"Piccies" is slang for Pictures

I finished my work at the packhouse last friday, and since sam's packhouse isn't closed yet, I started working there today. I would have started yesterday (monday), but the guys who normally drove decided to quit that job for another, and we didn't know how we were supposed to get to work. Luckily there's another guy, a german dude named Alex, who has a car and has also decided to work there. The packhouse is a much smaller company than my previous one, but the people are so much nicer and really fun to talk to.

The thing that surprised me most is how popular sam is! Seriously. At my old packhouse, people just kept to their own groups, and half the repackers were temporary workers like me. But at this new one, most everyone works there throughout the year, and so they know each other really well. They all took an interest in sam, who - unlike the guys who switched jobs - spent time talking to them. The german and finnish guys from before kept to themselves, so the regular workers didn't even notice when they didn't turn up on monday. But we walked in tuesday, and everyone was like "sam, where have you been?" When I was working, the group I was with would bring up questions about sam or refer to sam when talking to me. Pretty amusing, haha.

I've been trying to upload pictures this past week, but the restrictions on these computers are getting really frustrating. So you'd better be glad I took the energy and time (precious internet time) to do this. I'm gonna see if the staff can lift some of these restrictions so that I can upload better, but I doubt that'll happen. Some of these pictures you might find boring, but I'm putting them there to accompany my many little thoughts.

1. This crater you see is the top of the dormant volcano called Mt. Eden in Auckland. It's huge! In the second picture, you'll see a large hill/mound of grass and trees. It's one of the many dormant volcanoes that New Zealand is built on top of.

2. Just a few flower/plant pictures. I have no idea if these exist in the US, but I keep an eye out for plants now just because I know that there will be some plants exclusively kiwi (aka of New Zealand). The first one is just a really pretty red flower I found walking along a road. The second is really interesting: it grows all over on its tree, and it looks like a bright pink pipe-cleaner. The third is just some pretty flower bunches I found on a bush. I love the blue/green mix.





3. I'm guessing this is why Auckland is called the "City of Sails." There were so many!



4. In KeriKeri we stayed at a hostel that was right along a creek. Very cool.



5. Here's Lucky, the bunkhouse cat, dozing in one of her favorite spots. I've yet to get a picture of UC.



6. A group picture from Halloween Night (Sam went to bed early because he had work the next day).



7. I found footprints indented onto a concrete sidewalk while walking to the grocery store. My theory as to how it got there is that some kid was walking barefoot (which is actually really normal in NZ), and accidentally stepped on wet concrete. The footprints are very small, looks like it'd be from a 5-year-old.



8. My fingers, all cracked and peeling, along with my blister - from handling green kiwis for 8 hours a day.




9. James in his huge jungle gym (a tree with pipes built around it). James and Anna. James jumping onto his trampoline. He really wanted me to take his picture, as you can see. Also, you should note that he has cows for neighbors, literally, haha.





10. Pigs at the dairy farm down the hill - fyi, they smelled really bad. The farm only had two, and I asked Anna what they were for. With complete bluntness, she said, "We eat them for holidays like Christmas dinner." What makes it even more interesting is that she talks to them as though they are pets.



11. Cows being milked. Tim tells me that the price you can get for their milk is about the same as petrol. Not bad, huh. And Anna clearly knows a lot about cows and dairy farming, having no problem informing me of the processes of running such a farm and the types of different cows.



12. The O'Dea's (Tim's family) own their own avocado orchard. These green ones aren't ripe yet, but it was pretty cool to go and pick my own avos.



13. Tim getting me oranges fresh off the trees. They're really good. The second picture: the orange season is ending, and so all the oranges are very ripe and easily fall off the tree. Look how many are lined up on the ground! Unfortunately, all those will go to waste, because you don't know how long they've been lying there in the sun.




14. Me waiting to go to work at 7:45 in the morning. It's chilly in the mornings, and I knew I'd be working inside a coolstore, so that's why I'm all bundled up.



15. The repacking station I worked at before (no, I do not work alone). Then me, in my work outfit. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I had to wear an apron and a hairnet (I also wore that hat, sweater, and jacket everyday). And please excuse the cheesy grin.




