Moritz

ME! (Sunday at "The Ocean Beach")

Simon and Agustin

Sarah and Yuri

More bbq & Jacob's birthday

Hanging out at the bbq

Moritz and I make bread. We forgot salt, but other than that it was a good first try :)

Hola

It is Sunday again, and another week has gone by. I can’t believe it. Not only that, tomorrow is Halloween! I am very excited, but it is definitely not the same as being at home. It just so happens that today it is SO HOT outside. I’m definitely not getting the chilly, fall, leaves falling off the trees, Halloween vibe. But that is part of what is cool--I have never experienced Halloween in spring/summer before. 

They are talking about Halloween on the radio, and will play some “scary” movies on tv tonight. Other than that I will be interested to see what happens tomorrow. Halloween is on a Monday, and even if kids do trick or treat, I doubt they will come to a hostel. I guess we’ll see...

Anyway, the past week has been alright...not TOO eventful. Overall, the weather has been beautiful...so I have spent a few lovely afternoons napping and reading outside in the backyard in the sun. 

The problem is, I am out of work. Our “tree training” job was supposed to last a month. Well, we finished too quickly, and the contractor has no more work for us at the moment. The next season for work is “apple thinning” which does not start until November 15. I would REALLY like to have a job before then, but I may have no choice but to wait. 

Since I WAS working, almost everyone else at the hostel was waiting for work--so right when I finished work they ALL got work. They are doing something called “grape debugging” in vineyards (which is kind of in between tree training & apple thinning). So, it is kind of lonely at the hostel until about 5-6 pm. I am there alone with 2-4 other people during the day, depending on the day. 

We read, talk, enjoy the weather if it is good, write emails and letters, and take walks into town. Usually it is pretty nice and peaceful, and then suddenly between 4:30 and 5:30 things get crazy. EVERYONE comes home in droves with whoever their driver is. Bathrooms are ALL occupied, people want to take showers, and the kitchen begins to fill up. The music gets turned on, and the hostel is back in action. I love it when it gets to be about 7 or 8 because people are finally relaxed, took care of their business, and are eating, drinking, talking about their days, and just having a good time. 

Overall, the main news is about the weekend. Today is Jacob’s birthday, tomorrow is Halloween, and the next day is Moritz’s birthday. Therefore, the only thing to do was to have an Argentinian bbq. We wrote a note on the chalkboard that whoever wanted to participate throws 10 bucks in the bowl. With 26 people we had enough to make quite the trip to the store, buy LOTS of meat, buns, salad, and everything. Then Iris made Jacob a huge fruit cake for his birthday. Agustin was “the king of the grill” and barbecued away all night, as the rest of us ate, ate, and ate some more. However, Agustin said we all needed to come to Argentina where he could show us a REAL bbq w/ REAL fire! Afterwards we had cake, and then just sat, drinking and talking for a few hours. 

Since it was going to be Jacob’s birthday in a few hours we decided we should go out to a pub or club or something. Louisa, Hector, and I were the designated drivers. I have to admit, night life in Hastings is not the most impressive thing you have ever seen...so we headed to Napier. We started at a bar where we played pool for a while, and a few people tried Jello shots, which did not look too appealing. Then we were directed to where the “real” party scene was supposed to be. We went to this place called, “The Thirsty Whale.” There were a ton of people, and many were dressed in Halloween costumes. The club closed at 3 am, and we stayed until 3--dancing the whole time. Most of the girls looked totally slutty in their little mini skirt costumes, and I don’t think it was the best club, but at least there were people there---and we all got to have fun together. Compared to all the other people, our little backpacker group looked kind of hilarious...but we didn’t mind. We went to bed at 5 am, and still managed to make it to the beach today!

Pictures soon!

Go All Blacks and A1 Backpackers!!!

Latest

Well, things are a combination between crazy and calm around here. But first, I will start with crazy...

I am guessing many of you already know the All Blacks won the New Zealand Rugby World Cup...but if you didn’t know, now you do!!! I have to admit, I cannot believe I was in New Zealand while THEIR team won the World Cup. It is an experience I will never forget. Almost the whole hostel went to the Opera House to watch the game. Jacob stayed behind because he is claiming his tattoo is hurting his leg, so he has to rest his leg. 

