In many aspects, Dunedin reminds me of Portland. Both seem to have large numbers of young college students. Both also seem to be culturally diverse cities. Also, there are tons of little funky independent coffee shops here, which is very Portland-ish. The main street in Dunedin, George Street, reminds me very much of areas like Hawthorne, Belmont, or Alberta. In that sense, things here look rather similar to what I'm familiar with in Oregon; however, appearances are often deceiving. Dunedin may resemble Portland in several ways, but it is vastly different.
Dunedin is the city in NZ that has the highest rate of college students under the age of 25. It's a very young city. In fact, while walking around, I've mainly seen college students. Of course post-college students and older adults exist, as well a few uniform-clad high schoolers, but they are definitely the minority here. It seems as though city life centers around the university and campus life. Since it's orientation week, many students (especially kiwi students) seem to be having huge extravagant and crazy parties all day and all night. I've witnessed some pretty great university traditions. For example, the Toga Parade is an event in which all incoming freshers [freshmen] dress in togas and march down George Street. During this time, the mayor (who is an exceptional opera singer) gives the freshers a warm welcome, after which, all the upperclassmen take it upon themselves to also welcome the freshers (by bombing them with water balloons and other assorted objects). It's all in good fun. Everyone seems to have a great time. It was amusing to see hundreds of students dressed in togas running through the streets trying to dodge random objects.
Kiwis seem very friendly and love having fun. I constantly see groups of students walking around laughing, joking, or saying hello to people. I've also noticed that kiwis tend to have a really great sense of humor. Most locals I've talked to love cracking jokes or making witty comments.
The university, because it is public and ENORMOUS, is completely different from Concordia. Instead of one religious emphasis, there are countless student societies of all faiths - Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian. The uni is also incredibly open about issues involving sex, pregnancy, contraception, and STI's, things that seem to be almost ignored or overlooked at CU. The school is really lax when it comes to alcohol. I've seen students walking around campus sipping on beer during Orientation. Students here at school come from all over the world. Today at Orientation, I saw students from South Africa, Bahrain, Chile, Czech Republic, Poland, Canada, Guatemala, Scotland, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and so many other countries (it would take me too long to name). Further, there are so many activities to do on campus! I have the opportunity to take art, dance, music, cooking, sport, and recreation non-credit classes. I'm thinking about taking wheel pottery, blues harmonica, Thai cooking, and wine making. I love the Uni of Otago.
Anyway, here's some pictures from exploring:
The clocktower building on campus.
The historic Dunedin railway.
St. Paul's Cathedral.
Beautiful stained glass windows in the cathedral.
The gothic architecture is amazing.
A cool view of Dunedin from the top of a massively steep hill my flatmate and I walked up.
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