Hello out there! It's been so long, too long, since I have written here. I apologize for keeping you all hanging out there. It's funny how once your life settles down a bit you tend to get wrapped up in the day to day. I have had lots of time to update but for some reason I guess I haven't felt like as many exciting things have happened, even though thats not the case. Less movement in a physical sense but just as many great things have been happening since moving to Wellington. I'll get into a bit of an overview of the last 2 months of living here...
So I think I left off by saying that once I arrived in Wellington, it only took me a week to find a job and a place to live. It actually only took me 2 days to find the job! I got into Wellington early one morning and went to stay with a woman named Amy. Amy and I had never met before I came to stay with her in Wellington. One of our mutual friends who I had worked with back in Melbourne set us up. From the moment I met Amy she treated me like we always knew each other. She shared her home and showed me around the city and made sure I met lots of people to befriend as well. I am sure that most of the good things that have happened to me since coming to Wellington were mostly due to having such an amazing host and such a great introduction to the city.
From the get go I decided that if it was meant to be, it would be. I would look for a job and a place to live and if it happened, then I would stay, and if not, onwards to the next city/town/place. So, on my second day in the city, I went out with a handful of resumes and started handing them out to every cafe that I thought looked like a nice place to bake. I walked along Cuba street, which is a main popular street in the city that has lots of cafes and restaurants on it. I was also just touring around and getting to know the city. I walked into a little used bookstore called Quilters Bookshop. It was really beautiful and had a cafe attached to it. While browsing through the books I overheard a woman in the cafe say "yep, we do all of the baking here, I am the baker" to a customer. So I decided to just check and see if they needed someone. I went over and said, "Hi, you do all of the baking here? Any chance you need another baker?" really thinking that of course they probably wouldn't since she just told that man that SHE was the baker. She said "Yea! Want to come in tomorrow for a trial?" And that was that! Immediately Agnes, the afore mentioned baker and I, hit it off. She is Canadian and has been living in New Zealand for the past 8 years or so with her Kiwi husband and their two children. Before living in Wellington she had her own chocolate shop in Christchurch and before living in New Zealand she lived in Japan. She is a very talented pastry chef and a hilarious human being. I came in the next morning for a trial shift where I showed her I could make a decent muffin and chocolate chip cookie. I was hired and the next week I started. The cafe is called Milk Crate and is very VERY small. The kitchen it self is more like a big closet, just large enough to fit a standard house oven and a sink. We produce lots of beautiful cakes and tasty treats from it though, and some of the best coffee in the whole city.
From there, I found a small room to sublet for 6 weeks from a German student and then during that time period found the house that I am renting in now. The house that I am in now is one of the best things that happened to me since moving here. It is just outside of the city, a walk along the bays and up a massive hill. I live with 6 other people, all ranging between 23 and 30 and all creative and welcoming. I knew it was the right place for me to live when I came to check it out and Dayle one of my housemates was playing accordion and I noticed there were 3 pianos in the living room. We have weekly sunday night feasts where everyone cooks something in our big kitchen and we drink lots of wine and eat lots of cheese. The house is very big and has incredible views of the ocean and the city. We have 3 separate decks that are longing to be used once the weather is warm enough. It's still so strange being in winter rather than summer in August.
Wellington itself is like a great big town. It reminds me of New Orleans a bit in that everyone knows everyone and there is a good spirit about. There is great live music (although sorry but New Orleans will always win the best in that category) and beautiful beaches all along the city. It is in no way like New Orleans in that it is extremely hilly and very clean- and SO safe! You are always just five minutes away from some beautiful hiking path that will take you up through the bush in the mountains or along the water. There is great Malaysian food and the best coffee I have had anywhere. I used to say that about Melbourne but now I am torn. I never thought I would drink black coffee in my life but Wellington has done it to me. I drink long blacks and every once in awhile a piccolo or "roady" as they are called at the cafe I work in, which is like a double shot of espresso and half the amount of milk that comes in a latte.
I already feel so settled down in a way and have met so many great people living here. I have taken up spinning wool! I bought a beautiful spinning wheel and have a friend teaching me who has been spinning for a few years now. I figure the country of sheep is probably the best place a person can learn such a skill. Also, I am just about to start a new baking venture where I will be doing a lot more creative stuff...it is still just in the beginning stages, so I will have to write more about that next time. That is a overview of what big changes have happened in the last couple of months. I no longer feel as homesick but I am always thinking of you all back home. Until next time! Also, will try to put up some photos soon.
Monday 5 August 2013
Monday 27 May 2013
Travels before getting to Wellington
Hello friends and family! It is a cold wet and blustery day in Wellington. It's really the first day like it since I've been here, despite warnings from all of the locals of terrible weather in the winter time. Wellington apparently had one of the most amazing summers it has ever seen-and I came right at the end! Oh well, hopefully its a trend and I can make it through the damp cold days to enjoy the warm beaches. Before I get into my life right now, I wanted to tell you all about my journey to get here! I stopped a few places along the way that are worth mentioning.
