Published May 19, 2010
by iris_author
Auckland in the morning
Could it be? Am I actually in New Zealand in again? This little country that captured my imagination and admiration 3 years ago is once again my home. I’m ecstatic!
This time I’m here on a three month internship with the New Zealand Green Building Council in downtown Auckland, in the North Island. Unfortunately, everyone I’ve told so far while in NZ about my job seems to have no clue what I’m talking about. This doesn’t necessarily surprise me as this country is notorious for its poorly designed homes. No insulation and no proper heating systems mean that this winter (switched seasons you see) I will be freezing!
Lucky for New Zealand I love it no matter what! Also, the opportunity for improvement is massive!
A few other things that make this country special include:
- every toilet has dual flushing
- being bare foot downtown is very, very common
- pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. This I learned the hard way when I dared to cross the street at a stop sign.
- plastic bags still rule the grocery stores
- diagonal crossings are everywhere downtown. There might not be many more impressive sights than 50 people completely overtaking a busy downtown intersection from every direction.
The NZGBC has so far been fantastic. I don’t really anticipate this assessment to change during the next 90 days and so I’m eager and excited for things to come. The office is small and very friendly. Also, a noticeable plus, everyone has a kiwi accent. I will also attempt to recreate it for myself as a souvenir to take home.
I’ve so far been helping out by completing a variety of tasks for the Green Star team, New Zealand’s building rating tool. There is much change in the office – the founding CEO, Jane Henley, has recently transferred to become the CEO of the World Green Building Council in Toronto therefore the new CEO, Alex Cutler, is still getting her feet wet. Similarly, the Project Manager for the new rating tool for homes is also a new arrival. Therefore before I can thoroughly get amongst it all, they too must familiarise themselves with it the massive scope of it all.
It’s an exciting atmosphere with lots going on, new buildings are coming through the system and everyone’s giving it their all. It’s going to be a great winter!
Now to buy myself a hot water bottle (heating, kiwi-style)…
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