Charlotte and I were just wandering around town, checking out secondhand bookshops and having coffee and being exhausted and stuff, and then BAM, the octagon is filled with HORDES of bagpipers. there’s some kind of competition on today I think.

Today Dunedin is rain and bagpipes and soggy trouser legs and no breakfast yet, and talking to my mum and dad for ages on the phone for the first time in what seems like a million years! It was unbelieveably good to talk to them and they let me witter on for ages and actually gave me the gossip from home, which was cool. Now I’m definitely in the mood for fried eggs for breakfast… to the shop with me, for Greasy Breakfast Action… Booyah!

I can’t quite seem to get a handle on Dunedin. I’m not sure why, but it sort of eludes me. Maybe it’s because most of the students aren’t here, and there are usually around 25,000 of them? I’m not sure, but I think I could possibly like this town, once I get the hang of it.

I completely forgot about the pancakes yesterday, but last night at midnight there were the coolest fireworks to celebrate Chinese New Year. It’s good that NZ sometimes remembers that it’s closer to Asia than Europe. Also yesterday I wandered around the Museum, which was partially closed due to flooding from the excellent rains the day before. As were quite a few shops in the city centre.

Yesterday was moderately uneventful, except that when I left the internet cafe there was a massive black cloud obscuring all light, and I eventually got caught in the mother of all downpours. It was great. Thunder, lightening, massive raindrops and rivers instead of streets! I got back to the hostel and was so soaking wet that I put my bag down and ran straight back out again.