Entry 7

I’ve been in Dunedin a week now, pretty much. Aside from a very sleepless night on Friday all has been going well. I am now all set up in my office at the hospital. I’m sharing with three or four others. Two girls and a guy and not sure about the other (if there is another, there’s a desk with books on it but haven’t seen a person yet). It is definitely nowhere near as comfortable as the Old Main Building, I got very lucky there. Being in the hospital is certainly taking some getting used to. From sharing a lift with doctors and nurses in their scrubs and of course sick people to being told if I hear screams down the hall it’s nothing to worry about. Yes...I was actually told that. Apparently in the Gastrology ward (around the corner from Bioethics) the patients often scream during their procedures and sometimes it’s so bad that the doctors stop them and the patients get mad when they’re woken up because they didn’t actually feel any pain – at least they don’t remember feeling pain. It’s also an interesting experience eating lunch in the staff cafeteria seeing doctors and nurses coming and going, it’s not quite like Grey’s though, unfortunately or fortunately.
I had a meeting with my supervisor last week; he seems like a very jovial kind of person. I think he might be British. He has a strong interest in my topic, which is ‘Cyborgs and Personhood.’ It is so important to have a supervisor who is actually genuinely interested in what you are writing. I have experienced a year of reporting to a supervisor who lacked interest in my project, consequently it was not a good year and reflected in my grade. Then when I was assigned a supervisor for my Masters who had a clear interest in the topic things went very smoothly, which again was reflected in the grade, this time in a positive way.
On Fridays the department has a morning tea, which I attended last week. It was so nice to see people chatting about all sorts of things, not just work. I did discuss my project with a couple of people though. One of the lecturers, Grant, gave me an article he wrote titled ‘Cyborgs and moral identity,’ it is really very good. It briefly explores many questions that I would like to look at only in more depth. Also on Friday I decided to explore one of the many libraries Otago has to offer. I borrowed a couple of books on Bioethics from the Medical Library. I’m yet to look at them but will have plenty of time this week to make a start. They’re really just the basics at this stage. One is called ‘The Basics of Bioethics’ I figure I may as well start at the beginning, right?! Bioethics is a new field for me. I have a background in ethics but need to catch up on the medical/scientific application. The field definitely intrigues me so I’m looking forward to really getting stuck in. It will be nice to be studying again, I’ve missed it.
On a different note, some of you may have seen my Facebook status on Saturday regarding my inconsiderate flatmate, who I have yet to officially meet. That really has been the only issue so far. I’m hoping that it will be a rare occasion that someone in the house is noisy and rude. There are four guys living in the house and I’ve only met one, he seems pretty nice. Unfortunately he’s not here for 2 weeks so I don’t even have an ally currently. We are all like ships that pass in the night, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’m quite happy as it is – when things are quiet anyway, which it normally is. My room is fantastic. It is HUGE!!! My bed is a queen size. I have a nice sized desk. I have a couch, fridge, microwave, TV, and a heater for the winter. The ceiling is so high and there is a lovely big window at the end of the room. The rest of the house is nice. It really is a large place, with five bedrooms, three upstairs and two downstairs. The living area and kitchen/dining area are also downstairs. Although there are drawbacks to being in the bedroom next to the front door I’m glad I’m upstairs because it is cold downstairs due to the lack of sun. There isn’t a wash-house though, which isn’t good for a person who likes to hand wash certain clothing items. There is a washing machine in a cupboard under the stairs and a dryer in the pantry. That’s okay for me though, I’m just eating in my room at the moment and haven’t a need to store food in the pantry as yet. I think I’ll start making soup when the weather gets colder but as there is no freezer I’ll just make it weekly probably. The reason for my interest in making soup is because I think it is such as easy way of getting a huge amount of healthy vegetables into my diet. And it eliminates the need to be cooking veges every night.
Anyway, speaking of weather, it has been so nice in Dunedin since I got here. Today (Sunday) was pretty dreary and drizzly, but I don’t mind. Oh I forgot to mention one of the best things about where I’m living. Seriously, 5 minutes from K-Mart, my fav store!!! It’s in a mall actually. Everything is so handy. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the Octagon, about 10ish minutes to get to the Hospital, about 15 minutes to the University. Fantastic.
What else, um...I went up the steepest street the other day, wow that was a horrible experience! We went in a car and I seriously wondered, or rather worried, that the car wouldn’t make it to the top. It did and the ride back down was even worse. I don’t think I’ve ever gone so fast in a car. I also went out to the beach, I think it was St. Kilda, it was so nice out there but unfortunately there weren’t any parks. It was a perfect summer day and a lot of people were out taking advantage.
I have two more things on my to-do list before I really become a geeky student who will most likely be found studying, is go to the Cadbury factory, and go ice-skating. They have adult classes at the ice-skating rink actually so I may make a habit of doing that.
Okay well time to go. I’ll write again soon. Live long and prosper!