House Buses and Vests: A month later

Alrighty, so you know the dealio with having limited internet time ever since I left my darling laptop (how I miss it, but how I cannot carry it) with an equally darling (two) friends... well, we're still in that dealio. It's like a canoe. Aaaand it's sinking. Don't judge me, I know that was terrible, I'm tired.

So I thought I'd make a list, because, hey, I owe y'all, and hey, I only really have about 10 minutes...

1. I've been getting really into vests. Wearing funky vests over t shirts, stuff like that. I credit this fashion faux pas to my dear friend Ximena from New York--she made vests sexy. So far, I think I just look like Annie Hall, but if I can't be sexy, I'll settle for quirky.

2. Where have I been? Oh you know... around. Apple Thinning (blech) while living out of a tent for two weeks, making not that much money and now currently burning through it like incense, down to Westport, met back up with Molly, down through Arthur's Pass (EFFING BEAUTIFUL) to Christchurch, then to this tiny little mostly french village (I know, you say to yourself, French? Yes French) at the corner of this inlet on the bluest of blue blue ocean bays I have EVER seen. "On an island in the blue bay..." The street names and places are in French, there are French people, and there is French food. I am currently working for accomodation (no, I'm not building my own bed, I'm just making other peoples) at this adorable pink (yes pink) backpackers called Chez La Mer (or, Sea House.) It's adorable. Tonight, because I am early, they don't have a bed for me till tomorrow, so I shall sleep majestically in.. a hammock. Yes please.

I am writing, and I am reading. Just finished (hey where did the list go?) The Time Traveler's Wife (pretty good, not earth shaking, but I still recommend it, especially if you like romance) and am now moving on to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm pumped.

My Momma is coming to visit soon, and I have planned the trip all out for her... The only thing I need is... a car. Which I am in the process of procurring. More on this soon. Hopefully. I want to get a cute roomy but little car, and paint Daisy Fay on the side, from the book Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg (author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe) because Daisy Fay was dammmn spunky. And so am I, sweet Alabamy.

Still haven't pierced my nose yet--but I'ma gonna. Molly, Cole and I met a really cool guy who showed us his... drum roll... house bus! So cool! I got to sleep in it! (He let us stay) And eat in it and everything. I listened to oldies music in the damn thing. It was rockinnnn. Dude. Now I know what I want for my birthday. Or Christmas 2011. Heya Santa....

Bought the movie Juno because I have been DYING to watch it, and I figured this hostel (like 95% of them) would have a dvd player and a tv... it doesn't. Well, the boss does, in her office. I better become her friend soon, I really want to watch Ellen Page say, "I'm on my hamburger phone." Marry me, Ellen.

After my Mom's visit I'm pretty sure I'll need to find some work. I'd really like to not work until March, and I'd like to travel around the south for the last two weeks of Feb, but it unless Mom is feeling particularly generous before she flies away, I will be rather broke as a bloke out of tokes (bad joke.) Hopefully I will have a car by then, but paying for gas will probably max out my credit card, which I now regard as an inevitability. But it's only 2,000 (very small in the big shadows of debt world) so I'm not too worried about paying it off... but I am, a bit. Eh, I'll make it all work. I'll get work as soon as possible, and then maybe travel some in March or April, even if it is cold (it'll be cold, ugh.) Then my plan is to still fly to Oz and Samoa or Fiji, then back, then home. But who knows?! Not I, sandfly.

Well, that's the sitch, Mario. This Luigi's gonna go make herself some dinner before she bundles up and gets cozy in the hammock--or perhaps they'll have a bed (they're waiting on some guy to show up and if he doesn't, yahtzee for me)--life is apparently a game of chance.

UPDATE: So, Karma must be mad at me. Yesterday, the money machine ate my credit card, so all plans to purchase a car have been put on hold. I had a bit of a freak out, but this morning, everything is coming up roses. Literally, since I got a job doing a bit of gardening.

Love you all to pieces,
Sarah

Eating Pumpkin Seeds in the Nelson Public Library.

Isn't it funny that pumpkin seeds are green? You'd think they'd be orange and slightly eery looking.

To business.

Well, I made it to the Rainbow Gathering--spent 7 days living out of a tent, bathing in a waterfall (and washing my hair in a bucket), pooing in what was termed a 'shitpit'--dude, it was totally a moat, not a pit, twas a big dug trench in the ground--, singing and om-ing and spending almost all of my time around a campfire talking to fellow travelers, (learning how to make one big trip around the world, talking to a woman who spend three months in Pakistan by herself!) and trying to avoid some of the hippie purists. There are extremists everywhere.

Things I've learned:

1. Never ever ever am I taking acid. The guy camping next to me had this violent, scary as shit trip and that was enough for me. Not that it had ever been on my quote unquote bucket list, but now it's damn sure never making it on.

