Day 2 - Getting Settled

So I woke up in my new place at around 7am, fully refreshed from travelling 14 odd hours. I had a shower to get ready for the day ahead of me in a new city, in a new country halfway around the world. I got a ride from my landlord to the University and met with my new supervisor to go over my proposed thesis and what that would entail. He informed me that I have an opportunity to work with the New Zealand Coalition to End Homelessness in creating a policy brief or a national homelessness strategy, and that I would receive a grant for helping out. It is not cheap here, as I found out by paying $18.50 to go see a movie, so any extra money will definitely help out. I have a meeting with them next week.

After the meeting, I spent the rest of my working day at the office (oh yeah, they provided me with office space) getting ready for my thesis research. I got a map set up so I can locate areas of services and homeless congregations. I then left to get my new phone from the mall. The mall is much the same as in Canada, where you have school kids roaming around. I then decided to watch a movie while I was there. The movie theatre did not have the prices of the movie or individual food listed, just the specials. They appeared to be cheap, so I figured the rest would be too. Boy was I wrong. I ended up paying $28.50 for one ticket, a medium popcorn and a medium drink. That's the second time I got ripped off in one day (I payed $38 to get my wristband replaced by a cheap band that just barely fits me). I guess I should ask before paying from now on.

The movie was alright. I saw Independence Day 2 and I expected more action. It had more suspense instead. Once it finished I went out to catch a bus home, but I realized after, the bus I wanted to catch just passed as I got outside. I spent some time inspecting the bus route maps to see which bus to take and when. I ended up having to wait an hour for the next bus to come that would directly take me to my place. Once I was on the bus, I had no idea which stop to get off at, and because it was so dark, it was difficult to see landmarks. I tried to go on remembering the maps that I have seen. It turns out I got off at a place that looked familiar to me. I soon realized that I got off too early. I had to walk a half hour, constantly questioning if I was going the right way, but using my poor memory, I found my place.

It was an eventful evening, that's for sure.

#Daily