Day 13

Last week was spent car/apartment hunting. Finally found a place and signed for it this week! It is a one bedroom townhouse (I guess) on the edge of Ponsonby (Pon-snobby?) and Grey Lynn. It is fully furnished and has a gas stove... And it's pet-friendly! YES!! New address to come.

Last Friday I had lunch with my co-workers at Cock and Bull (don't see restaurant names like that in the states...) and Monday was my first day at work. There are, I believe, 10 people in my department, not including my manager, Jonti. Everyone has been very welcoming and I have been very busy all week! I gave everyone in my group a box of Jelly Belly jelly beans and a Converse shoe keychain. The jelly beans were a BIG HIT! Apparently Jelly Belly is very expenisve in New Zealand and very few people have ever seen them. They were all very excited that the flavors "taste like real fruit!" and they spend the afternoons discussing their favorite flavors.

So, of course, I have to mention the cafeteria (canteen?) at work. Every day at 9:30 we have morning tea which is pretty much the coolest part of the day. We all go to the cafeteria and eat breakfast. Some people bring boxes of cereal and wander around the office building with them. A lot of people eat cereal at their desks as well. I like to buy breakfast because 1) it is cheap and 2) there are so many different things to try! Every day there are fresh scones, oatmeal (porridge), sandwiches, soup, yogurt, fruit... I don't think anything costs over $2. There's free tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. I have a box of cereal in my desk, but I've been too busy sampling everything to eat my cereal. Oh- fun fact: the Hubbards cereal guy used to be the mayor of Auckland! Lunch time is pretty alright. There is a good selection of food and it is fairly cheap, maybe $4 or $5 for a plate with meat and vegetables. There are also a lot of dessert things... Cookie bars and cakes... Yesterday my group decided to show me lamington, which I guess is Australian? It is a sponge cake covered in some sort of chocolate and coconut shavings and a big blob of cream. I have no idea what it tastes like, but it is fancy looking! Today I learned that if you go to the cafeteria in between lunch and dinner you can get a discount!! Also, the cafeteria lady gave Jon a whole bag of little mini pizza things. They were pretty tasty.

Two week marker coming up..!