So, if you read back in my old posts, I mention that I was leaving the au pair job I had in the Coromandel to go traveling for a bit with my friend Judith. I was able to get a ride back to wilderland from where I was living with the family. I packed up my bags and said goodbye to the family. I went to the town next to pauanui to wait for my ride and had a celebratory beer for getting the hell out of that place! I spent a great weekend at wilderland, bunking up with Judith in her little caravan. We were really lucky because the new au pair who took my place ended up giving us a ride to Auckland on her day off! Her name is Beth, she is from England, and she took the au pair job immediately because she wanted to save up to go on a kiwi bus tour in July. Good luck to you Beth! We drove through the rain, and discussed our travel plans. We were going to couch surf in Auckland for two nights, then catch a ferry to the beautiful Waiheke Island for a few nights and then head to Piha, one of the major surfing towns of New Zealand before winding our trip back up in Auckland, where we would go our separate ways.
We arrived in Auckland to our couchsurfing house. A big beautiful old house stood before us. The front door was wide open and there was loud music being blasted through the landing. We let ourselves in and had trouble locating our host. Many people were in and out and it was hard to tell who lived there and who didn't. It turned out they had a coffee shop operating from a little shed in the front yard, and that this house was a social community project in progress. The house was in a preservation process, so that it could eventually house a organic restaurant and sustainability center. All of the walls were stripped down to their wood pillars. Some windows were missing glass, and there was no electricity in portions of the house. Awesome! A step up from camping at wilderland, but not entirely a FULL step back into normal society. We stayed at this house for two nights, bundled in sleeping bags in a spare room. We weren't sure if our host was even legally allowed to be living there. We probably would of left the house and gotten a hostel if it weren't the short length of time we knew we would be there, and the fact that the house was so centrally located in the city. Plus, despite the odd situation, we were grateful for our host and people inviting us into their homes. Oscar was our host, a guy from Finland. His best friends were a guy from Zimbabwe and a guy from Brazil. We spent a night talking and drinking wine, the five of us sitting there, speaking english, and I thought how cool this is, we all come from such different places around the world and here we all are, speaking to one another in the same language, sharing the same experience.
While staying in Auckland, Judith and I spent most of our time walking around the city in search of the next best meal. When traveling around a new place, eating is probably one of the most exciting things to look forward to in your day. In Auckland there is SO. MUCH. SUSHI! Its probably one of my favorite things about New Zealand and Australia. All over the cities are these little sushi take away stands, and the sushi is so cheap. It's definitely not a restaurant sit down kind of food over here, its more like grab and go. But its delicious, quick, and pretty healthy as well. Also, Auckland has great Indian and Middle Eastern take away spots. Tons of Samosa shops and a cute Chinese savory pancake stand.
We headed to Waiheke Island with our big backpacks in tow, taking the ferry over, again, in the rain. We got to the Island and went into the visitors center to find out about the hostels on the Island. Judith had gotten a phone number from a friend of a guy named David who lived on the Island who might be able to host us. We had tried contacting him the day before with no luck, but after seeing how expensive the hostel was, we decided to give him one last call. Luckily he answered and was willing to host us for a couple of nights! We made our way down to the main road and hitched a ride from a local to get to David's house, which was on the other side of the Island.
Hitch hiking is something that I would NEVER even consider doing in the States, its just too risky. But New Zealand is different. I would never do it alone anywhere, but at the same time, on a tiny little island, where most of the people work in vineyards and or are over the age of 70, it felt totally fine and safe. Plus, Judith had been using it as her main transportation for the last ten months of travelling all over the country. I was a rookie but was hitching with a pro. We got dropped off in front of a couple of painted water domes connected with a front door. "The Domes" is where David lives. It is an amazing house, built from 3 water domes, all connected with a hallway and patio out the back. Every room is circular, no right angles anywhere. It makes the sound inside so crazy, especially when having a conversation. The sound carries in such a interesting tricky way in circular space. David has been living in the domes for years now, and often will rent out a spare bedroom to travellers or people coming over to work at the vineyards on the island for holiday work. We stayed in the spare bedroom with a few other travelers, a guy and girl from Argentina and a guy from Holland. Waiheke is absolutely breathtaking. The island is covered in grapes and olives and it creates some of the best wine and olive oil in the country. The two days we spent there were rainy but we still got in a good coastal walk and got to bond with some really nice fellow travelers we were staying with. From Waiheke we took the ferry back to Auckland, where we were greeted by my friend Dan. Dan and I had met at the full moon festival I went to in Opoteure. He was the Dj for the party and had offered for us to come and stay with him and his family in Piha. We made a quick stop at the grocery store and then headed south of Auckland towards Piha, stopping on one of the windy mountain roads to watch the sun set over the ocean. Dan and his Mom live in a beautiful house overlooking the ocean. The ocean on the west coast is different than the ocean on the east. The Maoris say that the east ocean is feminine and the west is masculine. The waves in Piha are POWERFUL. There is a loud buzzing sound from the water, constantly creating truly massive waves. Being in such a beautiful place, in such a beautiful house, we were so grateful. We woke up early in the morning on our first day in Piha to go bushwalking with Dan to the natural spring behind their house. We brought empty wine bottles and filled them up full of the water from the spring to drink through out the day. The water is so fresh and clean that it is totally safe and good for drinking. We brought it back to the house, did yoga and then went out exploring for the day. We hiked up a big hill over looking the ocean and watched surfers catching the giant waves far off in the ocean. Dan taught us about foraging edible plants and we all collected things to make a salad with for dinner- beach spinach, wild sorrel, kawa kawa leaf, plantain leaf, and so many more things that I never knew existed or were edible! We had a huge feast of wild salad, roasted root vegetables and FRESH mussel fritters, the mussels being collected just hours before off of the beach. They were incredible, and I felt like my life was so full and abundant, eating a meal with warm and welcoming people, enjoying food that was almost totally grown or lived a few feet from where we sat. We spent two days in Piha and forever I will have such fond memories of the family that hosted and fed us, and hope that someday I can return the favor.
