Wellington is a nice place, with beautiful cafes and interesting people. I like it here and am probably going to stay here for New Years eve. On of the colorful inhabitants of this town is called Ben Hana, aka Blanket Man, definitely read his story!
Another cool thing, I have for the first time seen bumblebees mating! I saw it in the botanical gardens here.
There is much more to say, but I don't pursue completeness :-)
Happy 2008 everyone!
vrijdag 28 december 2007
Landed in Wellington
The queen bee has nested in Wellington, in a beautiful place called princess bay, just 8 km out of the city center. Some other travelers are parked there too, and there is a nice atmosphere in the evenings. The sunset is often amazing, and we rate it every night.Click here for the satellite picture
zaterdag 22 december 2007
Fotos!!!
Hier dan eindelijk wat foto's van mij en Nieuw-Zeeland! Klik op de fotos hier en je wordt door de magische wereld van het world wide web naar de desbetreffende picassa pagina gebracht.
 Northland |  Mount Maunganui en omstreken |
 Roadtrip to Coromandel Peninsula |  Gisborne |
 On The Road Again |
maandag 17 december 2007
Ode aan Gissy
Gisborne, vrijwel elke reiziger rijdt er achteloos voorbij. Het lijkt ook een stadje van 13 in een dozijn van achter de autoruit. Maar stop hier voor een paar weken en je krijgt een ander beeld.
Gisborne, toevluchtsoord van oude hippies, surfers en kakkerlakken. Bedankt voor je gastvrijheid, je bijen en je geweldige inwoners.
Bedankt Peter voor de job en het bier
Bedankt Colin voor je kindse glimlach, je geweldige verhalen en je goeie raad
Bedankt Andres voor het gezelschap en onze gedeelde passie voor muziek
Bedankt ook Yassum, Hajji, Snake en de twee oude hippies van op de hoek (voor vanzelfsprekende redenen)
Geweldige tijd gehad hier, maar nu de voorjaarsoogst tot een einde komt is er nog maar weinig werk voor mij. Dus ga ik nu een tijdje leven van het geld dat ik hier heb verdiend, een wel verdiende vakantie lijkt me. Ik trek verder naar het zuiden, en hoop binnen een goede twee weken op het zuideiland te zijn.
Gisborne, toevluchtsoord van oude hippies, surfers en kakkerlakken. Bedankt voor je gastvrijheid, je bijen en je geweldige inwoners.
Bedankt Peter voor de job en het bier
Bedankt Colin voor je kindse glimlach, je geweldige verhalen en je goeie raad
Bedankt Andres voor het gezelschap en onze gedeelde passie voor muziek
Bedankt ook Yassum, Hajji, Snake en de twee oude hippies van op de hoek (voor vanzelfsprekende redenen)
Geweldige tijd gehad hier, maar nu de voorjaarsoogst tot een einde komt is er nog maar weinig werk voor mij. Dus ga ik nu een tijdje leven van het geld dat ik hier heb verdiend, een wel verdiende vakantie lijkt me. Ik trek verder naar het zuiden, en hoop binnen een goede twee weken op het zuideiland te zijn.
zaterdag 8 december 2007
A day in the life of a beekeeper
Leaving Mt Maunganui was not easy. I had made some good friends there, and was realy beginning to feel at home. But because the flowerpicking season was over, and I was fed up with working for Hamid anyway, the time had come to go.
I decided upon Gisborne, because Pierre had stayed with a beekeeper there on the WWOOFing scheme. He recommended his place highly. So I filled up the van and drove off to a new adventure, singing On the road again. I have now been working for Peter 5 days, making a lot of hours and even more fun. Let me tell you how a day looks like.
I get up around 8 in the morning and with a smile remember where I am. The "backpackers" Peter runs here is very funny. He built all these rooms next to his house and has people staying from all over the Uruguay, Japan, Filipines, Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic and Belgium. It's dirty and doesnt provide the services a backpackers should, but its a lovely place in a strange way.
When I come out of my room I see Colin arriving. He yells out "Time for breakfast boy", and gets out his waterpipe, which he fills to the brim with Marihuana. When we are both high anough to work, we get in the truck and drive to the factory. We pick up some empty beeboxes and put them on the truck. While we are working 'Snake' arrives. Colin tells me nobody knows his real name, and they've known him for 20 years. Snake is always high, and yells out things like "Ooooh yeah boy, machines I say". He 's crazy, I like him.
We drive to the places where the bees are kept, about an hour driving, through the mountains. It is incredibly beautiful here and completely isolated. Colin amuses me with his stories from on the fishing boats, where he spends half of the year, and about his previous life in Amsterdam, Ireland, Paris and South-Africa. He's on of those mad ones Kerouac talks about.
When we arrive at the bees, we put on our suits, which arent very good, and start collecting honey. If it's good you can hear Peter yelling "That's more like it", if it's bad you can hear him swear all day. We put some new boxes on top of the hives, so the bees can collect some more honey. It's hard work, and I get stung a lot, but that doesnt worry me anymore. The venom keeps me alert, especially when I'm high.
After the work is done, which is sometimes late in the evening, we smoke some more and go back to the factory to put the honey boxes. By the time we finish there, Peter usually has bought some beers, and rolls a big joint to share with everyone. After that we go back to the backpackers where I cook up some dinner and fall asleep easily and happy.
I really like this job and want to learn more about it. Kemps, tell your dad to prepare a hive for when I come back!
I decided upon Gisborne, because Pierre had stayed with a beekeeper there on the WWOOFing scheme. He recommended his place highly. So I filled up the van and drove off to a new adventure, singing On the road again. I have now been working for Peter 5 days, making a lot of hours and even more fun. Let me tell you how a day looks like.
I get up around 8 in the morning and with a smile remember where I am. The "backpackers" Peter runs here is very funny. He built all these rooms next to his house and has people staying from all over the Uruguay, Japan, Filipines, Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic and Belgium. It's dirty and doesnt provide the services a backpackers should, but its a lovely place in a strange way.
When I come out of my room I see Colin arriving. He yells out "Time for breakfast boy", and gets out his waterpipe, which he fills to the brim with Marihuana. When we are both high anough to work, we get in the truck and drive to the factory. We pick up some empty beeboxes and put them on the truck. While we are working 'Snake' arrives. Colin tells me nobody knows his real name, and they've known him for 20 years. Snake is always high, and yells out things like "Ooooh yeah boy, machines I say". He 's crazy, I like him.
We drive to the places where the bees are kept, about an hour driving, through the mountains. It is incredibly beautiful here and completely isolated. Colin amuses me with his stories from on the fishing boats, where he spends half of the year, and about his previous life in Amsterdam, Ireland, Paris and South-Africa. He's on of those mad ones Kerouac talks about.