2. Trust my instincts. Even if I hate them.

3. Conversely, there is such a thing as being *too* careful.

4. ...I'm not a hippie. I have hippie tendencies, (I like hippie chic, I like the social justice aspect) but I am not a full blown one. I like to bathe at least somewhat regularly, I prefer shaven legs, I like soap, I appreciate nature but I don't worship it, I don't really believe in crystals, (though I have a moonstone that is a 'traveler's stone' and stands for new beginnings that I'm partial too) or any form of paganism, I have no real desire to meditate no matter how good it probably would be for me, and I don't care if sunscreen or bugspray is evil, I'm using them.

5. Conversely, I learned a lot about all the things I think I need, that I really don't. But I have a hard time walking past an 'op shop' (second hand store) and not leaving with a new sweater or skirt. I no longer horde books, however. But I am reading like a maniac.

6. My ipod is not one of those things I can live without. I need that. At Rainbow, I missed that.

7. Being a lesbian woman like myself, with my characterists and preferences towards independence, selected isolation, and opting out of the party scene, will very likely be a bit lonely this lifetime.

8. David Mitchell is an incredible writer. See more below.

9. I miss acting. And I am THRILLED about this. This means I am healing from my last four years, and remembering that I love the art form and craft of performing separate from a certain destructive social dynamic.

10. Pushing myself to do something will probably make me miserable.

11. I am impatient.

12. I turn into a HUGE baby when I'm hungry, cold, or tired. Worse when it's all three. Thus, the wilderness living was rough.

13. Annie Hall and Being John Malkovich are excellent films.

14. I have some serious librarian tendencies. Also, I want to work as a book editor sometime. I also am an excellent book reviewer, and I know it. Knowing I'm good at something is key. It isn't pretentious to let a potential employer or partner know this. Turns out the 'go confidence' camp of folks was right.

15. I'm getting my nose pierced. And I *really* want a tazer for when I travel around the world by myself, which I'm going to do in 2011.

Alright, enough of that list. The point is this, I went to the Rainbow Gathering--traveling all the way with my friend Molly--and met along the way some of the most incredibly kind individuals I have ever ever met. My faith in people and human kindness has been completely renovated. The gathering itself was really quite an experience, and I am really really glad I went. I enjoyed it, but I was also really very ready and happy to leave. Being back in society is both a blessing and a curse. Things cost money here, but I really enjoy the nature/city balance. So where am I now, you ask? I am in Nelson City, bumming around for a few days till after New Years, and then I am searching rapidly and rabidly for seasonal work (aka fruit picking) in the surrounding areas, or going to Blenheim for vineyard work, or hitting up a connection I may have in Dunedin, or going up to Takaka to apply for a job at this really kickass cafe called the Wholemeal Cafe (Takaka is AWESOME) and then hopefully working at a festival called Luminate so I can get in for free. Basically, trying to make money so that after my mom's visit in Feb, I can take to the roads, traveling again all over the South Island, by myself or with some merry company if the opportunity presents itself. I am currently CRAVING a big traveler's van that I can put a bed and stuff in the back of. I want one SO bad. Anyway. Ideally, Mary, April, May I will get a steadier job, and then make my way to Australia for a month or so, then back to NZ (or maybe to Fiji?) and then home. Which reminds me--I definitely have to move my plane ticket to september (they couldn't book that far advance) and I have to find a way to do my taxes from New Zealand. Headache, yes, but I can do it. I can do anything.

My New Year's resolution is to learn to stop apologizing for myself. I've already made some progress. I've been wanting to do this for years and years, but something finally clicked. It's damn well time.

I am traveling with a German named Fabian, a guy from Australia named Cole, and a guy from Southern England named Sam. Fabian has a car, which is pretty helpful. We're a good group. This entry is REALLY scattered.

I've recently gotten into reading work by a British author named David Mitchell. I read his book Black Swan Green and it was quite possibly one of the best books I have read in the last 10 years. Actually, not quite possibly--positively. I'm now reading his book Ghostwritten and I'm already excited. He's most famous for Cloud Atlas. If you're a reader you must must MUST read these books. I've also got a Kafka book that I'm moving onto after that. Books, yum.

Which brings me to my next issue--there's a movement out that I discovered (I can't remember the website, but it's out there somewhere) called READ THIS BOOK: Reading Around The System, or RATS. The slogan is Be the RAT, which means to be someone who is part of the movement. This is all you have to do:

when you finish reading a book, open up the front cover. Write:

"read
this
book

and leave in public place." (i'm pretty sure you have to write it in that format, but i suppose it doesn't really matter?)

then you write underneath it: Your Name, the RAT.

And then guess what you do? (This is so crazy but cool, I'm so excited about it.) You ditch the book. ANYWHERE. The idea is to promote literacy by reading around the system--the system being the monetary exchange of money for books, and it also declutters personal libraries. Liberate your personal books, and someone else will pick them up, read them, and then pass them on. It's sort of like that movie Pay it Forward. Anyway, my friend Molly's friend Katie found out about it, and so I'm doing my best to pass it on completely.