16. It's normal for people to own some sheep. And they can bleat really loud.



17. A picture of a meadow for Jean. The grass/flowers/plants reached up to my hips!



18. My backpacker is on No.1 Road. And the second picture shows you what my backpacker actually looks like. If you want to see more, I believe arthur made a promotional video that shows the inside. Look on youtube under the same person who posted the halloween video. Sam shows up on the video too (although the video itself is kinda boring...).




19. There was a gorgeous sunset the other day from our view up at the top of the hill.



20. Lastly, a picture of Sam. His hair's grown long, and he wears a bandanna everyday now. He's doing some logic puzzle problems in a book I bought the other day.




A couple of other notes:

The weather's been getting really hot. I think the temperature broke 90 degrees today! How am I supposed to get excited for Christmas with all this hot weather??

I kinda poured out about my struggles on my previous blog, and I was hoping people would respond to that, give me their thoughts, opinions and advice. But I guess most wouldn't know how to since few did? But thanks to those who did for putting in their thoughts.

Ooh, and before I forget, a HUGE muchos gracias, merci beaucoup, danke schoen, ko-mahps, and thank you to mike for sending me the USB card reader! Geej, you'd better say thanks too, haha =]

Tea/Coffee Break = "Smoko"

There have been a lot of random things going on around here (and running through my head too), but I'll try to make this blog not so painfully difficult to read.

1. It's technically Thanksgiving, but since this isn't the United States, there is no big celebration. Sam and I couldn't even have a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner because there isn't any turkey sold in the stores, can you believe it? Not even turkey deli slices. I went to church this past weekend, and was talking to a couple about this (they've lived in Canada so they know about it). They think it's a good idea for a holiday, particularly for Christians, and sometimes they'll celebrate it, but only occasionally. They kept offering (half-jokingly) to go get me a turkey (meaning find one and kill it), and then switched over to, "well, turkeys are hard to find, so how about a peacock instead?" I didn't even realize it was today until Sam mentioned it. (I've also learned that although Canadians do celebrate it, it's not nearly with as much gusto as Americans, and it's also held in October. I wonder why.)

2. Christmas is coming up. I don't feel the excitement over it at all. Which is very depressing. Usually by now I'd be itching to hear the Christmas songs on the radio and getting all excited over the fact that it's holiday time. I love how the month of december makes everyone a bit happier (for the entire month), but the lack of cold weather is totally confusing me. Obviously we associate Christmas with snow, but here, they associate it with summer weather and outdoor barbeques. You don't know how many commercials I've seen talking about Christmas where people are dressed in summer clothes and are outside bbq-ing up a nice meal (and advertising barbeque grills for Christmas gifts).

3. My birthday is also coming up. Interestingly enough, I'll be turning 21. Back home of course we'd go out, get a few drinks, celebrate that way. Here it doesn't matter since even Sam's legal enough. So what do I do? Do I celebrate it anyway by buying one? Probably not. Not very fun, since it should be done with friends. Even if Sam and I were to grab a few, he can't drink since he promised someone he wouldn't drink at all. So it's weird. Also, it's supposed to be my "golden birthday" (you know, turning 21 on the 21st of the month). But whatever. Any ideas on how I should celebrate?

4. Obviously in the US, the three big sports are baseball, basketball, and football (not necessarily in that order). Here in NZ, the three big sports, in order, are rugby, netball, and cricket. What's really fascinating is that netball is only a woman's sport. I've never even heard of it before, but it's basically a mix between basketball and ultimate. My main opinion is that it's odd how two awesome sports can be combined to create a lame one, haha (although I admit that the championship final between NZ and OZ was pretty intense).

5. Any more pasta sauce/cream recipes? Thanks Boaz for yours, we'll have to try it out.

6. At work the other day I was working beside a Maori guy around my age. Halfway through the day, I realize that he's wearing a "Be the Reds" shirt! He had no idea what that shirt was about, and doesn't even know how he got it, but it was a pretty interesting moment as I told him about it. Dae Han Min Gook! Today I worked next to a Maori girl, also around my age, whose initial guess was that I was Chinese. No one ever guesses Japanese or Korean first. In fact, no one ever guesses Korean at all. Her second guess was Japanese, her third was Taiwanese, haha. I guess I look Chinese?