When we arrive at the bees, we put on our suits, which arent very good, and start collecting honey. If it's good you can hear Peter yelling "That's more like it", if it's bad you can hear him swear all day. We put some new boxes on top of the hives, so the bees can collect some more honey. It's hard work, and I get stung a lot, but that doesnt worry me anymore. The venom keeps me alert, especially when I'm high.
After the work is done, which is sometimes late in the evening, we smoke some more and go back to the factory to put the honey boxes. By the time we finish there, Peter usually has bought some beers, and rolls a big joint to share with everyone. After that we go back to the backpackers where I cook up some dinner and fall asleep easily and happy.
I really like this job and want to learn more about it. Kemps, tell your dad to prepare a hive for when I come back!
dinsdag 27 november 2007
Mt Maunganui the hard way
Mount Maunganui is een vakantieoord waar iedere week een cruiseschip aankomt en waar de rijke Nieuw-Zeelanders naast elkaar verbranden op het strand. Aan de andere hand is dit stadje aan de kust gesitueerd in het midden van de kiwiplantages. Deze industrie trekt elk jaar duizenden arbeiders van over de hele wereld aan voor een reeks jobs in de plantages. Van snoeien tot plukken, elke job is wel beschreven, saai en al te vaak onderbetaald. Veel Brazilianen en Chinezen werken er omdat het moeilijk is om zonder werkvisum een andere job te vinden. Enkele Europeanen met werkvisum zijn dapper of gek genoeg om het ook te proberen.
Het begon een drie weken geleden. Ik had net part-time werk gevonden in een schoonmaakbedrijf. We poetsten scholen, kantoren enzovoort, en ik vond het vreselijk werk. Na de tweede dag kwam ik "thuis" waar Paolo en Cristina me opwachten bij hun bus met de boodschap dat ze werk gevonden hadden in de plantages voor een contractor genaamd George. Ik besloot snel de volgende dag mee naar de plantage te gaan in plaats van het schoonmaken...
We stonden de volgende dag om 6u op om om 7u op de plantage te zijn. Daar ontmoeten we George, een verdachte naam voor iemand met de looks van een mohammed, hmmm. "My name is Hamid, but some people call me George. If there is any problem with the payment call Mike" Later ontdekken we bovendien dat hij met een vals Italiaans paspoort naar Nieuw-Zeeland is gereisd. Hij lijkt vriendelijk, maar we zijn zeer sceptisch, want dit alles is zeer verdacht.
De job is hard, heel hard. Het is bloemen plukken van de mannelijke planten. Een beetje uitleg is hier noodzakelijk. De vrouwelijke planten creeeren de vruchten, maar enkel als ze bevrucht zijn. De bijen doen hier het voornaamste werk, maar goedkope werkkrachten als wij helpen hen met het verzamelen van pollen. De bloemen die we plukken worden in een fabriek verwerkt tot stuifmeel en dit wordt verkocht aan de rijke plantages die het gebruiken voor pollinatie. "Are you pollinated?" is de toepasselijke slogan van Kiwipollen.
We worden betaald per kilo, $4.80 en de eerste dag hadden we ongeveer 3.5kg. Later ging het beter en beter en na een tijdje kon ik $80 per dag verdienen, met een record van $120. De Italianen en ik vormen een goed team, en na een week vervoegt Pierre, een Fransman ons. Hij is het ware bloemplukmachien, en verdiende op zijn beste dag bijna $150.
Iedereen van ons team behalve mij heeft ook een avondjob, dus plichtsbewust ging ik op zoek naar iets om te doen in de avond. Ik begon in een bar in Taurange om 8uur savonds en dien om 10 uur mijn ontslag in :-). Verder solliciteer ik in de sex shop, de pizza hut als driver of pizza maker enzovoort. Niet al te veel succes helaas.
Savonds hebben we soms een barbeque of drinken we wat bier op het strand. Het is een goeie sfeer, en dat is nodig want de job is hard en de omstandigheden al te vaak absurd. Elke avond weten we of en waar we de volgende dag kunnen werken, en Hamid blijft verbazen met zijn vele identiteiten.
Paolo en Cristina maken een reis rond de hele wereld, en houden een leuke blog bij. Het is in het Italiaans, maar check zeker de fotos en de grappige video die ze over het flowerpicking hebben gemaakt op http://www.mondovisione.eu.
Het begon een drie weken geleden. Ik had net part-time werk gevonden in een schoonmaakbedrijf. We poetsten scholen, kantoren enzovoort, en ik vond het vreselijk werk. Na de tweede dag kwam ik "thuis" waar Paolo en Cristina me opwachten bij hun bus met de boodschap dat ze werk gevonden hadden in de plantages voor een contractor genaamd George. Ik besloot snel de volgende dag mee naar de plantage te gaan in plaats van het schoonmaken...
We stonden de volgende dag om 6u op om om 7u op de plantage te zijn. Daar ontmoeten we George, een verdachte naam voor iemand met de looks van een mohammed, hmmm. "My name is Hamid, but some people call me George. If there is any problem with the payment call Mike" Later ontdekken we bovendien dat hij met een vals Italiaans paspoort naar Nieuw-Zeeland is gereisd. Hij lijkt vriendelijk, maar we zijn zeer sceptisch, want dit alles is zeer verdacht.
De job is hard, heel hard. Het is bloemen plukken van de mannelijke planten. Een beetje uitleg is hier noodzakelijk. De vrouwelijke planten creeeren de vruchten, maar enkel als ze bevrucht zijn. De bijen doen hier het voornaamste werk, maar goedkope werkkrachten als wij helpen hen met het verzamelen van pollen. De bloemen die we plukken worden in een fabriek verwerkt tot stuifmeel en dit wordt verkocht aan de rijke plantages die het gebruiken voor pollinatie. "Are you pollinated?" is de toepasselijke slogan van Kiwipollen.
We worden betaald per kilo, $4.80 en de eerste dag hadden we ongeveer 3.5kg. Later ging het beter en beter en na een tijdje kon ik $80 per dag verdienen, met een record van $120. De Italianen en ik vormen een goed team, en na een week vervoegt Pierre, een Fransman ons. Hij is het ware bloemplukmachien, en verdiende op zijn beste dag bijna $150.
Iedereen van ons team behalve mij heeft ook een avondjob, dus plichtsbewust ging ik op zoek naar iets om te doen in de avond. Ik begon in een bar in Taurange om 8uur savonds en dien om 10 uur mijn ontslag in :-). Verder solliciteer ik in de sex shop, de pizza hut als driver of pizza maker enzovoort. Niet al te veel succes helaas.
Savonds hebben we soms een barbeque of drinken we wat bier op het strand. Het is een goeie sfeer, en dat is nodig want de job is hard en de omstandigheden al te vaak absurd. Elke avond weten we of en waar we de volgende dag kunnen werken, en Hamid blijft verbazen met zijn vele identiteiten.
