Day 3

Up at 5:30am to get to a pub to watch the 6:30am Netherlands v. Uruguay semifinal game. The time difference between here and the rest of the world is annoying for a number of reasons, but so far this one was the most annoying. I had to get up hours before sunrise just so the precious rest of the world could watch the game at a reasonable hour. But whatever. It was fun to be in a pub full of Dutch fans, and quite a good game. Mike and Kristy got up and went with me, too! After the game we had lunch and I chuckled to myself for a while about ordering something called “the lifestyle breakfast.”

But today was a big day, because I had at least 3 apartments to look at. The first one was the real estate agent’s showing, and I knew it was out of my price range. If furnished, this apartment would run $800/mo before electricity and internet (which are usually about $30 and $25/mo, respectively). The location was good, and the studio apartment turned out to be nice and big, but the previous tenant was way past her move-out date and the place was filthy, so even if I had talked myself into an expensive apartment, there’s no way it would have been ready any time soon.

I also looked at another apartment operated by the same company as the teeny tiny studio/shoebox that I’d viewed the day before, but the story was the same. Clean but unbearably tiny and expensive on top of that.

Between all of these apartment viewings I was running back and forth to school, using the internet to keep looking for apartments and checking all my emails. I need to integrate my emails into one because I now have an IU address, a gmail address, and a uni address (uni = university, obvs, and I’ve adopted the lingo, so I guess you’ll have to deal with certain instances of my New Zealandization).

I had an appointment for 2:30 with the first independent landlord I’d scheduled with, and I had high hopes for this one because the apartment costed the exact same as my apartment at home, and electricity was included, so it’s actually cheaper than my apartment at home. And the place was extremely close to the law school, which I really wanted because living close to school makes me happy at home. What follows comes from the email I wrote to my mom detailing the afternoon’s events.

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So there I am, waiting outside of 43 Anzac Street for the lady who owns the apartment to let me in for a viewing. There were also three other people hovering outside the building. I knew there would be competition. So I call Paula, the owner, to let her know I'm a few minutes early for the appointment (exactly 7 minutes early for the 2:30 appt) and she says she'll come down. She shakes hands with me and Rose, who is also apartment hunting, and Rose's two friends, who've come along for the fun. We go up to the 6th floor and into the apartment. It is by far the best apartment I've seen, and unbelievably the cheapest, too. This apartment costs exactly the same as my Bloomington apartment, and electricity and water are included, which is not common. The only extra thing I'd have to pay for is internet. The apartment is furnished with a queen size bed, desk, 2 desk chairs, basic cooking equipment like pans and cutting board and dishes, hot plate, fridge, microwave + dvd player, tv, linens on the bed.

In the lobby I purposefully stood between Paula (owner) and Rose (apartment hunter) and asked Paula about how long the apartment has been on the market (about 1.5 days) and if there's laundry in the building (yes, coin operated) and just generally chatting her up and being friendly. We get up to the apartment, and by this point I've seen enough $800/mo apartments that are entirely smaller than my bedroom at home, the WHOLE APARTMENT IS SMALLER THAN MY BEDROOM AT HOME, that I can tell right away that this apartment is a steal. I know all the right questions to ask, and after about 5 minutes I look directly at Rose and say, "Rose I don't mean to be a jerk, (and then I look at Paula), but this apartment is exactly what I've been looking for, and I will commit to it right now." This is awkward. I've never had to compete on the spot with another apartment hunter. Rose looks pissed. But I go on. "Whatever sort of commitment you need, I will make it. I'm still waiting for the wire transfer to come from my bank at home to my New Zealand bank, but I have the funds, and I will commit to this apartment." Paula says, "Well whoever can come up with the deposit is fine by me." So I say, "Okay, I have $100 NZD on me, and I can write you an American check for the rest." Paula says great. Rose and friends sheepishly depart. I HAVE WON.


The front door to the apartment building is protected by a magnetic entrance key. My floor, the top floor, is protected yet again by magnetic entrance key. As is the laundry room. She's replacing the hot plate that was spoiled by a previous tenant. She's going to bring me a space heater. It will take me 4 minutes to walk to the law school, and 6 minutes to walk to the only actual supermarket I've seen in Auckland central. I signed the papers saying I'll give her two weeks notice before I leave, won't have to pay for water or electricity, will pay by direct deposit, etc. I have a place to live, loved ones.
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EDIT: it turns out it only takes me about 67 seconds to walk to school. I didn't realize just how close I'd managed to get.

I returned to the hostel to cancel the rest of my nights, but I couldn’t cancel that very night, which was okay because I had to figure out how to get my big suitcases from the hostel to my new apartment. I’d just hire a taxi in the morning, I figured. I went to sit out on a patio at the hostel, just grinning like the Cheshire cat because I’d found a great apartment in my price range on my third day here, and there was a guy with a case of Heinekens, just playing music on his little laptop and smoking cigarettes in the sunshine. I asked him if I could buy a beer off of him, and he said, “Oh shit you can just have one!” And then another girl came outside. So the three of us were chatting. Ollie was from a tiny island off of England where he was an orchid farmer/pot smoker (his literal description when asked what he did was that he worked at an orchid farm and just grew flowers and got high all day), and Tiffany was an American from Flagstaff on her way to study abroad in Adelaide, Australia (which is where Abbey studied abroad in undergrad and loved it). Eventually we were joined by a Swiss guy and an Italian guy, all just sitting outside drinking beer and talking about travelling and soccer and, inevitably, American politics.

But I had to leave the party because I had dinner scheduled with Mike and Kristy and Gloria, who’s another Kiwi from the law school going to study abroad in Virginia soon. Great dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Before I left the States I’d joked several times that I planned to eat my weight in sushi while here. I need to pick up the pace to accomplish that goal, since I’ve only had sushi twice in 5 days at present.

I told them all about my afternoon adventure in scoring an apartment, and Kristy offered to take me back to my hostel and drive my big suitcases to the new apartment after dinner so I didn’t have to get a taxi the next morning. Goodness, these people are great.

ATTENTION LAW SCHOOL PEOPLE FROM HOME: there are two New Zealanders headed your way in August who have been fun and friendly and generous and just generally awesome. I expect you to treat them the same way in my honor.