Code 10! Man Down!! Holla!!!

We have arrived! It was not nearly as challenging as I thought. But we are exhausted and trying hard not to waste this day because of jet lag. So, we are here in Auckland and I am trying to convince my parents to stay awake. Both of them came immediately into the hotel room and fell asleep. I unpacked, took a shower, and then started waking everyone up to do the same.

One of the things that I have learned is that you have to get adjusted to the new time zone as soon as possible. So, I will be staying up until at least 8pm, taking a magical sleeping pill, wearing my total blackout sleeping mask, and getting refreshed for a full day of sightseeing tomorrow. I have repeated this cycle every time I travel. I am generally pretty moody the first day but after that….no problem. It is worth the effort in the long run.

So far we haven’t seen much and it’s hard to take pictures when you can barely keep your eyes open. I wish I had a picture of my mother falling asleep eating at lunch... it was definitely a code 10. A few more seconds and she would have fallen out the chair…a man down emergency. We did manage to leave the room for a bit, walk around the area and find a place for lunch, registered for the IRC conference, pick up some toiletries and beverages that were in the lost luggage, go to the casino (A desperate attempt to keep my mother awake and even that failed. That is how you know she is really tired.), and head back to the room so that my mother could prepare for the opening session.

So far I am surprised at how urban Auckland is. We are staying at the SKY City Hotel, the largest building in New Zealand. Outside of the nearly 20 minute drive from the airport, there isn’t much green space. Okay…there were cows in a field across from the airport and I thought I was hallucinating. Also, the people don’t seem really friendly. I know I should never be on anyone’s welcoming committee but seriously these people have got me beat. I asked a women if she wanted to get in front of me in line for dinner. She scowled, moved ahead, but said nothing. I have already gotten the what are you question. I always struggle with this, although I have learned that people generally know fairly quickly that I am American. They just appear to be confused about my cultural/racial background. I still don’t really have a sense for the cultural dynamic here. The area around the hotel seems Asian inspired.

This is the first time I have been someplace and I don’t know what to expect or what to do. So, while the mice are sleeping, I am getting ready to head out and map out a plan for the next few days. Here is what I am thinking so far:

· Shopping. I know it sounds crazy. But they lost my father’s luggage and we need to go somewhere and find him a jacket. We hope it will arrive tomorrow but need to make some contingency plans. It’s chilly here and we can’t have him walking around not properly dressed and getting sick.

· On-and-off tour 3 hours tomorrow. This will allow us to get a brief overview of the city and determine what we want to do and see more of.

· Rotorua and Island Tours. These are full day tours into inland New Zealand. I have been told by many that this is something that we HAVE to do.

UPDATE: I managed to convince my dad to leave the room. We found a coat, are sitting in a coffee shop chatting and using free wi-fi, and talking about how European the country seems, and planning what we will do for dinner. Good stuff!!!