Lately

Update: I forgot to mention--we survived our first earthquake! (As in we slept through it and didn't feel anything.) Earthquakes happen daily in NZ, with an average of 6,000 per year, most of them in early morning, and most of them so small you can't feel them. About 60 km north of here at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday there was a 3.7 quake--apparently if you were awake and standing you could feel it a bit--but nothing substantial enough to rouse us from our slumber.


Time for another update! We have been doing quite a lot lately. After leaving the apple orchard, the other job we were hoping for with a vineyard contractor fell through. So we have spent the majority of this week job hunting--responding to job posts for temporary work in this area online, as well as simply going out to mostly restaurants and cafes and asking if they are hiring. We have probably applied to about 15 places thus far--so hopefully one of them works out! Some of our roommates who work for a contractor doing orchard and vineyard work started doing apple thinning this week. We told them good luck as it wasn't good money. Well lo' and behold they come home and tell us that they are getting paid DOUBLE the amount we were per tree! This further solidified to us that we were getting ripped off even though the nice man told us otherwise. It's a bit disappointing as he seemed genuine, but if we were getting half of what most people make then we were definitely being taken advantage of and it was good that we moved on. One of our roommates has been nice enough to talk to another contractor he has worked for in the past who hires foreigners other than Indians, and hopefully in one to two weeks the work will pick up and they will take us on. A much better lead than the last one. Until then, the job hunt continues!


Other than job searching, we have been enjoying more New Zealand wine and cuisine. This past Sunday we went to a boutique wine festival at a local winery in support of Chris, who we worked for at Cardoness. Boutique wineries in the area set up booths to advertise their wines, and there were free tastings with deals on purchases of whole bottles. There was also food and music! We took advantage of the free wine tastings and also bought ourselves a nice slice of brie for only $3 from a local company called Te Mata Cheese. It was a lovely afternoon and the location of the event was very quaint. 

Another New Zealand specialty that we have enjoyed once or twice is special New Zealand pizza from a company called "Hell." Have you ever though of putting chicken, cranberry sauce, and camembert cheese on pizza? Or venison pepperoni and hot sauce? How about chicken, apricot sauce, spring onions, pine nuts, rosemary and cream cheese? Well you wouldn't think to, but that's exactly the kind of gourmet pizza that Hell serves and it's delicious! My first experience with them I had a pizza with blue cheese, mushrooms, and caramelized onions. Mmmmm! The other night John and I decided to try out something new on the menu again and we were not disappointed! My pizza had onions, mushrooms, camembert, pineapple, cashews, avocado, and bell pepper. It was amazing! Also, fun fact, in going with the "Hell" and death theme, the cardboard box the pizza comes in can be cut out (it's perforated) and folded into a coffin in which to keep leftovers! Very clever.

They are a local pizza chain with stores in Australia, NZ, and the UK--so if you ever come to visit you must give them a try! (I bet they are  better than the gas station pizza in Alton, NH--Dad). I have also grown addicted to a New Zealand chocolate company called Whittaker's. They sell huge bars in the grocery store with all these different flavorings. If I could I would get a lifetime supply of the Milk Chocolate with Macadamia Nut! I'll definitely have to bring some back with me to the states (though I'm afraid the pizza would not keep very well if I tried to do the same :) )


Other than that we have been getting to know our roommates more, which is nice. The first day one of them (from India) asked us, as he wanted to settle the debate with his friends back home, whether WWF wrestling was real or fake--we assured him that it was fake :) This weekend, they want to talk more about 9/11 with us to separate the fact from fiction that they have heard. It's nice that they are so interested, as their country is just as interesting to us! Another common topic is their shock at how easy it is in the U.S. to have guns! It's nice to walk down streets at night knowing you have a very slim, if any, chance of being shot at--no matter where you are. 


Then, finally, today we went out and bought ourselves a little Christmas tree! There was a huge sale going on at a local store where all Christmas decorations were 50% off and so we thought it would be a good day to go! We got a little fiber optic tree and bought a few decorations to go with it. Also, in keeping the Christmas tradition of John's family we bought a huge Christmas cracker to open at Christmas dinner. Here is a little video of us putting the star on the top of the tree (and it took under 5 minutes to decorate). 

I'm sure it pales in comparison to yours, mother, and it doesn't beat the experience of going out in the snow and picking out/chopping down your own tree that I had with the Mackenzie's--but it brings a little bit of holiday spirit just the same!

As the summer approaches and the weather gets warmer we are hoping to do a little more nature site seeing, which means I will have some beautiful pictures to post soon. Until then, enjoy the cold Northern Hemisphere!