Doon Eden

I have been have a good time in Dunedin, but I have been having a hell of a time pronouncing the name of this city. It is very frustrating. People have attempted to teach me the prounounciation, and I still cannot do it. It is sort of phonetically like Doon Eden, but it is said very quickly and if I pause before it in the sentence to think about it, I am doomed to get it wrong. I will stay as long as it takes to get it right.

I started in Dunedin at Kaitrin and Steve's place. They gave me a ride from the Waihi Bush Festival. I stay there a night then went to a bed and breakfast run by Joyce then to the house of Marvin and Terisha and now I am back at Kaitrin and Steves. All of this has been WWOOFing more or less, but as this is a smallish town (100K) it seems many people on the north side know or know of each other, hence the ease of which I have found places to stay. In fact, it has been so easy that I have had to turn down offers for shelter due to the fact that I must get out and be a tourist.

Joyce's place was high up on the hill overlooking the north valley of Dunedin. Usually there was a great view of rain clouds pissing (NZ word for raining) on the valley below. Dunedin is a college town and Joyce's place is near the college, so there were a few associated with the university staying there. I think we had all continent represented at the dinner table one night, except for Africa. Guests are welcomed to dinner with Joyce and the WWOOFERs, so one night we squeezed 16 around her table, shoulder to shoulder.

Terisha and Marvin live on the edge of the north valley. The only thing above their place on the hillside is a farm and bush. It made for great walking. Terisha and I went up there to collect wood to construct a trellis for her garden, she is very passionate about gardening. Marvin and I also went up there for a longer walk filled with beautiful views of the city below and deep conversation about politics and spirituality, Marvin is very passionate about these topics. Terisha volunteers at an eco-sactuary which works to recreate the natural habitat of NZ before settlement. She took me along one day to volunteer which was a ton of fun. Marvin hosts a political radio show on the community radio station here. He has a booth at a festival in the city. I tagged along and found it easy and fun to make $30 in two hours of busking.

Kaitrin and Steve live down in the northeast valley. They have a colorful house full of props and other items associated with Kaitrins story-telling business. They also working with the Red Cross and Kaitrin is in a band called The Kat and the Fiddle. Here I am putting my accounting skills to use, brushing up on skills I haven't used for while, getting into to Excel formulas and what not, thinking logical, right brain thoughts. It is actually quite enjoyable to sit down at the computer for a while to put things in order, feels good to set things right once in a while. So here I am, in NZ, doing accounting for a small business, listening to Sugar in the Gourd, writing a blog post...