Questions questions...
After a lovely two and a half weeks in Waiuku, with the very kind Runcimans, I've rolled-up in Wellington. Since getting to NZ I've mainly slept and read, the mix of jet-lag and g-fever has had me pretty whacked out. Highlights include reading "The Rape of Nanking" - about a forgotten massacre in China which people are trying to keep alive in memory, a day out in Auckland, attempting to waterski on the Waikatu, lots of really good food (thanks, Carolyn!). Ah yes, and getting to a Thai restaurant and trying to remember how to order, forgetting, but being greeted with such a smile by the waitress on hearing me exercise my pig-Thai that the Tom Yum Kung tasted ohhhhh that much better.
The trip down was my first experience hitching; it was pretty good. Was never waiting for more than 45 seconds for a lift, I met lots of interesteing people, and I learned that it's possible to drive a car for an hour entirely in fifth gear if you're good enough with the clutch. It wasn't our fault, the car was borrowed!
I'm currently struggling with issues of absence and presence, unrest and peace, interfaith truth or lack of, and such malarky. It's hard to know where to go, and all the old questions of how we know what we know still seem so sorely unanswered. And what makes this worse is that now I have to do something with myself: money is not limitless.
The options are to go and spend a few weeks in the country, working on a farm, and maybe saving little money. Or, to get a city job. I went job-seeking yesterday, but felt so much like a fish out of water that it made me realise maybe flashy suits and big corporations are not what I can handle right now. This leaves the option of staying in Wellington and working in a cool litle cafe or maybe even a Thai restaurant, but I think the wages will be no more than four pounds an hour, which I think is quite low compared to English wages (I can't really remember). So if I want to save money, here is not the place to do it, but I could earn enough to pay my way and have a good time.
But what is having a good time?
Oh dear. I think that the farming job seems most attractive. The value of manual labour for the soul is always underrated, I think, though in reality I wouldn't know.
The big goal right now is to save up £1000 to do a one month language course, after which I can move to Korea and make biggish ish bucks (compared to working in a restaurant) teaching, and quickly remove my overdraft. I'm already about half way there thanks to my Grandmother's generosity. Maybe I can't save that much in NZ, maybe I need to wait till I get back to England, we'll see.
Right now I miss SE Asia - the weather, the people, the food, the beaches, the cost - so much that anything that will get me money to go back there seems like a good idea!
And there you have the state of my travel and my brain.
The trip down was my first experience hitching; it was pretty good. Was never waiting for more than 45 seconds for a lift, I met lots of interesteing people, and I learned that it's possible to drive a car for an hour entirely in fifth gear if you're good enough with the clutch. It wasn't our fault, the car was borrowed!
I'm currently struggling with issues of absence and presence, unrest and peace, interfaith truth or lack of, and such malarky. It's hard to know where to go, and all the old questions of how we know what we know still seem so sorely unanswered. And what makes this worse is that now I have to do something with myself: money is not limitless.
The options are to go and spend a few weeks in the country, working on a farm, and maybe saving little money. Or, to get a city job. I went job-seeking yesterday, but felt so much like a fish out of water that it made me realise maybe flashy suits and big corporations are not what I can handle right now. This leaves the option of staying in Wellington and working in a cool litle cafe or maybe even a Thai restaurant, but I think the wages will be no more than four pounds an hour, which I think is quite low compared to English wages (I can't really remember). So if I want to save money, here is not the place to do it, but I could earn enough to pay my way and have a good time.
But what is having a good time?
Oh dear. I think that the farming job seems most attractive. The value of manual labour for the soul is always underrated, I think, though in reality I wouldn't know.
The big goal right now is to save up £1000 to do a one month language course, after which I can move to Korea and make biggish ish bucks (compared to working in a restaurant) teaching, and quickly remove my overdraft. I'm already about half way there thanks to my Grandmother's generosity. Maybe I can't save that much in NZ, maybe I need to wait till I get back to England, we'll see.
Right now I miss SE Asia - the weather, the people, the food, the beaches, the cost - so much that anything that will get me money to go back there seems like a good idea!
And there you have the state of my travel and my brain.
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posted by kit at 01:47
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