A Week in Review

Well I have been in Dunedin for about a week now, and the best word to describe this week = COLD. While Monday's rainstorm was a fluke (they got a months worth of rainfall in 8 hours), the temperature has hoovered around 7-9 (Celsius). The silver lining in all this is that I am not tempted to stay in my flat (my flat has no heat, no insulation) for any longer than necessary, and I am walking back and forth to town because going up and down the hills makes me hot! Besides the lack of heat, my flat has been working out really well, and I'm really happy to have that sorted while I look for work. I have 3 flatmates, one has been away on business for the week, and the other is in the hospital (she has something like epilepsy and had a major seizure). So, basically this past week it has just been Sarah and I hanging out in the evening, cooking dinner and watching TV (with a hot water bottle and a large duvet of course).

This past week I have spent looking for jobs (see below) and exploring Dunedin. I joined the library, which has been a great place to go spend a couple of hours reading and keeping warm. There are a number of great cafes here as well that I love trying out. I also met up with a friend of a friend, Rachel, who goes to the university here, which was great because it was nice to make more connections than my flatmates in this town.

The Job Search:
The gourmet food store and cafe job did not work out because they needed someone who could work through Christmas Eve. I was extremely frustrated after that, because I realized that any retail store would be the same way, and I didn't feel comfortable misleading the managers. After writing a number of cover letters to send off to the positions for cafes and taverns advertised in the Otago Daily Times, I realized that it would probably be a smart decision for me to just try out a temp agency. At first, I resisted this because I have worked in offices for the past two summers, and know that is what I will be doing when I get back to the states. But, once I came to my senses, I figured that a temp agency is actually probably the best option since I can leave pretty much when my schedule dictates, all of my skills are already geared toward office work, and I would be able to get some valuable experience working and meeting people in the corporate environment here in Dunedin. Therefore, before sending off those cover letters, I walked over to the temp agency (also advertised in the paper) filled out a number of forms, and then took an hour and a half word processsing, excel, data entre and typing test. I then had an interview with one of the placement ladies, who informed me that there was nothing they had yet, but that something would surely come about soon. Lone behold, at 3:30 on Friday she called me to ask if I wanted to start a job on Monday temping for a week at the Ministry of Health. I of course agreed right away. She cautioned that it would be rather mundane, scanning things mostly, but said its a good place to work because there are a lot of people that work there. It's also in a good location for me to walk and/or take the bus too.

Today, I woke up and decided to bake something while doing my laundry to keep me occupied and warm. After I made an interesting scone type thing (not exactly sure why it didnt come out right...I'll keep working at it), I walked into town to check my email and buy some shoes that are appropriate and comfortable for work. Besides the weather, I am really getting to like this place. While the buildings are not as beautiful as Edinburgh, there are a number of similiarties between the two cities that I appreciate. I am looking foward to meeting more people, hopefully through work, and learning new things about this town as I try out temp work!