Warriors bashing Eels

At the end of my first week I was exhausted. I woke up late on Saturday, you know why, without plans. Ross met me in the kitchen by midday looking like his Friday night had also been a long one. He offered to take me to a rugby game in the evening and I happily accepted. The stadium is in the south of Auckland so we left the house in the afternoon to get to the game in time.

We follow a stream of people to the stadium

We enter and go straight for fries and coke

The stadium is full of people in black Warriors shirts and there are some Eels fans too. Vodafone Warriors is the home team of all Kiwis in a league with 15 Australian teams and only one New Zealand team.

Go get 'em Warriors!

We hurry to our seats and the game starts before we get seated. I understood most of the rules, but still the initial scenes confused me. In the midst of the extremely aggressive game a fight suddenly breaks out. Players are letting pushing each other and the referees are running. It is chaotic for a minute, but the players quickly get back to the game. Minutes later the first Try is scored and the crowd erupts in applause for the Warriors.

The warriors score the first Try

If the word Try is new to you, then let me explain a few rules to you. A Try is awarded for a successful grounding of the ball in the end zone. It gives you 4 points and the opportunity to score 2 more by kicking the ball between the bars. Then the ball is kicked hard away by the defending team and the attackers will catch it or pick it up and start a new attack. The attackers will run forward and if they go down with the ball defenders will fall back 10 yards. If the attackers should go down 5 times they have to hand over the ball, but they will usually kick it forward instead of going down the fifth time.

Kick it away and run forward!

While the rules may sound like those of American football, the flow of a rugby game is completely different. Rugby is played with extreme aggression rather than clever tactics. Attackers don't make defensive tackles, so they have few options. They either crash through the defences or rotate the ball sideways and hope the next attacker can find a better opening in the defence. Kicking is a risky play that you only make if you have to.

Warriors fans celebrate a great game! 29-16 final result

It is a fast game that never stops the timer and it is very entertaining because of the constant action. When they score it is always spectacular. Especially if the attackers break through on their own half and run the full length of the field with the crowd cheering all the way.

Goodbye Theo

At work Theo has spend the week handing over clients to me and teaching me all sorts of things. There is much to learn for me, but I'm feeling good about it and I love how easy it is to get responsibility here.

Goodbye Theo, good luck in Wellington!

The chocolate fish in the picture is a traditional Kiwi recognition for a job well done.

My first work week

Last week's big news have changed my life. I am no longer a brave tourist looking for work in Auckland. I am no longer the new Danish guy among the lifeguards. I have become a marketing professional, working 9 to 5 in clean, ironed shirts.

It is the end of many things, but the beginning of new ones. I am not afraid of the changes, but I am stressed. My spare time has shrunk considerably and I suddenly need to manage my time efficiently to get everything done. Luckily, I have the support of my friend Ross, who has been working long hours for years. The day before I started work, he took me shopping for shirts. It felt like the perfect rite of passage to get a crash course in Kiwi business wear and custom.

The Biz Dojo
Now let me show you where I work. When you go the most famous street of Auckland, K'road, you will find a new environmentally friendly building with a catchy name. The Iron Bank is the host for many small businesses including Creative Agency Secrets, the company I now work for.

The red building behind the white front is the Iron Bank

You walk in next to the Ironbar Café

Up the stairs to the first floor

This is where you find the Biz Dojo 

Welcome inside, have a seat in the sound absorbent sofa

My seat is right next to the space pig

After hours
Tuesday I went to the Beach Series in Takapuna again. This time I went for the 1500 meter distance and found tough competition. I finished 16 overall in the time 22.32 after battling a strong current at the first buoy and shortening my strokes to power through choppy waves on the return leg. I finished in a sprint right next to a competitor, whom I had been shoulder to shoulder with since the final buoy. The race was won by Mario Mola, one the best triathletes in the world.

Relaxing on the grass before the race

Friday I went for a beer with some colleagues from the Biz Dojo. I naively thought "a beer after work" actually just meant a couple of beers at a bar. We had that. And then we had some more. Then we had cocktails. Then we had more cocktails...

Saturday had a slow start for me...

Feature: Volvo Ocean Race

This weekend the Volvo Ocean Race teams have been competing in a series of races in the port of Auckland. I've been eagerly awaiting this event since the opening of the race village a few weeks ago. It is a rare opportunity to see the boats sail, because they only dock in 10 harbours during their race around the world. In the harbours the sailors repair the boats, refresh themselves and prepare for the next leg. They also have time to give the viewers a good show with some spectacular in-port races, but these are not important in the overall rankings of the teams. The real race is decided on the ocean legs, but these competitive teams do not pass up on any chances to beat the others.

Team DongFeng got some extra training in Tuesday before the races

Thursday afternoon I went to see the first practice race. When I found a comfortable spot on the Queens Wharf pier, the race had already started and team Mapfre was in front. They continued to lead the fleet around the top at Devonport and down again to the harbour bridge. I enjoyed a great view of it all from my spot, as I was near the middle of the course.

A light breeze and large clouds made tactics interesting

In the second race the fleet split in two on the upwind seeking opposite sides of the course. The boats on the north side found a lift and were favoured at the top mark. On the downwind three different tactics were chosen by the captains. Some sought the north side of the course, but they lost pressure at a big headland. Some did an early jibe to get to the southern side, which seemingly had more pressure. The winning team, Mapfre, uniquely chose trim their sails in a butterfly formation to go directly downwind. Their gambit was to sail slower than the other boats, but more directly down the course. Apparently, they had found a line with pressure that they were able to follow throughout the downwind leg and take the win.

