Summer, Round 2!

On September 7th, the day I arrived in New Zealand, it was a warm sunny day, and the flip flops and leggings I arrived in suited the summery conditions perfectly. I was happy with my last minute packing decisions to omit my slippers and jogging pants, and was excited to start my second summer this year, in the Southern Hemisphere.

Well, that delusion lasted a day, after which point I thought about my slippers and jogging pants I left behind and felt a sense of regret...it was freezing!! One of the first purchases I made were some hand-made wool slippers, which have only come off to put on another form of footwear when leaving the house. Seriously, they may be my most favourite and useful purchase ever. Next came the jogging pants: big comfy mens jogging pants..again, a wardrope staple for around the house, and I will admit to wearing them out on occasion, much to David's horror.

The official start of Spring in New Zealand is September 1st, and this year, it was especially cold. Back home, people like to complain about the weather, like we did this year when summer just wouldn't arrive. But then we go inside, turn up the thermostat, and lounge in our T shirts and shorts, blissfully unaware of the temperature outside, cozy and warm. In fact, in my apartment back home in Canada, it's so warm that I have the heat turned all the way down..there's enough heat coming from the apartments around mine. I think Canadians are all very spoiled. In New Zealand, they don't have central heating. Those lucky enough to have a heat pump generally only heat the rooms they are spending time in, and even then, you would be wearing a sweater in the fall and winter. It seems very sensible to me, and I think New Zealanders are miles ahead of us in terms of energy conservation and living in a way that's envionmentally responsible. Another example of this is the fact that everyone hangs their laundry outside to dry. The percentage of people who even have a dryer is very small.

I am happy to report that the temperature is slowly rising, and my wardrobe choices are becoming more varied than jogging pants and hoodies. I no longer need to take a hot water bottle to bed, and the space heaters are getting a break. The official start of summer is December 1st, and I'm excited (and bewildered) to have my first summer Christmas!