Anyway, I think that's about it for me.... Christmas was good, but uneventful. Not festive enough for me, really. Well, the sun is coming out, and my computer time is running out....

if you read this crazy broken entry, congrats. I didn't mean to jump from subject to subject...

Happy New Year all you crazies--I love you each.

Be a rat,
Sarah

All You Need is Love: Life in Wilderland

If you hate spiders, you should probably not come here. If you need to shower and shave every day, you should probably not come here. If you love the taste of steak and can’t live without it on a weekly basis, you should probably not come here. If you need constant internet and have a favorite weekly television show, you should (you guessed it) probably not come here. If you need a toilet that flushes, an electric stove, a dish washer, cubed ice, soda, guaranteed hot water showers, water that’s bottled or purified, a microwave, a clothes dryer, alcohol and/or cigarettes, marijuana, (and any other substances even more illegal), indoor heating, air conditioning, a bathtub, clean nails; and if you have an aversion to peeing in the bushes—you should probably, really, honestly, and sincerely not come here.

A few days ago my friend Josh (another Wwoofer--Willing Workers on Organic Farms) asked me quite earnestly, "So. When did you discover you were a hippie?" Good question, Josh. I suppose I've always had an inner hippie...

Funnily enough, the main people who run Wilderland at the moment don't identify as 'hippies'--and they aren't, but they are fascinating, determined, and all around excellent individuals. Shaki and Avner are a married couple from Israel with two lovely (and hilarious) little girls, and they care deeply about making a life outside the typical expected system. From what I understand, they wanted to break the cycle most people get stuck in in their life--working and working and working to afford a place in a world that expects us to keep working until we die. They felt that there must be something better... so they bought tickets to New Zealand and embarked on an adventure--a quest, if you will... and eventually settled down here in Wilderland, keeping it going after the previous residents had retired. Avner and Shaki oversee everything along with a man named Russel because they are all residents--they deal with all the official work of the markets and marketing, sale of honey, land issues, etc, etc. There is plenty more to it than that, but I don't know the details because I'm simply passing through. It's a lot of work to be a full time resident, and although I admire them greatly--I don't envy them their workload. Truly inspiring people, though.

Sustainable living takes a lot of work, but when I look around at the place where we all live right now--it seems truly worth it. There are gardens and orchards all over, and if you want a salad--you can go pick it. Carrots, snap peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, silver beet, rocket, mescuna, spinach, turnips.... you name it. For fruit, there are heaps and heaps of tangelos (a cross between tangerines and oranges--amazing, and the juice is honestly I kid you not the best juice I've ever had. Liquid. Sunshine. Liquid. Happiness), tangerines, mandarins, plums, apples, loquats, lemons, goldfruit (a sweeter kind of grape fruit), and avocados. They also grow nuts (do people 'grow nuts'?) and keep bees and bee hives. Wilderland is famous for their honey, and it's well deserved. I recommend the Manuka Honey--very good, and it has some medicinal qualities. People do some flax weaving too, and there's a current candle making enterprise taking off in hopes to bring in further income.

Here's a typical day:

8 o'clock we can do morning warm-ups (of the tai chi variety) with J.P. (from Israel, he's hilarious.)
8:30 is when we all meet in the hall and have porridge made from rolled oats, water, raisins (and I like to put peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon in mine.)
9:00 we start work. We can go to Hena Hena--a place of large garden beds and primarily tangelo and avocado trees. We work there digging beds, weeding beds, composting and putting mulch on the beds.... harvesting tangelos and avocados, raking left over grass clippings... pretty much whatever needs to be done. Other jobs we do usually take place at other gardens--the Hot House garden, and so on. It's pretty much the same kind of stuff, but we move around some times. Once a week, I work at the Wilderland Shop, which is a really cute little shop off the side of the road that sells honey and fresh organic produce... as well as freshly squeezed tangelo juice (squeezed by me.) Also once a week (unless there are a lot of people and I manage to weasel out of it... like this week, hopefully--sue me) I am responsible for cooking a big lunch for everyone here. Last Friday, I cooked vegetable curry, brown rice, salad (with home made citrus dressing) and a fruit salad with coconut. FOR 13 PEOPLE. It was rather successful, though the curry was a bit spicy. Some people liked this, others, not so much. Regardless, it was quite an accomplishment....
1:00 We stop work for the day (when we hear the loud lunch bell... or rather lunch gong) and head in towards the Hall for a big communal lunch. Our meals here consist of loads of veggies, beans and lentils, brown rice, raw sugar and organic honey, herbal tree, fruit (especially citrus right now, as it's in season...) and the occasional potato. Also, every two or three days someone makes fresh brown bread, and we go through that so quickly, it's ridiculous. But, well, it's very good! We have a refrigerator for individual food--for instance, I have my own rice milk, and when someone goes to the store, I like to get apples, or kiwi fruit, or tomatoes. I spend very little money here, but some gets spent because of special requests to the store--like for things like bug spray (I am getting EATEN up here) or...less necessary things... like dark chocolate. Cough.

