I made it, after 38 hours of travel time: two seven hour layovers, a quick stopover in Las Vegas, where they sell guns and have slot machines in the airport. It's my fourth day in New Zealand. After three days of waking up at 4 am and going to bed at 7 pm, I'm almost on schedule.
The first morning I was here Simon and I went to St. Claire Beach (Simon had rented a car for 24 hours, so we had it for a while). It's winter here which is a lot like spring in the states. The air smells like sulfur because of all the coal burning in people's houses. New Zealand houses have no central heating which has been a real treat. It's about 30 degrees here which doesn't sound cold, but trust me you lucky Americans, it's pretty frigid after summer. The beach, regardless, was beautiful. There were a few people out walking their dogs, but mostly Simon and I were alone at 6 am.
This is more St. Kilda beach, both beaches blend into one another. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but the footprints that you can see dead ahead are ours (I think).
Thank you to Emily for letting me borrow her camera! All those houses are on the outskirts of Dunedin, this is about 30 minutes from where our flat is. On the other side of that piece of land is Tunnel Beach and a spa with a black sand beach flanking it (Simon snuck in once with his flatmates apparently...). 
My second day, after forcing Simon to sing the AMERICAN national anthem extremely loudly, I took a run to Baldwin Street (the steepest street in the world) which is two blocks from the flat, and then a little run up a huge hill behind the flat. The wildlife is so different here, birds that look like robins with fantails sweep around. I found a paddock with a half dozen sheep and two horses munching in the rain. It's been pretty bad weather, but I've heard this is just the beginning of winter, so here we go!
Yesterday we visited Simon's "Mum and Dad" in Balclutha, a 45 minute drive away. Piet, Simon's brother, drove us there in his old Mazda. We stayed there all day, eating homemade carrot cake with marzipan icing, watching the neighbor's unload two dead deer from hunting, and sketching pictures with Simon's little brother Roy (he loves to draw dragons). It was a really nice day to be around family and fire. Simon's Mum let me call my Mom and Dad-- it was nice to hear familiar voices.
Today I took a run to the Botanic Gardens (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/__data/assets/image/0006/24549/bgimagelarge.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/botanic-garden/find-us&usg=__VN57Pdm0Geo4LHwCJNmvUqglg7A=&h=454&w=454&sz=44&hl=en&start=13&um=1&tbnid=ObpHcAYZ04iqWM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbotanic%2Bgardens%2Bdunedin%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1).
I saw someone from my Education class last year and said hi, pretending I'd been here the entire time. Even if it never happens again, it made me feel so much more at home in Dunedin. It's going to be a rough couple of weeks adjusting. I've begun the job search (i.e. I have picked up a newspaper and turned to the employment section).
Overall, I'm getting situated. I think that Simon and I are going to head to Velvet Burger tomorrow, known for their disgustingly large (you guessed it) burgers. Hopefully I can get a Veggie, or just take one for the team, and down a meaty one. Because it's winter, I feel like most people are indoors getting ready for the new semester (coming next Monday) or somewhere warm traveling. We'll see what happens...
Miss you all. Will keep updating.
Cheers,
Abi
i like the pics, especially the third one. do you think those poles used to be part of a pier?
ReplyDeletealso, i hope simon didn't make you do the "new flatmate initiation" again. although i do love that you made him sing the American national anthem. i can imagine that that would be very entertaining.