Parnell to visit the Chocolate Boutique (I know… I’m basically a repeat customer now…) for an afternoon pick-me-up. This time, I opted for the S’mores Sundae and a PB Mocha.
We walked through some more of the shops and along the streets around there, before we made it to a dinner spot. We ended the night at another tapas restaurant, but this one was Spanish. But, equally delicious!
Overall, it was a truly wonderful weekend!
August 20, 2022
My morning this Saturday was spent working on the blog post that went live just before this one. By the time I got to a good stopping place, it was just about time to leave for brunch with Fiona, the woman who is hosting me here in Auckland. We had been looking forward to trying out this restaurant called Honey Bones all week! And, boy oh boy, did it deliver! It is very popular, with a number of people waiting for tables, but we were able to get seated right away. I enjoyed a coconut milk latte with the Istanbul Scrambled, which was GF Freedom Bread (made by a bakery in Auckland) topped with whipped feta cheese, parsley, curried cauliflower, crisp sage, za’atar, and, of course, scrambled eggs.
We also were going to check out another highly recommended gluten-free bakery, known for their donuts and almond croissants. But, when we went to find the address online, we discovered that they had permanently closed! Darn! But, we decided to do our grocery shopping at a different spot than normal, which had a much bigger gluten free selection (and I thought the first place had a lot of choices!)
I finished the afternoon relaxing and doing some crocheting. I made a small crochet square with a heart in the middle for a baby I met earlier in the week. The yarn I used is NZ wool that came from a lovely yarn shop up the road from where I am staying, so it is very connected to this time and place, too. I find it to be quite special and meaningful. It is not the neatest crochet I have done and if I think about it there are many things that I would work to improve when using this pattern again. But, I think there is something special about the imperfections in the work, too, and it being my first time using this design and the first one that I made. It all feels significant and important to me in this context, so I wouldn’t change anything. It has a symbolic quality that I value.
August 21, 2022
Many months ago when I had zoom calls and email exchanges with former Watson Fellows, one of the questions I always asked was about how they connected with people their own age during their year. How did they make friends? In this time of wondering how I would manage my social life for 12-months away from home, with finite time in each place, I searched for groups to get connected with while in New Zealand. I came across a group called “Gals Brunch” that matched up 5 or 6 girls in their 20s into groups to get brunch together on a Sunday morning. I signed up, filled out the personality questionnaire, and waited to see who I’d meet and where I’d be eating! This Sunday I had that brunch at a very aesthetically pleasing little cafe that was only about a 15 minute walk away from where I am staying with 5 other girls that ranged in age from 18-21. It was such a fun experience to meet them, hear about their time at university and what they all are studying, and compare life in NZ and US as young women. The food was also amazing - the hardest part was choosing what to get! I ended up on a vegan, gluten-free superfood granola bowl packed with lots of produce and a mocha.
After 2-hours, the other girls needed to get back to completing their school assignments and our brunch came to an end. The day was still early, so I decided to catch the bus and head to the Auckland Art Gallery.
I wandered around every exhibit and explored all of the fantastic works! A few, though, definitely stood out to me. I put the pictures of them here for you to see for yourself. My absolute favorite is the collage of found "I love you" notes. <3
The gallery also had this really interesting 5-room installation that was interactive - allowing patrons to touch and sit on the art, just not climb it! I spent a lot of time exploring this piece, tracing along the pipes and admiring the story it told.
Just outside the museum is a park called Albert Park, which is where I spent the rest of my afternoon. I walked along the paths, snapping pictures, listening to the birds, and basking in the sunshine. I sat on a bench for a bit looking at the SkyTower peeking out above the trees, thinking to myself just how cool all of this is!
I made my way back to the bus to catch a ride home to prepare myself for another busy and exciting week ahead!
If you want to stay up to date on my blog, consider subscribing to be notified when I post!
Sounds like some really amazing experiences!