A day at Long Bay

I have been to Long Bay before, but this time I brought my running shoes and a determination to explore the area. The tide tables told me the low would be at 4 pm. Perfect.

Long Bay regional park

Long Bay is not just a beach, it is a large regional park next to a marine reserve. It has marked hiking routes and I had chosen one on the map at home. First, it led me through the grassy park. Here I met a lot of people walking around or preparing barbecues and many birds.

The park is an overlooked part of Long Bay

This bird has a funny walk and a bobbing headdress

The track led e on a hilly walk with a great view of the sea

Low tide

At the end of the track there is a beach with a warning sign.

Scream and run into the sea if rocks fall

But I knew that and I arrived at 3:30 pm in perfect timing with the tide.

Two girls are riding their horses in the shallow water

Otherwise the beach is deserted

I quite enjoy the solitude

It feels like walking under water

The beach is diverse and beautiful

I wonder where those rocks came from...

In the end I return to Long Bay
It's not really long, but it is a wide beach

Fighting the immigration robots

As always, I have had a busy week here in Auckland. I have started in my new job at Needscope International and I am super excited about that. So excited, that I have forgotten to take pictures and put time aside to tell you about it. But don't worry.

I'll tell you more, promise
I am going to stay with Needscope for a long time, so you will see plenty of pictures from the office and read about the fun I have with my colleagues. Of course I am going to tell you about my first week, but not today.

A dark morning
I am in the middle of breakfast and my mind is not on work or fun, but immigration. I told you last week that I had a 'minor' issue with getting my master's degree recognised. I still have. Only it has escalated to a point where I have been issued a final warning. My robot-like case officer has informed me that "they are unlikely to approve my residency application" if I don't pay for an International Qualifications Assessment.

I have chosen not to roll over and pay, but to take the fight. It is unlike me to be that stubborn, but I care about this. I know that I cannot change the bureaucratic, robot like manner of my case officer, but I can be proven right. I hope this will eliminate the problem for others with a Danish education.

Thankfully, my Danish university sees the issue in the same way as I do. They are willing to support me with an official statement from the Dean. I hope it will somehow unlock the cogs of my robotic case officer. If not, then I am of a mind to take my chances at an appeal.

This makes little rational sense, because an appeal would cost 700 NZD, about the same as an IQA and the chance of success is obviously lower. However, I still believe there is a chance my visa will be approved without an appeal and that is what I am betting on. And I want the satisfaction of being right!

My robot is not allowed to make the decision himself, but most involve another robot. I have no illusions about the other one being more human, but I think there is a chance that the other robot will simply interpret my papers correctly.

But most of all, I hope the support of Aarhus University will make the difference.

Not to worry
I think this immigration battle may end badly for me, but I am not worried. It is more important for me to make a stand for justice, than to get my residency application approved. Afterall, I already have the job I want and I can stay for years without a residency class visa.

The robots will never deport me.

Between jobs

This past week I have had a short vacation. I didn't know how long it would last until today. My (second) work visa application has just been approved. That means I will start working tomorrow at Needscope and I am excited about that.

An early weekend
After quitting my job at Creative Agency Secrets I needed some time to rest. I felt like I was ready for a weekend after my final day of work Tuesday. I had been stressed, but now I could finally unwind. I did almost nothing for a couple of days. I stayed at home, read books and watched TV series and when I was feeling energetic I cleaned the kitchen.

This is not my ideal type of vacation, but I had planned to live that way for a couple of days. It was my way of gaining appetite for new adventures.

Devonport
When the real weekend came, I was done relaxing. I decided to visit Devonport, a charming part of Auckland I had never seen before. Devonport is just 10 minutes from the city centre by ferry, but far from everywhere else.

I went on Sunday and it was indeed sunny. To me it felt like summer had come back around and I felt comfortable wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

I was not the only one enjoying the weather

In Devonport there are two main attractions. The North Head and Mount Victoria. Both of them offer a spectacular view of the city across the bay.

View from Mount Victoria

First I visited North Head, a small roundish mountain that marks the entrance to Auckland harbour. It is an ideal vantage point to overlook the bay and in the past the military took advantage of that. They built tunnels, installed cannons and other defensive measures that today make it a nice tourist destination. The old bunkers are used for picnics, providing shelter from the wind, but allowing for an amazing sea view. The tunnels provide a convenient access to the sea.

Venture into the tunnels at your own risk

It's dark inside, but there is light at the end...

