After three hours of sleep, Claire and I got up and made the bus for Wellington. We had a brief moment of panic when we couldn't print out our confirmation sheet, but it all worked out in the end.
Cue a thirteen hour bus drive.
On the bus ride, I was trying to think of interesting things to say, but really, a bus ride is a bus ride, and no amount of gorgeous scenery will change that. But! We arrived in town and had one of those experiences that makes everything in the world awesome.
So, as I mentioned earlier, I hate buses. They are awful and never end well. As such, Claire and I struck out forward to our hostel and got lost. We were very resolutely walking in the direction we thought we were supposed to go. However, after several blocks lugging around a 50 pound backpack and a 50+ pound suitcase respectively, we did not come across this mysterious hostel. We asked one lady for directions and she seemed to know where we should go. So we went that way. Then we reached a quiet, dark street and started to get tad nervous.
Right around then, a bus deposited a couple to a bus stop nearby, and I struck out on a whim to ask them if we were headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, they didn't know. Fortunately, they turned out to be the most amazing human beings on the face of the planet.
The couple, Derek and Lauren, called the Kiwi version of 411, got us directions, then decided to go out of their way to walk us over. While we were walking, we learned that he was from Atlanta and she was from Christchurch. They met in China, when he was in the Peace Corps and she was working. She is some sort of health provider consultant and he-- get this -- works for the government to help Americans in New Zealand get a job. I quote, "Haha, I was just thinking about what positions we have available right now. You guys don't have your CVs on you right now, do you?"
WHAT.
Anyway, they dropped us off at the hostel, we exchanged numbers, and Claire and I will definitely be getting in touch with them again. I mean, even aside from him possibly being able to hook us up with jobs, the two of them were possibly the sweetest people ever. And I say this having met Craig and Ian the day before.
Claire and I were reeling from the sheer fortuity of meeting them and, buoyed by the experience, we decided to walk around Wellington a bit.
Wellington, let me just say this now, is so much cooler than Auckland. Prior to a week ago, I had no concept of how one city could be so bland, and I was worried that maybe I just wasn't bringing the right attitude to the city. Granted, after having met Derek and Lauren, everything was awesome, but even objectively the city has much more character. We walked up and down Courtney Place, popped by Cuba Street, and then we wandered the wharf. Everything about it kicked with color and people. Such a relief!
Tomorrow, Claire and I are checking out our new possible flat and possibly catching a movie on the last day of the Wellington Film Festival. I hope the flat works out! Cross your fingers for us!
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