After this... the day is free. I've spent afternoons doing crafty things (making a wall hang out of bamboo, string, gold foil, keys, shells, and purple ribbon that read Aroha--which is Maori for 'Love'. I gave this to my housemate at the time, Ilana as a going away present because she and three other close friends are going to buy some acres on the West Coast of NZ and name it Aroha... Ilana was seriously awesome. Still is... but she left, sadly. It's the traveler's curse--meeting cool people but having to say goodbye...) I've been reading a lot too. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Pigeon (weird book), Little Johnny's Confessions (a book of poetry) and I am currently halfway through An Unexpected Light (Travels in Afghanistan) by Jason Elliot. I've spent a good amount of time making my living space my own, and for about two days I completely reorganized the Wilderland library--I made a cool Library sign out of canvas and glued on teal string, and then I redid all the labeling as well. It looks badass now, and Shaki and Avner were thrilled. I had dust in my nose for quite some time after, however... I've done some kayaking (always an adventure--I went yesterday and almost got stuck when the tide went in...oops. But I got quite the arm work out!) I wander, I read, I occasionally check my email, I explore, I talk to people, I listen to music...

That's a typical day.

On the Wilderland property, there are loads of houses (or more like Cabins), and I'm living in the Magnolia House because it's right next to a Magnolia tree. I absolutely ADORE the name of our house, and I also adore the house itself. It's wooden, dusty, and beautiful. I have a double bed that looks out through the windows out onto our porch that looks out over the whole property, including the ocean. Everything is so incredible green--and the pathway to the Magnolia house is pretty much canopied by trees bent over each other--it looks magical. It can get cold at night, and there are rats running around under the house and on the roof at night, but by day, it's not a problem.

Yesterday, I had to empty our compost toilet. That was hard core. And... kinda gross, but perhaps not as bad as I expected.

The shower here is communal, and sharing between so many people is hard... which pretty much means that most of us smell... some worse than others. I'm getting used to lots of smells, including my own. I'm getting used to dirt permanently under my fingernails, and not caring, because what am I going to do about it? I've got sun kissed skin, and my acne has been clearing up for the most part... I pee in the bushes all the time here. You know how they say that the bedroom floor is a shelf? Well, that idea can be changed to--the whole world is a shelf--so many places to put things. And then take it further from there to... the whole world can be a toilet. I'm getting a lot better, too. I don't fall over anymore... ;-)

The group of people here is pretty excelent. Occasionally I'll hear some what I like to call 'preaching' by some folks passing on through (people don't really stay here more than 3 weeks, unless they want to try for residency, like a lovely young Australian named Luna is doing) about yada, yada, yada. 95% of the people here are completely cool ALL the time... but occasionally, you can get some real pious few who are just as bad as "the man" they are against. Luckily, all those folks are gone at present....

Anyway....Wilderland has a good amount of wwoofers--Myself (USA-IL), Maria (Germany), Clara (Germany), Andy (UK), Tony (UK), Luna (Australia) Johnny (USA-Seattle), Molly (USA-Connecticut), Josh (NZ), Zach (USA-New York)... Ilana (Israel, France, UK, NZ) was here for two weeks, and there was Jim, an older man from the States who believed strongly in the power of homemade yogurt, and a man named Mike also from the States who (I've got to be honest here) really did not strike my fancy whatsoever. He didn't have much worth sharing, but he said it loudly. And he was also rather racist. I was not sad to see Mike go... Too honest? Perhaps, but I'm not apologizing.

Maria and Molly are considering taking off this weekend, and I intend to stay for a bit, but I'm really hoping to travel with either Molly or Josh around mid-December to a BIIIIIIG hippie event in the South Island called Rainbow Gathering. Apparently they are very popular in the States, but this is the first one here. I would go for a week, and then head up to Auckland for Christmas... we'll see what happens! I really do love Wilderland, but you know me, full of Wanderlust. Plus, Ilana gave me a long list of cool things to explore in the South Island. Around February, I intend to load up on actual backpacking supplies, and just going full throttle backpacking--I want to backpack through both islands, fruit picking, wwoofing, etc for money along the way. I plan to camp and the like at approved campsites.... should be fun :) And then ideally, in around April or March, I'd like to go to Australia to see my friend Chloe, in Melbourne. I intend to check out Melbourne and Sydney... and then I have *no* idea. But I'll probably stay North, because in the USA summer months, it will be wintery here, and we all know how Sarah feels about cold....

So that's my life right now :) I'm going to try and put up my pictures on photobucket or something... but if you're my facebook friend, check out all the pictures I took of Wilderland and the cool people I reside with.

