My First Interview Abroad

My first week in a new country flew by.  I was meeting new people, seeing new sights, and getting comfortable traveling solo.   I had set myself up with a new phone, bank account, and applied for my tax number, ready to take on the job hunting world.   I walked around Auckland, checking the fronts of many businesses seeking “Help Wanted” signs, but didn’t find many.  I decided to go online to a backpacker website that posts temporary and part-time jobs to see if I could find any luck there.  I noticed a job posting for a winery up north looking for a live-in Barista.  The job entailed working events at the winery, making coffees, and informing guests about the wines produced on the land.  I immediately applied, thinking that would be a great first job.

I got a call a couple days later from the winery asking me to come up for an interview and a snorkel trip to the very famous Goat Island Marine Reserve! I was so excited I barely could listen to the directions he was giving me.   It was a fair bit of trip up north, about two hours by bus, then another twenty minutes to the winery.  He had agreed to pick me up from the bus station and give me a tour of the grounds before my interview.

brick bay winery

The winery was beautiful! It even had an art installation walk which you could wander through the vineyards and forest looking at local artist’s impressive work.  Some were even sold for $50,000!  I took the 1km walk and ended back at the cafe where I was about to have my interview.  I was given a free coffee and asked to explain my experience.  I gave a brief but informative speech about my previous employment in the states, and that I was looking to continue to work in hospitality here in New Zealand.  The lady who interviewed me was very nice and gave me some background information on the family-owned winery before sending me on my way to get ready to snorkel.

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Snorkeling at Goat Island was magical and beautiful and I was feeling very lucky to have experienced it in they way I did.  I probably wouldn’t have ever made it there if not for this interview.  I was able to catch a ride back to Auckland that night from a couple who had just finished their contract working on the winery.  The entire drive back I kept thinking how incredible my day was.  Who gets to interview for a job and then get to snorkel afterwards? It didn’t seem real.

goat island marine reserve, warkworth

It was a feeling I would get used to as my travels went on… a feeling that kept me going, kept me looking for the next adventure, and kept me in the present…that feeling I speak of is the feeling of gratefulness.