I love the smell in the fruit chiller. So sweet and cold. Apple, apricot, plum, peach, greengage, nectarine...
I like being able to speak French at work from time to time. There are heaps of New Caledonians who come our way. But I miss being able to speak Finnish. The couple of guys (one full-Finn, one half-Finn) who lived at Jackson's and spoke Finnish have left. :(
24 February 2009
17 February 2009
Dreaming of a white Christmas
Well, slightly late now. But here is what Christmas mostly looked like for me: playing with Baxter or sitting in the sun reading. Baxter is a naughty dog by the way (as bad as the boys of the family), and very keen on chewing on my clothing!
He is the most adorable puppy anyway, broke my heart when I first saw him.
He is the most adorable puppy anyway, broke my heart when I first saw him.
13 February 2009
Friend's day
Hyvää ystävänpäivää!
Valentine's day is a waste of opportunity.
The Finns are very bad at telling their loved ones they love them or their friends they appreciate their friendship. That's why they created "Friend's day" - not simply Valentine's. Friend's day is the day to tell all your friends how much you like them, send them flowers, chocolate and heart-shaped cards, invite them over for a nice if less than romantic dinner and so on.
Another reason why Valentine's is a waste of opportunity is that only those lucky ones (are they lucky? I'm not sure of this point) with boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives, can appreciate it. What are the singles supposed to do? Either, the "love in the air" will really irritate them, because they're jealous, or it will irritate them, because they - well, it'll just irritate them. If you'd been me in fourth year secondary, you'd know why.
Anyway, friends and friends all over the world: hyvää ystävänpäivää! Let the sun shine on your day whichever group of people you belong to.
Valentine's day is a waste of opportunity.
The Finns are very bad at telling their loved ones they love them or their friends they appreciate their friendship. That's why they created "Friend's day" - not simply Valentine's. Friend's day is the day to tell all your friends how much you like them, send them flowers, chocolate and heart-shaped cards, invite them over for a nice if less than romantic dinner and so on.
Another reason why Valentine's is a waste of opportunity is that only those lucky ones (are they lucky? I'm not sure of this point) with boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives, can appreciate it. What are the singles supposed to do? Either, the "love in the air" will really irritate them, because they're jealous, or it will irritate them, because they - well, it'll just irritate them. If you'd been me in fourth year secondary, you'd know why.
Anyway, friends and friends all over the world: hyvää ystävänpäivää! Let the sun shine on your day whichever group of people you belong to.
12 February 2009
Rail trail and rain
On my first three days off, ages ago as it now seems, I went to pedal myself through about 120k's (that's Kiwi for kms) of the Central Otago Rail Trail. I had a headwind all of the way (joy), but thankfully the way was mostly downhill. Despite this, I swear that fellow cyclists coming uphill the other way were going faster than me.
On Monday I biked to Wanaka (53k's). I had a headwind again, of about 60kph. The ride took me more or less all day, and I was exhausted after it. The way back was much more enjoyable: still a headwind (the wind does not like me here. The feeling is mutual), but it was "bugger all", as my source of information put it, 7kph.
Wanaka is a lovely town, right on a lakefront. I will have to go back with my sister, to go to Puzzling World - with a giant maze and other mind-boggling puzzles to train the grey matter. On Tuesday I woke up to the sound of gentle rain on the tent roof. "Yes!" I thought, "I don't have to go anywhere!" So I sat reading A Time of Omens until three in the afternoon. It was very relaxing. After that I got moving and did a nice easy walk up Mt Iron. The views weren't clear as clear, the clouds were still hanging low. In the evening I watched the end of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, simply because it happened to be on TV and I love the soundtrack.
Something happened the other day at work that has never happened to me before. An elderly male customer said to me, "What are you doing here? You should be at school." When I told him I was 18, he said, "You don't look it." Must have been because I was smiling that day.
Another male customer asked me, as I was making him an ice cream, "You're not from Auckland, are you? Your accent's like it was from further north." Loads further north, dear customer. But I felt smug all the same. When I can fool both Poms and Kiwis (Brits and New Zealanders), I'll be satisfied.
On Monday I biked to Wanaka (53k's). I had a headwind again, of about 60kph. The ride took me more or less all day, and I was exhausted after it. The way back was much more enjoyable: still a headwind (the wind does not like me here. The feeling is mutual), but it was "bugger all", as my source of information put it, 7kph.
Wanaka is a lovely town, right on a lakefront. I will have to go back with my sister, to go to Puzzling World - with a giant maze and other mind-boggling puzzles to train the grey matter. On Tuesday I woke up to the sound of gentle rain on the tent roof. "Yes!" I thought, "I don't have to go anywhere!" So I sat reading A Time of Omens until three in the afternoon. It was very relaxing. After that I got moving and did a nice easy walk up Mt Iron. The views weren't clear as clear, the clouds were still hanging low. In the evening I watched the end of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, simply because it happened to be on TV and I love the soundtrack.
Something happened the other day at work that has never happened to me before. An elderly male customer said to me, "What are you doing here? You should be at school." When I told him I was 18, he said, "You don't look it." Must have been because I was smiling that day.