Ah yes, and how could I forget? The Beatles are very popular at Wilderland. This is in part because they are simply awesome, and because the two little girls here--Zoe and Anna--LOVE them, and are particularly partial to All You Need is Love and Yellow Submarine, both of which they get someone to play daily if they can manage it. The girls like to alter the lyrics too--things like, All You Need is Glove, All You Need is Avocado... you get the picture. Anna is actually rather incredible--she can keep pitch like you wouldn't believe. And, um... she's THREE.

Well, I'm going to go see if I can get photo bucket working for y'all...

All is well here--and hopefully your lives are full and brimming with Aroha.

If you ever get down, remember...
all you need is glove.

I'm Off to the See the Wizard...

that title isn't really appropriate. I'm not off to see any wizard, but I am off. If I meet a wizard on the way, all the better.

This can't be long--I am currently chilling in Steve's room for my last night in Auckland. We had a HELLA awesome day. Walked all along the coast, starting in Takapuna and ending up in Devonport. We found a rope hung from a tree and swung from the rocks--and took awesome pictures. I also forged my way through the ocean to conquer some epic free standing rocks.

Anyway--tomorrow I am off to the Wilderland Intentional Community up in the Coromandel, and I am buzzing with excitement. I have loads of packing and tying of loose ends to do tonight, but Steve and I are also going to watch Arrested Development and Buffy, because get this--I'm leaving my Buffy at his place. I figure, I don't want to be glued to my laptop while I'm immersing myself in wilderness. Learning is about sacrifice, right? Maybe not, but I'm doing it anyway...

I've been taking a lot of risks (good risks, climbing trees, trying to ride unicycles, etc) and discussing things like fate, universal energy and God, etc.

In summary, I love my New Zealand life.

But, I may be rather incommunicado for the next few weeks/months. I'll have my phone and computer (for writing, I've got projects saved) but I doubt there will be wireless, SO if you message me and I seem to be flaking, I'm probably just climbing a tree somewhere or picking fruit or harvesting honey. But I will eventually get back to you.

I love you all!

PostSecret says it all.

Packing and Cleaning are boring.... blogging is less so.

Things I will Miss in Wellington:

