1. Togs are bathing suits, jandals are flipflops, there is still a debate as to whether this is a short form of saying 'japanese sandals'.
2. A billy is an aluminum pot used for tramping, which is hiking with a backpack.
3. Billy goats in fact exist in real life, as do bean stalks.
4. A torch is a battery-operated hand-held light source, or as most people would call it, a flashlight.
5. Traveling south does NOT, I repeat NOT mean getting warmer if you are just North of Antartica.
6. Tea apparently refers to any meal aside from breakfast. Breakfast is breakfast.
7. Relish is a delicious home-made preserve to be eaten on bread, with meat, with anything actually. If something is lacking in taste, add some relish. Or Vegemite, for that matter.
8. Figs apparently are fruit that grow on trees, and are originally not dried. Amazing. And unbelievably delicious.
9. Grapes can become raisins if they ripen and then sit on the vine in the sun for long enough, unless mold starts to grow on them, in which case don't eat them.
10. Jarring and canning are apparently still done. And satisfying to do. Although it takes a lot of jars, a lot of cleaning of said jars and at least a whole day.
11. Wood-fire stoves also apparently still exist in real-life and are still used. They are also quite effective in heating, cooking and baking.
12. Morning Glory and clematis have another name here: convulvulis and old man's beard. And they are not delicate things, they are awful, awful weeds that take over everything and are a super pain to get rid of.
13. Public nudity is NOT illegal, riding a bicycle without a helmet IS illegal. What happens when you have this kind of a combination? Naked bike ride! Which happened down the street from me a few weeks ago. See: http://www.goldenbaynz.co.nz/pg_naked_bike_09.html (No, I didn't participate)
14. Beets are dark pink in colour and are the most foul things on earth. However, silver beets are a green leafy vegetable that are quite tasty. Phew.
15. Murray, Germaine and Bret ARE the most famous New Zealanders. True story.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Truths from back home.
1. Togs and jandals are made up words.
2. Billy is a name, short form for William.
3. Billy goats and bean stalks are things that exist in fairy tales.
4. A torch is a massive stick with something wrapped around one end to light on fire. Usually used in village protests such as in Beauty & the Beast.
5. Traveling south means you're going into warmer climate.
6. Tea refers to a drink, hot or cold.
7. Relish is a Heinz product made of pickles, usually not something to be eaten frequently or particularily enjoyed all that much.
8. Figs are dried things found in a grocery store, they come in a celophane packages of 16.
9. Raisins are dried things that were once grapes. They go through a magical drying process to become raisins.
10. Jarring and canning are processes of preserving food that were done in the time of Black Creek Pioneer Village.
11. Wood-fire stoves are also a phenomena found in Black Creek Pioneer Village.
12. Morning Glory and clematis are beautiful garden plants, which require care and nurture to help grow.
13. Public nudity is illegal, riding a bicycle without a helmet is not.
14. Murray, Germaine and Bret are the most famous New Zealanders.
15. Beets are dark pink in colour and are the most foul things on earth.
2. Billy is a name, short form for William.
3. Billy goats and bean stalks are things that exist in fairy tales.
4. A torch is a massive stick with something wrapped around one end to light on fire. Usually used in village protests such as in Beauty & the Beast.
5. Traveling south means you're going into warmer climate.
6. Tea refers to a drink, hot or cold.
7. Relish is a Heinz product made of pickles, usually not something to be eaten frequently or particularily enjoyed all that much.
8. Figs are dried things found in a grocery store, they come in a celophane packages of 16.
9. Raisins are dried things that were once grapes. They go through a magical drying process to become raisins.
10. Jarring and canning are processes of preserving food that were done in the time of Black Creek Pioneer Village.
11. Wood-fire stoves are also a phenomena found in Black Creek Pioneer Village.
12. Morning Glory and clematis are beautiful garden plants, which require care and nurture to help grow.
13. Public nudity is illegal, riding a bicycle without a helmet is not.
14. Murray, Germaine and Bret are the most famous New Zealanders.
15. Beets are dark pink in colour and are the most foul things on earth.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
and a super fast update since Auckland
WWOOFed in Palmerston North-saw a horse castration, helped in said castration-fed some pigs, some chickens-drove a tractor-collected goat poop for agri research-chased goats that got out of their pen-baked-washed-cooked-played with a 6 year old- got turned into chocolate by said 6 year old- played scrabble with the Chinese WWOOFer-won scrabble- started a puzzle- read a book- planned a canoe trip with Lan, the Chinese WWOOFer- went on said canoe trip, assimilated into a Jehovah's witnesses family also going on the same 2 day trip-avoided conversion-returned to Palmy- chased more goats- said goodbye.