7. At least once a week, Sam complains about the lack of kimchee or kohchoojang. We found some soy sauce in a local indian grocery, and we can easily find rice, but let's admit it: it's not korean unless you've got kimchee and kohchoojang.

8. I went to church this week. It's called the Orchard (since the building was literally built on an orchard, and of course, because of the metaphorical meaning), and I don't think it really has a denomination. Very new (was built last year), it caters to families. Big families. Someone told me that the average family as 4 kids, and some have 7!

The way I got to this church is pretty interesting story:
I was working at the Indian restaurant, and of course, people like to ask where I'm from. A woman said that she'd gone to school in Chicago - the Moody Bible Institute. So after realizing that we were Christians, I asked about churches, and she and her husband both offered to give me a ride. Tim and Deb have four kids, Sarah, Anna, Becca, and James. Deb's originally from Canada (her mother's actually in town for 3 months currently, and I got to talk to her, which was nice, seeing as she's also from North America). The three youngest were all born in Canada (their family lived in Canada for 6 years, even Tim has citizenship now), and apparently James was adopted. He and Anna are the loudest and most outgoing. Anna is the active and talkative girl. James is the spoiled but cute, only son who grabs the attention of all the adults. Sarah's clearly the eldest (both in size and in demeanor), and Becca's the quiet simple one.

The first time I went, I was introduced to a woman named Liz. She's lived in the US (the Midwest, woot!) for 2 years, working with youth camps and such. She invited me over for lunch with her parents (? I think they're her parents, or maybe they're just neighbors who also go to church?). She also gave me a ride to the store, which was nice because I didn't have to lug my groceries by hand (it's a 10 minute walk). Des owns an engineering company that builds machinery for kiwi orchards (his wife Lynn is a retired nurse). Des's ears perked up when I mentioned that I was studying mechanical engineering, haha. Apparently NZ produces a lot of good engineers, but they get drawn away by other countries. They have a really great house, and they're building a pond in the backyard!

This past week I was invited to Tim and Deb's for lunch, and Tim grilled up the 7 snapper he caught the day before. It was a really good lunch, and I also got to meet another couple (and fellow Christians) Julie and Mike. They also have four kids, all under 12 years old. I spent almost the whole day there, got to see the cows being milked next door (next door being a 3 minute walk along a nonexistent path downhill) and picked a few avos (short for avocados) from their own orchard. They also stopped at a nearby orchard when driving me back to let me pick lots of oranges to take with me.

9. The church seems like a great community for families, but there are barely any people my age (and I gotta say, it's weird and totally unfamiliar to me that I'm the minority who sticks out like a sore thumb - and I mean really. There aren't even any Maori people, they're all white). Not a bad thing, but I've never really felt that before. The sermons are just "eh" but I've been listening to the 5 sermons I've got on my ipod. They're good, but I wish I had the whole series, and not just the first half.

On a serious note, I've been going through this "identity crisis" (helped along by the sermon series called "Rediscovering Jesus"). Being completely out of the familiar where no one knows anything about me and I'm left to really think about who I am, it's a hard time for me. It's not that I'm miserable, it's just that in this situation I'm forced to think about what it is that defines me. What gives me my self-worth. What it is that gives me a sense that I'm an okay person, a person worth knowing and being with. At home, it's easy to think that it's Christ alone, because I'm never in a situation where people don't know where I am, what I've done, what I can do. It's easy to think that I have confidence in myself because of Christ, but here, the foundation of my self-esteem is more exposed, and I can't help but dig deep down and face myself, stripped of the things the world sees.

I haven't been doing my quiet times, I haven't been meeting God at all. Instead I've been doing a lot of thinking about Jesus, about the Christian life, which is hardly the same. It's like dreaming about flying, knowing everything about the physics of flight, but being stuck on the ground. It's so close, but definitely not there. I feel like someone who's faced with the true gospel of Christianity, feels the truth of it in their soul, and yet is unable to take that final step to be born again. Not that I'm doubting my salvation, but I find myself unable to follow the life God calls me to. Unable and also, not knowing how to.