Paolo en Cristina maken een reis rond de hele wereld, en houden een leuke blog bij. Het is in het Italiaans, maar check zeker de fotos en de grappige video die ze over het flowerpicking hebben gemaakt op http://www.mondovisione.eu.
maandag 29 oktober 2007
Peace and quiet in Otamatea
I stayed in Otamatea for two weeks in the beginning of October (post a bit late, I know).
Otamatea is an intentional eco-village society, which means people who live there work together to try to create a better environment for them, their children and people in general. It is situated on a peninsula, surrounded by the Otamatea river, near Kaiwaka, in the south of Northland. It is a stunningly beautiful place, with nice and interesting people in it. Not only hippies and New-agers either, creative mix of people.
I stayed with Lynne and Reinhold, who started the community some ten years ago. It took me a while before I felt at home with them, but eventually I loved it there. I worked four hours a day in exchange for good food (which was welcome after my week in northland) and a bed in the outside sauna. I did a number of different tasks, including planting potatoes, weeding, moving cows, collecting cowshit, even beekeeping! By the end of the first week I might go back there sometime, by the end of my travels.
After that, I got back to Auckland, with mixed feelings about leaving. It was good to see Paul, he had two German couchsurfers staying, who were just heading for Northland, so I gave them some tips. Me and Paul talked a lot, it was almost like coming home. After two days I left Auckland again, heading to the south. It was a great feeling to realise, that every meter I drove, I was in the most Southern place I had ever been. Randomly I took turnoffs, stopped by the side of the road to sleep, no idea where I was. Next day drove on, till I came to Mount Maunganui, a little village close to Tauranga. I liked it there and still do. I went to Te Puke a couple of times, they call it Kiwifruit capital of the world. A man said I could get a job in pruning the orchards, they start somewhere this week, depending on the wheater.
In the meantime I hang around "the mount", sleeping in the van and taking free showers in the camping. I walk and run around the mount often, go fishing, read and relax. In the day there are always plenty of people around, but at night it sometimes gets very lonely. Yesterday I met some people who arrived in a pickup truck with leather sofas on the back. They unloaded them on the beach, and I joined in with my sofa. I wish all nights could be like that. One of the guys was a beekeeper, said he needed men to work, so I gave him my number, we'll see.
Funny little facts
- I was walking on the rocks around the mount a few days back, when I was suddenly stunned to see two seals barking at me. I stood there for a second or two, before realising that running was the better option. I ran, jumped off another rock and landed on half a meter of a huuuuuge seal who charged at me. Scary but o so cool. Offcourse I didnt have my camera with me.
- I went fishing, having no idea who the fishing rod works. A man explained it all to me, and now I get it. Didn't catch any fish, and was terrified that one of the blue penguins, who I could see swimming around there, would eat the bate, but luckily they didnt.
- Everywhere I park the van, young people seem to gather around with their cars, just to hang around. It is a strange NZ habbit. Most of the cars are tuned and their engines are loud. A lot of the kids race on the streets as well. They are pretty friendly though. I was drinking with a group of them, when the cops came and made us tip all of the drinks out (they had two cases of burboun and coke). They didnt seem to mind that they left all the bottles on the street though, strange country.
- Met a strange man who went to the pub in an overal. He told me that Japanese girls were hairy, because they eat a lot of fish.
- Mussels are easy to grab around here, and I eat them every two days. Each day is too much.
Allright, Im heading to Te Puke now, hoping that I can start working again soon, because my money is almost gone again (but aint that the way it will always be?).
Otamatea is an intentional eco-village society, which means people who live there work together to try to create a better environment for them, their children and people in general. It is situated on a peninsula, surrounded by the Otamatea river, near Kaiwaka, in the south of Northland. It is a stunningly beautiful place, with nice and interesting people in it. Not only hippies and New-agers either, creative mix of people.
I stayed with Lynne and Reinhold, who started the community some ten years ago. It took me a while before I felt at home with them, but eventually I loved it there. I worked four hours a day in exchange for good food (which was welcome after my week in northland) and a bed in the outside sauna. I did a number of different tasks, including planting potatoes, weeding, moving cows, collecting cowshit, even beekeeping! By the end of the first week I might go back there sometime, by the end of my travels.
After that, I got back to Auckland, with mixed feelings about leaving. It was good to see Paul, he had two German couchsurfers staying, who were just heading for Northland, so I gave them some tips. Me and Paul talked a lot, it was almost like coming home. After two days I left Auckland again, heading to the south. It was a great feeling to realise, that every meter I drove, I was in the most Southern place I had ever been. Randomly I took turnoffs, stopped by the side of the road to sleep, no idea where I was. Next day drove on, till I came to Mount Maunganui, a little village close to Tauranga. I liked it there and still do. I went to Te Puke a couple of times, they call it Kiwifruit capital of the world. A man said I could get a job in pruning the orchards, they start somewhere this week, depending on the wheater.
In the meantime I hang around "the mount", sleeping in the van and taking free showers in the camping. I walk and run around the mount often, go fishing, read and relax. In the day there are always plenty of people around, but at night it sometimes gets very lonely. Yesterday I met some people who arrived in a pickup truck with leather sofas on the back. They unloaded them on the beach, and I joined in with my sofa. I wish all nights could be like that. One of the guys was a beekeeper, said he needed men to work, so I gave him my number, we'll see.
Funny little facts
- I was walking on the rocks around the mount a few days back, when I was suddenly stunned to see two seals barking at me. I stood there for a second or two, before realising that running was the better option. I ran, jumped off another rock and landed on half a meter of a huuuuuge seal who charged at me. Scary but o so cool. Offcourse I didnt have my camera with me.
- I went fishing, having no idea who the fishing rod works. A man explained it all to me, and now I get it. Didn't catch any fish, and was terrified that one of the blue penguins, who I could see swimming around there, would eat the bate, but luckily they didnt.
- Everywhere I park the van, young people seem to gather around with their cars, just to hang around. It is a strange NZ habbit. Most of the cars are tuned and their engines are loud. A lot of the kids race on the streets as well. They are pretty friendly though. I was drinking with a group of them, when the cops came and made us tip all of the drinks out (they had two cases of burboun and coke). They didnt seem to mind that they left all the bottles on the street though, strange country.
- Met a strange man who went to the pub in an overal. He told me that Japanese girls were hairy, because they eat a lot of fish.
- Mussels are easy to grab around here, and I eat them every two days. Each day is too much.
Allright, Im heading to Te Puke now, hoping that I can start working again soon, because my money is almost gone again (but aint that the way it will always be?).
zaterdag 13 oktober 2007
Mad week in Northland
Left for Auckland and headed straight for adventure! I have described everything in detail in a little book I will to Belgium tomorrow, but for those who can't acces that, I will give some highlights.
- First night in Orewa, met a couple, they took me out to a bar, and paid for my beer all night. Great talks about life, food and New-Zealand. Went to sleep, but too cold, so drove on after a while. Parked the van somewhere at a regional park. Woke up the next morning with the sunrise over an island-filled sea, wonderful.