• The Curry2Go shop. Oh, temptation.
• The Petone Artisan Spring
• Korokoro Walking Tracks
• Pak N Save bread--cheap as.
• The Riverside Market
• The kids: Bhaavia (Beady), Yasheka, Fionn, Jamie, Mikayla, Summer, Toby, Joey, Kiera, Emma, Annaliese tickling me all the time (from the Holiday program), Ribena, Kate, Peter, Dylan never eating his sandwich, Luka Bazooka, Kezia and I always beeing cold, Katie and how she is growing up too fast, JC and his teddy bear, Nadia, Jackie, Callahan sitting in the window and getting really excited when Jasmine gave him Nerds, and all the other kids of course.
• My co-workers: Jasmine, Terri, Adam, Jordyn, Carol, Sheila
• Jordyn laughing whenever I swore because he thought is was funny
• Carol and her hands full of rings and her obsession with pink
• Finding out on my last day that over half of the people employed at my work were Mormon and being flabbergasted
• Helpings the kids with their spelling
• Playing Freeze with the kids
• Playing Frankenstein with the kids
• The Foosball tournament: Melissa winning, Toby losing and crying, Summer comforting her brother and making me miss mine.
• Singing happy birthday to a kid with the other kids even though it was never together or in tune
• How well my job payed (just being honest)
• Going to see the Wellington Improv Troupe (WIT) perform at The Fringe Bar
• Cuba Street
• Norma Blue cafe and their chai latte's.
• During the Holiday program how the kids could NEVER figure out any of the pre-planned art projects so we just did something else.
• My space heater
• Jackson Street
• Flax Cafe's juices
• Running by the ocean and the smell of fish and sand
• The dock
• Seeing the moon in the day time. It looked like a round cloud.
• Jasmine saying "that's not normal," "f**king fruitcake" or that she's "unsure!"
• Our day at Paraparaumu and the CRAZY Perfumery lady
• Afternoon tea, and eating the left over food
• Bats Theatre
• Courtenay Place
• Wasabi Sushi on Cuba Street
• Walking around Wellington late at night searching for a bus stop, full of fear that I'd get mugged
• Kids holding my hand
• Fionn taking me Alien Hunting, pointing out imaginary AlienNeutrons and New Zealand Snakes
• Playing Superheroes with the kids and always being Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Joey always wanting to be 'Goop' (whomever that is) and counteracting EVERYTHING with "Well, I have all the powers possible, so you can't do anything to me/that." Me trying to explain that if he had no weakness, there was ZERO point in playing the game.
• My efforts being wasted on the above explanation.
• Doing art with the kids. The kids telling me I was a good artist.
• Jasmine saying, "F**k you, you are a good artist."
• Imali drawing a picture of a girl alien and drawing a speech bubble that read, "I kissed a girl and I liked it." Jasmine telling her to give it to me. Me cracking up.
• Mikayla thinking I was rich because I was an actor.
• Bhaavia thinking that me only having 200 dollars to my name made me "rich."
• Eran driving me NUTS with his talk of body functions and talking toilets.
• Playing "singing in the rain" with the kids
• My bed even though it was crappy on my back
• Yoga in Wellington, even if I only went once
• Kids telling me they have my same water bottle almost everyday, as if they forgot they had already told me this three times that week.
• Bhaavia telling me that Barack Obama was the King of America, and when I corrected her and said we had no Kings or Queens, her telling me that Michael Jackson had been our King.
• That guy who sold me coffee in the NZ Unique shop who was really friendly and who told me about the hidden grocery store (Middle Eastern and South African goods I think) and who told me about the Riverside Market
• Running through the train station with 30 kids to make a train and falling to my knees while running and skidding across the floor. Owwwwwww.
• The 'buskers'--street musicians--at the market.
• Steve coming to visit me in Wellington.
• Steve and I singing to the Bonnie Tyler 'Literal Version' youtube video at about 3 in the morning even when my flatmates were asleep.
• Rude bus drivers
• Nice bus drivers
• Bus drivers who drove like MANIACS and made me want to vomit
• Trying to keep the kids from playing in the bushes
• Giving up on keeping the kids from playing in the bushes
• Playing with the kids in the bushes
• The actual school banning playing in the bushes and having an assembly about it
• Finding this out
• Having to put kids in time out for playing in the bushes
• The kids playing "Vampires" but they shot each other instead of 'sucking blood.' Me trying to explain that vampires don't use guns, because they have fangs. Dur.
• Eran trying to eat me because he was a Zombie, and me telling him, "Nope, I'm Zombie-immune," just to be difficult.
• Cheering up Peter when really mean kids had picked on him at school.
• Bhaavia always noticing my tiny ounce of patronization/sarcasm when I was trying to keep my temper with Michelle and giggling quietly.
• Bhaavia telling me I was her favorite teacher.
• Seeing 500 Days of Summer with Jo. Telling everyone after that how much I loved that movie.
• Accidentally dropping my tray of food on a really rude French couple at the food court. The man demanding I clean off his bag with a napkin because he couldn't do it himself. Me wishing I knew how to say "bite me" in French. And also thinking, "Wow, way to fulfill your stereotype, douchebag. It was an accident. Do accidents not happen in France?"
• Not being able to walk past Sushi of Japan in the mall without buying at least a seaweed salad
• Summer and Mikayla being 'too cool' to play the games I played with the kids (Singing in the Rain, Frankenstein, Peel Banana, Boom Chicka Boom, etc.) Me telling Mikayla that if she wanted to be a director of films (she does) she should get used to games like these because they're all theatre games. Her looking stunned and thoroughly corrected. Ha!
• Summer being a tiny adult. Seriously, she's so grown up. And sassy.
• 5 year old adorable Emma always being too afraid and too tiny to play ANY games and always having the following exchange with her:
  Emma (looking like she's about to cry): "Sawah... Sawah... I, I, I, Sawah... I don't--"
  Me: "It's okay, Emma, you don't have to play."
  Emma: "Sawah...tell Jasmine that I don't..."
  Me: You don't need to tell Jasmine, Emma, because you told me, and I promise it's fine." Emma: "...Jasmine!"
• Terri giving me rides to work
• The awesome psychiatrist who ended up being gay himself and talking to me about the culture, feeding my need for community, and how it seems I came here looking for something more than just an overseas experience. He told me he hoped my year turns out to be everything I don't expect.
• Refusing to play tag no matter how many times the kids tagged me. "Sorry, Sarah doesn't run."
• That time Jordyn slammed his hand in the door and him practically passing out on the floor from pain and having to call the ambulance (which is free here, get with the program America) and Jasmine and I being like, "Great, Jordyn's dying." Trying to keep it from the kids. Jordyn was fine. Making fun of him after that.
• Rehearsing with WIT
• Walking through the Pak N Save parking lot and listening to We Beseech Thee from Godspell and feeling really blessed suddenly--bringing me almost to tears.
• Going swimming with the kids and always being cold. Doing the "flying fox."
• Fionn singing at the pool while he was floating and making his mouth like an 'o' pretending to be an (I have no idea what this is) earth tribal head or something?
• Jack being really good at freeze.

Farewell, Windy Welly.

Oi. It's been a while, eh?

I can't believe it's been almost exactly a month since I've updated this bloggy blog. Here's the deal though--I need to go make myself some bean and rice burritos for dinner, and then I have a skype date with Steve, and then I need to send in some poetry to an online journal, and then I have to sleep early to get up on time for a doctor's appointment. SO. I will update this for real later--but here's my most recent email update that covers the main points of what I've been up to. Peace!

