Dunedin - Home Sweet Temporary Home

Thursday, I spent the day "working from home" with Todd, read: updating my resume and looking for job openings.  At noon we went to a Kiwi yoga class.  I was nervous I wouldn't be able to understand the Hindi names of the positions when spoken with a Kiwi accent, but I made it through.  I miss Laughing Lotus and the flow of the class, but hopefully not all yoga classes here are that choppy.  Still fun tho!

Then, at 5, we went downtown to meet Laura and Vanessa and their friend Tania to go see HARRY POTTER 7!!  A full 24 hours before it opened in the states!  Visiting a British Commonwealth when a British movie is being released totally has its benefits.

 

Friday I went out on my own!!  I walked down to the Octagon via the steep but gorgeous hills and got a SIM card for my cell phone.  If you care to call me it's 01164 21 332 389.  It's free for me if you call or text so don't be shy!!! hahaha :)

 

Friday afternoon was the Otago Polytechnic Art Showcase.  All the various art students had their final projects on display and we went to observe.  We're quite cultured down here (read: there was free wine).  Anyways, the art was really cool and despite falling in love with several pieces, we all managed to keep our wallets closed.  Pretty easy for me because mine currently doesn't have much in it.  The exciting part for Laura was the appearance of the 3rd and 6th place models from New Zealand's Next Top Model.  Apparently with only 4 million people in the country, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous is quite easy.  Laura's in the top left corner and the twins are in front of her with the long brown hair...

Saturday was rainy, a shockingly regular weather forecast.  I think I may be the only person who LOVES it.  Todd and Laura and I went to the Farmer's Market and the Craft Market, had lunch and went home.  At the farmer's market, since it was raining, there was no line at the Bacon Buttie Man.  A Bacon Buttie is a sandwich filled with bacon.  That's it.  Well, a couple onions, but 98% bacon.  Genius.  Side note: bacon as Americans know it is called streaky bacon.  Bacon for Kiwis is actually our ham or Canadian bacon.

At the Craft Market, I met the 2 Alpacas that were there for show and tell.  They were rather anti-social but the guy who manned the booth, Flagstaff Alpacas, was super friendly.  He and I chatted about yarn and then I so cunningly asked if they needed help at their farm.  He took my number and I bought yarn.  I guess he won this time...

Interestingly enough, the ATMs are worthy of a story.  Most ATMs are, as the acronym promises, machines.  Here, the EftPOS ATMs are actually a person in a booth with a debit card machine who hands you money.  I bet the unemployment rate here is nil.

And in the parking lot, Laura and I discovered a very intelligent world travelling Kiwi:

Sunday we stayed in and had a rousing cribbage scrimmage.  The American team beat the International team (Laura and I won!).  Vanessa's friend Francis came over for dinner and we all played some bananagrams.  Scintillating weekend, no?

So today, Monday, I applied for a couple jobs and researched architecture firms here in Dunedin.  Hopefully I'll have a job in a week so I can move into a house with Vanessa's friend Megan.  We went to visit her today and she lives even FURTHER up the hill.  Walking home will be a beast so fingers crossed I get a job AND a parking spot :)  Cheers for now!