Southern drawl meets "i is the only vowel"

Building a house is amazingly fun. This Saturday we just about finished the wooden framework including wall panels, ceiling battens, trusses, and roof purlins. All day we climbed over the giant jungle gym/house in construction, nailing in various wooden elements. My hammering skills are improving markedly; now I can pretty much nail in from any angle if needed. Also, the winter chill seems to be mostly behind us; I worked up a pretty good sweat. The link for the Habitat for Humanity Blog.

On Saturday evening I went to dinner with friends Emma, Nick, and two girls from the University of Western Georgia. They are here on a six-week missionary crusade in connection with their college church group. They were very friendly (and their accent seemed very out of place in NZ) but halfway through dinner Nick brought up the subject of religion after we had thoroughly discussd beforehand that we would not do so. I felt like Jon Stewart screaming NOOOOO in an attempt to stop President Obama from a speaking blunder. So we had to talk all about good and evil and doing good works and evolution etc. etc. I can believe in some evil force that is forcing me to say "eh" with uncomfortable frequency in conversation these days. Fortunately there were no hard feelings and we all went to a DJ competition after dinner. From there I headed to the Otago Science Ball, which was a semi-formal event held in a big dance/music club south of the Octagon. There was good music, a pyrotechnics show, cheap alcohol, and good company. It reminded me of parties at Williams where you know most of the people there and there's a really fun communal atmosphere. But I also met several new people who in general were better traveled and more interesting to talk to than the majority of students I've come across. I didn't make it home until 4 am.

I've started a once-weekly African drumming class sponsored by the Otago clubs and societies organization. So far we've learned the three basic sounds on the drum and a couple of pieces. The drums are quite beautiful, made of either goat or cow hide.

The next few weeks will be busy as I start working in earnest on secondary applications for medical school, prepare for a biochemistry journal club presentation, and prepare for a formal research presentation as part of my MSc along with my other demonstrating, class, and labwork duties. However, I'm hoping to take a trip to the Abel Tasman track during the mid-semester break in a few weeks.