It was a sad day for Judith and I to part when we got back to Auckland. Sometimes you meet people in your life and you immediately get along and don't have to try to understand or make any extra effort to get along. Judith was on her way back to Germany and I was heading down to Wellington, to try it out and see if I liked it as much as everyone told me I would. We said our goodbyes and I jumped on a overnight bus down to Wellington while Judith checked into a hostel for her last few nights in Auckland. I thought the overnight bus sounded like a great idea in theory. Cool, so I can just sleep on the bus and when I wake up I will be where I need to go and didn't even waste any of the day getting there! Not so much the case in reality. Our bus driver was hilarious. He was so loud and old and when he answered the calls from other bus drivers he shouted to them so that there was NO way of sleeping. Plus, the bus makes stops all along the way, so 11 hours of stop and go isn't ideal for sleeping. I was quite exhausted from the ride when I arrived to Wellington so instead of trying to find my way through the bus and train system, I decided to take a taxi to exactly where I needed to go. Taxis are incredibly expensive over here and really considered a splurge, especially in a small city such as Wellington. Relying on the good connection graces of the universe yet again, I was going to stay with a friend of a friend in Wellington when I first got there. Her name is Amy and she is canadian and lives with her husband and another couple. I spent the first week and a half in their spare bedroom, before finding my own rental and a job! I will tell more about that bit of my trip later, enough for now. Will hopefully get to upload some photos of Waiheke and Piha for all of you to see, but for now you have a sense of whats been happening in my life. More to come...
So, if you read back in my old posts, I mention that I was leaving the au pair job I had in the Coromandel to go traveling for a bit with my friend Judith. I was able to get a ride back to wilderland from where I was living with the family. I packed up my bags and said goodbye to the family. I went to the town next to pauanui to wait for my ride and had a celebratory beer for getting the hell out of that place! I spent a great weekend at wilderland, bunking up with Judith in her little caravan. We were really lucky because the new au pair who took my place ended up giving us a ride to Auckland on her day off! Her name is Beth, she is from England, and she took the au pair job immediately because she wanted to save up to go on a kiwi bus tour in July. Good luck to you Beth! We drove through the rain, and discussed our travel plans. We were going to couch surf in Auckland for two nights, then catch a ferry to the beautiful Waiheke Island for a few nights and then head to Piha, one of the major surfing towns of New Zealand before winding our trip back up in Auckland, where we would go our separate ways.
We arrived in Auckland to our couchsurfing house. A big beautiful old house stood before us. The front door was wide open and there was loud music being blasted through the landing. We let ourselves in and had trouble locating our host. Many people were in and out and it was hard to tell who lived there and who didn't. It turned out they had a coffee shop operating from a little shed in the front yard, and that this house was a social community project in progress. The house was in a preservation process, so that it could eventually house a organic restaurant and sustainability center. All of the walls were stripped down to their wood pillars. Some windows were missing glass, and there was no electricity in portions of the house. Awesome! A step up from camping at wilderland, but not entirely a FULL step back into normal society. We stayed at this house for two nights, bundled in sleeping bags in a spare room. We weren't sure if our host was even legally allowed to be living there. We probably would of left the house and gotten a hostel if it weren't the short length of time we knew we would be there, and the fact that the house was so centrally located in the city. Plus, despite the odd situation, we were grateful for our host and people inviting us into their homes. Oscar was our host, a guy from Finland. His best friends were a guy from Zimbabwe and a guy from Brazil. We spent a night talking and drinking wine, the five of us sitting there, speaking english, and I thought how cool this is, we all come from such different places around the world and here we all are, speaking to one another in the same language, sharing the same experience.
While staying in Auckland, Judith and I spent most of our time walking around the city in search of the next best meal. When traveling around a new place, eating is probably one of the most exciting things to look forward to in your day. In Auckland there is SO. MUCH. SUSHI! Its probably one of my favorite things about New Zealand and Australia. All over the cities are these little sushi take away stands, and the sushi is so cheap. It's definitely not a restaurant sit down kind of food over here, its more like grab and go. But its delicious, quick, and pretty healthy as well. Also, Auckland has great Indian and Middle Eastern take away spots. Tons of Samosa shops and a cute Chinese savory pancake stand.
We headed to Waiheke Island with our big backpacks in tow, taking the ferry over, again, in the rain. We got to the Island and went into the visitors center to find out about the hostels on the Island. Judith had gotten a phone number from a friend of a guy named David who lived on the Island who might be able to host us. We had tried contacting him the day before with no luck, but after seeing how expensive the hostel was, we decided to give him one last call. Luckily he answered and was willing to host us for a couple of nights! We made our way down to the main road and hitched a ride from a local to get to David's house, which was on the other side of the Island.
