Getting to know you....

Our first official day in Christchurch and it was very cold but beautifully sunny. On our recent road trip from Auckland to Christchurch, whenever we talked to anyone long enough for them to find out that we were actually moving to NZ to live and work, we would tell them we would be settling in Christchurch. The most common response was then "Oh! That's nice! It is cold down there! Why do you want to go there?" And add to this cold climate a severe lack of central heating and insulation in most homes in NZ, and, well then, yes, we are indeed finding that it is cold. This isn't too much of a shock to our system hailing from the Pacific Northwest where we get those wet, cold, bone chilling days throughout the winter and coming from Portland where we lived in a drafty, old, uninsulated house. But, along with all of the other changes, I imagine it will take some getting used to.

I hung my first load of laundry out to dry today with quite a bit of skepticism. You see, another NZ quirky thing is that they don't generally use dryers. I have been dreading doing laundry sans a dryer but you know what? It was actually okay. Early in the day, I hung the clothes out on the line and on a drying rack which I placed on the patio and by late afternoon, most pieces were dry. Mike even commented on how he liked the whole ritual of taking the laundry off the line and bringing it inside. This bodes well for me as he will be the house husband for the foreseeable future. I have to say, though, that I remain skeptical about this "no dryer" thing, especially when it will be raining here and bitter cold in the dead of winter. My skepticism is also fueled by the massive amounts of laundry that we do in our household. Oh, and the fact that laundry is just about the worst chore on the planet for me. So more on this later as we adjust to life here in NZ.

Today we spent a long day walking around the central business district of Christchurch, not far from our new "home". We also walked a route to the hospital where I will be working come September 14:


The new hospital sits in Hagley park, an iconic place in Christchurch. The daffodils are in full bloom, the punters on the River Avon were out with their passengers and many people were out for a stroll, enjoying the sunshine. Not a bad location to my estimation. Evidently, I share an office that looks out over the park.


Not far from the park, we strolled through a small farmer's market and bought some lovely bread and veggies ("veg" to the locals here). A nice relaxing day of getting to know our new home in New Zealand.