- Russell, bay of islands, met two French travelers and took them to couchsurfer Douglas' place. We had some (a lot) drinks and went kayakking the next morning with the four of us.
- The next day me and the French travelers drove at Cape Reinga, where we watched the sunset and cooked some dinner together.
- Got stuck when I took my van on 90 mile beach, without 4 WD and on high-tide = recipe for disaster. I wanted to take the next exit a couple of kms further up, but got stuck on the way. The tide was coming in very fast, so I had to act fast. Ran to where I got on the beach, and luckily found someone with a jeep, who I convinced to help me out. This was a close call, easily could have lost the van to the sea there... But, as it always goes, it turned out good!
- Took the ferry from Kohukohu to Opononi, but was complely broke. By the time the guy came to ask for the money I was already parked in, so I payed with my harmonica. In Opononi I had to stop because the tank was almost empty. Met some people there who gave me food and beer. The next morning there was a flea market in town and I sold my old mp3-player and foldable chairs for $30, petrol money. Got a bee teddybear and a back massage for free as wel.
- The last night I spent with a young family I met in Dargaville. Completely mad, completely. Imagine pounding rap music, drunks, big bags of weed, drugs, and Christians raving about the destroying of all atheists, and me caught in the middle of it all.
This was very probably the best week of my life. It was hard due to the lack of money, but I received so much from people. When you need help, you are likely to get it. Or to put it in the words of Coulin: "Don't be shy!"
- First night in Orewa, met a couple, they took me out to a bar, and paid for my beer all night. Great talks about life, food and New-Zealand. Went to sleep, but too cold, so drove on after a while. Parked the van somewhere at a regional park. Woke up the next morning with the sunrise over an island-filled sea, wonderful.
- Russell, bay of islands, met two French travelers and took them to couchsurfer Douglas' place. We had some (a lot) drinks and went kayakking the next morning with the four of us.
- The next day me and the French travelers drove at Cape Reinga, where we watched the sunset and cooked some dinner together.
- Got stuck when I took my van on 90 mile beach, without 4 WD and on high-tide = recipe for disaster. I wanted to take the next exit a couple of kms further up, but got stuck on the way. The tide was coming in very fast, so I had to act fast. Ran to where I got on the beach, and luckily found someone with a jeep, who I convinced to help me out. This was a close call, easily could have lost the van to the sea there... But, as it always goes, it turned out good!
- Took the ferry from Kohukohu to Opononi, but was complely broke. By the time the guy came to ask for the money I was already parked in, so I payed with my harmonica. In Opononi I had to stop because the tank was almost empty. Met some people there who gave me food and beer. The next morning there was a flea market in town and I sold my old mp3-player and foldable chairs for $30, petrol money. Got a bee teddybear and a back massage for free as wel.
- The last night I spent with a young family I met in Dargaville. Completely mad, completely. Imagine pounding rap music, drunks, big bags of weed, drugs, and Christians raving about the destroying of all atheists, and me caught in the middle of it all.
This was very probably the best week of my life. It was hard due to the lack of money, but I received so much from people. When you need help, you are likely to get it. Or to put it in the words of Coulin: "Don't be shy!"
zondag 23 september 2007
On the road
My van is ready, or ready enough anyway :-)
I am leaving now for northland, and will live in the van for the next ten days, before ariving in Otamatea, where I can get food and bed for 4 hours of work on the farm/garden. Part two of my journey has begun. Catch you guys later!
I am leaving now for northland, and will live in the van for the next ten days, before ariving in Otamatea, where I can get food and bed for 4 hours of work on the farm/garden. Part two of my journey has begun. Catch you guys later!
woensdag 19 september 2007
A change is in the air
News comes from electric Sander!
I have quit my job, and am once again a free man :-). They were realy nice to my, and didn't make a problem of it. The people at work were actually very cool, it was the job itself and the eager to get on the road that I couldn't bare. Maybe I could come back here later, when I need some money and I can help them out.
I have also purchased a van, 1994 by year, Toyota by make, Hiace by type, 374000km on the odomoter, and bigass by nature. I have been working in it today, have already put in the floor in it. Want to build the bed tomorrow and the cabinets the day after, leave on sunday. Paul is helping me out with finding the stuff that I need and working in the van. I' m gonna make a foldable bed in it, that can also be a sofa and has storage room under it. On the other side some more storage room and an lpg cooker. Maybe some extra speakers for the back, and a fridge that can run of battery power, maybe extra battery as well. We'll see what I can afford, because I dont have a lot of money left, but thats OK, everything is OK.
I have bought a big bag of rice, some coconut milk in cans and currie. Easy meal, cheap as. And from the 1st october will live for two weeks in Otomatea, in exchange for 4 hours a day around the house or on the small farm, I get food and bed. From there on we'll see.
I have quit my job, and am once again a free man :-). They were realy nice to my, and didn't make a problem of it. The people at work were actually very cool, it was the job itself and the eager to get on the road that I couldn't bare. Maybe I could come back here later, when I need some money and I can help them out.
I have also purchased a van, 1994 by year, Toyota by make, Hiace by type, 374000km on the odomoter, and bigass by nature. I have been working in it today, have already put in the floor in it. Want to build the bed tomorrow and the cabinets the day after, leave on sunday. Paul is helping me out with finding the stuff that I need and working in the van. I' m gonna make a foldable bed in it, that can also be a sofa and has storage room under it. On the other side some more storage room and an lpg cooker. Maybe some extra speakers for the back, and a fridge that can run of battery power, maybe extra battery as well. We'll see what I can afford, because I dont have a lot of money left, but thats OK, everything is OK.
I have bought a big bag of rice, some coconut milk in cans and currie. Easy meal, cheap as. And from the 1st october will live for two weeks in Otomatea, in exchange for 4 hours a day around the house or on the small farm, I get food and bed. From there on we'll see.
