Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

In our 3 1/2 weeks of being here, we've been blessed to meet some really great people (in such a short amount of time!) Some have been random encounters, others through clubs and work, but they've all made our transition that much easier and we look forward to spending time with our new friends and making new ones as the months go by!

1) Nathan C.
Nathan was the first person we met in person when we got here. He also works from PwC and started his secondment several years ago. We went to lunch with him at Pita Pit and he told us some about his transition here and what he likes to do in Auckland. His wife, Danielle, is a chef and works at a restaurant in nearby Ponsonby...we haven't met her yet, but hope to soon! We also got to hang out with Nathan at the American cookout last weekend and found out that he is quite the talented musician...especially on Rock Band!

2) Katie S.
Katie moved from Indiana to Auckland about 3 years ago. She worked here for a while and then took some time off to travel around the world some more before coming back to New Zealand. I got Katie's name from a group email that was sent out to people interested in joining the American Women's Club. I put my Facebook stalking skills to work and took the chance and sent her a message. We met in person the next week--she is so sweet and welcoming and I hope to hang out with her a lot more in the near future.

3) Erin F.
Erin is also from Indiana and happened to get put in touch with Katie S. by random chance prior to moving to NZ, so Katie introduced us. Erin and her boyfriend, Scott, just arrived here about a week before we did and are planning to be here for at least 3 years while Scott his getting his PhD. It's wonderful to have a couple here who are in the same boat us...still not used to certain things and still excited about discovering all that Auckland has to offer. Erin and I knew we would be fast friends when we first met and were wearing all the same jewelry and carrying the same purse :)

4) Joan R. & Courtney G.
Joan and Courtney are both truly lovely ladies that I met last weekend at the American Women's Club meeting. They are both a little older than me...Joan has 2 grown kids in their 20s and Courtney has a 5 year old and a 15-month old. They aren't related but have been good friends for a while and both moved here over a decade ago. They were so warm and inviting and we got to chat for a while after the meeting and then they took me to lunch where we got to talk even more. Both Joan and Courtney are into stand-up paddleboarding and promised they'd teach me how.

5) Nate S. & Ava H.
Nate is one of the American expats working at PwC and the one who hosted our cookout last weekend. His girlfriend, Ava, is a kiwi but also works at PwC. Nate has been here for about 3 years, but isn't sure if Auckland will become home permanently or not. We hope he stays around for a little while because they're lots of fun to hang out with and quite the champs at Rock Band!

6) Tally & Will S.
Tally and Will are a wonderful married couple from Minnesota who relocated to Auckland back in April. Will is another expat but works in a different service line than Drew does. We got to meet them also at the cookout last weekend and I've spent a couple of afternoons with Tally so far. They have a little bit more experience here than we do, so they're helping answer some questions and they're taking us to their church this weekend.

We've met some other nice folks here and there, but just wanted to fill you in on the details of who we're spending time over here! To all of our friends and family back home...don't worry, no one will ever be able to replace you guys :) But we do love all of our new friends and hope that some of you will get to meet some of them someday!

Cheers!