We got there over an hour early and the place was filling up. It seemed full during the semi final, but that was nothing compared to the final. People were there old and young, full out face paint, Maori tattooed, All Blacks attire, brought their drums and flags and signs, and everything. I suppose there are certain “favorite” players, because when certain people came on the screen the place ERUPTED! We were there with 2 Frenchman, so I was interested to see their reactions. People were yelling the whole time, and when the score was 7-8 in the end the place was silent. Everyone was on edge, except for this one old lady sitting behind me. She was old with lots of wrinkles and white hair, had a crazy raspy voice that reminded me of some wild character in theatre, and every once in a while she would just yell, “Come on Boys!” We were the only ones who heard her for a long time because everyone else was so loud. Then in the end when it was silent, all the sudden you hear her, and she’s like, “Get em’ Boys! You can do it!” in this wild raspy old NZ accent. It made me cry it was so funny. She was so awesome.

 A few minutes later the All Blacks won the World Cup and I thought the Opera House was going to fall down. The place was insane. However, the two guys from France were the first to stand up and clap, and I thought that was pretty cool. We watched the ceremony after, and then headed back to the hostel. On the way home every car we passed honked, and we honked back. People were yelling at each other out the windows, honking, and everything. When we got back to the hostel we all just sat around with drinks, chips, and cakes we made earlier. We relaxed, celebrated, and had a great night. 

Everyone still had yesterday off because of New Zealand’s Labor Day. We all stayed on the grass in the backyard talking and reading all day because the weather was so beautiful. Then the boys decided to go play soccer in the afternoon. I said I would come along for the fun of it and to take pictures. I was expecting to just watch or maybe kick the ball a bit. We started out in a circle kicking the ball to each other. There was a group of other guys playing soccer near by. Somehow some of them started talking to a couple of our hostel guys on the other side of the circle, and the next thing I know they wanted to play a full on game. I was scared out of my mind, and didn’t want to play. But all the guys were like, “Come on. Just try.” So, I thought, what the heck. 

Somehow, there I was...in New Zealand, playing on a soccer team with people from Argentina, Brazil, Korea, Spain, Germany, and France against an entire team of people from Figi. Pretty crazy. However, I think it was so awesome. Yuri, from Brazil, was still changing clothes---so we left without him. When he ran onto the field everyone was like, “Yeah, Brazil! We’ve got a Brazilian soccer player on the team!” And they were cheering. Then when we actually started playing and when someone got a goal people would say, “Goal, Espana!” or whatever country they were from...or “Argentina!” “France!” etc.  

People were passing, and telling each other to pass in different languages. It was so much fun. I started out feeling like the biggest wimp. Me out there with a bunch of guys trying to play soccer seemed kind of stupid. I felt so awkward and really embarrassed. About 2 hours later I was running around like crazy, and going for it. I have to admit, I don’t think I helped the team too much. I did kick the ball a few times in the right direction, but usually I was just running back and forth trying to keep up with this huge guy from Figi. He was the biggest person on the team, and there I was trying to block him. By the end no one knew what the score was, and were completely exhausted. We were all sweating like crazy, and now I have a tanned outline of where my watch was. The French guys even thanked me for playing. They are funny. Then we all went back, showered, and today most everyone went to work. 

That is why things are quiet. A few others start tomorrow, but they went to the beach. I would have joined them, but they were all German, and they will speak German, so I wasn’t really thinking it would be that fun. Everyone will get back around 4:30 or 5. I will have to see how their work went today. Nonetheless, the weather here is awesomely beautiful. So, I am enjoying the outdoors.

More later!

And I keep forgetting to mention...at least half the people I see around her don’t wear shoes. They don’t wear shoes on the street, in the supermarket, McDonalds or anything. Not everyone, but still...it is interesting. 

The Boys and I Playing Soccer at a Nearby Park

 You can see me in the picture of the group. I am the shadow!!!

Pretty Amazing...

Pool

The first picture is of our newest member, Mauritz...from Germany of course. The other picture includes Agustin from Argentina and Yurey from Brazil. They were playing as a team, and concentrating very hard. Later the two of them helped me and added me to their team. {We won. More like they won though:)} I needed some coaching. The last picture is Thomas from France with Emily (in my room) from Belgium!