vrijdag 14 september 2007
Rare tijden
Veel gewerkt de laatste week, en ik ben het minder en minder leuk gaan vinden. Ik kan de stress echt niet aan, en het is eigenlijk toch niets voor mij denk ik. Achter de toog voel ik me best op m'n gemak, maar in het restaurant is het een ander verhaal, en daar werk ik meestal. Hete borden, de voortdurende angst het te laten vallen, vandaag zelfs wijn over klanten laten vallen. Uiteraard was ik compleet gegeneerd en basrste ik in een stroom van verontschuldigingen uit. De heer in kwestie, die overigens maar een spatje op zijn pak kreeg (zijn vrouw nam de voormaaste portie van de halve liter Adam Scott Sauvignon blanc voor haar rekening), zei dat hij de droogkeus van zijn pak vergoed moest zien. Ik barste in lachen uit, ervan overtuigd dat iets zo absurd enkel en alleen een grap kon zijn. Niet dus, en dat maakte hij met een snauw duidelijk. Ik was ervan overtuigd dat ik ontslaan zou worden, maar in plaats daarvan moest ik onmiddellijk een grote schotel vol bier naar een andere tafel brengen. Een ander koppel zei dat hun latte (koffie met heel veel melk) te sterk was en dat ze nochtans uitdrukkelijk gevraagd hadden hem niet te sterk te maken. Ik had een espresso-shot verdeeld over twee koppen (een vierde van de normale hoeveelheid). Dit soort absurdisme gaat zelfs mij te ver. Oh, en tijdens dit alles moet je voortdurend blijven glimlachen en vriendelijk zijn. Fooien zijn extreem zeldzaam in Nieuw-Zeeland, en in totaal heb ik nu $28 aan tips bijeen gekregen. Ik bewonder mensen die in de horeca werken, nu meer dan ooit, en ik snap niet hoe ze het voor mekaar krijgen. De beslissing is logisch, ik stap op. Ik ben Auckland nu toch ongeveer beu, en wil het reizen niet langer uitstellen. Ik ben op zoek naar een omgebouwde camionette, en heb al een testrit gemaakt met een omgebouwde lpg toyota. Vrij rudimentair, vrij hoog verbruik, al is het dan lpg, zeer lelijk, niet echt overtuigd, doch er valt iets mee te doen, en hij is mechanisch in orde. Morgen ga ik rijden met een super coole bus, Kemps stijl, maar dan onderhouden ;-), die op benzine rijdt, maar echt wel de max is (kijk hier en oordeel zelf http://www.gumtree.co.nz/auckland/85/13467985.html).
Ik heb on the road nu uit, en blijf achter met een vreselijk sterke drang om te reizen. Ik heb mijn beslissing gemaakt, ik geef mijn ontslag dinsdag, en normaal moet ik dan nog een week blijven werken, wat waarschijnlijk niet erg leuk zal zijn, maar wat is een week. Ik hoop dat ik tegen dan een bus gekocht heb en dan begin ik gewoon aan mijn reis. Vandaag is trouwens een koppel uit Otamatea langsgeweest in de BBC. Ik had hen gemaild had of ik een tijdje bij hun kon verblijven. Otamatea is gemeenschap in het noorden van Nieuw Zeeland die probeert om, met organische middelen, zoveel mogelijk zelfvoorzienend te leven. Ze verbouwen voedsel, houden vee, bouwen huizen met materiaal dat ze zelf verzamelen, enzovoort (www.otamatea.org.nz). Dit koppel houdt bovendien bijen, wat mijn interesse nog meer wekt. We hebben afgesproken dat ik 1 oktober kom en twee weken bij hen kan verblijven, kost en inwoon voor 4 uur werk per dag. Ze krijgen heel het jaar door mensen op bezoek via het WOOF-systeem (willing workers on organic farms). Cool idee, en een perfecte manier om tot rust te komen. Ze zijn gelegen in een oase, omringd door de heuvels en de bossen.
En nu het grappige nieuws van de week. Dinsdag na het werk op cafe geweest in Milford, in een pub genaamd Three dogs and mad Englishmen. Milford, vergeten oord op de northshore van Auckland, waar mensen wonen en enkel wonen, waar ik woon. 7 mensen in de bar, 4 druk bezig hun geld te verdoen in de gokmachines. Ik raak aan de praat met twee dames van middelbare leeftijd, de ene super vriendelijk, de andere een complete bitch. De laatste blijft opmerkingen maken, als "what are you still doing here?" en "go play with children your own age". De andere dringt aan mij in contact te brengen met haar dochter, waarop ik uiteindelijk, ondertussen dronken, toegeef. Zeer grappig taffereel.
De avond daarop na een shift van 10 uur op het strand gaan wandelen in Takapuna. Een paar kerels tegengekomen die er aan het drinken waren, en me bij hen neergezet. Drie kerels in volle rebellie, tegen de wet, tegen Nieuw-Zeeland, tegen alles zowat. Ik glijd gewoon mee in deze avond, en een uur of vijf later tref ik mezelf aan, urinerend tegen een gevel, en besef plots dat het de achterkant van mijn werkplek is. Het grappige is dat dit toevallig gebeurd lijkt te zijn. Dat was dan toch weer genoeg voor mij. Morgen ga ik naar een feestje met die kerels, dat belooft raar te worden.
Even samenvatten wat er omgaat in mijn hoofd "moet bus kopen, moet stoppen met werken, moet beginnen reizen, moet geen zorgen maken over niks, jipiiieee". Zo zal geschieden!
Ik heb on the road nu uit, en blijf achter met een vreselijk sterke drang om te reizen. Ik heb mijn beslissing gemaakt, ik geef mijn ontslag dinsdag, en normaal moet ik dan nog een week blijven werken, wat waarschijnlijk niet erg leuk zal zijn, maar wat is een week. Ik hoop dat ik tegen dan een bus gekocht heb en dan begin ik gewoon aan mijn reis. Vandaag is trouwens een koppel uit Otamatea langsgeweest in de BBC. Ik had hen gemaild had of ik een tijdje bij hun kon verblijven. Otamatea is gemeenschap in het noorden van Nieuw Zeeland die probeert om, met organische middelen, zoveel mogelijk zelfvoorzienend te leven. Ze verbouwen voedsel, houden vee, bouwen huizen met materiaal dat ze zelf verzamelen, enzovoort (www.otamatea.org.nz). Dit koppel houdt bovendien bijen, wat mijn interesse nog meer wekt. We hebben afgesproken dat ik 1 oktober kom en twee weken bij hen kan verblijven, kost en inwoon voor 4 uur werk per dag. Ze krijgen heel het jaar door mensen op bezoek via het WOOF-systeem (willing workers on organic farms). Cool idee, en een perfecte manier om tot rust te komen. Ze zijn gelegen in een oase, omringd door de heuvels en de bossen.
En nu het grappige nieuws van de week. Dinsdag na het werk op cafe geweest in Milford, in een pub genaamd Three dogs and mad Englishmen. Milford, vergeten oord op de northshore van Auckland, waar mensen wonen en enkel wonen, waar ik woon. 7 mensen in de bar, 4 druk bezig hun geld te verdoen in de gokmachines. Ik raak aan de praat met twee dames van middelbare leeftijd, de ene super vriendelijk, de andere een complete bitch. De laatste blijft opmerkingen maken, als "what are you still doing here?" en "go play with children your own age". De andere dringt aan mij in contact te brengen met haar dochter, waarop ik uiteindelijk, ondertussen dronken, toegeef. Zeer grappig taffereel.
De avond daarop na een shift van 10 uur op het strand gaan wandelen in Takapuna. Een paar kerels tegengekomen die er aan het drinken waren, en me bij hen neergezet. Drie kerels in volle rebellie, tegen de wet, tegen Nieuw-Zeeland, tegen alles zowat. Ik glijd gewoon mee in deze avond, en een uur of vijf later tref ik mezelf aan, urinerend tegen een gevel, en besef plots dat het de achterkant van mijn werkplek is. Het grappige is dat dit toevallig gebeurd lijkt te zijn. Dat was dan toch weer genoeg voor mij. Morgen ga ik naar een feestje met die kerels, dat belooft raar te worden.