Interrum: hitched a ride out of Palmerston North-convinced the driver to send her kid to Germany-hitched a new ride with a mother and dope-smoking son (who was smoking while driving, with me in the back without a seat belt in their rusty 4 door pickup)-talked to mom-got a final hitch from a couple into Wellington-also convinced them to travel.
Wellington: arrived at my hostel-talked to a novelist in the works-went to the Te Papa museum- got lost in Wellington-got lost again- ate a meat pie- got lost again- bought groceries- got lost again- made dinner- talked and wined and dined with a German couple and a Frenchie- went to bed- got eaten by ticks- got up early-grabbed the ferry to Picton- grabbed the bus to Nelson-grabbed the bus to Motueka, arrived, hey!
Motueka: arrived at my new WWOOF- soaked my tick eaten skin in vinegar- sanded a door- met a french WWOOFer- had some dinner- wandered Motueka with the French WWOOFer- lost my sandal in a pile of tires- lay on the grass-watched the stars- raced home to bed- drove to Mountain Valley in the morning.
Mountain Valley: unpacked-claimed a spot in the cabin-met the local hippies- met the other WWOOFers (6 of them)- made dinner-made a fire-watched the stars-bed.
next few days: learned about weeds-killed said weeds-got attacked by a blackberry bush-got made fun of for my scrapes and bruises-swam in the cold river-ate-weeded-cycled-swam in a less cold river-weeded-ate-swam-weeded-ate-swam-etc-did some silk screening-learned how to make a stove out of aluminum cans-learned a maori blessing-learned about permaculture and dragon dreaming-discovered dragon dreaming has a misleading name to suggest it is something interesting-ran-ate-weeded-swam-skinny dipped-said goodbye via a 'Hongi' (Maori parting ritual)
Kaharungi National Park: hiked with the French WWOOFers-ate-hiked-ate-talked to old male doctors about Canada-slept in a hut-ate-hiked-swam-ate-hiked-slept in a hut-ate-hike up Gordon's Pyramid-ate-hiked up Mt Arthur-breathed-met some crazy Brits-slept in a hut-arrived back at the car.
Interrum: returned to Motueka-showered at the hostel (first time in 5 days)-slept in a tent-used the library internet-used it some more-bought some groceries-drove to Abel Tasman with the French WWOOFers-camped.
Abel Tasman: booked a kayak trip-wandered on the beach-collected mussels-cooked the mussels-ate the mussels with creme fraiche and pasta-mmm-kayaked-swam-fell asleep on the beach-ate at the local chip shop-left Abel Tasman- said goodbye to one Frenchie-arrived in Takaka
Takaka: bought some ice cream-wandered the town-tried and failed to use the library internet-arrived at my new WWOOF outside town- said goodbye to my French friends-had dinner with my new hosts and their friends-scrubbed a shed-swam in the ocean-biked to a National reserve-talked to an old lady-biked to a monument-talked about everything and anything with my new host Saskia-painted the shed-swam in the ocean-painted the shed again-kayaked in the ocean-talked to some more locals-walked up the Cobb Valley with Saskia and friends-ate some local steak named Herbert (the cow's name)-typed 2 posts in this blog.
Interrum: hitched a ride out of Palmerston North-convinced the driver to send her kid to Germany-hitched a new ride with a mother and dope-smoking son (who was smoking while driving, with me in the back without a seat belt in their rusty 4 door pickup)-talked to mom-got a final hitch from a couple into Wellington-also convinced them to travel.
Wellington: arrived at my hostel-talked to a novelist in the works-went to the Te Papa museum- got lost in Wellington-got lost again- ate a meat pie- got lost again- bought groceries- got lost again- made dinner- talked and wined and dined with a German couple and a Frenchie- went to bed- got eaten by ticks- got up early-grabbed the ferry to Picton- grabbed the bus to Nelson-grabbed the bus to Motueka, arrived, hey!
