New Zealand death

Today we spent the day learning how to cross a river with the Christchurch Tramping Club. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures- cause it was super wet! I am not just talking getting your feet a little damp- we were in up to our armpits in some cases, and the current was quick. I lost my footing a couple times and floated down- but we learned how to do so with a heavy pack (which floats in the water). Drowning is the "New Zealand" death because it is so common (due to the eraticness of their streams and rivers). The biggest lesson was that it's best to be prepared to wait it out if it is too dangerous- until the river goes down and becomes passable (which often happens in just a few hours, or overnight).
We were soaked- but we can't just throw our clothing in the drier. We don't have one. They are very uncommon here. People are quite proud that they live like the settlers. Also, it is quite common to see people walking around without shoes. People of all ages- in malls, on the streets- everywhere- walking around shoeless.
The first picture is part of our backyard. The second picture is Brad's department at the University of Canterbury (the School of Maori, Social and Cultural Studies in the College of Education). He spent Thursday and Friday at an orientation there.

Ghost in the water

This afternoon we went to the beach again. We bought a body board and tried that out. It was fun! We've got some practicing to do though. You're supposed to use flippers too, and we don have any yet. I can see why- those waves are fast- and you have to get going the same speed to catch them. There were some pretty skilled kiteboarders out there. I was going to pretend this photo was Brad (but I decided not to- people might believe it).

Driving Range

Today I went to an orientation for new Civil Engineering post grad students. I was fairly surprised to be one of only two females out of about 45 people. The department seems quite organized, and everyone was friendly.
This evening we went to the driving range. There's lots around, and one really close to our house. (Brad is still deciding which golf club to get a membership at).

New Brighton Beach

It got up to 27 C today, and we went to New Brighton Beach. It was beautiful- and really quite quiet! I can't believe it's so close. I heard that some people find the water here in Christchurch chilly, but we thought it was just fine. (Even Brad loved it, and he's not usually a big fan of swimming). A similar temperature to a Northern Saskatchewan lake at the end of June or beginning of July. There were quite a few people out surfing or boogie boarding- we'll try that one of these times! Unfortunately my camera battery died so I didn't get any pictures- but we'll go back for sure!

Planting

Yesterday we planted a little garden in our back yard of spinach, lettuce and brocolli. We also planted a few peppers in pots. The growing season here is all year round, except June and July, but we were told that our garden should survive those months too.
Here's a picture of the University of Canterbury College of Engineering. Not very nice from the outside, but luckily it's fairy nice on the inside. I don't know why architects always like to make engineering buildings so ugly!

Garage Sales and Bike

We got our modem today so we've got internet! We we're supposed to get it last Tuesday, but when they noticed our house was empty they sent it back to Auckland.
On Saturday we managed to find a few great deals at garage sales, especially at a big baptist church sale.
We got an electric blanket, barely used, for just $5, worth $200 new. Electric blankets are huge here, since houses aren't insulated and it can go down to 0 C in the winter. Hopefully it'll help in the cold months.
I managed to get a used bike on tradme. Tradme is like kijiji, but you have to bid on items. (It's weird, even most houses are sold on by auction). I don't really like the auctioning thing that much cause even if you go to someone's house to look at an item, it doesn't mean you will win it,
and although you can get good deals if no one else is bidding against you, you can also end up paying too much if the bidding gets out of control.
There's been some requests for photos of the inside of out house. Here's one of the bathroom. (Well, the room with the shower. In NZ the toilets are in one room and the shower/bathtub are in another). The bathroom is the only room that isn't either empty or messy at the moment. I guess you'll just have to come visit us to see the rest! I got a photo of the roses at the front entrance too.

Settling

Today and yesterday we managed to get most of the stuff we needed for our house (other than stuff for the spare rooms). We got a lot of it at a used furniture store (but we bought a brand new bed, and a new futon-style couch). It was a buying frenzy in the used furniture store. Quite exciting- everything was so cheap and the owner even threw in a bunch of stuff for free! Tomorrow we are going to garage sales.
We have a lemon tree growing in our yard- the lemons are huge, and delicious (not too sour).
We had the cheapest and most delicious fish and chips for supper- (just $4- $3 CAD for all that!)
Actually, we're finding food isn't as expensive here as we thought it would be. Certain things (like canned pop and bottled drinks) are more, but some things (such as certain fruits, and fish and chips) are less.

Freedom provided by Subie

We bought our Subaru (or Subie as Kiwi's like to call them) and paid with a credit card cause our money is still in limbo. After looking back at some of our other transactions, I found that the exchange and mark-up our credit card company gives us isn't too bad at all. We managed to find a place that would insure us without having NZ licenses yet, and off we went!
It felt great to finally be able to go where we wanted without much hassle- other than the stress of driving on the other side of the road, getting used to all the round-abouts, and the signal light flicker being on the right side (Brad was constantly turning the windshield wipers on instead, every time we turned!)

Almost got a car

Today we spent 3 hours at a car dealership. We ended up putting down $500 on a 2001 Subaru Legacy- but we couldn't actually buy it today. That's because the $11,000 we wired to Kiwibank from our bank in Saskatoon isn't in our account. We could have used our credit card, but they charge 2.5% on all transactions done abroad (and that's quite a bit on $8000). So hopefully we get that all sorted out really soon, cause taxi fares are adding up to a lot (and pretty soon that 2.5% is going to pale in comparison).
I also got a chance to meet with my supervisor this morning. She seems great.
Now we are just trying to line up a carpet cleaner- hopefully that works out!

Moving In

Yesterday we got posession of the house we are leasing. It is quite spacious, but a little bit of a dive compared to what we are used to. It seems the standards are a bit lower here than back at home, and people wear their shoes in their houses (I can't imagine how dirty the carpets are!)
Anyways, it is in a great location, and there is plenty of room for company. We managed to buy a new bed and a couch that folds into a bed, which is being delivered to our house today. We are a bit tired of walking though- we walked for about 3 hours yesterday, so today the focus is getting a car (or at least some bikes)!

1st day in Christchurch

We made it to Christchurch this morning 1 hour later than expected due to flight delays and an ordeal at customs with Brad's dirty golf shoes and hiking boots (which they had to clean). We were a little surprised by the humidity (and by how much we were sweating!) After settling into our temporary apartment, we went for a quick walk to the supermarket. There are so many nice parks- we found this little one on our way (see picture).
Brad's potential supervisor- Richard-picked us up in the afternoon and toured us around town. We were impressed by the architecture and beaches. Then we went over to Richard's place and had supper with his wife (Averill) and their three boys. We were grateful for the hospitality and the warm Kiwi welcome!