The Future

Nov 28, 2015 | The Great Journey, Thoughts

The croaky duet of the industrial vacuum cleaners ceases, I peel the black gloves from my hands, switch from headphones to cassette adapter and leave the airport towards the city.

I listen to ‘I Got a Name’ by Jim Croce, the sun slowly sets in the rear mirror and fills the atmosphere with its warm light. Even though my eyes are tired, I am not spent as much. The work is physically demanding, but you also have much time to zone out with music and your own thoughts.

I often think about the future, while cleaning the cars. For my time in Dunedin ‘just’ has to get me money. After that the future begins and the same I ponder much.

In January, the time in Dunedin will end. After that, in February, I will have the time of my life: My parents are coming to New Zealand!! 😀
Kids you hear exclaim quite often: ‘Look mum, look dad! Look what I did! Just look!’ Now my parents follow these cries in the highest form.
With them I want to travel all the places where I once desperately wished to have them around.
The people I owe the most of who I am I will have the chance to show the other side of the globe that was my home for over a year.
They will meet many people who I came to value and who have become an integral part of my New Zealand.

But that is only the February of 2016 of my future. Directly after that, my best friend will start his own great trip. With him, I will travel the North- and the South Island of New Zealand for the 3rd time and leave New Zealand after 16 months in the beginning of April.
We want to travel Australia for a few weeks and then part. For he will stay and I will fly home-bound. Possibly with one or the other stop-over, but I’ll see what will be in store then… 🙂

And then I am home again.
In what ways will I have changed? Will I have changed? How will I look at all the things I was thousands of kilometres apart from for a long time?
I am looking forward to see the faces who will have aged almost 1,5 years by then. Especially the kids will have grown incredibly. Most of them all, Vincent…

But also in the ‘real’ life I will have my tasks and objectives.
I will have to manage my life setting again. But with the trusty employment office that might not be the hardest nut to crack.

And I have left myself with all the options as I quit my job back in Germany. That was because I wanted to look at all the ways to life here without uninfluenced.

One thing is for sure: No apple picking!
But the once all neglected option to go to university begins to catch my attention. My flatmates ensured me that I could study here at New Zealand’s universities with my current qualifications. Not to think about in Germany with my technical diploma only!

Also the simple life, half work – half leisure, has its perks. At least until the concept of family applies and puts you on all different tracks. But all those things are just considerations, thoughts and contemplations.

First, I want to arrive at home, see all the loved ones, re-adapt to the right hand side driving and eat real bread.
Then we’ll see.

Dunedin’s Finest

Nov 24, 2015 | Photos, The Great Journey

After the night I opened the windows this morning, as it was a little stuffy and warm in my 2×3 metres. But the temperature didn’t change, as I would have expected.
So finally summer is around the corner! And..we are just looking at the Advent season. That is strange, but at least it gets warmer.
You don’t think much about it and suddenly all shops are full of Christmas decoration, people are walking barefoot, it smells like sunscreen and the barbecue season aims for its peak. That’s New Zealand.

 

 

Some different kind of decoration…

As aforementioned, we discovered many different attractions of Dunedin with Lea…

 

 

At the cafe ‘Kiki Beware’ you’ll find Mexican Iced Coffee being served. Cold milk, vanilla-anise-syrup and espresso to combine by yourself.

In the Chinese Garden you can’t stop wondering, how these wondrous places can exist like this in the middle of a ‘bigger’ city.

 

 

This picture (one of 190 of its kind) I took from behind the waterfall in the picture above.

