I’m driving now! Man was it ever weird! You don’t understand how ingrained in your brain and subconscious driving rules are until you have to throw everything you’ve learned out the window and start fresh! I got into the wrong side a couple times. I still sometimes turn on the wipers instead of indicating. And I reach and hit my hand on the door when I go gear shift. But It gets better each time I drive! So I think that pretty much makes me a Kiwi now! (You know minus the accent and being born in Canada).
Anyways I’ve been here only 14 days and I already know that it’s going to be hard to leave this place! My host family is going to have to drag me to the airport. This might be the most beautiful country EVER! I know that is a big claim but honestly it’s amazing! Everything is so green and the water is so blue and clear. I am lucky enough to be living only 1 km from St Heliers Bay Beach. (Which is where I am now, enjoying a coffee and writing, while looking out onto the water). It’s still pretty cold here. Winter is just ending so unfortunately I’m sitting inside. But I’m told the warm weather is coming and I can not wait! It’s so funny it’s been 14-16 degrees and people here are wearing full on winter jackets and scarves! If they only knew...
My first week I spent following Ann (host mom) around with the kids, catching up on sleep and just getting used to living in another country. It was pretty easy. I found myself going to bed the same time as the kids to get over my jet lag! This past week I still followed her around but each day took on more and more responsibility and next week I will start to do it on my own. Finn and Maggie are great kids with very creative imaginations! They are very active, enrolled in dance, swimming, soccer and tennis. So most nights after school we have some sort of sports activity. They are both gluten and dairy free, so I have been learning some new and cool cooking techniques. This week I made peanut butter cookies with carrot puree in them! They actually taste amazing! And not just because I baked them :P haha!
I was lucky to get introduced to another Canadian au pair while still at home and got to know her through email and Facebook. It is nice to have a fellow Canadian to feel a little bit of home. (Especially when it comes to listening to country music in the car! They don’t have it here! :( So every ride we make sure to have a phone or iPod to get our country fix!) I was automatically thrown into a great group of friends here! It definitely made the transition easier. They are mostly European. A couple are from Germany, one from Sweden and another from Finland. I love getting to know more about their cultures. For most Europeans they come here to improve their English. The Au Pair network is really interesting. We are all in the same boat and so it is really easy to meet people! 
We went to Devonport last weekend and enjoyed the view of Auckland from a different angle and watched the sunset from Mt Victoria. I’ve booked some other trips coming up in the next couple of months! I plan on meeting some new people and seeing other parts of this great island! So stay tuned for posts and pictures of these trips :) 
This weekend was pretty low key, the weather wasn’t the best so Kaleigh (Canadian), Sinah (German) and I had a girls weekend! We went shopping, did our nails, watched movies and had lots of coffee by the beach!
This morning I tried out a church. Seeing as I’m going to be here for a year I wanted to find a church I could get connected with. I found this church as we were driving home from the kids swimming lesson. I am happy I stopped in this morning! It was an amazing experience! The church was small so people knew we were visitors and then when they found out we were from Canada everyone pointed us out. We were part of the morning announcements haha! We enjoyed a coffee and conversation after the service and got connected with some young adult groups during the week!
I am happy to say that I am finding an overwhelming peace being here. I know that this is where God wants me to be and grow. And that is an amazing feeling. This is going to be a good (understatement) year!
Peace out,
Dani
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