Landed

Greetings from downunder! Here I am, mostly thanks to my family, especially my mom. I've had a terrible cold, but instead of talking about that I'd rather show you something I found while wandering around downtown Wellington yesterday. All the public museums here are free (as it should be!), and I ended up stumbling into the City Gallery and seeing a great exhibition by Bill Hammond, a New Zealand artist well known for his use of birds and bird figures. The exhibition was entitled "Jingle-Jangle Morning" after the painting posted. It really reminds me of Cloud Cult's cover of Mr. Tambourine Man. His use of birds stems from some trips he took to the very southern-most islands off New Zealand, which are virtually untouched, and sparked an long-running idea in him of what the country would be like untouched and ruled by birds.

All the rumors are true - the people here are super friendly and relaxed and why not - this country is gorgeous. The city is scattered throughout the hills around the emerald green sea. It's not a hot summer, in the mid-60's F, but it's quite sunny. Just picture this - as the plane approaches the runway for landing, you come in very close over the water, next to surfers who are heading out on their boards. You're almost even with them when the wheels hit ground and you taxi down the runway.

It's pretty sweet.

I already have an office and I'm working on getting set-up to start running with my project, as well as finding a place to live. I spent all day today walking, bussing, and training to all sorts of different houses trying to find a room to rent. I encountered empty-nesters, goths, athletes, and all manner of others. I am, of course, always known as "the American". What a way to get to know a city! For the time being my adviser and his family are being over-the-top accommodating as I stay in a spare room of their house.

First lesson learned - look right-left-right when crossing the streets! The driving on the left thing takes a little getting used to even from a pedestrian point of view. Not to mention remembering which side of the car to get in on when getting rides...

Hope all is well in the frozen north. Keep in touch!