I guess this is what Sam must feel like, somewhat. But the difference between us is that God seems unwilling to let me go at this point. I know that God's timing for Sam is different than mine. Everyone knows Sam stopped going to church, that he's stopped trying, and has turned away for the time being. At times I want to turn away. Walk for a bit without Him, but I can't. I'm always just walking on the fence, and God won't let me fall on the other side, but I can't fall on His side either. Don't know what to do.

10. I didn't want to end the entry on a serious note, but I don't know what to write... hmm... Ooh! One of my former roommates has turned out to be sort of a thief! It's sad, because she seemed really nice and all, but two of my avos have gone missing (I've been leaving them out in my room so that they can ripen a bit more), and our other roommate informed me that her underwear had gone missing, and saw it sticking up out of the other girl's pants one night. Who steals underwear??

Also (in separate instances, probably unrelated to the avos and underwear), a couple of items of food have gone missing in the past. Sam's can of Fanta which he was saving for lunch one day disappeared, and one time Sam cooked me a sausage for lunch, which I stored in a container. The next morning the container was empty, sitting unnecessarily in the fridge. What the heck? Who steals a sausage? Cookies have gone too, but I think it's just Sam's and my inability to keep track of how many we each eat. Cookies I can understand, but a sausage? ::shakes head:: Psohn, after reading your latest xanga entry, I'm guessing you can understand my disappointment.

Diapers are called "Nappies"

Again, no pictures, sorry. Boaz, if you yell/demand for pictures one more time, I swear I'll go nuts on you. I'm trying the best I can, and you'll have to wait at least for another week or so. Mike was nice enough to send me a usb card reader, so I just have to wait for it to arrive in the mail (thanks!). Until then, you'll have to do with my pictureless entries. DEAL WITH IT. (But I love you too Geej! haha). Oh, and Sam says he might grow out his hair. It's already starting to look like an afro, because he doesn't feel like looking for a barber or going to buy some clippers. I think we both need haircuts.

-- Sam has quit his kiwi pruning job (because his boss is no good) and has moved on to a kiwi packhouse, but not the same as mine. I work for a huge packhouse. Everyday I go in and handle and check kiwifruit for 8 hours, throwing out the moldy/rotten kiwis and repacking the ones that are still good. It's not that hard, except that your back and neck hurt for standing in one position for so long, and your hands get all cracked and raw (my palm also has a blister). Believe it or not, my fingers can get so raw that a single kiwi hair can cause a tear in my skin, which starts to bleed a bit. But don't worry, it's more interesting than anything else.

Sam has an easier job of it because he works for a more family-owned packhouse, and they've got a variety of repacking jobs. He doesn't always check for quality, but other times he'll be responsible for placing the labels on the packages or even just shifting boxes.

-- If you want to send us stuff (we'd like some shin ramen, haha), you can send it to:
Lois/Sam Kwon
Hairy Berry Bunkhouse
2 No.1 Rd
Te Puke 3119
New Zealand
(note: address is only until January)

They also have phones here, if you want to call, but obviously it'll be long distance for you guys. Also, try to call at a reasonable hour if you do. Sam and I work from 8am-5pm(ish) on weekdays. And there's the time difference. 10pm Sunday in Chicago is 5pm Monday in New Zealand (the day after). Anyone will pick up the phone, so ask for me or Sam. Most likely they'll know us, but if they don't, ::shrugg::. Also, we might be in our rooms, I'm in room#1, Sam's in room#3.

Country Code: 64
07 573 5580
07 573 5880
(So you'll have to dial 64 then the number - or 0064, not sure how it works).

Or if you're not sure if you'll reach us, I have a voicemail box:
Call +64 09 916 8181
Mailbox Number: 2220-2007-0988

Leave a message, and I'll call back. I get lots of minutes for really low rates. =]

-- A couple of weeks ago I went to a church. I'm going again tomorrow. I'm kind of running out of time, so I'll update about it later this week, promise. Grace, thanks for sending me those links, but unfortunately this backpacker's really strict about downloading anything onto these computers, so I don't think I can listen to those sermons (unless I spend my paid hour on the internet to listen to them) - and even if I could download, I can't get them onto my ipod. I do have several sermons that I downloaded onto my ipod before I left, and so I've been listening/relistening to them (Rediscovering Jesus #1-5). Maybe later on I'll download more(someplace else), burn then onto CD's and try to find a cheap CD player. We'll see.

