Home at 2a Forth Street

I live at the end of a rainbow.

And no, I'm not joking. Forth Street is literally at the end of a string of rainbow-coloured apartment doors. Technically speaking, Forth Street is at the beginning of the rainbow because that's where the colours start (i.e. purple/red), but that's just an insignificant detail.

It is a beautiful thing. Also, as an aside for my dear friend Genna...You will notice that there are two shades of orange and two shades of green. So clearly, this is the perfect rainbow order!! 

So this is the Forth Street sign that these apartment doors lead to...I must say, I have never seen an "Independent Midwifery" sign before in my life, but hey - there's a first time for everything.

This is a side view of my flat. It isn't the prettiest thing to look at, and it gets a little drafty at times, but I am quite happy to consider it my temporary home!

So we had to tape this lovely sign to our back door...

....because supposedly, in past semesters, students coming to live in 2B, C, D, or E would try to move into 2A because our flat is the one that is featured on the Google Maps streetview, but then came the awkward confusion when they found out their flat was actually at the other end of the little parking lot! The sign seemed to fix that problem, though. Hooray for Kiwi ingenuity!  

This is our 2a mailbox!! Isn't it cute? If you ever send me a postcard this is where it will end up. Note that travel time is about a week and postage will cost something like three or four stamps. But if you do go through the trouble of snail-mailing me, I will take a picture and proudly feature it on my blog! 

Here is the first piece of mail I received, from my friend Genna. (Yes, the same Genna who cares about rainbow colour order!!) We have been pen pals since we were 12-year-olds... But now since we are residing in different countries, we thought we should take advantage and be like "real" pen pals. Aren't we cute? :) So here is letter #165 and counting! 

This was my second piece of mail, sent to me from my good friend and Godsister Kayla. Some classic Colorado right here!! (I think my state pride is almost to a fault at this point.)

And here's some "moustachionary" from my friend Aaron. Look at that suave bunny rabbit!! SO FUZZY!

So my address is 2a Forth Street, North Dunedin 9016, New Zealand. Feel free to send a carrier pigeon my way! Oh, or even better... send me a message via post owl, like they do in Harry Potter... 

While I have you at Forth Street, let me introduce you to my neighbours: Visitec Workwear. 

I walked in there the first or second week after arriving in Dunedin and met the owner. His name is Roger. Really nice guy! (Did I already share this story on my blog before? I can't recall.) He inherited the family business from his father, who inherited it from his father, and I'm pretty sure it will be passed down to Roger's son, too. They supply construction-type workgear (boots, jackets, helmets, etc) all over New Zealand. 

So every now and then I pop my head in to say hello to Roger and we talk about the weather, about his kids and grandkids, how the business is going, and what not. Roger has told me several times that if anything ever breaks down in our flat I can give him a call and he would come take a look at it. 

This is why I chose to go to little old Dunedin instead of a larger city. I get to experience and contribute to this thing called community. And I love it.

The sunrise outside of my window earlier this week. (No camera filters, I promise!)

Capturing Moments

I am currently slurping down a bowl of the vegetable, rice, and lentil soup that I made all by myself--it is quite delicious!--and browsing through the 300+ photos I took this past week, and I am reminded of something I said to my mom earlier this year:

"I don't want to experience New Zealand behind the lens of a camera."

Yes, well. 

Since I am here, I might as well remember it. (My mom is probably thinking, I told you so.)

Also, in a very literal sense, I'm never behind my camera lens for more than a quarter of an hour every day, so the other 23.75 hours are still available for me to do the first-hand experiencing. 

I am now going to borrow one of my friend's blogging techniques: the numbered list. 

This is Why I Took Three Hundred Photos This Week

1. My foot therapist gave me the "OK" to start adding back in physical activities.

2. I think he used the word "gradually," but I have selective memory problems, so I don't remember. 

3. I have four day weekends this semester, with only one hour of class on Thursday and no Friday classes. 

4. The sun was shining three days out of the four this past weekend.

Soooooo.... If you know me at all, and were able to put #1-#4 together....

Here are some of my favourite pictures! 

These first few are from the harbour, which is only a ten minute walk away from where I live.

(I thought that bird was hilarious. He, or she, held that pose for at least a minute!)

These next ones were taken from the top of Signal Hill. My friends and I had to walk back in the dark using our phone flashlights, but the sunset views were totally worth it! 

This next set was taken from some other hill in Dunedin (there are so many hills!)

Lots of pastureland and open space. Gorgeous day. 

