May/June: Travel Notes
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May/June: Travel Notes
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END OF TERM MADNESS: The last few weeks of term were insane with assignments, and most of late June and early July was taken up by practicum. I didn't get any traveling in :) People sometimes forget that I am not actually on vacation here. Chalk up June and July to life being busy, and expect a vacation report come end of practicum :) THINGS I WISH I HAD PACKED: I was woefully under-prepared as far as winter clothes go. In Canada, everyone wears light stuff, even in winter, because homes are heated and nobody really goes outside that much. Here, this is not the case. Day time temperatures are generally tolerable, but it does dip down to just barely freezing at night and the houses never fully recover from the combination of chilly nights and endless rain. Everything feels faintly damp and clammy. ALL the time. There is a reason the Maori name for New Zealand is "Long White Cloud." It's wet! We started getting some pretty serious recurring mould problems around mid-May and our landlady came to the rescue with a dehumidifier. It registered 75% humidity the first time we turned it on. The manual recommends a comfortable maintenance level of about 45%. VISITORS: I had a nice surprise in June when some cousins of Mom's came to visit. Their daughter had been in Australia, and they had passed through Hamilton in their way through some New Zealand sight-seeing as they headed home. I know my parents probably won't get here to visit me, so it was nice to get someone at least :) We have a nice lunch at a local restaurant and it was a lovely morning. |
