Two Months Later....

It is astonishing how quickly the foreign and new becomes the familiar. We have been living in Auckland for two months today, and daily life is already beginning to resemble normalcy. Although there is much that is still foreign and new, some things are feeling more ordinary.

For example, I have learned to walk on the left side of the sidewalk, press the crosswalk button every time I approach (they’re not automatic here), and have figured out both the quickest walk to work and the most scenic (the route that passes 3-4 “massage parlours” counts as scenic, right?). I have chosen my preferred grocery stores, figured out which bread/chips/cheese I prefer, and which I very strongly do not.

At its most basic level, the elements of daily life have not changed very much. I wake up, walk from my downtown apartment to my downtown office, work all day, walk home, eat dinner and watch tv/knit/read/putz around on the Internet/hang out with Rob. The hours are slightly different, and I am cooking more, but the basic structure is the same.

I guess what I am trying to say is that after two months, this place is starting to feel more like home. The feeling that we’re just on an extended vacation is fading away, and slowly but surely, we’re getting used to the idea of staying for a while.

One thing I cannot get used to, however, is the seasons of the Southern Hemisphere. Facebook has been overflowing with sentiments like this one:

And it’s making me realize that this new world is one without Octobers. October in Auckland is very similar to October in the Midwest in that the weather is roughly the same (cool, with some warm days, some rainy days, and a couple storms), but that is where the similarities end. Halloween isn’t very big here – I haven’t seen a single pumpkin, witch or ghost outside of the American Store, and no one has asked me about my costume. I don’t even have a costume! Nothing is pumpkin-spiced, the leaves on the trees are stubbornly green, and that cool fall crispness is nowhere to be found. Most noticeably, October in Auckland does not smell like October.

I’m sure once November rolls around I’ll be thrilled about the differences between Chicago November and Auckland November. Same goes for January and February (ugh – February is the worst). A warm Christmas doesn't even bother me that much. But for this one month, the Northern Hemisphere definitely has us beat.