The red Mapfre boat is leading, because they are deeper
 in the course than team SCA in the background  

All boats go at full speed as they cross the start line

Friday offered more of the same weather and the same teams doing well. Team Mapfre and Brunel were once again leading the fleet. They seemed to find just a little more pressure than the other teams in the tricky light conditions. In one of the races Mapfre tried a butterfly trim like they had done so successfully the previous day, but were not rewarded. Team Brunel stayed on the starboard tack and followed the north shore all the way to the finish as they found more and more lift throughout the downwind leg. The other teams caught on quickly, but were not able to catch team Brunel who won both races Friday.

Team Dongfeng comes very close to the pier

Two of them wave to us while the others complete a tack

The final in-port race was more important, because the results can be used to break ties in the overall scores. In this race team SCA did surprisingly well, redeeming themselves after a poor performance in the practice races. I was not there to watch it live, but I have read that they won the start and held on to their lead throughout the entire race.

SCA in front in the final race
image from VolvoOceanRace Twitter

A big week

It's been a big week for me. I've met many new people, had a lot of fun experiences and started many changes in my life. I would love to tell you all about it, but one post is just not enough, so you can expect a feature coming up soon.

This week I've been to my first ever Beach Series. It is a friendly competition in your favourite beach sport that runs as a series throughout the season. You can go running, swimming or paddling different distances depending on your skill and mood on the day.

I arrived early to sit on the grass and relax before the event

The junior 2 km run is the first race

I did a 500 meter swim and finished first after 8 minutes and 27 seconds. Although the swimmers on the 1500 meter had much faster times, I felt like a star. When I came out of the water I ran as fast as I could past the finish line and was cheered on by three junior boys. I remember one of them saying "You smashed it!". That still makes me smile. I may return this week to try the 1500 meter race.

Meeting the professionals

This week I met the communications team of Research Association New Zealand for the first time. I have recently joined them as a writer for their magazine. The team impressed me at the highly efficient meeting and I am sure it will be great to work with them.
A few days later several of us met again at a RANZ event. The award winners from last year had been invited to present their projects and they all accepted. For a market researcher, it was a spectacular night. It was a cavalcade of superb research projects by the best researchers in the industry. The passion for market research collected in the room was intense. When one of the presenters said "it almost brings a tear to your eye" you could see it silently resonate with every member of the audience.

I attended my first RANZ event in this marina clubhouse

The lifeguards are leaving
For the lifeguards the end of the season is marked by Nationals, a four day competition in all of the surf lifeguard disciplines. This weekend I got a small taste of that, as Mairangi Bay had an internal competition as preparation for Nationals.

Final instructions before the competition begins

Ready for a swim

Jumping into a surf ski is really difficult

But everyone gets a good start today

The running discipline beach flags is fun to watch

Sadly, I will not be joining them for nationals. I would not be able to perform decently in any disciplines other than swimming and I am too competitive to be a supporter. Therefore my season with the lifeguards is now over and I await the spring when they start again. Hopefully that will be the time when they go back to basics and teach me how to handle myself on the board and ski.

The biggest piece of news

I saved the best part for those of you who read this far. I've got a job. There you have it. Full time employment in a marketing position with a small agency. This is big news because it will change how I live and experience New Zealand dramatically. I'm excited, scared, happy and confused and I know it will be awesome. I start on Monday.

Lantern Festival and Volvo Ocean Race

This week I got to celebrate the Chinese New Year once more. In Auckland it was celebrated with an extremely popular lantern festival this week. I went there with Marcus, the Swede I introduced you to in the Getting settled post. He studies at Auckland University and lives south of the city center, so meeting in Albert Park in the city center was easy for both of us.

The west side entrance was not overly crowded

The East side was. Are you there Marcus?

I found Marcus at the opposite entrance to the park after navigating through a massive crowd. The entire park was packed with people creating a sharp contrast to the quiet atmosphere that you would usually find in Albert Park. Marcus commented that perhaps it was supposed to make us feel more Asian and I agreed that there was some sense to that.

Multiculture is when people eat hotdogs and grilled squids

The two of us went looking for food in the many Asian stalls. There were snacks served on sticks everywhere and we both made some good and bad choices. I love to try new foods, but we quickly tired of the extremely slow pace of movement in the street. Back in the park we had a look at some of the lanterns and a couple of shows as well. The karaoke stage nonplussed me with its lack of quality singers, synthesized audio and impressively engaged crowd. I had to stay and watch for a while before finally getting myself together enough to move away. We also saw a group of martial arts talents show off their skill in a great show combining gymnastics with fighting dance moves.

Opera singer lanterns reminded me of last week's festival

At night the lanterns really came to life

Volvo Ocean Race arrives

I'm a massive supporter of sailing as a sport, so I am thrilled to be in a host town of the Volvo Ocean Race tour around the world. The sailors finished a leg from Sanya in China to Auckland in the early morning Sunday. I would have loved to see the finish and the boats entering the harbour, but I settled for being there in the afternoon instead.

The race village area has dj's playing live most evenings

My first glimpse of the boats, 3 are on shore already

There are three in the water and Vestas Wind is sadly missing

This race is so cool and I can almost touch their sails

Walking through the boatyard, which was dressed with images from the last 40 years of races, made me feel like a true fan. It's a difficult sport to follow and only few of the sailors become famous, but we can all appreciate the amazing boats they sail and the challenge of being fastest around the world. Even today with modern equipment the race is still as merciless and relentless as it was 40 years ago. If anyone doubted that, Vestas Wind made sure to remind them when they crashed their boat onto a reef in the middle of the Indian Ocean.