Hitch hiking is something that I would NEVER even consider doing in the States, its just too risky. But New Zealand is different. I would never do it alone anywhere, but at the same time, on a tiny little island, where most of the people work in vineyards and or are over the age of 70, it felt totally fine and safe. Plus, Judith had been using it as her main transportation for the last ten months of travelling all over the country. I was a rookie but was hitching with a pro. We got dropped off in front of a couple of painted water domes connected with a front door. "The Domes" is where David lives. It is an amazing house, built from 3 water domes, all connected with a hallway and patio out the back. Every room is circular, no right angles anywhere. It makes the sound inside so crazy, especially when having a conversation. The sound carries in such a interesting tricky way in circular space. David has been living in the domes for years now, and often will rent out a spare bedroom to travellers or people coming over to work at the vineyards on the island for holiday work. We stayed in the spare bedroom with a few other travelers, a guy and girl from Argentina and a guy from Holland. Waiheke is absolutely breathtaking. The island is covered in grapes and olives and it creates some of the best wine and olive oil in the country. The two days we spent there were rainy but we still got in a good coastal walk and got to bond with some really nice fellow travelers we were staying with. From Waiheke we took the ferry back to Auckland, where we were greeted by my friend Dan. Dan and I had met at the full moon festival I went to in Opoteure. He was the Dj for the party and had offered for us to come and stay with him and his family in Piha. We made a quick stop at the grocery store and then headed south of Auckland towards Piha, stopping on one of the windy mountain roads to watch the sun set over the ocean. Dan and his Mom live in a beautiful house overlooking the ocean. The ocean on the west coast is different than the ocean on the east. The Maoris say that the east ocean is feminine and the west is masculine. The waves in Piha are POWERFUL. There is a loud buzzing sound from the water, constantly creating truly massive waves. Being in such a beautiful place, in such a beautiful house, we were so grateful. We woke up early in the morning on our first day in Piha to go bushwalking with Dan to the natural spring behind their house. We brought empty wine bottles and filled them up full of the water from the spring to drink through out the day. The water is so fresh and clean that it is totally safe and good for drinking. We brought it back to the house, did yoga and then went out exploring for the day. We hiked up a big hill over looking the ocean and watched surfers catching the giant waves far off in the ocean. Dan taught us about foraging edible plants and we all collected things to make a salad with for dinner- beach spinach, wild sorrel, kawa kawa leaf, plantain leaf, and so many more things that I never knew existed or were edible! We had a huge feast of wild salad, roasted root vegetables and FRESH mussel fritters, the mussels being collected just hours before off of the beach. They were incredible, and I felt like my life was so full and abundant, eating a meal with warm and welcoming people, enjoying food that was almost totally grown or lived a few feet from where we sat. We spent two days in Piha and forever I will have such fond memories of the family that hosted and fed us, and hope that someday I can return the favor.
It was a sad day for Judith and I to part when we got back to Auckland. Sometimes you meet people in your life and you immediately get along and don't have to try to understand or make any extra effort to get along. Judith was on her way back to Germany and I was heading down to Wellington, to try it out and see if I liked it as much as everyone told me I would. We said our goodbyes and I jumped on a overnight bus down to Wellington while Judith checked into a hostel for her last few nights in Auckland. I thought the overnight bus sounded like a great idea in theory. Cool, so I can just sleep on the bus and when I wake up I will be where I need to go and didn't even waste any of the day getting there! Not so much the case in reality. Our bus driver was hilarious. He was so loud and old and when he answered the calls from other bus drivers he shouted to them so that there was NO way of sleeping. Plus, the bus makes stops all along the way, so 11 hours of stop and go isn't ideal for sleeping. I was quite exhausted from the ride when I arrived to Wellington so instead of trying to find my way through the bus and train system, I decided to take a taxi to exactly where I needed to go. Taxis are incredibly expensive over here and really considered a splurge, especially in a small city such as Wellington. Relying on the good connection graces of the universe yet again, I was going to stay with a friend of a friend in Wellington when I first got there. Her name is Amy and she is canadian and lives with her husband and another couple. I spent the first week and a half in their spare bedroom, before finding my own rental and a job! I will tell more about that bit of my trip later, enough for now. Will hopefully get to upload some photos of Waiheke and Piha for all of you to see, but for now you have a sense of whats been happening in my life. More to come...
Wednesday 15 May 2013
An update, longer post to come soon!
Hey everyone, Sorry to not write sooner but internet is sometimes hard to come by while traveling. Currently I don't have my computer with me, it is being stored up in Auckland at some really great family friends' house, so I am on a computer in an internet cafe in Wellington. I've traveled all around the North Island for the past couple of weeks and am now settling down into a more permanent place in Wellington. Everyone kept telling me to come here, and I am so happy I did. It really reminds me of New Orleans in a lot of ways, sort of if you were to mash it up with San Francisco. The city is shaped like a crescent against the bay, and there are HILLS to climb everywhere. Its beautiful. I am still quite new to the city, only arriving on Monday, but already I have landed a dream job! I will be baking at a cute little cafe called The Milk Crate that is conjoined to a vintage bookstore called the Quilters Bookshop. I will go into more details soon, and provide some photos of the last weeks journeys. I got to experience so many beautiful landscapes, I feel very lucky indeed.
Now I am apartment hunting and staying with some really wonderful friends of friends. Kiwi's are so willing to help and reach out to you, and it is so refreshing to be in a place that feels so honest and kind in that way. Write again soon, hope all of you are doing well!
Now I am apartment hunting and staying with some really wonderful friends of friends. Kiwi's are so willing to help and reach out to you, and it is so refreshing to be in a place that feels so honest and kind in that way. Write again soon, hope all of you are doing well!
Wednesday 1 May 2013
Photos from New Zealand, the Coromandel and Wilderland Organic Farm
The view out the window on my first morning in New Zealand.
