The flat is finally full of people and things are starting to settle down and level off a bit. It is now a week after ‘O’ week, the biggest week on the University of Otago’s calender where all the students arrive back in dunedin, move into their flats and their Halls of Residence, and the orientation begins. Lectures have now begun and things are quieter, it is hard to tell that only a week ago everything was different.

The week before ‘O’ week apprehension was in the air. The first of our flat mates arrived with all his stuff and started getting settled in. There were now three people in the flat and things stayed pretty quiet. A few days later the fourth person arrived and thats when the fun began. By now ‘O’ week was but a few days away from beginning. It was Thursday night and it stayed pretty quiet, with a few drinks in the lounge. Then we got a visit from a guy who if fondly known as SASQUATCH.

Now, Sasquatch is a great guy, but boy can he drink. And drink we did. For a solid week, we sat on our front porch and drank out way through about 15 12-packs of Speights cans, a couple of boxes of Tui, a box of flame, and several bottles of various bourbons and spirits. We meet all our neighbours one way or another, as the wandered past and stopped to chat, or crossed the road and felt our shouts echoing around them down the street. Evenings became prime poker time, and as we all sat around mellowing out and slowing down our intake slightly, we played a few friendly games, and a couple for money, and the week progressed.

Now, I’m all for saving money by cooking, but I am also quite partial to getting fast food, because its convenient and, well, fast. A stack of Dominoes Pizza boxes, almost as high as the door, was almost as much of an achievement for the week as the 3 full recycling bins, and the extra pile of cans and bottles behind it. It is probably fair to say we live too close to the takeaway central, where you can find a McDonalds, a KFC, a Hells Pizza, Pizza Hut and Dominoes Pizza place, A liqueur Store, a Pub and 2 fish and chip shops. I feel convenience will win out overall, if heart failure doesn’t beat it to the punch.

The weekend brought about parties, and a long walk around town visiting various flat parties, flat warmings and flat drinks, which everyone claimed one of us knew a least one guy at each place. This only lead to more free drinks from kegs and 24-packs, and a great way to end a great week.

Now everything is very studious. Lectures are being attended, tutorials and labs and starting up, recycling and rubbish has all been collected, and hangovers of past days are but a memory. It is hard to even imagine that what I see before me is the same student-filled place of yester-week. Truly this is Dunedin, The University City, ‘Get over It!’ as they say.