Fastest Conversation Starter in Dunedin Right Now Is...

"Your flat cold too?" If hardship brings people together, then coldship brings students together. I've found that even if we have nothing else in common, it's nearly effortless to strike up a conversation with the other international students about how constantly cold we are. There is joking: "Maybe I'll save time and instead of drying my towels and clothes I'll just get in the dryer myself!" ...
and learning: Take a hot water bottle to bed and hang towels in the water heater closet ...
and questioning: Are leggings or a few house blankets are a better investment?
and reevaluating: Hah...I actually wish I had a Snuggie right now.

It's a tough debate, because heating is expensive here. Warm flat, or a little spending money? This week my flatmates and I have tried a few days with minimal heat. No use of space heaters in our rooms (they run the bill up), and only occasional use of a heat pump in our living room. At times we don't feel it much, and at times we do. The other night the girls and I were eating dinner and watching the news together. We were having a great time laughing at the goofy commercials and evening news personalities when I noticed, "Uh, guys? I can see my breath in the air...is that normal? Apparently it is. So that's that part of my story. Lots of great things about being here, and a few challenges too. I thought I'd share both.

I finally took some pictures to try to give you all a feel for Dunedin. On sunny days it is really beautiful, like a brisk autumn scene. Cloudy days are beautiful too, in their own cozy lets-curl-up-with-tea-and-a-good-book kind of way. From what I've heard, the scenery may look like this all winter. We don't get snow here in town since we're right on the coast, and the rain seems to keep the grass and trees very green.

First off, here's home!

My room...

and the living room and kitchen.

This is the clock tower building on campus, which is hallmark of the University of Otago.

The Leith River which runs through campus...

...and the (well heated!) library, which is every student's favorite spot during the winter months.

I've now been in Dunedin for a week now, and things are beginning to feel a little more familiar. I can navigate around campus a bit, and I can find my way home pretty well.

Last Thursday morning I managed to find my way around enough to complete my course approvals and get my student ID made, and that was quite satisfying...it's all about the small accomplishments right now. :) In the afternoon I didn't have much to do, so instead of staying in I decided to take a walk to the Dunedin Botanic Garden, which is about a three minute walk from the flat. Since it is winter many of the plants were not in bloom, but most everything was still vibrantly alive. Most of the gardens are spread over a large semi-forested hill, and canopied trails lead just about everywhere. It was fun randomly picking a trail entrance and seeing where it led.

The top of the hill opens up to a nice panorama of central Dunedin.

That evening, a kiwi friend of Maxine's invited our flat over for dinner, so around 6 we bundled up and tramped through the rain to her flat. Kim made a Japanese vegetable stir fry which was delicious, and we had a great time during dinner listening to Maxine and Kim talk a mile a minute, their accents and inflection getting more and more exaggerated as they went on. I left early and walked to the sisters' house, where we all drove to the prayer meeting together. There I met lots of students, and several older brothers and sisters who know my grandpa (big surprise :). We had a really sweet time, and the saints were very welcoming.

The final adventure of the day was getting home to discover that I had locked myself out the flat, and the other girls weren't back yet. It was cold and dark, but fortunately no longer raining. Dunedin is pretty safe, so I was more concerned about getting cold than anything else. I walked around for a bit, hoping to catch the girls on their way home, and eventually decided to go the the campus security office and find someone to let me in. Locking myself out: fail! Figuring out what to do when this happens again: win!