Motueka: arrived at my new WWOOF- soaked my tick eaten skin in vinegar- sanded a door- met a french WWOOFer- had some dinner- wandered Motueka with the French WWOOFer- lost my sandal in a pile of tires- lay on the grass-watched the stars- raced home to bed- drove to Mountain Valley in the morning.
Mountain Valley: unpacked-claimed a spot in the cabin-met the local hippies- met the other WWOOFers (6 of them)- made dinner-made a fire-watched the stars-bed.
next few days: learned about weeds-killed said weeds-got attacked by a blackberry bush-got made fun of for my scrapes and bruises-swam in the cold river-ate-weeded-cycled-swam in a less cold river-weeded-ate-swam-weeded-ate-swam-etc-did some silk screening-learned how to make a stove out of aluminum cans-learned a maori blessing-learned about permaculture and dragon dreaming-discovered dragon dreaming has a misleading name to suggest it is something interesting-ran-ate-weeded-swam-skinny dipped-said goodbye via a 'Hongi' (Maori parting ritual)
Kaharungi National Park: hiked with the French WWOOFers-ate-hiked-ate-talked to old male doctors about Canada-slept in a hut-ate-hiked-swam-ate-hiked-slept in a hut-ate-hike up Gordon's Pyramid-ate-hiked up Mt Arthur-breathed-met some crazy Brits-slept in a hut-arrived back at the car.
Interrum: returned to Motueka-showered at the hostel (first time in 5 days)-slept in a tent-used the library internet-used it some more-bought some groceries-drove to Abel Tasman with the French WWOOFers-camped.
Abel Tasman: booked a kayak trip-wandered on the beach-collected mussels-cooked the mussels-ate the mussels with creme fraiche and pasta-mmm-kayaked-swam-fell asleep on the beach-ate at the local chip shop-left Abel Tasman- said goodbye to one Frenchie-arrived in Takaka
Takaka: bought some ice cream-wandered the town-tried and failed to use the library internet-arrived at my new WWOOF outside town- said goodbye to my French friends-had dinner with my new hosts and their friends-scrubbed a shed-swam in the ocean-biked to a National reserve-talked to an old lady-biked to a monument-talked about everything and anything with my new host Saskia-painted the shed-swam in the ocean-painted the shed again-kayaked in the ocean-talked to some more locals-walked up the Cobb Valley with Saskia and friends-ate some local steak named Herbert (the cow's name)-typed 2 posts in this blog.
dos and donts
DO: check the times for the buses going from Auckland to Opotiki and the public bus times to get to the bus terminal
DON'T: stay up too late the night before taking an early bus on a bus line you've never taken in a country where you've never taken a long distance bus .
DON'T: assume everything is going to plan, even when you're on time for your long distance bus, and happily settled into a bus seat.
DON'T: fall asleep on a long distance bus while wearing head phones, you may miss important messages
DON'T: ignore messages you may hear over your drowsiness and music coming from the bus driver, again, they may be important and relevant to your trip
DO: get a sandwich at a rest stop if you are hungry. even if you think the next leg of the trip will be short
DON'T: ignore your instincts and the fact that being late should not mean being 2 hours late to a destination
DO: check your handy dandy lonely planet guide for towns as you pass them on the bus to check if you are going in the right direction.
DO: talk to the bus driver if you believe you have missed a bus change announced over the PA by the bus driver himself at the previous rest stop. If you are female, show desperation if he should tell you you are definitely going the wrong way. This may become handy in not paying extra for taking the bus farther.
DO: check your lonely planet guide for hostels in the next town, and check to make sure there are farms in that region if you hope to WWOOF there.
DO: thank the bus driver profusely when he tells you he will not charge you extra for traveling across most of the North Island rather than just 3 hours east.
DO: call the hostel ahead of time to check for availability.
DO: confess the whole story to a local donut shop salesperson. They may just take pity on you and give you a bunch of donuts for free. However they will not taste as good as those from Canada.
DO: Show continued desperation in your voice when talking to a wwoofing host who seems to be teetering on needing an extra hand. Chances are they'll even pick you up the next day from your hostel.
DON'T: ask for sheets from your hostel host after 10pm, they'll be grumpy and ready to go to bed. However they will still take your 2 dollars and give you fresh linen.
DO: Thank your lucky stars for the generosity of the bus driver and donut vendor, the handidandiness of the lonely planet guide for getting you into a hostel and into a town called Palmerston North where farming is abundant even though you only meant to go to Opotiki.