*
Let's skip the small talk, eh?

New Zealand slang is pretty hilarious. I have no doubt that American slang is also a hoot (case in point, 'hoot'), but I would like to share with you some of the quirky slang I have heard while on this island. First of all, 'eh' after every sentence is very common. It's almost annoying, eh? Turns out, it's not just a Canadian thing, eh? See, I told you. Kind of annoying, eh? But charming. Eh.

Munted: destroyed, or for those of us who swear, 'fracked'.
Wop-wops: The middle of nowhere. As in "out in the wop-wops." I've heard it.
Tiki-tour: Driving around for no reason, exploring, taking the long way, killing time by wandering.
Hundies: Hundreds
Shrapnel: Coin change (well, I've only heard one person say it, but she's pure new zealand.)Plaster: band-aid
Sweet as bro: Cool, kickin', right on. It's said more than you can possibly imagine.
_____ as: You can put anything in front of 'as' and it just means, quite _____. Examples: Easy as, cheap as, awesome as, cold as, etc. VERY common. It's even on billboards and signs and the like.
Knackered: Tired
Gap it: Gotta run. As in, I gotta gap it.
Throw a wobbly: throw a tantrum
Hundreds and Thousands: Sprinkles
Pokies: slots (gambling)

That's all for now... but there's more. This is just what I can remember.

Anyway, I've been working at the After School Fun Club for about a month now. The Holiday Program--where the kids were on break and went to the program for 2 weeks from 8 to 6--was pretty exhausting. I made a lot of money, but still, I was knackered as. My patience that works so well working with one or two kids didn't quite hold up with 50. The last weekend of the Holiday Program, my friend Steve came down to visit from Auckland, and we had a sweet as time. The weather was completely miserable, so we ended up going to see two films at a film festival--Moon (not that interesting, quite weird) and Sunshine Cleaning (which was billed as a comedy and was really rather serious. Also, not as good as I'd hoped.) And just chilling inside. We also watched Donnie Darko--first time I'd seen it--and I actually really liked it. Trippy though.

After Steve left though, I was pretty sad. I realized that I just wasn't happy in Wellington. I was working a steady job and living in a flat--aka apartment--which was all well and good, but I didn't move across the globe to do something I could do in the States. Plus, I want to be nomadic--I don't want to settle. This is an adventure, after all, not retirement. I also could feel it in my gut that what I need right now is to be in nature--big time. Nature seemed to be all around me (the mountains all over Wellington) but it also seemed inaccessible somehow. How could I get out into the beautiful countryside of New Zealand? Well, I knew a few things. I knew that Wellington was windy and cold, which I hated because I am very affected emotionally by weather. I concluded that I would need to move up north, where it was warmer, but I didn't want to move back to Auckland, because although I used to think of myself as a city girl, I'm tired of cities at the moment. What good are buildings when the sun is out?

So I thought. And I remembered hearing about communes--where people live together and live off the land and probably sing like the seven dwarfs. (Okay, maybe not the last part.) I gave it a google.

Lo and behold! What treasures did I find? Well, I found that the official term for a commune is "intentional community" for one. And that there were a good amount of them in New Zealand, but a lot of them were groups of only four people, or they were really selective and/or religious. I'm not looking to join any cults at the moment, so I passed on those. Some of them had joining fees, or visiting fees, and some of them were urban--none of those struck my fancy. But I did find two that looked really interesting. One was called Anahata, and one was called Wilderland. Try as I may, I couldn't contact Anahata. Emails wouldn't go through, phone calls reached nothing.

So I moved on to Wilderland. Wilderland is a group of about 15 people who work together and eat 50% of the food they harvest. Sweet as, right? They also bottle honey and sell it. They work on the farm from 8:30 to 1pm everyday. There aren't any fees, and the housing is rough and rustic, or as Russel (the guy I talked to) said, "Everything here is beautiful and quirky." I was thrilled--I gravitate towards the beautiful and quirky! I emailed them and called, and got a wonderful surprise. It turns out they have been getting 5 calls per day, and have been turning everyone down. But, because my email was so earnest and passionate, he talked it over with the group, and they said a vibrant, "Sure!" I was beside myself! I get to live in an organic commune that makes half of their own food! And it's primarily vegetarian! And it's super far north, so it'll be really really warm, and beautiful! And I won't have to pay for much of anything for the length of the visit! I'll be there for three weeks trial, and then if they like me and I'm happy there, I can stay for up to three months. I imagine I'll stay through Christmas, and then I'll want to move on. After all, I'm nomadic these days. I'm very excited :) I was able to both email and phone them, so I surmise that they have internet access (if not wifi) and phone service of some kind; I will find a way to be in touch! Anyway. I informed both my present employer and my roommates, and they're pretty cool about it. Much cooler about it than I expected, actually, so that's a plus! I'll miss Wellington (especially since the weather's been nicer,) but it's time to move on.