Grace giving me a tour of the beach, still a bit rainy.
That is Slipper Island...apparently on the other side it looks a lot like a slipper.
Collecting plants and drawing them has become one of my favorite things to do.
Incredible seashells, unlike any I have seen before!
"pretend we are sleeping!" Grace and a friend posing for the picture :)
The town across the bay, Tairua.
I thought this sign was sad but very cute, written by a child as you can tell.
This is called the rocktapus and it is as awesome as it looks. You could spend hours on it, as Grace did and I did as well!
The night of my full moon adventure, the moon was very bright and beautiful and lighting my way!
This is the sunrise over the ocean in Pauanui. So stunning.
Full moon festival, Kirtan concert.
Pretty seashells, I looked for some that reminded me of my housemates from New Orleans who I miss dearly.
Sunset.
The sign inside the compostable toilet at Wilderland. :)
These guys were my neighbors and liked to wake me in the morning.
My cute little caravan I slept in while at Wilderland.
Growing right next to my camper! I've never seen them in real life before.
This is an ingenious giant dehydrator. A big closed off rack with a vent at the top and a space heater put underneath. Drying persimmons over night, they taste like candy.
The sunrise over the estuary at Wilderland.
Little Guavas! I had never tried them before.
The wilderland shop, selling honey and fruits and veggies.
These remind me of Waldorf.
Yummy dried persimmons.
I had never even heard of these until trying one, but they are so good. They taste like grapes and kiwi mixed together.
Hey look! My last name! I am in the right place :)
A macadamia tree! They taste a bit like coconut when they are fresh off of the tree. SO hard to crack open!
Weeding carrots with some fellow workers at wilderland. Anna from canada, Judith from Germany and Jay from New Zealand.
My first couple of weeks in New Zealand- A long post!
I flew into Auckland airport on a saturday and the family that I was meant to au pair for picked me up from the airport. The little girl Grace, who is 7, came yelling my name as I walked out of customs. I could tell instantly that she was a good kid and that we would get along. The parents greeted me soon after and we ran out of the airport into a torrential downpour. Welcome to New Zealand! It rained all night but we made our way home on the VERY windy mountain roads, about 2 hours east of Auckland. I have to say, expectation can be a very awful thing. The more you expect, the more you are set up to be disappointed. I suppose that I was expecting a very perfect situation for myself in coming to be an au pair for this family. I mean, they owned a bakery, and in my mind, it was probably like my dream bakery, and I could bake beautiful cakes there, and then take care of Grace and be totally fulfilled and satisfied. So when I realized after the first day or two that my imagined visions were not the case, I FREAKED out. It was the first time on my trip where I really felt panicked. Looking back I realize that it was a very good learning experience about traveling alone and realizing that not everything has to work out, or will work out.
Very quickly I found out that Pauanui beach where the family lives, is the smallest little town I have ever been in. There are less than 600 people living there year round and at winter time, which it is becoming now, it goes down to even less. Plus, of those people, most of them are retired, very rich white people. I was about 1 of FIVE people in their twenties living in town. Quickly I realized as well that going from the bustling city of Melbourne to a town with no one living in it would be a very uncomfortable adjustment for me. As much as I craved some space and some nature to be immersed in, I wasn't ready for such a drastic transition. Also, my first interaction with the Kiwi culture was this- lots of old people, eating lots of meat pies and cheese bread, talking about the weather and the local news, and CONSTANTLY watching crap television. I felt like I was in some strange time warp, transported to the most beautiful place I have ever been, but filled with conservative old people. Imagine a very rural town in the midwest of the states, and just plop some absolutely gorgeous mountains and beaches around it and some people with funny accents (no offense to the kiwi accent :)) and thats about what it felt like in Pauanui. I was starving for a connection of any kind. When I told the family I was homesick, they seemed a bit put off and defensive and then the Mom continued to tell me about horror stories of past au pairs...One au pair left a week before her $1000 dollar bonus from the au pair agency they hired her through, another au pair left because she had a terrible illness that was fatal if she didn't get medical attention right away, and the one that tops all the others, one au pair tried to commit suicide...red flag?! This of course, did not put me at ease anymore, so I decided that I couldn't stay in this situation. I planned to stay until June so that they had time to find another au pair and because the Mom was about to have an operation done on her ankle and I didn't want to leave them in a dire situation. Also, my dream bakery? Is more like a fast food donut/pie shop. They didn't want me to bake after all, just to wait on customers at the counter. And the stuff they do bake is all processed and from mixes or frozen. So no artisan cake making for me. I felt really let down by that part of the deal.
So in the meantime I thought of survival tactics. And I wrote to so many friends and family, seeking love and support as I am always given by all of you and am so grateful. I was ready to turn back, thinking I couldn't do this whole traveling solo thing anymore, that I wasn't strong enough. You all calmed me with wise words and advice, and here I still am in New Zealand, so yay and thank you!
