Takeoff (July 25, 2006)
San Francisco Airport







So here we are. I've promised several people that I'd let them know how much I'm enjoying life down under; this seems like the easiest way to do that. Unfortunately I've never really understood what one is supposed to do with a blog. I'll be happy if I can keep this going for more than a week or so.

Packing up your life for two months isn't as easy as it sounds, but it's kind of therapeutic. It's amazing how much junk you can accumulate in just a couple of years. I'm now on a first name basis with my friends down at the Goodwill donation center and managed to squeeze all of my "permanent" belongings into a minivan and my Audi. So after a month of planning, organizing, and preparing there's nothing left for me to do but enjoy myself. My plane leaves around 9:30 tonight (I mean 2130, I need to start thinking internationally) and 13 hours later I'll be setting foot in New Zealand.

I imagine the differences will be startling. Thanks to the international date line I manage to lose an entire day during my flight (I leave on the 25th but arrive on the 27th). Also it's about 90F (oops, I mean 32C) in the bay area, but will be the middle of winter in New Zealand. It almost feels like I'm losing my summer this year, fortunately I think I've had my fill of summer with the weather we've been through recently. And, of course, one of the first things on my to-do list is to check the toilets, do they really flush in the opposite direction?

Oh yes, one fun story so far: I ran into my first kiwi couple while checking in and, sadly, had to ask them to repeat themselves several times. We'll chalk that up as: New Zealand - 1; Colin - 0. Maybe I should have brought a common phrases book with me to help bridge the gap. However, if nothing else, I'm hoping to come back with some strange 80% New Zealand / 20% Australia accent.

Next stop: Auckland!