Wed, Sept 24, 2008

[Tuesday]
After getting settled in Christchurch, I fell hard asleep at about 3pm. I set the alarm for about n hour later, but then turned it off in favor of more sleeping. mmmm! I awoke to my two other dorm mates about 9pm. Managed to get my weary self out of bed for a bit, cleaned up my already pretty organized stuff, brushed my teeth, and walked downt ot a convenience store, really really hungry, with Gillie for bread and PB.

I met Gillie much earlier that day on the City Bus from the airport into the city center. We were both headed to the visitor's center, and friendly as lonely backpackers are, we decided to make the trip together. We picked up phone cards and the lady at the desk let me know what I already suspected, that the buses to Akaroa via Little River were already gone for the day. Gillie had been recommended the Coachman backpackers and we hopelessly circumnavigated the block adjacent to it 1 1/2 times before a guard at the Cathedral pointed us in the right direction. We booked a dorm room (4-beds) for $25 and then headed off to an internet cafe and a phone booth to take care of a few things.

Soon after that we met up with Gillie's friend Carolyn who was in town looking at jobs. I soon decided that moving to NZ was a great idea - albeit, not in Carolyn's style. Her husband was looking at university jobs in the department of strategy (?) and I think she was looking at HR manager type positions. She had awful buckle platform heels and a blouse that let her leathery tan boobs spill out. Great for job interviews. We all walked the town a bit and I bought a pack towel (having forgotten any sort of towel), a plug converter (the plastic pieces broke that night), and talked to a guy at an outdoorsy shop about climbing. This was excellent. He gave me info for the local indoor gym, his number, and the local listserv, from which people organize climbing trips every weekend. So I should be all set. Except that I'm in Little River now, sans car. But once I get back into town I should be able to figure out things quickly. One thing follows another --

[Wednesday]
In Little River at Okuti Garden I met 3 other wwoofers. All recommended that a car was essential for travel here as buses are limited and trains worse. In order to pay for a car I'd need a job and in order to have a job I'd need a place to stay. And then from working in the city I could easily go climbing with my listserv buddies. I have to buy a car very soon because it's almost tourist season and prices go up. I could probably manage to keep wwoofing for a while afterwards because wwoofing only costs gas money. Getting a car means about $800-$1000 for the purchase, plus around $250 for basic insurance, plus petrol. The hope is that I'd sell the car for around the same at the end and make most of that cost back. Decisions! Oh, and working in a cafe or something decent might be difficult given the climbing to farming grungy trend of my cothes.

Being out at Okuti Garden is like insta-lonely. I don't know whether it's the quiet, which makes it harder to be distracted from my own thoughts or the mix of people here. By the way, I have yet to meet another American traveler. Well, I met two huge ladies from Texas on the bus, but they're not the same kind of travelers. The wwoofers here are a German girl (22) and a French couple, all of whom speak English.