I really reached out in my first week in Pauanui. I found a yoga class that I went to twice that week that saved me. The yoga teacher told me about a eco retreat called Prana that was just over the mountain in the next town over called Opoutere- rhymes with potpurri. She said they were having a full moon party that friday and I should go because there would be young people there. Oh young people, how i did miss them! So that friday, with a hand drawn map on a paper bag, I went out in search of this party. I drove and drove, on the other side of the road mind you, for what felt like ever. I came to a dirt road and kept going. It was extremely dark, no lights at all, and the car I was driving didn't have high beams. It is amazing though what you can do when you are searching for something to connect to. I drove down the tiniest little dirt road, not seeing a thing in front of me, for about 20 minutes, going up and down all around crazy mountains, unsure if I would ever reach anything at all. I was just about to turn around when I found a little house with christmas lights on it. I took my chances, got out of the car and walked straight up to the house and inside. There were two men standing in the kitchen talking and drinking tea. I said very sheepishly "hi, I'm looking for the full moon festival, do you know where it is?" The very boisterous older man came over to me and said with a huge smile, "You're it! Welcome!!" That was Walter. A Danish world traveler, care taker of the Prana eco retreat, hippi extraordinaire.
Apparently the yoga teacher got the day wrong, the festival was the NEXT night, on saturday, but here was walter and the dj for the party, just talking logistics and hanging out. They made me some tea and asked me how the hell I got there in the dark. We talked for a few hours and man it felt so good to talk to some nice welcoming people who were interested in learning about each other! I left knowing I would return the next night. As I was driving back to the family, in the other town, I thought, how crazy is my life, living here in New Zealand, all alone in the smallest conservative town, and now going to the most liberal little hippi retreat just on the other side of this mountain. Never ever could I have pictured this life for myself! I felt so much better. I went back the next night for the moon festival and met some really wonderful and interesting people. A Irish girl who lives in Australia, a Kiwi who is studying Maori herbal medicine, a photographer, a tabla player, and so many more.
Also in my first week in Pauanui I got in touch with an amazing organic farm called Wilderland. It is a totally self sustaining farm about an hour away from Pauanui on the coast, and you can volunteer there or wwoof. I contacted them and set it up so that I could come volunteer and stay for my days off the next week.
My experience there was absolutely incredible. I learned from coming to New Zealand that I really shouldn't have too much expectation or set my hopes too high. So I went with just the intention of being open to everything and everyone- and it worked! The land is beautiful and there is every kind of fruit tree and vegetable growing you can imagine. Figs, apples, oranges, mandarins, persimmons, guavas, macadamias, walnuts, avocados, fejoas (which are amazing), kiwis, pears...and those are just the trees! They grow everything, including grains like barley and even sesame seeds. They have a huge communal house with a big open kitchen which they are doing a lot of preserving in at the moment for winter- huge batches of apple compote and green tomato chutney. Huge batches of sauerkraut and dried sliced persimmons that taste like candy. It was incredible. I got my own little caravan that you could see the sun rise over the water from. Everyone living there was so incredibly friendly and grateful for any kind of help. Everyone wakes up in the morning and meets in the main hall around 8 for breakfast and a meeting. Everyone discusses the missions of the day, and tasks get divvied up. The first day I helped run the wilderland shop, where they sell honey they've collected from their bees and all of the fruits and veggies and nuts they grow. The second day I helped in the garden weeding the carrot and beet beds and watering the tomatoes. At 1 in the afternoon a big huge metal bell is rung and that means lunch is ready. The afternoons are free, whether you want to keep working on a project or go off exploring or down to a estuary for a swim. In the evening people hang out in the main hall and make dinner or read or listen to music. I made fried green tomatoes the first night I was there! No one had ever experienced anything like it haha. If only I had had some remoulade sauce to go with it!
I met some really wonderful travelers, who all were so supportive and friendly. While I was there, I got some very surprising news. I got a text from the family I was living with that they had already found an au pair replacement, that they couldn't risk me leaving sooner than I said, so I was welcome to stay with them and work in the bakery for 15 hours a week in exchange for food and accommodation, but no pay.
As much as I was grateful for that offer, I also realized that I wouldn't have to stay as long as planned which was a huge relief! On returning back from the farm, I realized that my journey here was about to take a drastic change. Instead of staying with this family for the next few months as I thought I would when I came over to New Zealand, I was going to leave that and go off traveling. So thats where I am now. I am in the midst of preparing to leave Pauanui to meet up with Judith, a German traveler who I met at Wilderland who is nearing the end of her visa here. The plan as of now is to meet up, travel over to the Waihiki Islands together for a few days (they are off the coast near Auckland and supposed to be stunning), come back to Auckland and go from there. I am realizing now that I packed a big giant suitcase thinking that I could just plop down in one spot for the time I was here and really get comfortable, but it seems that is not the case, at least not yet. I am going to go with the connections I make and always make sure to follow the people that I feel good around rather than feeling stuck anywhere. Traveling is really a test in being open and reaching out and finding the opportunities when they present themselves. I have learned so much in just my first week of being here, and I am so much stronger and happier because of it now.
This is SUCH a long post, so thanks to all of you who read through it all! I am bad at being concise sometimes :)
Will update you again next week with more news and where I am at the moment!