Another male customer asked me, as I was making him an ice cream, "You're not from Auckland, are you? Your accent's like it was from further north." Loads further north, dear customer. But I felt smug all the same. When I can fool both Poms and Kiwis (Brits and New Zealanders), I'll be satisfied.
01 February 2009
21 January 2009
Insane
Cromwell. Pretty place, but the town centre is very confusing, Internet is expensive, and the shared kitchen is just... yuck.
I'm living at Jackson Orchards on state highway 6, and I was wrong in my last post, Freeway Orchards, where I work, are on highway 8b. I just moved out into a tent. I like a bit of adventure. It's a real adventure, because the sprinklers go on every Wednesday, from nine in the evening till six in the morning, and everywhere gets wet.
I've also vowed to swim or at least dip in lake Dunstan every day, unless it freezes over. So far I've done well. Yesterday I worked from 1PM till 9PM and went for a dip after work. I meant to go before work, or perhaps during a longer break, but then I was too busy fixing up the tent in the morning and too busy serving ice creams at work to do so. So I went after work. It was cold, but still enjoyable. And when I feel that the water's too cold, I tell myself that it can't be any colder than the alpine river we splashed in in Tongariro. Yes, I've already been classified as "insane", amongst other compliments, such as "crazy", at work and by various other people. But good things come out of being insane; I met another swimmer, who has a horse at another orchard, and she's promised I can ride him. I call that good luck.
Work is fine, very different from my first job. Here, I'm working with girls or young women (apart from the manager, who's older, and Private, and that's not his real name), whereas on the farm I was working with men. Here, I need to smile at all times, especially when I'm annoyed. Difficult customers need the brightest of smiles. And customers need a smile even when things are stressful and the other workmates won't help out. On the farm, if I was annoyed, I could shout at the cows. Or the dogs. Or the calves, that happened once or twice. I wasn't annoyed very often though.
Now that I've been here for four months or so, I've noticed how I've changed. Some would say grown. I'm a lot more confident now, and less nervous at meeting people, employers, other employees and travellers alike. Starting a conversation with the most random of people seems quite natural in New Zealand. I wouldn't do it in Finland though. They'd send me to a mental hospital.
There are so many things that we take for granted. Like washing powder. Like a clothes line with pegs. Like internet. Like a power outlet for charging your phone. Like a wardrobe full of clothes. Like being able to lock the door behind you. Backpacking is fun, but like Joe Bennett concluded in his book The Land of Two Halves, it doesn't bring a feeling of freedom. It brings endless complications.
I haven't even had time to write in my diary for ages, and I feel bad about it. I'll soon start forgetting things that have happened.
I'm off again, working an evening shift. I'll try to get some photos uploaded at some point. This place is gorgeous, but very different to North. The hills here are all golden tussock or brown earth, with the occasional tint of snow on the mountain tops. I could spend ages just staring at it.
I'm living at Jackson Orchards on state highway 6, and I was wrong in my last post, Freeway Orchards, where I work, are on highway 8b. I just moved out into a tent. I like a bit of adventure. It's a real adventure, because the sprinklers go on every Wednesday, from nine in the evening till six in the morning, and everywhere gets wet.
I've also vowed to swim or at least dip in lake Dunstan every day, unless it freezes over. So far I've done well. Yesterday I worked from 1PM till 9PM and went for a dip after work. I meant to go before work, or perhaps during a longer break, but then I was too busy fixing up the tent in the morning and too busy serving ice creams at work to do so. So I went after work. It was cold, but still enjoyable. And when I feel that the water's too cold, I tell myself that it can't be any colder than the alpine river we splashed in in Tongariro. Yes, I've already been classified as "insane", amongst other compliments, such as "crazy", at work and by various other people. But good things come out of being insane; I met another swimmer, who has a horse at another orchard, and she's promised I can ride him. I call that good luck.
Work is fine, very different from my first job. Here, I'm working with girls or young women (apart from the manager, who's older, and Private, and that's not his real name), whereas on the farm I was working with men. Here, I need to smile at all times, especially when I'm annoyed. Difficult customers need the brightest of smiles. And customers need a smile even when things are stressful and the other workmates won't help out. On the farm, if I was annoyed, I could shout at the cows. Or the dogs. Or the calves, that happened once or twice. I wasn't annoyed very often though.
Now that I've been here for four months or so, I've noticed how I've changed. Some would say grown. I'm a lot more confident now, and less nervous at meeting people, employers, other employees and travellers alike. Starting a conversation with the most random of people seems quite natural in New Zealand. I wouldn't do it in Finland though. They'd send me to a mental hospital.
There are so many things that we take for granted. Like washing powder. Like a clothes line with pegs. Like internet. Like a power outlet for charging your phone. Like a wardrobe full of clothes. Like being able to lock the door behind you. Backpacking is fun, but like Joe Bennett concluded in his book The Land of Two Halves, it doesn't bring a feeling of freedom. It brings endless complications.
I haven't even had time to write in my diary for ages, and I feel bad about it. I'll soon start forgetting things that have happened.
I'm off again, working an evening shift. I'll try to get some photos uploaded at some point. This place is gorgeous, but very different to North. The hills here are all golden tussock or brown earth, with the occasional tint of snow on the mountain tops. I could spend ages just staring at it.
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