Even samenvatten wat er omgaat in mijn hoofd "moet bus kopen, moet stoppen met werken, moet beginnen reizen, moet geen zorgen maken over niks, jipiiieee". Zo zal geschieden!
zaterdag 8 september 2007
Ordinary update I
Ok, I'm realy seatled in now. I have a job, am paying the rent, feel at home and my iPod has arrived (so happy with that). The bad thing is: this doesn't feel like much of an adventure, the good thing is I'm making money and looking forward to travel south when I have enough of it. I try to spend as little as possible, so I am not going out or spending money on stuff that I don't realy need. It's not that I'm bored, I read a lot and relax every free moment that I have. I like Takapuna because of it's nice library and it's beautiful beach. I'll be building bumblebee nests tomorrow with whatever material I can find laying around. Maybe I'll have to go find some flowering plants as well (and I sure ain't gonna pay for them), because theres not much bee food around this area.
I've worked around 30 hours so far, and next week I'm pretty much doing full-time (40 hours). I am pretty confident that I'll keep this job for a while, maximum three months. The colleagues are just great, they're friendly, crazy, I dig them, I fit right into that bunch. Today I worked at the bar for the first time, and that is absolutely what I want to do. Basicly it's just talking about beer all day :-). I'll try not to make it too obvious that I'm from Belgium from now on, because people, with all their good intentions, just keep on talking to me about that. Everybody knows some-one that's been there and has some story about it, and often I just don't have the time for that.
A Belgian family came in today that had just moved to New-Zealand for their new life. The dad ordered a Chimay and was a bit melancholic, I think he missed home already. They were nice.
I have to study up on wines and coffees tomorrow, they have an American coffee culture here, which I realy don't like (dilluting coffee with water, what the hell?). Some-one stole my sigarettes from the changing room earlier this week, bastard.
There realy isn't much more to say, as sad as it may sound. Exept that my mind is constantly racing at 200km/hr and that I have found an energy here that I had never suspected was in me. The work helps, it's addictive, it's like a cocaine trip.
I'll put a decent update on once I have something interesting to say (might be a while)
"...because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!' "
burn on fellows
I've worked around 30 hours so far, and next week I'm pretty much doing full-time (40 hours). I am pretty confident that I'll keep this job for a while, maximum three months. The colleagues are just great, they're friendly, crazy, I dig them, I fit right into that bunch. Today I worked at the bar for the first time, and that is absolutely what I want to do. Basicly it's just talking about beer all day :-). I'll try not to make it too obvious that I'm from Belgium from now on, because people, with all their good intentions, just keep on talking to me about that. Everybody knows some-one that's been there and has some story about it, and often I just don't have the time for that.
A Belgian family came in today that had just moved to New-Zealand for their new life. The dad ordered a Chimay and was a bit melancholic, I think he missed home already. They were nice.
I have to study up on wines and coffees tomorrow, they have an American coffee culture here, which I realy don't like (dilluting coffee with water, what the hell?). Some-one stole my sigarettes from the changing room earlier this week, bastard.
There realy isn't much more to say, as sad as it may sound. Exept that my mind is constantly racing at 200km/hr and that I have found an energy here that I had never suspected was in me. The work helps, it's addictive, it's like a cocaine trip.
I'll put a decent update on once I have something interesting to say (might be a while)
"...because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!' "
burn on fellows
maandag 3 september 2007
Employed :-)
I went to the Belgian Beer Cafe again today, to talk to the manager about getting a job there. We talked about beer and he made me pour a couple of beers to see if I knew how to do it. He was very pleased and he said I could start tomorrow! He gave me the full tour of the bar, gave me the uniform (see picture) and so on. They actually have a pretty impressive collection of Belgian beers there, probably more than the avarage Belgian bar would have. You can see the menu here: http://www.belgianbeercafetakapuna.co.nz/. The pay is not that high, well actually it's pretty lousy to Belgian norms ($10.5/hr), but I guess that's normal seeing that I have no experience in working in a bar. We agreed that if they still want me to work there after a month, we'll discuss the pay again then. I hope I can do as many hours as possible, but that shouldn't be a problem, because they have a girl that's leaving soon and is doing 12hr shifts, 6 days a week, so I'd be happy to take her place. The bar is called Blankengerge btw, so I might just be singing a little Hugo Matthijsen song to the customers.
Yesterday I went to play frisbee in Takapuna, which was kind of strange. All the people there had at least some experience with Ultimate, but I didn't even know the rules properly. Half of the time I didn't know what I was doing, and was just running around the field like a madman. Oh, and I had these running shoes on, which had no grip at all on the wet field, so I was constantly slipping away (impossible to walk in this mud, no footage at all, order some golf shoes, or we'll never get out of this place alive). If my hours allow it, I will go to the trainings on monday evening, and learn the basics before I go to another one of these tournaments.
I guess I'm all sorted out know, and so I'll be paying rent to Paul from now on. I think I will stay here for a while longer, because I feel at home here, and it's only a 15 minute cycle from my work, so that saves me the money I would normally pay for the bus.
zaterdag 1 september 2007
Rangitoto island
Jojojo,
Vandaag ben ik met Danitsja naar Rangitoto island gegaan. Dat eiland is nog maar een paar honderd jaar oud en onststond door een vulkaanuitbarsting. Geweldige wandeling gemaakt, rare vogels gezien, korstmossen, endemische planten, behaarde bomen, Japanners en andere rariteiten. Het landschap was vaak adembenemend.
fotos zie je hier: http://picasaweb.google.com/sandervn/Rangitoto
Wie kan me zeggen wat dat haar-achtige organisme is dat op die boom te zien is?
heel de dag in Nederlands gepraat, vandaar is deze post ook in deze vreemde taal
Vandaag ben ik met Danitsja naar Rangitoto island gegaan. Dat eiland is nog maar een paar honderd jaar oud en onststond door een vulkaanuitbarsting. Geweldige wandeling gemaakt, rare vogels gezien, korstmossen, endemische planten, behaarde bomen, Japanners en andere rariteiten. Het landschap was vaak adembenemend.
fotos zie je hier: http://picasaweb.google.com/sandervn/Rangitoto
Wie kan me zeggen wat dat haar-achtige organisme is dat op die boom te zien is?