On top of Mount Victoria the military has installed a large canon. The story goes about how difficult it was to get the massive cannon up there in the beginning of the 20th century before WWI. The 13 tonnes cannon was dragged up the mountain by a score of men and two horses. Targets were placed on Rangitoto to use for practice (the island is void of life, so I don't know why this irks me). When the canon was fired for the first time, the massive shockwave from the blast broke the windows in a lot of Devonport houses. The citizens complained and the canon was never fired again.

This canon is hiding, perhaps from embarrassment?

I'm so ready

I've sorted out a lot of small things in my short vacation. Done my washing and cleaning, bought some new clothes, a new bag, stuff for the kitchen and a return ticket to Australia (more on that later). Nothing is missing. I am so ready to start my new job.

My secret busy life

It's a weight off my chest. I can finally tell you what's been going on in my life. Did some of you guess? I have found a new job.

Secret interviews
The interview process for my new job was thorough to say the least. I have been through four interviews, one of them including an exam-like test. Aside from that I have been in frequent contact with Immigration NZ to make sure I would not be deported from the country.

All of this, I have kept hidden from you and my colleagues at Creative Agency Secrets for the past couple of weeks. Fortunately, the hiring process was relatively short and very intense. I was contacted the first time on 1 May by Anika, who recommended I apply for the position. In the same week I had two interviews with Mike, the agent, and in the following week I had two interviews with Myles, the director, and his colleagues at Needscope.

I could sneak off from work to do the first three interviews in extended lunch breaks, but the final one was a three hour test, so I took the whole day off.

Dealing with Immigration NZ
At night I did immigration stuff. Some would say it's not that complicated, but I disagree. You have to make sure everything is exactly right or you will be in trouble.

The Immigration officers at the counter can be aggressive.
I prefer the relative safety of a phone call

Once I wrote an official statement in the presence of a Justice of Peace officer swearing that my police certificate was printed from my computer in an unaltered state. However, I failed to mention in my statement that I had received it from the Danish Police, so it was not accepted. I fixed it by going to the Justice of Peace officer again to write a new statement. Perhaps this sounds trivial to you, but in total I spent close to 5 hours on it.

Justice of Peace officers are friendly and talkative,
perhaps that explains the 30/45 minute waiting times

Today I received a phone call about another problem. My Danish education "Master's Degree" is apparently not a recognized education. It does not match their description of the Danish education system which says "Candidatus/Kandidatgrad" (that is the direct translation of Master's Degree to Danish). Surely, that must be an easy problem to fix? Not so. I will have to apply for an international qualifications assessment. There is a 35 day process and a "small" fee of 750 NZD. I still hope that they will see sense, but if not I must hand it in by Tuesday.

Last cup of coffee
I said goodbye to Creative Agency Secrets yesterday. That happened quickly too. I officially resigned last week and gave four weeks of notice, but Rebecca decided it would be better with one week. Although I had no say in that matter, I am happy it turned out that way. It will be good for me with some vacation before my new job starts.

I have tried to improve my latte art skills,
 but it's difficult when you drink just one or two cups a day

Thank you

I am happy that it all turned out the way it did. My life was not easy for a while, but things are looking up now. I would like to say thank you to all the people who supported me when I needed it. Both my friends in NZ and Denmark and of course my family.

My family sent me this to congratulate me on my new job.
It's made in NZ, but it felt like a hug from around the world.

Boys who are no longer boys and a carrot cake without carrots

What a week it's been. I have so much to tell you and so little time. Today it is Thursday and I'm still telling you about last week!

Let's get to it.

Everybody sings along to Backstreet Boys
Tuesday the girls and I went to the Backstreet Boys concert in Vector Arena. It was amazing. Say what you want. Vector Arena is huge and it was packed with cheering girls aged 15 to 15 twenty two years ago, when the Backstreet Boys released their first album.

Awesome girls! Thanks for bringing me to the concert

Nick Carter with his blond hair and sexy spin moves made the girls go wild (I bet you could have said the exact same thing in 90's). The light show was great, the well choreographed boy band moves were cool and the atmosphere was intimate and relaxed despite the massive size of the venue.

"Let's all be 15 again tonight" - Nick carter

I've got a video for you. It's from one of the few quiet moments at the concert, when we were asked to hold up our cell phones to create a starry sky background for a sentimental song. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out considering how tipsy I was at the time. I could just as easily have been shaking the camera all over the place and singing along with my loud voice.

Another weekend at home
This weekend I did exactly the same as last weekend and the weekend before that. Does it sound boring to you? Well it's not. I'm spending time with my host and my flatmates. We go to church, we have lunch at restaurants, we go grocery shopping, we entertain couch surfers and we play board games. It's exactly what I need to recharge before another busy week and think it will be.

