Flat found

My good news of the day- I've found a flat- this one is close to central Nelson- which is the location I had wanted to leave in for easy walking access to the grocery, post etc. I move in Tuesday night and will be provided with a bed/ dresser- and my room opens onto a balcony overlooking a garden all for a good price of $125/week! (Flatting in Nelson is a little expensive). I'll live with one other person and her lovely cat. The other good news- she was looking for a short term person which works out well with what I was looking for.

I think it's funny how very long travel shampo/ conditioner/ body wash last. I'm still using the ones I brought with me, 3 weeks in. I'm very glad I travelled without huge amounts- unlike when I went to Europe.

I wandered through the weekend market here in Nelson today. It's impressive how much stuff there is. I bought a nice bag of mandarins for $3. There were food and crafts of all kinds. I think I'll visit it frequently on weekends for fresh produce etc.

I discovered Nelson has bus service- I can take the bus out to Richmond, or the Nelson beach for a very affordable I believe it is $2. It doesn't run super frequently, but enough that I can head out there on the weekends to check the places out for a few hours.

The prices of eating out here continue to surprise me. I'm avoiding it as much as possible, other than the affordable chain type places where prices are equivalent to back home (ie <$10 at Mcds/ Subway). Going out for a burger can otherwise cost $15. Yikes! Anyway, maybe I've just visited the wrong places, but it's not seeming cheap, and I've heard others say the same. That said, the art gallery has very affordable eats for <$10 at lunch - and they are fabulous!!

I had to buy jeans yesterday. This is one thing I wish I had brought with me, despite the literature saying they are bulky and heavy. If you're living somewhere for several months at a time, you probably do want a pair of jeans. (I only brought one pair of non-work pants, other than capris). Jeans are pretty pricy here- I shelled out ~$70 and they were cheaper than the other shop I visited. The sizes are slightly different than home. The smaller sizes are pretty much the same, and the larger sizes seem to go up about 1. I thought it was odd when the lady in the jean store selected a pair of jeans ~2 sizes smaller than back home for me to wear. OF course, I couldn't get them done up at all. SO I went up 1/2 a size and she told me they looked too big. However being as I couldn't get into the 1/2 size down, I figured they were the appropriate choice. I am excitedly wearing them today! (Although, reminiscent of someone from the hometown I went out with the sticker on them until I noticed later in the day. I was just so excited to be wearing jeans again, what can I say : ) )