As I write this in the cosy living room of City Garden Lodge, there is a log fire crackling away and I have a plate of peanut butter cookies cooling, and squash and chicken roasting in the oven. Ahhhh, life is good. I am also now exceedingly popular because of said cookies. Oh the joys of baking in hostels!
So I am feeling more settled now I've had a chance to do the nesting thing; before I felt like I hadn't stopped and sat down anywhere for ages! Queenstown was very tiring... and then I was busy here too! And we all know how much I like my chillin' time...
I got to Auckland on Sunday evening, got my shuttle to City Garden Lodge and was overjoyed to find my (all-girls' at last) dorm had an unoccupied single bed - i.e. a non-bunk bed. With a bedside TABLE and LIGHT. Oh my days. Immediately claimed it, gloating over my unimagined riches....
(You get a bit weird about these things after travelling for a while.)
Didn't do much on the first night apart from locate corner shop for crisps and chocolate to go with my reheated pizza from Winnie's, Queenstown - yes I am disgusting - then shower and crash for the best 9 hours sleep ever. I even did my duvet-nicking trick and was a cosy warm bug in a rug all night... mmm.
On Monday I ambled through the park (the Domain) on a glorious sunny morning to meet the elective co-ordinator lady. She got me set up with the internet/library card (oh how I laughed at the idea of actually taking books out of the library, ho ho ho. I mean, I'm on my ELECTIVE here...) I was then pointed in the general direction of Auckland City Hospital, where I headed to get my ID badge and then finally meet my supervisor, who is a lovely chap. I got this placement through his wife, who was a colleague of my haematologists before she emigrated. He's a Leeds boy who went to Newcastle to train and then moved to NZ about 3 years ago in search of warmer weather. I can safely say he's found it - for the depths of winter, Auckland is TOASTY. I layered up far too much on my walk in, because I was used to Queenstown, and ended up shedding clothes rather quickly.
the museum(I've been lucky with the weather so far: blue skies and barely-there fluffy white clouds; apparently it's due to change this weekend, so have booked my wine tour already, just to make sure I'll be indoors and tipsy most of the time).
Everyone on the ward is really really nice: the registrar is incredibly friendly and let me do a joint aspiration on my first day! Although sticking a needle into some poor bloke's swollen knuckle isn't really my idea of fun, it was good practice at injecting local anaesthetic. Alas I got no aspirate, but there was none to get anyway. Probably gout.) I've also been trying to listen to lots of murmurs - getting a couple but still not very confident with the spazoscope. Will persevere.
(Unfortunately am getting to the point where I really can't be bothered with medicine – I think this is the point at which most smart people will be heading to the other half of their elective i.e. somewhere hot and beautiful. Have no idea why I elected to do 2 placements in NZ... though it's really not that bad, despite being winter. Sorry for whinging - am just really craving a bit of beach-slobbing and coconut suntan lotion. That or more skiing.... Also travelling alone is OK but as I've been moving round a fair bit in the last couple of weeks, I haven't really had the chance to meet anyone properly, and this leaves me really craving the company of awesome friends – the kind who have exactly the same travel priorities as me: coffee, wine, food, culture, sleep. Haha. I'm looking at you Weatherdon... big dissertation love btw.)
On Monday night I went to see Cat and Tess at their hostel - they're in Auckland for a couple of days before flying to Vanuatu - and had a couple of drinks. It was lovely to see them, and we arranged to go to the SkyTower the next night. This was fantastic - dining at 190m, you see some pretty good views.... food OK (some excellent salmon) and the wine made up for the slightly rubbery mussels.
Upon my return I Skyped home which always cheers me up, though you pay for the internet here by the byte, so no video calls, just chat. Humph. However have found lots of wireless hotspots, including the library... so will be frequenting those!
All in all not much to report, sah – though I did have an interesting evening in Parnell on Monday trailing around the supermarket (which is actually in central Auckland, a fair walk) and unsuccessfully attempting to locate gluten-free soy sauce. Most people of my acquaintance will appreciate the single-mindedness with which I track down vital ingredients. You cannae have stirfry withoot soy sauce.... so I tried the Asian supermarket next door with no joy – they had a whole aisle of soy sauce but the ONE bottle of tamari had gluten in. Jeebus. With a deepening sense of despair I began the long walk back up Parnell Road (it's even longer than Welbeck Road) and stumbled into some kind of small posh shop selling pretty much everything gluten-free you could ever want. I actually became emotional and probably scared the girl behind the counter with my squeaks of joy at the discovery of the tamari...
The stirfry was a good one btw.
Now off to serve me up some roast chicken, veg and Ian's tasty red cabbage with wine and spices! and more of this Mission Estate Syrah. obviously.
(Photos of Auckland life to follow once I get back to the library to put pics up on their unlimited internet!)
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