Listen to the Brit at the hostel who tells you to ditch Science research and become an actress instead? Undecided.
DON'T: stay up too late the night before taking an early bus on a bus line you've never taken in a country where you've never taken a long distance bus .
DON'T: assume everything is going to plan, even when you're on time for your long distance bus, and happily settled into a bus seat.
DON'T: fall asleep on a long distance bus while wearing head phones, you may miss important messages
DON'T: ignore messages you may hear over your drowsiness and music coming from the bus driver, again, they may be important and relevant to your trip
DO: get a sandwich at a rest stop if you are hungry. even if you think the next leg of the trip will be short
DON'T: ignore your instincts and the fact that being late should not mean being 2 hours late to a destination
DO: check your handy dandy lonely planet guide for towns as you pass them on the bus to check if you are going in the right direction.
DO: talk to the bus driver if you believe you have missed a bus change announced over the PA by the bus driver himself at the previous rest stop. If you are female, show desperation if he should tell you you are definitely going the wrong way. This may become handy in not paying extra for taking the bus farther.
DO: check your lonely planet guide for hostels in the next town, and check to make sure there are farms in that region if you hope to WWOOF there.
DO: thank the bus driver profusely when he tells you he will not charge you extra for traveling across most of the North Island rather than just 3 hours east.
DO: call the hostel ahead of time to check for availability.
DO: confess the whole story to a local donut shop salesperson. They may just take pity on you and give you a bunch of donuts for free. However they will not taste as good as those from Canada.
DO: Show continued desperation in your voice when talking to a wwoofing host who seems to be teetering on needing an extra hand. Chances are they'll even pick you up the next day from your hostel.
DON'T: ask for sheets from your hostel host after 10pm, they'll be grumpy and ready to go to bed. However they will still take your 2 dollars and give you fresh linen.
DO: Thank your lucky stars for the generosity of the bus driver and donut vendor, the handidandiness of the lonely planet guide for getting you into a hostel and into a town called Palmerston North where farming is abundant even though you only meant to go to Opotiki.
Listen to the Brit at the hostel who tells you to ditch Science research and become an actress instead? Undecided.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Cathay Class System
As many of you may already know, I was bumped from coach to business class on my 10.5 hour flight from Hong Kong to Auckland. However I had just come from a 16 hour flight from New York to Hong Kong on the same airway, flying coach. Suffice to say I noticed a few differences between the quality of life between the classes on Cathay Airways.
1. Coach: 2 options for seat adjustment. Straight up and slightly reclined.
Business class :8 seat adjustment options: upper back up or down, lower back up or down, foot rest up or down, fully reclined into bed and massage option.
2. Coach steward-passenger interactions consists of beverage passing, meat or vegetarian questioning and the polite smile and thank you at the end of the flight.
Business steward-passenger interaction is slightly different. You are welcomed by name, told to ask for anything, anytime. And would you like some champagne. The head steward then comes and has a full conversation with you. Where are you travelling? Are you comfortable? Just by yourself? Did your parents pay for your business class seat? Oh how lucky!
3. Coach overnight bags consist of a toothbrush, a pair of tube socks and a teeny tiny tube of generic 'TOOTHPASTE'. Actually I was surprised to get anything at all. Little had I known...
Business overnight bags come in an 'Agnes' cosmetic bag. Included is a eye cover, toothbrush with holder, Colgate toothpaste, mouthwash, two kinds of Agnes anti-wrinkle eye cream, Agnes organic lip balm, hair brush, makeup remover and also a similar but slightly softer pair of tube socks.
4. Coach: the classic peanuts-in-a-bag snack at the beginning of the trip
Business: warm, roasted cashews in a ceramic small triangular dish
5. Coach safety: generic buckle across the waist.
Business safety: generic buckle across the waist, plus across the shoulder belt that clips into the waist buckle... even safety has class levels.
6. Coach: preparations for dinner involve putting down your tray
Business: preparations for dinner involve having the steward pop out your tray from your side divider, and having them drape a burgundy tablecloth across the fake-wood table.
7. Coach privacy: there is none. If you have the window, then the window if your privacy.
Business privacy: you have your own cubicle. Walls on either side, your seat is angled at 45 degrees so that you can't even see the face of your neighbour on the other side of the aisle.