OMMMGGGG SHEEP!!!!!!!!! I literally squealed and ran up the hill to take a picture. The sheep were just everywhere--it was so New Zealandish!

Also--cows!!! Look at what they're eating... kale, spinach, squash, oranges, pumpkin, bananas, eggplant. They were free to just roam around the hills, and they were so happy! Hooray for the humane treatment of animals!

Oh, and this next one is of me running down the hill! The air was crisp and it was windy, which made for a pretty epic moment. "I was like a mountain goat!" I told my friend.

Moving onto Tunnel Beach! My Kiwi host, Georgia, drove me there. Absolutely stunning cliffs.

This is all on private property! The guy who owns it carved out a staircase through the rock so his kids could get down to the beach below. His kids are grown up now, but he still lets anyone come and see.

This is me at the top of (what I call) Pride Rock. There are so many places for epic shots here - I just had to take advantage.

DUMPLING NIGHT!!!!!

As promised, Samantha and Catherine taught us how to make Chinese dumplings, which were made vegetarian style with leeks, cabbage, carrots, spring onion, and eggs.

Catherine (left) and Samantha (right). Georgia, my Kiwi host, below.

So delicious! Then in return, Georgia and I taught the Chinese girls how to bake cookies (or "biscuits," as they are called here in NZ). It was their first baking experience! 

And then finally, at the end of my long weekend... I found a piece of home in this small Orthodox parish. Number of parishioners? Less than ten. But I was welcomed with open arms.

Life is lived moment by moment. So if carrying around a camera means I can try to capture a few of those moments, then I will do so quite happily! 

Oh, and don't worry, my faithful readers.... my foot still feels great!

Grilled Cheese and Belonging

Today was the first clear, sunny day since my first few days in Dunedin - and how nice it was! I love blue skies!

The other highlight of my day was helping Samantha, my flatmate who is from China, make her first grilled cheese sandwich. She was going to microwave the cheese with the bread, but I said, "No, no, no. We're going to do this the proper way."

So we got out the frying pan and a stick of butter. We buttered up that white bread and let it sizzle, then melted some brie on top. It was a beautiful grilled cheese, if I do say so myself. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. 

I also demonstrated for her how to properly eat an American grilled cheese: cut in half and then eaten using hands (not with a knife and fork). Unfortunately, we didn't have any tomato soup to go with it... But it was a fun afternoon. Samantha said she would teach me how to make Chinese dumplings, vegetarian style. Yum!! 

Some other highlights from this past week....

Seeing my first New Zealand beach, St. Claire Beach, which is just five kilometres from the city centre in Dunedin. There were some cute cafés and restaurants looking out on the water. By "some," I mean just three or four.

Beaches here, especially on the South Island, are practically clear of people - at least compared to the southern California beaches I've become accustomed to. Yes, it is winter, but still...

New Zealand only has 4.43 million people. California has 38.04.

Last Friday I took some time to stroll along George Street and the city centre. Just by myself, to observe and listen. Dunedin is one of New Zealand's oldest cities, settled by the Scottish sometime in the 1800s (hence the architectural influences). I have been told by some of the locals that Dunedin isn't representative of any other NZ town or city.

Here's a musician on George Street... I've seen tap dancers, too! Some of them children.

Ah, yes, the seagulls. I love them almost as much as the ducks and pigeons, although I admit they are sometimes just as rude as the ones I knew in California. But maybe they're just cranky on some days.... I reckon if I show them enough love, they can change!

But then again...this seagull in the back of the photo, with the glaring red eyes and frizzled hairdo, doesn't seem to share my enthusiasm...

I love how the crazy things just watch each other. In my head, I think of the seagulls squawking, "Hey, mate! Hey, mate!" in a Kiwi accent.

Starbucks is taking over the world. Help!

Then on Saturday night I had the privilege of watching an Okareka Dance Company performance: Mana Wahine. It was an all-female work.

Beautiful, powerful, empowering.

In the dance, there were many references to traditional Maori culture. I didn't understand the references, which reinforced the fact that I am a foreigner here. There is, at least right now, a cultural rift. I may speak the same language, but I didn't hear the stories about Papatūānuku as a child. I didn't grow up with a love for the native birds, associating their chirps, calls, and songs with home. 

Which begs the question, what is home? What is belonging? At what point, and under what conditions, does a traveller or immigrant become a Kiwi? Or become a part of any culture, for that matter?

......I don't know how my blog post just went from grilled cheese to the meaning of belonging....But, on that note, I'm going to make some dinner.

Cheers! :)