 

 

This cat had also looked at the street art. 🙂 Only she seemed to already have picked her favourite piece of art for the day…

The albatrosses also got graced with our attendance. And this time they got much closer than last time. See for yourselves:

 

 

In New Zealand there are more than lots of seagulls. Therefore, pictures of them are not that special in the end. Only mid-flight it all starts to look different. I just made it an exercise…

 

 

At Tunnel Beach we were lucky, so that no other person was there, despite the marvelous weather.
Windy, but great. I just had to face the challenge to condense my impressions to 15 images. My SD card was lying at home and I had to deal with the internal storage of my camera. Well, then you think twice about what to snap and what not to! 😀

 

 

Sadly, Lea already is over the hills (at least some of them) and far away on her most impressively packed bike and my work life continues. For another time there’s just memories and pictures left. And Christmas, I dearly hope. 😉

 

 

This time, the picture was indeed planned. 😀

 

 

As a ‘finish’, a picture of the moon. I like the moon. 🙂

Street Art in Dunedin

Nov 23, 2015 | Photos, The Great Journey, Trips

I am sorry I published not much lately. That has several reasons.
Firstly, my life now follows a routine, called work life… You don’t do much exciting things other than saving money, going back and forth between work place and home and sleeping when all the other things get old. 🙂

Secondly, my last two days were filled by a visit. Which, on the other hand, means that there is a lot to share! This is going to get us a number of posts in a short time, so stay tuned. 😉

For Lea, the brave cyclist, had arrived in Dunedin and we spent some exciting days together. It was a good thing that it mostly fell on my days off, so we had room for some long spanning adventures.

One of those was all about the ‘Dunedin Street Art Project’, so street art, basically. More exactly, they are paintings on the sides of houses all over the inner city, created by a team of international artists…

I found it most appealing, to explore the city that way. For when do you purposely look into smaller alleyways and backyards?

You might just come with me for a little alternative route through Dunedin. 🙂

 

 

Authentic Kiwi Day

Nov 14, 2015 | Photos, The Great Journey, Trips

Here’s another picture post. But what is worth more than a thousand words? 🙂

One morning Tina and I got going early. Early as in 4am.
Because we wanted to see the sunrise phenomenon at a very special place:
The Moeraki Boulders. They are roly-poly rocks at the beach. Explained as bluntly I want to point out that spherical rocks at the beach are indeed and unusual sight… 🙂

And oh, it was worth it!

 

 

As the magic of the rising sun began to cease, we went to a nearby spot at the sea and had breakfast in the most of authentic ways.

 

 

Tea…

 

 

…and an abundance of yummy things. 🙂

Pretty close by, wild animals roam the coastline. Unfortunately we didn’t see any penguins, instead we saw some other sweeties…

 

 

‘Now point at it.’

These sea lions were wonderfully curious.

Pay attention to the eyes of this one.

 

 

Up next on the agenda of an authentic Kiwi day is the visit at a café. And when having chosen right, you are presented with photo material.

 

 

Tina has taken this marvelous picture. 🙂

 

 

Another point on the agenda: Unwind. You go to the beach, place yourself there, munch something, listen to music, draw, read, nap, take photos and enjoy life. At least as long the battery lasts… 🙂

 

 

A battery you typically recharge at a Fish’n’Chips store. We went to one with a remarkable outside lighting installation.

 

 

After that we looked at the Boulders in daylight. In addition, we had the chance to observe one of those utterly rare Asian tourists in a larger formation this time. Exhilarating! 😀

 

 

Finishing with the grand prize (no prize, as saving comes first) question:
How many sea lions can you count in the next picture?? 😉

 

 

There is always a way

Nov 10, 2015 | The Great Journey, Thoughts

I stand there and gossip and tittle-tattle pass by. Who went outside to the beach again and took on 2,5 grams of weight? WHo is cheating on their dog, petting another one in public? How do you lose 4 kilograms in 3 hours?

Those are things you get confronted with at the trash avalanche.
It doesn’t bother me to the very least, as I only need to throw every thing NOT paper into the duct next to me.
Yes, I took another job offer at the recycling plant. But this time at the biggest in all the South Island, if that’s not a sight to see! You can’t miss out on this, right?

But the only good thing about this job is that you get payed. It is only two days, then I return to the carwash. Then I can listen to music on my headphones all day and the work mates are all amazing. Besides, it is a lot more satisfying to wash cars all day than going through the trash without end. AND I get money for it on top! 😀

That’s about the current situation. 🙂 The flat is all sweet and filled with lovely people. We are a Kiwi in his 30s in his own room alongside the own bathroom and I share the other wing with 3 students. A Slovak boy, a tiny Malaysian girl (she also knows the car make Proton) and another Malaysian dude who is staying short term only.