8. The main difference, dinner. Coach: microwave options of chicken, pasta and beef. A generic bun, some cold iceburg lettuce in a dish and a square of sorts for dessert. Oh and some chocolate cookies, those were good.
Business: smoked salmon with salmon roe on creme fraiche and mesclun salad for appetizers. Fresh bread basket. Choice between rack of lamb, chinese traditional pork balls, or eggplant tarte for the main. Then coffee and tea, fruit tarte, cheese and fruit and finally truffles to end it all. You don't even want to hear about breakfast.
9. Reading options on coach: once it's decided to be nightime, either you don't read, or you wake up your whole aisle and the seats in front or behind you with a blaring overhead light.
Business reading options: you also have the annoying overhead light, but if you would like to be kinder to your neighbours who are too far away to be bothered by that light anyway, you have a halogen reading lamp attached to one wall with a flexible neck for directed lighting.
10. And finally, the toilet facilities. I suppose there is simply nothing to do about bathrooms in an airplane. Because they simply looked the exact same in both classes. But of course it isn't right to have the same pooping conditions for the elite as it is for the common people. So a few facial cleansers and lotions were to be found and a dainty orchid lay in the wall vase across from the mirror. Ahhh, much better.
1. Coach: 2 options for seat adjustment. Straight up and slightly reclined.
Business class :8 seat adjustment options: upper back up or down, lower back up or down, foot rest up or down, fully reclined into bed and massage option.
2. Coach steward-passenger interactions consists of beverage passing, meat or vegetarian questioning and the polite smile and thank you at the end of the flight.
Business steward-passenger interaction is slightly different. You are welcomed by name, told to ask for anything, anytime. And would you like some champagne. The head steward then comes and has a full conversation with you. Where are you travelling? Are you comfortable? Just by yourself? Did your parents pay for your business class seat? Oh how lucky!
3. Coach overnight bags consist of a toothbrush, a pair of tube socks and a teeny tiny tube of generic 'TOOTHPASTE'. Actually I was surprised to get anything at all. Little had I known...
Business overnight bags come in an 'Agnes' cosmetic bag. Included is a eye cover, toothbrush with holder, Colgate toothpaste, mouthwash, two kinds of Agnes anti-wrinkle eye cream, Agnes organic lip balm, hair brush, makeup remover and also a similar but slightly softer pair of tube socks.
4. Coach: the classic peanuts-in-a-bag snack at the beginning of the trip
Business: warm, roasted cashews in a ceramic small triangular dish
5. Coach safety: generic buckle across the waist.
Business safety: generic buckle across the waist, plus across the shoulder belt that clips into the waist buckle... even safety has class levels.
6. Coach: preparations for dinner involve putting down your tray
Business: preparations for dinner involve having the steward pop out your tray from your side divider, and having them drape a burgundy tablecloth across the fake-wood table.
7. Coach privacy: there is none. If you have the window, then the window if your privacy.
Business privacy: you have your own cubicle. Walls on either side, your seat is angled at 45 degrees so that you can't even see the face of your neighbour on the other side of the aisle.
8. The main difference, dinner. Coach: microwave options of chicken, pasta and beef. A generic bun, some cold iceburg lettuce in a dish and a square of sorts for dessert. Oh and some chocolate cookies, those were good.
Business: smoked salmon with salmon roe on creme fraiche and mesclun salad for appetizers. Fresh bread basket. Choice between rack of lamb, chinese traditional pork balls, or eggplant tarte for the main. Then coffee and tea, fruit tarte, cheese and fruit and finally truffles to end it all. You don't even want to hear about breakfast.
9. Reading options on coach: once it's decided to be nightime, either you don't read, or you wake up your whole aisle and the seats in front or behind you with a blaring overhead light.
Business reading options: you also have the annoying overhead light, but if you would like to be kinder to your neighbours who are too far away to be bothered by that light anyway, you have a halogen reading lamp attached to one wall with a flexible neck for directed lighting.
10. And finally, the toilet facilities. I suppose there is simply nothing to do about bathrooms in an airplane. Because they simply looked the exact same in both classes. But of course it isn't right to have the same pooping conditions for the elite as it is for the common people. So a few facial cleansers and lotions were to be found and a dainty orchid lay in the wall vase across from the mirror. Ahhh, much better.
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