-- Does anyone know the recipe for simple pasta sauces? Sam and I'd like to have pasta once in awhile, but we don't know how to make any sauces, and we'd like simple recipes that don't include lots of little ingredients/herbs/spices. If you know any, please post them/email them. Actually, if you guys know any recipes for simple dinners, send those too. That'd be awesome.

Side note: Has anyone ever had homemade muffins with black cherry and white chocolate? They're sooo good. I'm gonna have to try and make them when I go home. More baking parties!

--Last, a special surprise:
I do have a video for you guys. A couple of weeks ago, our backpacker held a Halloween Party. One of the guys here put together a video with clips and such of the guests hanging out in our shed, eating, drinking, playing pool, chatting it up, etc. Sam's in it several times, but I only appear near the end, because I arrived late after working at the restaurant. But at least you get to see our faces. Enjoy! =]

Life at the Hairy Berry Bunkhouse

I should really update a lot more often. More blogs, but briefer. I'll try to do that. There are so many little things I want to write about, but it's been a long time since the last entry. Sorry if this goes too long. As for pictures, Boaz, I'm sorry! I'm gonna try to get my hands on an SD reader or something. I promise sometime in the future I'll have a blog that's dedicated to pictures. =]

1. There are two cats who live at Hairy Berry Bunkhouse (my hostel/backpacker). Lucky is a proud cat (with different shades of grey/brown and a couple white patches) who prowls around as though she owns the place (which is almost true. She's practically part of the staff). One of her favorite spots is actually on top of this computer's monitor. She's sleeping there right now. The other, who most of the guests don't even know about it, is named UC, which stands for UnderCover. Almost completely white with some black spots, she's really shy, only comes out at night, and even so, will run off as soon as someone approaches her. I want to pet them a lot, but because I'm allergic, I'll only pet them for awhile and then I have to go wash my hands. The only person they really like is one of the staff here who runs everything.

2. Sam started his kiwi tipping/pruning job. He kind of explained it to me, and it basically is just pruning the trees/vines so that they control it's direction of growth, to prevent tangling. Apparently the plants somehow irritates Sam's eyes, so they get all red everyday. But lucky for him, they don't itch, and so he just uses eyedrops and sunglasses, and they've been getting better. He works almost everyday, usually 8-9 hours, because the weather's been getting nicer with summer approaching. I try not to feel bad about it (every time I tell him that I feel bad, he just says "whatever, it's work"). Without the job he'd just sit around watching TV or reading books anyway. The only thing that really sucks is having to wake up early. He's getting used to the long hours.

3. My daily schedule is lot more comfortable than Sam's. I can sleep as late as I want, and I usually wake up sometime between noon and 1pm. Then I eat some "breakfast," watch Grey's Anatomy (right now they just started season 3) and relax until I have to walk to work at 5:30. [Side note: don't tell me what's going on in Grey's Anatomy Season 4 because I don't want anyone ruining it for me before I get to watch it.] Sometimes I'll walk to town and get more groceries and whatnot if needed since Sam can't do it, working during the day. But that's all about to change because my waitressing is almost done. That job was actually temporary because I told them that I was just doing that job until a kiwi job came along that offered more hours. I feel bad for the owners though. They should really try to find a local girl instead of relying on this backpacker for it's waitresses. After 1.5 weeks, I've finally got the hang of their system, only to leave them and have them re-train someone else (and they go through this a lot). I'm gonna miss the free indian food. I didn't get to try a lot of dishes (they're not gonna like whip me up really nice stuff for dinner, just whatever they have). But I really do like the Butter Chicken and garlic naan.

My next job starts Monday. Basically all I'll be doing is working at one of the kiwi packhouses, where my job is simply to check each kiwifruit to make sure it's good. A couple of the girls who live here work there, and it shouldn't be too bad, but we'll see.