But all that is little consolation for the fact that dear Tina has left Dunedin… Another work opportunity made for this horrific disaster.
Once again saying goodbye and only memories remain… Well, it is not all that tragic, for we are to see each other again in out time here. Though not spontaneous anymore, which is a shame. Soon I will post about our last great doing together. 😉

Without context a fat and a thin bird from the botanic garden in Dunedin:

 

 

 

 

I now have to tell you the saraband of the other Monday. It went down like this:

A rose from the bed, gapped the shower (I would stink of all the garbage anyway), prepared some tea and went to the recycling plant. Having arrived, there were discrepancies: No new people were planned that day. Well, you can always call the agency…
I went outside, looked through my wallet for the business card, asked them and it came to light that they mistakenly thought I had been there already and could work without initial instructions. That was not the case. As the boss of the plant wasn’t in place, I had to go on my way back… Only that a day there means 100 dollars in your pocket.

On my way home you find The Warehouse, a bargain paradise. So that this day would be of any value, I threw some different things in the basket: Some cans of baked beans for a sixpence and a knife of the brand ‘Wiltshire’ with a sharpening sheath. One of those I had to my disposal at the host family’s and I soon came to miss a truly sharp knife several times.
Also some milk and bread, all cheap and at a discount and proceeded to the checkout.
You might have come to notice my small squared way of telling and that it might lead to some point of unexpectedness: You’re right, the left pocket of my jacket was empty…
In the place where I ALWAYS find my wallet, I found nothing. The cashier acted all laid back and I spurted to the car. Normally I always know where I put my stuff, but this morning didn’t go as planned already and thus, I just looked everywhere for my wallet. On my way back I looked around the parking lot, whether I had it fall out of my trusty jacket. Nothing. Great!
The purchases-to-be where put aside and I calmly thought about the time I held it for the last time.
That’s why I went back to the recycling plant and had to be disappointed there. No trace of the guardian of the credit cards. I wrote my number down and went back to the Warehouse. The whole road I kept my eyes everywhere, though I doubted I had put it on the roof of the car AND forgot it there. No sign of it…
In the Warehouse I also left my number and followed the friendly instructions of the Warehouse staff to retrace my shopping route… They told my they had found many valuable items in between the crates and cases, sometimes days after.
I also gave my number to the next door supermarket, in case anyone picked it up from the parking lot… Then I called the police by advice of the Warehouse staff, for they get a lot of lost things, too. They had no clue yet either, but would call me in case…
There I was now. My phone battery was almost spent from all the calls, my gas tank faced the same problem and without cash or cash cards, there was not much hope to get a refill on gas.

Resignedly I leaned on my car. Going anywhere without my wallet would be pointless and it was not in any place I was this morning. I thought about all the things replaceable and all the ones non-replaceable: Countless business cards, receipts, all credit cards, my EC card, 9 dollars in cash, the PIN code for my New Zealand bank account (kiddiiing, that one is only inside my head)…

During all this, I never fell into despair. That is a crucial fact. I sweat profusely, my heart went bonkers and the engine smells funny after a trip to 7th section on the rev counter, but I handled the situation with pragmatism. When it is not in one place, it is in another. Simple. Also the plan of organisational steps, in case it stays missing, took shape in my head. There would always be a way. It is not all lost as most things are replaceable and in New Zealand is hardly as criminally active to disable all cards first thing. It is not a nice story, but what are you going to do? Cry and sob, rolling on the floor? No, you live with this situation and try your best to restore normality again soon. All that doesn’t rely on emotion driven actions…
Well, I still trusted it to come to an honest citizen, who would give it to a place that had my number.

And thank god, he was! As I leaned on my car just there, stripped of one of the most valuable possessions of mine, my phone rang and I got the glad tidings of joy: A driver of the recycling plant has found the wallet and it ready for collection!
When I stood in the yard, infinitely relieved, for the 3rd time that morning I asked WHERE the wallet had been lying. I wanted to understand the own malfunction, so it could never happen again. But the secretary couldn’t tell me that…
And now I have become a tad more paranoid.