Tattoo Time

Sunday Afternoon

Good afternoon,

Well, it is a typical Sunday afternoon here in Hastings. It looked sunny and gorgeous this morning, and we are already covered in clouds by the afternoon. I am hoping it will clear up more later. 

This weekend has been quite crazy, and exciting. It has been a holiday weekend, so we all have had Friday and Monday off. Therefore, everyone in the hostel has been here together in the same place at the same time. Also, because the weather has not been great we have kind of been stuck inside. So there has been a lot of talking, cooking, game playing, competitions of who can build the tallest towers, movies, and overall hanging out together. 

Agustin, who is from Argentina, has already been in NZ about 5 months, and plans to be here another 8 months or so. He is really good at speaking English, but wants to improve more. So, we have made a deal that he learns 5 new English words a day, and I learn 5 new Spanish words a day. It is easier for me to learn 5 new Spanish words, and then answer 5 questions about English for him because he already knows a lot of words. 

Anyway, yesterday we began our list. Somehow this began attracting people to watch, and by the end we had a crowd. 

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION!!! (but it’s part of the story......

This Spanish-English list began with words like “pot,” “pan,” “peanut butter,” “actually,” and some others...and a few hours later we had a list of how to say “Shit” and “F*** You” in

English

German

Chinese 

Mandarin

Portuguese 

Spanish    (Spain & Argentina) 

French      and

Korean

I am the youngest person here at the hostel. So, I guess it shows even amongst adults there still lies many levels of immaturity. However, I have to admit, by the end it was pretty hilarious. We learned bad words in every language, along with the words, “Don’t go.” So if someone was about to leave the room, you could yell, “Don’t Go! Son of a bitch!! in whatever language that person spoke. And considering there are so many languages, people were cursing in Chinese to people who speak Spanish, or cursing in French to people speak German. It was pretty ridiculous. However, after a few days of rainy weather I guess it gave us some entertainment. 

I apologize for taking this even further, but the all time favorite of the evening was the “F*** You” translation from Spanish. It was the longest one, which literally translated to something like, “I am going to put my finger in the ass.” I don’t know why it was so funny. That was one of the winners I believe. 

Well, now that that is over I can end this blog post with something a little less extreme. The other day on the orchard I told Jacob I loved to try new drinks (not meaning alcohol), and that I could “drink till the cows come home.” Apparently they do not use that expression in Hong Kong, and after I explained it, he thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. Now he uses it ALL the time, and it cracks me up. However, the best part is that he’ll say something like, “I can eat kiwi till the cows come home.” Then after he has finished his kiwi, he looks at me and says, “The cows are home.” He also LOVES the show “Friends.” He once told me he could talk about “Friends” till the cows come home, and that there are A LOT of cows. We talked about the TV show and the characters for a while, and when the conversation started to wind down, he says, “Rala, the cows are coming home.” It is just so hilarious I can’t even describe it.

On a separate note, Jacob asked me once on the orchard if my parents or friends had nicknames for me. I explained the story of how I used to call myself “Giga Rala” and how Mom still calls me “Rala.” Jacob has now decided my name is RALA full time. Imagine him saying it in his Chinese accent too. It is pretty great! 

Jacob also went through with it, and got his tattoo. I will post pictures later. I will also post pictures from last night. We went out to a pub to play pool. It was so funny because the drinking age here is 18, and we all had to show ID before entering. We had a line of 10 people or so who’s ID’s were passports from all over the world. It was pretty cool. 

That’s all for now....

Oh, All Blacks v France final tonight. YIKES! 

The French and their Towers

This creation was built yesterday by Ben. Ben is from France, and the guy sitting on the chair next to him is his friend Thomas...also from France. The "s" in Thomas is silent in the French pronunciation...so it actually sounds like Thoma.

 In the first picture, Neil is in the background. Cindy runs the backpacker, and Neil is her husband. They come in to check, get your weekly fee, clean, talk about work, and bring clean sheets every once in a while. 

Anyway, this began as a game of Jenga. Then the Jenga pieces turned into the building of this tower. We joked this is what the French do when they get bored, and that is why they have the Eiffel Tower. 

It got higher and higher until it was taller than Ben himself. He said he was too nervous and had become too small to go any further, so he stopped there. The yellow bottle towards the top is what I contributed. It was mine, filled with lemonade, and I finished it just in time to add to the tower.