So let's see, what else is new? The New Zealand Improv Festival was... well, I imagine it was wonderful, but I never got to go. Tickets were rather hard to come by, and I wasn't able to get any. I was bummed, but not terribly. There were other things to do, of course. I did go to two rehearsals with them, and that was fun. But ultimately, knowing I was leaving oh so very soon sort of cancelled any chance of performing with them. This is probably my only quote unquote 'regret'. They are a really talented bunch, and I think there was a lot of friend potential there.

I've been doing a bit more exploring in the Wellington area--I went to see Te Papa, their museum (well, really THE most famous museum in New Zealand) and it was pretty cool. I liked looking at the Maori exhibits. There are loads of pictures up on facebook. I'll see if I can get them up on a website like photo bucket or something--there are too many to email, unless I can find a way to email whole albums. I also have been climbing a couple of the 'walking tracks' in the hills/mountains (I can't decided which they are) of Korokoro. It's been wonderful. Yesterday I walked up to Centenay Lookout and sat and wrote. Let the divinity of nature speak, eh?

Also, my friend Jasmine (whom I work with) took me up to the Paraparaumu beach, which was really fun and really beautiful. Plus, we met a completely crazy lady who worked at a Perfumery. You know those people you meet and you can't believe they're real and not a cartoon, they're so ridiculous? Yep. She was one of those. She slurred her words l like she was the lady who said, "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Demille" except worse. Her voice was dripping with faux wealth and snobbery. She said things like, "Oohhhh, DARlings." And when we came in, she was on the phone, and she said to the other person on the line, "I have to gooo. There are ladieeees here who migiiht buy MEGa MILlions." She also pretended to be a psychic and told me I was Swedish (when I told her I wasn't, she turned to Jasmine and said, "She doesn't even know!" ... but Stephen told me I'm a bit Swedish. Is that true?!) and that Jasmine's cousin was trying to protect her. Jasmine hasn't talked to her cousin in years, and they're definitely not friends. We left surpressing what we might all know by the phrase "church giggles."

I've been reading and writing, too--poetry, a play, a screenplay. Reading wise, I read The Other Boleyn Girl--very very good, you were right Asha!--and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas--excellent. I'll be reading Snow Falling on Cedars next. I also go running by the ocean, wander around, or watch tv on my computer sometimes. I keep entertained :) I still go to the Riverside market--last Saturday there were a group of kids playing recorders, Dad! I took a picture of them just for you, I'll have to send it.

This is my last week here. I've got some cleaning and packing to do--and some throwing away and donating of goods to engage in as well. Even with litte, I still have too much. This weekend should be fun before I leave--it's my flatmate Justine's birthday, and it's on Halloween. We're invited to dress up--I was thinking of going as a traveling American. Think I can pull it off?

I leave Sunday early early morning, and I'll be on a bus for 12 hours and will arrive in Tauranga, where Karly and her two other American friends (Katy and Mark) are settled in. We haven't seen each other yet, and we figured we should do that! I'll spend a few days there, and then I'll head to Auckland to see Steve, Tara, Toni, and my awesome new friend, Dori. No, not the fish. ;) And then from there, I'll head up to the Coromandel! I may even have to walk to the actual farm, which will be about an hour! With my heavy backpacker backpack--phew! I better start training now, eh?

Well, that's that for now. I'm currently trying to find a way to get my prescription meds over here, and it looks like it's going to cost an ugly, ugly penny. For my concerta (for my ADHD) I need to get a NZ psychiatrist to okay my need for it, so I am seeing the doc tomorrow morning--which is super lucky. He is only going to charge me 150 dollars for 45 min, the other doc was going to charge me 300. Unfortunately, no matter what anyone does, because I'm not a resident of NZ, the concerta will cost 130 dollars per month. The folks have said they'll help, but it's pretty steep. See, I can't wean off of it because they work together to keep both my ADHD and OCD in check. I'm not against weaning off them eventually, but I'm not sure New Zealand surrounded by mostly strangers and no real health insurance or psychologist here who knows me is a great plan, you know? But I've considered it. If need be, I can always take the concerta every other day. It's such a low dosage anyway... anyway. That's the current pickle. I have a prescription for zoloft, but who knows how expensive it'll be. One doctor says it should be more than 40 bucks, another said it'll be about as expensive as the concerta. Wince.

Other than that--I FINALLY submitted some of my poetry for publishing to a poetry journal. I'm going to do more of that, or at least that's the goal.

ALSO yesterday's dinner was interesting. I bought some jalapenos at the market because I thought they were green beans (I know, I know, I know) and when I discovered my error, I decided to try and use them anyway--didn't want to waste them, right? I chopped some up and put them in my burrito.

Worst. Decision. Ever.

(picture compliments of Ty Zavitz)

That's all for now ;)