Goodbye New Zealand, hello Italy

thetruth

I arrived in New Zealand in October 2013. Almost a year later, I’m going to leave New Zealand.

I decided to come in New Zealand to say hello to my sister-in-law, and visit the country. After 5 days, I started working here and so I ended up staying for a year, going up and down the North and South islands, changing two jobs, going to Sydney for a three day trip, meeting a lot of good people, meeting some not-that-good people.

New Zealand is a country that makes me excited and angry at the same time. I loved the general attitude of kiwis, I loved the black beaches, I loved swimming in the ocean (keep in mind I don’t swim, I survive when in water), I loved the birds everywhere. I didn’t love the massive use of cars, the sucking transportation system in Auckland, the waste of energy (houses here are extremely cold at winter and with no isolation).

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Modern help: 6 months in New Zealand

I’ve been in New Zealand six months. I landed with a working holiday visa, then I got a work visa and now I have a resident visa. It all happened pretty fast, but I have to say New Zealand treated me really well. It’s a different country (for sure different than Europe – I’m still adapting), but one thing I noticed from day one is that people are nice. They smile at you, they talk to you, when I’m running (let’s say I walk fast..faster than usual) and I meet some stranger’s face for a second there is always an “hello” or “how are you?”.

I decided I needed to do more for this people. I have few ideas, I believe in changing things, I don’t accept the world as it is, I know few stuff about digital marketing, and I’m willing to share, I’m ready to do something different. I’m not the easiest person in the world to get along with, because I have the tendency to look for people… like me. I need to see some magic in people, and if I don’t see it from the first moment we met, I have a bad feeling.

I’m going to share two stories with you in this post I called “modern help” (inspired by David Bowie’s “Modern Love”).

oh cats! how cute?

THE STORY OF A TINY AWESOME CAFE

I live in an Auckland area called Grey Lynn. I love Grey Lynn, I love the places here, I love the amazing park called Western Springs where I go to check the lion living there (there is a zoo nearby, and from the park you can see the lion’s cage through a hole in the fence). One of the first café I discovered when I arrived in October was “The Little Grocer”. It’s a little café where you can drink amazing coffee and eat awesome stuff (vegetarian options too). I just loved it. Few days ago in a local free magazine called “Ponsonby News” (Ponsonby is an area near Grey Lynn) I read an article saying that they want to close The Little Grocer to make a without-soul-boring-no-story café. WHAT? At the end of the article there was an email address where to write our experience with The Little Grocer and what we think about this news (this is already a great thing to do – communities, learn!).

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Random thoughts on New Zealand

takapuna

  1. People smile. A lot.
  2. People are telling me “Welcome in New Zealand” every time they discover I just arrived.
  3. I was scared to drive a car since everything is the opposite here. And my brain is not that advanced.
  4. I work near the beach. And every time I look at the sea, it amazes me in a way I couldn’t believe it.
  5. My digital agency is small, but for the first time I feel I can do more rock and roll shit. So, small places are definitely a go. Plus, we talk a lot and NOT via skype.  Continue reading

The certainty of the unknown

lifeistooshort

So the day in which I will leave the old continent for New Zealand is come.

On october 17th I will leave from Venice, stopping in Dubai (for one night), and then one way to Auckland (with a small stop in Melbourne). I’ll arrive in Auckland on october 19th.

And then?

That’s the scary part. I don’t have a job – yet – but I’m happy to announce I have a room for one month, in Grey Lynn area.

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