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Published: March 24th 2006
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My room in Christchurch
Back to never making my bed. A couple days after I posted my last blog entry, I left the orchard. I wish I had some funny story to tell you, like I got fired for throwing apples or something, but unfortunately I don't. I left because my allergies were killing me on the farm, and after a week of sneezing 24 hours a day I just had to get out of there. I honestly wouldn't have left otherwise, apple picking is garbage but we met some cool people. Actually come to think of it, it was only the 2 Irish guys that were cool. Other than them, there was a Japanese couple who barely spoke english and would pick the apples on Alan's trees, a weird Finnish guy who wore a shoelace around his leg and thought everyone was stealing his bread, 2 native Kiwi degenerate hippies who laughed like Beavis and Butthead, and a Scottish guy who was nice but talked like a muppet.
So I left the glamorous life of picking apples and decided to head down to Christchurch until Alan and Bryan were finished. Bryan dropped me off in Picton where I'd catch the train the next day. It was a very weird
Last day on the orchard
Right before I left the orchard, we had a Hangi which is a traditional Maori feast and consists of cooking the food underground. Here's us digging the hole to put the wood and hot rocks to cook the food. feeling to suddenly be travelling by yourself. Especially because I had no clue what I was going to do when I got to Christchurch. I just booked a hostel there and hopped on the train.
The train ride itself was incredible. The train goes over 175 bridges and 21 tunnels and I saw some amazing scenery. When I got there, I checked into my hostel and the next day I decided to look for a job and an apartment. Instead of bar work or factory work or whatever, I decided to try to find something cool to do. I mean, a couple of my housemates had jobs packing socks in a factory and I don't know why, but that seems like it would suck. So I decided to call up a bunch of recording studios around the city and asked if they had any work. The answer was no. But there was one place called Voodoo Music Studio that wanted me to come in anyway just for a chat or whatever. Turns out, they needed someone to help with their record label. We spoke for over an hour and then they asked if I'd send them some ideas. A
few days later I was officially working for them and even though they didn't pay me at first, when I wasn't working on stuff with the label I got all the studio experience I could handle. It was awesome. In the end, I was really able to help them and they hooked me up before I left. It wasn't much, but keep in mind I also got free sodas while in the studio.
I also found an apartment 2 days after I got here. The hostel was okay but this was so sweet. It was cheaper than living in a hostel and I had my own double bed, TV, furniture, and nobody else in the room to prevent me from sleeping very very very late. I lived with 5 people from Chile and 1 from Argentina. Their english wasn't great, so I was always talking on a second-grade level. As long as I chose my words carefully it wasn't really a problem to communicate. The house next to us has 3 people from Ireland, 2 from Germany, 1 from Norway, 1 from Japan, and 1 American - from Kentucky. He has all his teeth though. Everyone is really fun,
I think it's big enough
Put the lotion in the basket! we have a great time, and I'm learning some Spanish too. Alejandra, who is one of my housemates, is an amazing chef. One day she cooked us up a very traditional Chilean dish called pastel de choclo. It's prepared by browning some ground beef with some veggies and spices, put it in a baking dish, add some hard boiled egg and some black olives, and then dump creamed corn all over the top. Then throw it in the oven for a half hour. I know what you're thinking, but it was really good.
So even though I'm technically travelling alone right now, I haven't exactly been by myself. Turns out Dave was here in Christchurch too so we got to hang out and I met a lot of cool people at his hostel. Then my friend Sofie came to town for a while and it was great to see her too. St Patrick's day was last week and that is always a fun time. Any holiday that is celebrated with a bar crawl is quality. We basically started the festivities right after waking up. The bars were already packed. Good times.
I've managed to see a lot of
Meet Ben
Solid orchard citizen, hangi guru, and king of cool beards. other things in Christchurch too. It has 400,000 people which makes it the largest city on the South Island. It's really nice and totally different than Auckland or Wellington. It has a much more European feel. There are churches and other old buildings all over the place, lots of statues, and cafes on the street. I found a crazy antique car dealer in town with some amazing stuff. There's also a huge botanic garden so I wandered around there one day, and I stumbled upon a golf course right next to it, so I played a solid 18 holes. I shot a 1,673. Not bad.
But maybe the best thing about my stay here was last night's Bouncing Souls show. I can't believe they came to Christchurch and it was insane. They played at a tiny venue and I got to hang out with them and have some drinks. Awesome.
So now Alan and Bryan have left apple picking and I'll be meeting up with them again soon. Looking forward to it. I'm sure Alan's new blog entry will be filled with all kinds of funny fruit-related anecdotes.
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Shawny Calka
non-member comment
Bro I must say...
You are looking fit as a fiddle and toit as a toiger!!! These pictures truly rock!!! The house on the farm looks like a beat up fraternity house hahaha!!!! Love the pix of you guys sittin around in a circle just chillin. Reminds me of the old days. And yeah, the pix of the city are so reminiscent of Europe, awesome!!! So what's next on the agenda? By the way, Alejandra is HOT!!!!!