Carrot cake
I also learned how to cook a Chinese dish, that we have enjoyed at the lunch restaurant. It is called carrot cake, when the Chinese translate it. But it is made of Chinese radish. The reason for the confusion is that the Chinese name for carrot translates to 'orange carrot' while Chinese radish translates to 'white carrot'.

It's packed with tasty ingredients because it's homemade

Anyway, it's a pretty laborious dish to prepare and the outcome is a fairly plain dish that resembles an omelette. But it's different and distinctly Chinese, because of the mushrooms, shrimps and rice flour. As most other Chinese dishes it also includes a bit of chilli, soy sauce and bacon "to bring the flavour out" as my host would say.

Fry it with eggs to make a tasty omelette-like breakfast

Next week you will know
In truth my work does not make me so busy that I don't have time to write. Something else has kept me busy, but I have kept it secret from you. What do you think it is?

Visit from home

Right now I am having a quiet moment. I am sitting in the living room looking out of the French door. Outside I see water, the Hauruki Gulf is calm today. A single white sail punctures the endless blue. The boat drifts slowly through the water so as not to disturb the peaceful mood of the sea.

An amazing view
that you can't see because it's too sunny

Saturday morning

It is a good day today. I have been waiting for it all week. Today is the day my Danish friends (the girls I visited in Wellington) come to visit. They are asleep right now in my room, exhausted after the long bus ride from Wellington to Auckland. I knew they would be, so I had prepared the morning for them with a nice breakfast, a dip in the spa, a shower and then finally a bed. I imagine they will appreciate the bed most of all, after their 8 hour bus drive through the night.

Good morning Tilde (2:00 pm)

A weekend full of plans

We have a lot of plans for the weekend. Tonight we will have a barbecue and a party, tomorrow we will do exactly the same as last Sunday. Go to church and to the Chinese restaurant afterwards. By the time we are done with that I hope any potential hangovers will be gone and we will be ready for more adventures. Monday and Tuesday I will have to work, while they explore Auckland on their own and Tuesday evening it's time for the Backstreet Boys concert.

Sunday evening at Long Bay

May is the coldest month of the year you know...

More visits
Earlier in the week I had a visit from another Danish friend. I met Djernæs in the city Monday after work. It was his second-last day in New Zealand after a three month stay. He has had a great adventure travelling the country as a backpacker. After a while he settled in Christchurch and found a job in construction. Although that may seem less glamorous than the wild life as a backpacker, I can definitely relate to the feeling of wanting a home. I feel like we have both come to the same conclusion: exploring places is fun, but living in places is where the real experience awaits.

An adopted family

This week I have spent a lot of time with my flatmates. It feels like we are one big adopted family. Ross, Marie and I are the children living downstairs in our rooms. Antonio was the couch surfer who stayed, but he is now a good friend of the family and he still comes around even though he has moved to the city centre. Leon is the older brother and Sin Yat the father. We come from 6 different countries, so we have quite an interesting mix of traditions, languages and beliefs. But we are an adopted family, because we are all important in each other's lives.

"Family photo"

Fun with friends
Monday morning it was storming from the East, but the wind calmed and the skies cleared in the afternoon. I knew that would give us a perfect opportunity to go body surfing at Mairangi Bay, so I brought Ross, Antonio and Marie there for a swim. Most Kiwis wear wetsuits now, because the water temperature has dropped below 20 degrees, but to me it still feels like summer. We had great fun in the waves and Marie got a couple of nice photos of us from the beach.

Watch out, Antonio!

Sunday outing

This Sunday, after church, we went to a favourite place of Sin Yat's for lunch. It is a restaurant that Sin Yat describes as "hardcore Chinese". When we arrived we were seated at a table with plates, chopsticks and tea, but without a menu. The waiter then left and did not return until Sin Yat asked for the bill.

At 11 o'clock servers started appearing with tall stacks of dishes in round bamboo steamers. They announced their dishes in Mandarin and served them to the ones who spoke up first. We had a lot of different dishes and the servers kept on tempting us throughout the meal. Would you like some bāo zi, shuǐ jiǎo or perhaps some luóbo gāo? I'm glad Sin Yat ordered for us.

Black swans swim leisurely around in the lake Pupuke

After lunch we went to Milford to go for a walk at Lake Pupuke and visit Marie at her work. We found her in the French bakery and I think she was happy to see all of us there.