Very quickly I found out that Pauanui beach where the family lives, is the smallest little town I have ever been in. There are less than 600 people living there year round and at winter time, which it is becoming now, it goes down to even less. Plus, of those people, most of them are retired, very rich white people. I was about 1 of FIVE people in their twenties living in town. Quickly I realized as well that going from the bustling city of Melbourne to a town with no one living in it would be a very uncomfortable adjustment for me. As much as I craved some space and some nature to be immersed in, I wasn't ready for such a drastic transition. Also, my first interaction with the Kiwi culture was this- lots of old people, eating lots of meat pies and cheese bread, talking about the weather and the local news, and CONSTANTLY watching crap television. I felt like I was in some strange time warp, transported to the most beautiful place I have ever been, but filled with conservative old people. Imagine a very rural town in the midwest of the states, and just plop some absolutely gorgeous mountains and beaches around it and some people with funny accents (no offense to the kiwi accent :)) and thats about what it felt like in Pauanui. I was starving for a connection of any kind. When I told the family I was homesick, they seemed a bit put off and defensive and then the Mom continued to tell me about horror stories of past au pairs...One au pair left a week before her $1000 dollar bonus from the au pair agency they hired her through, another au pair left because she had a terrible illness that was fatal if she didn't get medical attention right away, and the one that tops all the others, one au pair tried to commit suicide...red flag?! This of course, did not put me at ease anymore, so I decided that I couldn't stay in this situation. I planned to stay until June so that they had time to find another au pair and because the Mom was about to have an operation done on her ankle and I didn't want to leave them in a dire situation. Also, my dream bakery? Is more like a fast food donut/pie shop. They didn't want me to bake after all, just to wait on customers at the counter. And the stuff they do bake is all processed and from mixes or frozen. So no artisan cake making for me. I felt really let down by that part of the deal.
So in the meantime I thought of survival tactics. And I wrote to so many friends and family, seeking love and support as I am always given by all of you and am so grateful. I was ready to turn back, thinking I couldn't do this whole traveling solo thing anymore, that I wasn't strong enough. You all calmed me with wise words and advice, and here I still am in New Zealand, so yay and thank you!
I really reached out in my first week in Pauanui. I found a yoga class that I went to twice that week that saved me. The yoga teacher told me about a eco retreat called Prana that was just over the mountain in the next town over called Opoutere- rhymes with potpurri. She said they were having a full moon party that friday and I should go because there would be young people there. Oh young people, how i did miss them! So that friday, with a hand drawn map on a paper bag, I went out in search of this party. I drove and drove, on the other side of the road mind you, for what felt like ever. I came to a dirt road and kept going. It was extremely dark, no lights at all, and the car I was driving didn't have high beams. It is amazing though what you can do when you are searching for something to connect to. I drove down the tiniest little dirt road, not seeing a thing in front of me, for about 20 minutes, going up and down all around crazy mountains, unsure if I would ever reach anything at all. I was just about to turn around when I found a little house with christmas lights on it. I took my chances, got out of the car and walked straight up to the house and inside. There were two men standing in the kitchen talking and drinking tea. I said very sheepishly "hi, I'm looking for the full moon festival, do you know where it is?" The very boisterous older man came over to me and said with a huge smile, "You're it! Welcome!!" That was Walter. A Danish world traveler, care taker of the Prana eco retreat, hippi extraordinaire.
Apparently the yoga teacher got the day wrong, the festival was the NEXT night, on saturday, but here was walter and the dj for the party, just talking logistics and hanging out. They made me some tea and asked me how the hell I got there in the dark. We talked for a few hours and man it felt so good to talk to some nice welcoming people who were interested in learning about each other! I left knowing I would return the next night. As I was driving back to the family, in the other town, I thought, how crazy is my life, living here in New Zealand, all alone in the smallest conservative town, and now going to the most liberal little hippi retreat just on the other side of this mountain. Never ever could I have pictured this life for myself! I felt so much better. I went back the next night for the moon festival and met some really wonderful and interesting people. A Irish girl who lives in Australia, a Kiwi who is studying Maori herbal medicine, a photographer, a tabla player, and so many more.
Also in my first week in Pauanui I got in touch with an amazing organic farm called Wilderland. It is a totally self sustaining farm about an hour away from Pauanui on the coast, and you can volunteer there or wwoof. I contacted them and set it up so that I could come volunteer and stay for my days off the next week.
My experience there was absolutely incredible. I learned from coming to New Zealand that I really shouldn't have too much expectation or set my hopes too high. So I went with just the intention of being open to everything and everyone- and it worked! The land is beautiful and there is every kind of fruit tree and vegetable growing you can imagine. Figs, apples, oranges, mandarins, persimmons, guavas, macadamias, walnuts, avocados, fejoas (which are amazing), kiwis, pears...and those are just the trees! They grow everything, including grains like barley and even sesame seeds. They have a huge communal house with a big open kitchen which they are doing a lot of preserving in at the moment for winter- huge batches of apple compote and green tomato chutney. Huge batches of sauerkraut and dried sliced persimmons that taste like candy. It was incredible. I got my own little caravan that you could see the sun rise over the water from. Everyone living there was so incredibly friendly and grateful for any kind of help. Everyone wakes up in the morning and meets in the main hall around 8 for breakfast and a meeting. Everyone discusses the missions of the day, and tasks get divvied up. The first day I helped run the wilderland shop, where they sell honey they've collected from their bees and all of the fruits and veggies and nuts they grow. The second day I helped in the garden weeding the carrot and beet beds and watering the tomatoes. At 1 in the afternoon a big huge metal bell is rung and that means lunch is ready. The afternoons are free, whether you want to keep working on a project or go off exploring or down to a estuary for a swim. In the evening people hang out in the main hall and make dinner or read or listen to music. I made fried green tomatoes the first night I was there! No one had ever experienced anything like it haha. If only I had had some remoulade sauce to go with it!
