Preview Photos of Auckland

I initially planned to upload a screen recording of my VR exploration of Auckland for this post. Sadly, the audio cut out a lot, making it a pain to watch and edit. So, here's the next best thing: photos I took from Google that represent the things I looked at in said video!

Starting off strong, here is a photo of the school I've been placed at! You may notice a half-sized basketball court on the main floor, as well as a grassy ramp where students can do homework outdoors.

And just a six-minute walk from the school is the beach! Though trees obstruct the view in this photo, I figured I'd show you all where I'll be going when my students get the chance to walk to the beach.

Not too far from the school is Lake Pupuke, which has several small parks surrounding it.

Here's something that'll look familiar to Americans, albeit a bit different. This two-story KFC is not far from the school where I'll be student teaching. It's hard to tell in this photo, but the drive-thru goes in the opposite direction since drivers use the left side of the road in New Zealand. In the video (that sadly didn't turn out great), I mentioned trying this just to see how KFC differs from the ones in the States, but that I'd typically be trying out local restaurants.

Here is the Auckland Sky Tower, which features a 360-degree rotating restaurant and a bar, though they are pretty high profile, with a meal costing about USD $50 and the bar having a specific dress code. However, I still plan on visiting the tower to take a look at New Zealand from above.

One thing I noticed while exploring Auckland in VR was that stop and yield signs are instead "give way" signs, which are essentially white upside-down triangles with a red border and the words give way. Additionally, do not enter signs instead say "no entry." These observations may seem mundane to some, but even the smallest differences between there and here fascinate me.

This is all for now, though I look forward to sharing more as I gain more information about my placement and once I arrive in New Zealand!