Last week–roughly 8 months and one week after finding out that I was the recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching–I finally journeyed to New Zealand.  And, really–factoring in the span of time for the application–it was over a year’s wait.  Over a year of imagining the sights, sounds, tastes, feels, and smells of this majestic new-to-me country.  I have formed a New Zealand Bucket List that is too long to detail in this post, but will hopefully come to fruition over the next 4 months.   Somehow however, in the midst of my anticipation of the exquisite literal peaks and valleys of New Zealand, my mind glazed over the inevitable reality that there would be figurative peaks and valleys to match.  I have imagined myself visiting schools and working with kiwi teachers, climbing glaciers and tramping to huts, participating in a Maori Powhiri and kayaking with dolphins, but I forgot to picture the less desirable aspects of starting life in a new country.  You know…things like banking and figuring out the bus system (when one bus ride costs $5!).  I landed here three days ahead of my family with a simple enough to-do list.  It only had 4 things on it: phone, bank, house, school.  Sounds simple enough, right?  I either grossly overestimated myself or underestimated the systems here.  Probably a little combination of the two.  Regardless, here are a few nuggets that may help you the next time you find yourself moving–even temporarily–to New Zealand.

1. Phone. (peak)  Thankfully I planned ahead and arrived in NZ with an already-unlocked phone.  It was extremely simple to suspend my US service online and head out to buy a prepaid SIM card.  Bonus (unexpected) peak: despite having read that New Zealand had slow an unreliable internet, not only is it fast and reliable, but it is free in many places all over the city.  Thank you, Wellington!  More bonus peaks: whatsapp and FaceTime.  So happy to have these great free (other than data) options to keep in touch with my family and friends back home and all over the world!

2. Bank.  (valley) We planned ahead, set up our account when we were still in the US, and even wired the money so it would be waiting.  I figured this would be easy to check off my list, but it turned out that I had to have a rental agreement (more on that in a moment) in order to activate the account.  Also, my husband and I will need to appear together, and it will probably take an hour.  Since we are now 2 hemispheres away from our built-in babysitting gaggle of grandparents, this means we will have to take our kids with us.  Note to self: feed the children immediately prior and bring something for them to keep themselves occupied.  Consider resorting to some sort of bribe to elicit their best bank behavior since they have never been inside one before.  Hope that Quincy does not suddenly put on a bank robber act.

3. House.  Ugh. (big, long, deep valley eventually ending in a peak)  I’m going to keep this short.  Basically, if you’re coming to Wellington to live short-term, you need to do one thing: lie.  This is actual advice from a rental agent here.  I didn’t do this, and I think I would have saved myself a ton of time and effort and frustration if I had.  I will spare you the details, but rest assured we will have a place to live.  Literally the ONLY possibility out of many tens of inquiries.  Great opportunity for the boys to have a downtown city living experience as we are right in the heart of Wellington.  Come visit!  We will happily make room in “The Shoebox” for you!

4. School. (still up in the air, but should be a peak regardless of how it turns out)  We are waiting to hear later this week if there will be room at the school where we are hoping to enroll the boys.  We walked to the school on Monday hoping to check it out.  We walked through busy downtown Wellington, and then turned off onto a small street.  After one block we found ourselves in front of the oasis of a very sweet looking school.  The boys fell in love at first sight.  The best news is that we are in New Zealand, and the whole reason we are here is because of how incredible the schools and education system are here.  And, as a member of a local school board assured me, there are no bad schools in Wellington, so wherever they end up will be great.

5. Weather. (peak…valley…peak…peak…valley…peak…val–get the picture?)  Wellington put on its best outfit for my fellow Fulbrighters and me the day we arrived.  We were greeted by 80 degree sunshine with a light breeze.  We were told by multiple people that day how rare this hot, dry summer weather had been.  As I looked out at the all of the people sunbathing on the beach and swimming in the flat water of the bay, it was hard to imagine where the nickname, “Windy Welly” could come from.  I think Wellington took that as a dare and has now shown me on several different occasions just how it earned that name…and just to put an exclamation mark on its message, it rained sideways on Monday!

Windy Welly

6. Coffee. (peak)  I have traded in my morning latte for a flat white.  De.LISH.ous!  My new fave!  And the kiwi baristas are a treat too!

Flat white

7. Wellington. (peak) I have walked all over this city, and I love it!  It has so many different pockets, each with its own feel and character.  And it’s very compact, so as you traverse the city, you seamlessly go from one unique area to the next.  You can even find yourself in the heart of downtown one minute and surrounded by nature the next.

Gigantic fern

One minute I was downtown, and the next minute here!

Yes, there have been some should-have-been-expected challenges, but that is part of what makes an experience like this worthwhile.  And, even after rehashing the “house hunting horrors,” I am sitting here thinking I should rename my blog to “Never going home!”  I love you already, New Zealand. Kia ora!