4. I love meeting people here. At first I was really shy and hermit-like, but I've been living in this hostel for 3 weeks now, so it's comfortable, and you see the same people everyday for extended periods of time. There are a couple of New Zealanders who live at this hostel, two rugged men, one in his 40s? 50s? named Mikey and the other a little younger (keep forgetting his name) and they like to talk about NZ, especially if any of the other guests have questions. There is a 26-yr-old guy from Israel, Roy, who's been traveling for 2 years (?) in New Zealand and Australia. He looks younger though, so I had no idea he was 26. He's told me about the several times he's run out of money and had tough times while traveling. Some backpackers are nice enough to let you stay so that you can find a job before being able to pay them, but there have been times when he couldn't get a bed. Scary, no? There are a couple of girls from Canada, Blaine and Sarah, who get along with everyone very easily. Lots of German people, like Sebastian who started traveling after finishing his computer engineering courses at university (in NZ they say "university" instead of "college"). There was another German guy named Sylvio (sp?) who spent 2 years in Australia (he absolutely LOVES the land called OZ) and is now spending a year here in NZ, but he left for a different town last week. He said he left home right after high school and hasn't been back since (apparently, in Germany it's normal to go backpacking after high school and before college). There was a guy who's Sam's age named Martin from Estonia (go look it up on a map) who was also very easy to talk to. He's met people from everywhere and so it was interesting to hear his stories. A couple of days ago I also met this Indian woman from Fiji. She's living at this backpacker (but I don't see her often because she's sharing a private room with her husband). She works with Sam, and basically she's been living here with a work permit to save up money so that she can immigrate to here. Right now she's only working to save up money, and eventually she and her husband will get a car, a house, start a business, etc. Pretty impressive lady, and really nice. She thought I was nice too and wanted me to meet and marry her son. I think she was half-serious..

5. I meet people at the restaurant too. There was Don and Tipi, and Christina and Max. Don likes to order the mango lassi (which is like a mango smoothie, it's soo good..). There are other couples I recognize by face (because they're regulars). Most of the customers don't really offer their names, but it's not unusual if they do. And even if they don't offer their names, they usually ask for mine (yesterday someone asked for my korean name too). If anything, they always like to ask where I'm from, where I'm staying, how I like New Zealand, etc. I don't mind them asking at all, I think they're pretty nice. The only thing that annoys me is that sometimes if I say that I'm an American, they then ask where I am from originally, as though I was born somewhere else. It's like they expect all Americans to be white, because I'm pretty sure that if a Caucasian girl said that she was an American, that'd be it, no "where are you from originally?". One couple said, "Let me guess: you were born in China and raised in America." So I like to assert the fact that I was born and raised in the US. Usually I also toss in the fact that I've never even been to the "motherland."

I met Goldie and Manjeet's two kids the other day, a 7-yr-old girl, Mehak (or Mak for short), and a 3-yr-old boy, Amrit (again, sp?). Mak is like any other 7-yr-old girl, likes to color and ask questions and talk about the things she likes. Also was amused/surprised by the fact that I like the colors blue and green ("boy colors??" she exclaimed). But it was pretty cool/interesting to hear her speak with a NZ accent, particularly the "eh?" they like to attach at the end of their sentences. Amrit is also a normal kid, crazy 3-yr-old who likes to run around the restaurant. But he's definitely not shy, and so when I looked at him, he'd look me right in the eye and smile his huge grin - then run off again, haha.

Last person (for now) is a man named Grant who delivers some supplies? food? to Goldie's restaurant and comes about twice a week. He's a very kind, very interesting man who runs a farm? orchard? something like that. He and his wife also open up their home for backpackers, and so he currently has 2 Malaysians living in his home (he had 6 but the other 4 left last week). He also offered me and Sam his place in case I found my current backpacker uncomfortable. A couple days ago he told me about the times that he's gone backpacking (in his younger days) through North America and Europe, and even about the time his own father when traversing through the Amazon. Crazy, right?

Anyway, that's all for now, because it's taken me over an hour to write all this. I hope you all are doing well. =]