heel de dag in Nederlands gepraat, vandaar is deze post ook in deze vreemde taal
donderdag 30 augustus 2007
bumblebees & couchsurfers
Today I went to the university library of Auckland to find some information on New-Zealand bumblebees. It was very fun and I got to see all these old journals (mostly New Zealand journal of science and technology). I copied some articles and read them in the park, while watching the bumblebees flie by in their constant journey for food. It appears there are 3 species which have been succesfully introduced: Bombus terrestris, B. ruderatus and B. subterraneus, all of which have the typical black/yellow/white colour patern, although it differs slightly between them. The most comon species is the B. terrestris or earth bumblebee (grote aardhommel), and it has a very remarcable story to tell. This species will hibernate for about 3 months in Belgium and England during the winter and has its whole colony cycle fine tuned to that. Here in New Zealand however, conditions or different and there is no need for the queen to go into hibernation. Probably temperatures are more favourable and more food is available during the winter years. This doesn't mean that fertilised queens can go on immediately to start a nest, they have to wait one or two months for warmer conditions, but they don't wait underground. The better weather also brings confusion to the queens, as the few hot days in the winter will often fool them into starting a nest prematurly, thus failin almost certainly. The other two species do hibernate, ruderatus for about two months and subterraneus for about 5 months. It's very interesting to see that these creatures/organisms (hihi) can survive in conditions to which they are not at all adapted to. This literature was all very old (1954-) and I think I had heard about 4 different species existing in New-Zealand, so it might be possible that another kind has been established. I'm thinking of having another go on rearing my own bumblebees in an artificial nest and will look into some local literature about the subject soon.
Later today I met up with couchsurfers Danitsja and Daniel, and we went to the Belgian Beer Cafe downtown (not the one where I will be working). We had a nice conversation about traveling and all the adventures that come with it, and about New-Zealand. We may go to the Ringitoto island tomorow and climb the vulcano together and I also invited them to come along to the ultimate frisbee tournament in Takapuna on sunday.
It has been a good day :-)
Later today I met up with couchsurfers Danitsja and Daniel, and we went to the Belgian Beer Cafe downtown (not the one where I will be working). We had a nice conversation about traveling and all the adventures that come with it, and about New-Zealand. We may go to the Ringitoto island tomorow and climb the vulcano together and I also invited them to come along to the ultimate frisbee tournament in Takapuna on sunday.
It has been a good day :-)
woensdag 29 augustus 2007
Job hunting - part 2
The last couple of day I've been more active in finding a job and it starts to show results.
I've enrolled in an employment agency called Kelly services, which provides anybody that wants to with the most crappy jobs, but I'm almost sure I can find work that way. I've also enrolled in an employmet agency that offers farm work, complete with transport, accomodation and training. I'm really keen on doing some of that, so I'll sure do that in the future. But for now, I found something better... I can do a test shift monday in the Belgian Beer Cafe, which is just a 15 minute ride with the bike from here. Pretty ideal, no? It's a chain of bars, they have 40 all over the world and they import almost everything from Beglium, ranging from their beer to their decoration. The strange thing is that their stella artois is not imported, but is brewed here in New-Zealand (and tastes completely different). I think I can live with that :-)
So, it's all beginning to fall in place and next week I'll be working.
take that, all you unemployed lazy bastards ;-)
I've enrolled in an employment agency called Kelly services, which provides anybody that wants to with the most crappy jobs, but I'm almost sure I can find work that way. I've also enrolled in an employmet agency that offers farm work, complete with transport, accomodation and training. I'm really keen on doing some of that, so I'll sure do that in the future. But for now, I found something better... I can do a test shift monday in the Belgian Beer Cafe, which is just a 15 minute ride with the bike from here. Pretty ideal, no? It's a chain of bars, they have 40 all over the world and they import almost everything from Beglium, ranging from their beer to their decoration. The strange thing is that their stella artois is not imported, but is brewed here in New-Zealand (and tastes completely different). I think I can live with that :-)
So, it's all beginning to fall in place and next week I'll be working.
take that, all you unemployed lazy bastards ;-)
Who the f*ck is blocking my moon?
To whom it may concern...
To all of you who were walking in the sun in Belgium at around noon yesterday, know that you were steeling the light from MY moon! I've got picture proof!
dinsdag 28 augustus 2007
Telephone
got me a telephone: +642102548081 that costst 0.252 euro/min with skype
the home phone here is +6499402711 and that costs 0.017 euro/min with skype
Calling on the home phone would only work after 6 pm mostly, because I'm mostly out during the day
the home phone here is +6499402711 and that costs 0.017 euro/min with skype
Calling on the home phone would only work after 6 pm mostly, because I'm mostly out during the day
maandag 27 augustus 2007
prijzen in Nieuw-Zeeland
Een post in het Nederlands, moet kunnen...
Ik dacht dat Nieuw-Zeeland een duur land was, maar dat moet enigzins genuanceerd worden:
wat is duur?
- sigaretten: $10 voor een pakje, $19 voor 30g (!) tabak
- koffie
- bier
- uit eten of drinken gaan
wat is goedkoop?
- levensmiddelen
- cds
- schoenen
- kappers
De basisregel schijnt te zijn: alles wat slecht voor je is kost hier meer dan in Belgie (geen juist accent op dit toetsenbord), noodzakelijke dingen zijn hier goedkoper, soms veel goedkoper. De lonen liggen hier ook een pak lager. Voor sommige jobs word je hier slechts $11/u betaald, dus waarschijnlijk zal ik op de luxe producten moeten besparen als ik hier een jaar wil overleven, maar dat kan ik wel aan.
Ik dacht dat Nieuw-Zeeland een duur land was, maar dat moet enigzins genuanceerd worden:
wat is duur?
- sigaretten: $10 voor een pakje, $19 voor 30g (!) tabak
- koffie
- bier
- uit eten of drinken gaan
wat is goedkoop?
- levensmiddelen
- cds
- schoenen
- kappers
De basisregel schijnt te zijn: alles wat slecht voor je is kost hier meer dan in Belgie (geen juist accent op dit toetsenbord), noodzakelijke dingen zijn hier goedkoper, soms veel goedkoper. De lonen liggen hier ook een pak lager. Voor sommige jobs word je hier slechts $11/u betaald, dus waarschijnlijk zal ik op de luxe producten moeten besparen als ik hier een jaar wil overleven, maar dat kan ik wel aan.
zaterdag 25 augustus 2007
Looking for a job?!
The last couple of days I have started to look for a job.
At first I went to the city center of Auckland to register in some employement agencies. This city is so fucking big and busy that it took me a while to get used to it. So I first went to the park and slept for a while ;-) After that I looked up the adresses of the agencies in the yellow pages and visited some. Guys in suits, me in T-shirt... a no-go. So I just walked around the city and went into some bars and backpackers to ask if they needed staff. I didn't have any luck with that either, although some asked me to leave my details. Later I went to the wicked van hiring company, who had emailed me to say they might need somebody in august, but same thing there. I kinda gave up for that day and just hung around in the city some more. Man, have they got record stores here. I found about the complete collection of Dylan & Zappa most albums at just $7, jouwzaaa. That night Jesse came over, another couchsurfing friend of Paul, who stayed here a couple of months ago. A great guy, he 's been traveling for a couple of years non-stop, and working where he can. He 's now renting an apartement in the city and had just bought an awesome van.