I met some really wonderful travelers, who all were so supportive and friendly. While I was there, I got some very surprising news. I got a text from the family I was living with that they had already found an au pair replacement, that they couldn't risk me leaving sooner than I said, so I was welcome to stay with them and work in the bakery for 15 hours a week in exchange for food and accommodation, but no pay.
As much as I was grateful for that offer, I also realized that I wouldn't have to stay as long as planned which was a huge relief! On returning back from the farm, I realized that my journey here was about to take a drastic change. Instead of staying with this family for the next few months as I thought I would when I came over to New Zealand, I was going to leave that and go off traveling. So thats where I am now. I am in the midst of preparing to leave Pauanui to meet up with Judith, a German traveler who I met at Wilderland who is nearing the end of her visa here. The plan as of now is to meet up, travel over to the Waihiki Islands together for a few days (they are off the coast near Auckland and supposed to be stunning), come back to Auckland and go from there. I am realizing now that I packed a big giant suitcase thinking that I could just plop down in one spot for the time I was here and really get comfortable, but it seems that is not the case, at least not yet. I am going to go with the connections I make and always make sure to follow the people that I feel good around rather than feeling stuck anywhere. Traveling is really a test in being open and reaching out and finding the opportunities when they present themselves. I have learned so much in just my first week of being here, and I am so much stronger and happier because of it now.
This is SUCH a long post, so thanks to all of you who read through it all! I am bad at being concise sometimes :)
Will update you again next week with more news and where I am at the moment!
Sunday 28 April 2013
A photo album of Melbourne happenings and pretty people and things.
All of my friends came with me to travel. A whale sewn by one of my most talented and beautiful friends, Veronica. A Angsty made by artist extraordinaire Ursa Eyer (She sells these if anyone wants one!) and a pretty little birdie from my best friends James and Angela. Not pictured is also a turtle stone that my best friend Robyn gave me as something to remind me to stay grounded, as well as a small photo album made by my sweet friend Kristen. I am so grateful to travel with all of the love of all of my friends wherever I go.
My first hosts in Melbourne! The lovely and entertaining couple Tahnia and Win. Bushwalking we go.
I love this street artist. He/she puts these up all over the city and they are so whimsical and beautiful.
This is some rare kangaroo steak. I ate a small piece of this kangaroo steak. It tastes like beef.
This is Jade the sweet Kitty I was housemates with for my last several weeks in Melbourne.
I stayed with my wonderful friend Birdie, who has a really sweet house, with a lot of succulents on the porch and a big garden in her backyard full of cherry tomatoes and basil.
Just a girl and her bird. having a coffee before it rains.
Great Ocean Road! Its beautiful.
Such an amazing breakfast with Tahnia. Balinese black sticky rice, coconut milk, passionfruit, papaya and flowers for garnish. I would like to re create this at home.
Merri Creek, just down the street from the house I was cat sitting for.
Great Ocean Road is right along the coast. It wraps around and around. We had good weather.
A painting I like a whole lot made by one of Birdie's friends who is an artist living in Germany.
Pinata festivities with co-workers.
Melbourne in all its beauty!
Some good friends from New Orleans who happen to be living in Melbourne as well. We went to the Great ocean road together and had an adventure. We also ate jelly beans together on easter. Good times :)
One of my closest and oldest friends, Julia, who lives in Melbourne and kindly drove us to Great Ocean Road
I needed to take a picture of this because my Mom is named Penny. And what is a pouisson? The guy was sitting in the front seat with the motor running. I think you could knock on his window if you wanted to buy any of the listed meats.
Stephanie is brave. She ordered the stuffed squid with prawns. It was the last one available at the restaurant so we all took it as a sign that it was meant to be in her belly.
When Great Ocean Road turns away from the ocean, you get to see beautiful lush mountains and hills.
This is a hedgehog slice. It is broken up tea biscuits inside a fudgy like brownie with coconut and sometimes nuts. It is as good as it looks!
I wore my new orleans street car pendant when I left Melbourne to go to New Zealand. It reminds me that I have a beautiful home no matter where I am.
This is Miette. I nannied for her once a week while I was in Melbourne. She is a super cute 3 year old. Here she is reading to "baby", Miette means "sweet crumb" in French.
Melbourne has the best street art and grafitti I have ever seen.
I baked a bit while I was there. Orange and fresh fig cake.
Everyone is Australia and New Zealand eats PIE. But not pie as we know it in the States...no no, meat pies. Savory pies. These are the savory pies we served at Babka, the bakery I worked in. Bridget made silly signs for us to know what kinds there were.
Botanical Gardens in Melbourne.
I made lots of cat friends on my trip.
This is a Koala! So close I wanted so badly to pet him! But he was sleeping so, couldn't disturb.
This guy was pretty close to, and we were in luck to see him wide awake and eating! Koala's sleep for some ridiculous amount of time in the day. It is very lucky to see an active koala. They are so cute.
The cafe's in Melbourne are too cool. I want some of these bell jars in my imaginary future bakery.
The great ocean of great ocean road. we went down to the beach to feel the sand.
Fresh figs everywhere! I came at the right time.
Melbourne has some of the best coffee I have ever had anywhere. And every cafe holds themselves to that standard. Its hard to get a bad coffee in Melbourne.
More cute shop displays and more bell jars.
A whimsical flower shop.
The lentil salad at Babka- Puy lentils, tomato, cucumber, sesame seeds, dates, and seared halloumi cheese on top. So good.
Win being silly and "meditating"
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