Dunedin

To travel to our final destination in New Zealand, we took a bus from Christchurch to Dunedin. The trip was fairly uneventful and the countryside not that remarkable under the looming grey sky. The bus dropped us off at the train station. From there we walked with our excessive baggage up to the university to get our keys and then parted ways as we each went to our separate flats.

Fortunately, my flat is only about .5 km down the road from Eve’s house and is only a 5 minute walk to the university. When I arrived, the only person home was Sarah (the kiwi host student) and she was on her way out to dinner, so I had the place to myself. I live in a town house with three floors. The ground floor is composed of the kitchen, dining room, living room, and laundry room. The top two floors have three bedrooms apiece and a bathroom. My room is on the 2nd floor and has a balcony. It’s a lot bigger than I imagined it to be and I am so grateful that I have a single room that I don’t have to share with anyone else.

While we are awaiting the arrival of two other roommates, at the moment, there are 4 people in the flat; myself and Sarah (from New Zealand) and two American guys, Charles and Charlie (I’m thinking we will have to come up with some nicknames).

After a couple of days here, Eve and I have settled in and have had a chance to explore the city and campus. It is a lot smaller than Edmonton at a population of only 120, 000. At the center of the city is the octagon and all the shops line the road leading into the center of town. Campus is a decent size with approximately 18, 000 students. However, it is pretty empty still as most students have yet to arrive. The city has a very university feel to it. In addition to the students from the University of Otago, there are also thousands of students here from the Poly Tech and thus students comprise a large percentage of people in Dunedin.

Classes don’t begin till the 25th and so Eve and I have plenty of time to familiarize ourselves with the city and New Zealander’s way of life. So far, we have adjusted some of our wasteful North American habits. Everything is so expensive over here and electricity seems to be one of the worst. The electrical outlets have switches on them, so unless you are utilizing the electricity, you turn off the switch to save energy and thus money (and the environment of course). Therefore, our microwave, stove, and well everything except the fridge are essentially unplugged unless being used. There is also no central heating in New Zealand, so although the temperature is fine now, I fear the cooler months ahead. Needless to say, I’m thinking of investing in some new fleeces and down products because little heaters will use up too much energy. Although there is a dryer in my flat, I have invested in a drying rack because apparently the dryer is one of the worst for using excessive amounts of energy.

Dunedin is a rather hilly city in comparison to Edmonton. Fortunately, campus is level with my flat, but when I venture any further away I am forced to climb some rather steep hills. Eve and I are still attempting to find a good running route that will allow us to avoid traffic and extreme elevation changes. In the interim, we have found a few workout classes at the university rec center to join.

The weather here has been very much like Vancouver in the winter. It has rained everyday and we have only really seen the sun once. Although I expected this during the month of June as their winter begins, I was not expecting this in February (equivalent to our August). I am slowly realizing that I did not bring nearly enough warm sweaters and long johns. However, it is supposed to warm up as the week progresses and so I will keep my fingers crossed.

In the mean time, I am enjoying the last bit of time off before classes start and reality comes crashing down.

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