The next day I went to the Belgian Beer Cafe in Takapuna, close to where I'm staying. I filled in an application form and added a letter of recommendation, stating that I was a real beer lover, I wonder if that 'll work out in my advantage. They had a surprising choice of beers, from stella, over Leffe and Orval to Gouden Carolus, nnnnnnice. It was bloody expensive though, I payed $ 10.5 for a Duvel. That night I got high as a bird and had a very nice talk with Paul. I still find it surprising how nice this guy is to me and I'm sure he's going to stay a friend for life.
Today I mostly relaxed (as if I didn't do that on the other days :). We went to the swimming pool in the afternoon and I had a sauna and hot-tub.
For those who didn't get that already, I love it here! I give myself another two weeks or so to find a job, and I'm fairly confident I'll find something by then.
greetings to all you earth monkeys
At first I went to the city center of Auckland to register in some employement agencies. This city is so fucking big and busy that it took me a while to get used to it. So I first went to the park and slept for a while ;-) After that I looked up the adresses of the agencies in the yellow pages and visited some. Guys in suits, me in T-shirt... a no-go. So I just walked around the city and went into some bars and backpackers to ask if they needed staff. I didn't have any luck with that either, although some asked me to leave my details. Later I went to the wicked van hiring company, who had emailed me to say they might need somebody in august, but same thing there. I kinda gave up for that day and just hung around in the city some more. Man, have they got record stores here. I found about the complete collection of Dylan & Zappa most albums at just $7, jouwzaaa. That night Jesse came over, another couchsurfing friend of Paul, who stayed here a couple of months ago. A great guy, he 's been traveling for a couple of years non-stop, and working where he can. He 's now renting an apartement in the city and had just bought an awesome van.
The next day I went to the Belgian Beer Cafe in Takapuna, close to where I'm staying. I filled in an application form and added a letter of recommendation, stating that I was a real beer lover, I wonder if that 'll work out in my advantage. They had a surprising choice of beers, from stella, over Leffe and Orval to Gouden Carolus, nnnnnnice. It was bloody expensive though, I payed $ 10.5 for a Duvel. That night I got high as a bird and had a very nice talk with Paul. I still find it surprising how nice this guy is to me and I'm sure he's going to stay a friend for life.
Today I mostly relaxed (as if I didn't do that on the other days :). We went to the swimming pool in the afternoon and I had a sauna and hot-tub.
For those who didn't get that already, I love it here! I give myself another two weeks or so to find a job, and I'm fairly confident I'll find something by then.
greetings to all you earth monkeys
woensdag 22 augustus 2007
An exhausting journey
I woke up on sunday with one of the heaviest hangovers I have had in my entire life. Luckily the party had been worth it so I didn 't mind cleaning up the mess like a zombie ;-)
I managed to get on the plane on time, and without forgetting too many things (except my New Zealand guides and my iPod). The first flight, to London, was easy. It only took one hour and on the airport I found a "quiet sitting area" with great relax chairs, where I listened to the yellow shark. The next flight would take me to Sydney, with a stop in Bangkok (o ja Laurens, ik kon het niet laten van even langs Thailand te gaan voor u). This was no ordinary plane, this was a superior machine. The boeing 767 was enormeous and had private television screens for everyone. You could select a movie, or television series, listen to a pretty big collection of cds or play some games against the computer or other passengers. All this kept me entertained for a couple of hours, and I even managed to get half an hour of sleep before me neighbour woke me up (in a true VH-like style ;0) for diner. The arrival in Bangkok had something surreal. There were huge pictures of the King everywhere and he was depicted as a god, with kind of a ray of light coming out of his head. Next to it the text "long live the king". We all had to get off the plain. and take all our hand lugage with us. The batards took my two bottles of leffe that I had brought for Paul...
We had to wait for quiete a while before they would leave us back in the plane. When they finally did, I felt so shitty that I was allmost considering not to. The flight to Sydney would take another 9 hours and the company was not as nice as the last flight (an Aussie with a terrible accent who had taken a sleeping pill). I stayed awake for the whole flight and was feeling very nauseous. I kept telling myself that I would never engage in such a long travel in one time again. But, I survived, and even caught the plane to Auckland in Sydney. On that plane I read the friend's book some of you made for me, and it got to me. The fatigue had dimished my emotional resistance and I cried like a baby for a couple of minutes. Not because I was sad to leave, but because I realised I have some pretty damn good friends, thanks you all!!!!!!
In Auckland, all went well with the visa and customs and after a couple of minutes I had all my stuff and went to the exit. Paul found me there, and he drove me to his home, but not after first showing me around in the neighbourhood. He's a great guy, and made me feel very welcome, even made me forget about the damn planes. Now I've just had a rest, and I'm feeling much better.
more to follow soon!!!
I managed to get on the plane on time, and without forgetting too many things (except my New Zealand guides and my iPod). The first flight, to London, was easy. It only took one hour and on the airport I found a "quiet sitting area" with great relax chairs, where I listened to the yellow shark. The next flight would take me to Sydney, with a stop in Bangkok (o ja Laurens, ik kon het niet laten van even langs Thailand te gaan voor u). This was no ordinary plane, this was a superior machine. The boeing 767 was enormeous and had private television screens for everyone. You could select a movie, or television series, listen to a pretty big collection of cds or play some games against the computer or other passengers. All this kept me entertained for a couple of hours, and I even managed to get half an hour of sleep before me neighbour woke me up (in a true VH-like style ;0) for diner. The arrival in Bangkok had something surreal. There were huge pictures of the King everywhere and he was depicted as a god, with kind of a ray of light coming out of his head. Next to it the text "long live the king". We all had to get off the plain. and take all our hand lugage with us. The batards took my two bottles of leffe that I had brought for Paul...
We had to wait for quiete a while before they would leave us back in the plane. When they finally did, I felt so shitty that I was allmost considering not to. The flight to Sydney would take another 9 hours and the company was not as nice as the last flight (an Aussie with a terrible accent who had taken a sleeping pill). I stayed awake for the whole flight and was feeling very nauseous. I kept telling myself that I would never engage in such a long travel in one time again. But, I survived, and even caught the plane to Auckland in Sydney. On that plane I read the friend's book some of you made for me, and it got to me. The fatigue had dimished my emotional resistance and I cried like a baby for a couple of minutes. Not because I was sad to leave, but because I realised I have some pretty damn good friends, thanks you all!!!!!!
In Auckland, all went well with the visa and customs and after a couple of minutes I had all my stuff and went to the exit. Paul found me there, and he drove me to his home, but not after first showing me around in the neighbourhood. He's a great guy, and made me feel very welcome, even made me forget about the damn planes. Now I've just had a rest, and I'm feeling much better.
more to follow soon!!!
dinsdag 1 mei 2007
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