Apple picking again
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2007
1
60
Trip End
Ongoing
Hastings, New Zealand
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
So here is the whole 5 weeks of working summarised into one blog.
First day back, and I am really regretting coming back as my back is having a torrid time with the weight of the bag again and I have moved into the warehouse on the orchard. So from enjoying the social atmosphere of a hostel, I find myself staying in a room divided up by thin plywood with an old mattress for a bed and a few chairs for furniture. Unfortunately there is no light bulb to light up my room during the evening, so I forced to use Christmas lights nailed to the wall to provide some gloomy light. The kitchen is basic with only a gas stove and a microwave being shared with my 5 South East Asian housemates, the toilet is located outside while the water in the shower is almost always cold. My only entertainment is a laptop but for 30 dollars a week I am going to find nowhere cheaper. Plus I have seem worse university accommodation than this squalor I have called home for the next month.
Being befriended into a Maori family that were working on the orchard, helped passed the time and for the first time I got to really experience the culture and lifestyles of the locals. Very similar to the UK! With the youngsters binge drinking, smoking the green stuff and spending a lot of their time sat in front of a Television watching DVD. Not the kind of things I tend to do back home but I had to pass the time somehow! I even got myself my Maori gang name - `E Dog'. (or for the non gangster readers English Dog) which they want to personally tattoo on to my arm. NO FECKING CHANCE!!!! Despite their tattooed appearance the Maoris tend to be a good laugh but will fight if their honour is questioned or fuelled by a belly full of alcohol which tends to get them in trouble with the local authorities. I will most remember one incident at the video store when an Indian immigrant wrongly accused this family of stealing a wallet from his car parked outside the store. Lets say the youngster were very willing to start a fight with a guy thrice their age but only the diplomatic actions of the oldest brother prevented a messy situation. However when we wanted to phone the police to report this theft the Indian got very defensive and didn't want any police involved, probably because he has overstayed his visa.
Otherwise I have discovered one of the farmer is a pervy man, taking photos of the girls arses (the ones I was previously working with) on his mobile phone and owns a stack of dirty porn films. No wonder he's single! And I have taken up night running (jogging or a fast walk is probably a more accurate term) after my Christmas lights stopped working, got me thinking of home and my night cycling to work and of a friend who did a lot of night running and swore it was better than sex, still unsure how she got to that conclusion.
Back at the farm warehouse, I got to celebrate the Thailand/Cambodia New Year with a meat feast of a barbeque with my fellow tenants. Unfortunately I never really bonded well with these guys as we had nothing in common and their English is atrocious and I often find myself pining to be back in a hostel, making new friends or at least back with my mates from my first stint working here. On many occasions knowing I'll see the girls again in May and becoming involved in hostel life again has kept me sane and prevented me getting too depressed. But until then I just got to keep my head up, keep picking those red apples, watching my bank balance slowly increase despite a 600 dollar bill for the car and making sure I don't get too drunk and awake to a tattooed arm.
