third time’s the charm

Posted on October 3, 2013 by karenula

my days in Aotearoa were coming close to an end.
I had finally reached what I thought would be my final destination before flying back home. but I got there on Tuesday, earlier than I expected, and obviously I didn’t want to be a pain with my Kiwi family staying in their house for the whole time… AND for the third time… but of course, mom Ali said that there was no problem and that I could stay there as long as I wanted!

notice the “Mexican maid” note there…

I really didn’t do much in Wellington this last week and a half.
I met at Te Papa Museum with Andrea, Angela, and Jimena my Mexican friend that lives in Melbourne (she was travelling all around NZ by bus).

I met with Jeronimo and Anna who came all the way down to this city just to say goodbye. we went to the Te Papa Museum, again… but to be honest I could never get tired of this place. every time I go there, I find something new, it’s like the never ending museum! the Aztec exhibition was about to be open, so there were ads all around the entrance… and I found an old friend of mine among them…

Mictlantecuhtli and me

zee Germans!

then we walked around the city, had dinner at my favourite mexican place Viva Mexico, and finished the night at my favourite pub Molly Malones.

I gathered once more on Saturday with my Funky Green friends to say goodbye to Andrea who was leaving the next day. so we walked around the city, we had dinner at Burger Fuel, and then ended up at Four Kings to have a couple of beers.

next day I was going to have the Mexican Night with my family. so early in the morning Mark and I went to the Sunday market on the waterfront. we bought all the ingredients, and on the way out I saw my friend Bruno once more! third time in three months… we talked a little bit and then said goodbye for good, chances of seeing him again this last week were very low.

after the market we went to their real home, which is being remodelled, for me to see the changes since last time. then he took me to see the Wellington sign near the airport, a sign I hadn’t been able to see and really wanted to have the cliche picture of it.

we went back home and I started getting things ready to start cooking. Mark’s daughter, Anna with her husband and kid were going to join as well and Tasarla’s boyfriend, Josh, too. so it would be full house for the Mexican night!

I started doing the dough for the homemade tortillas, and then started cooking the main course. everybody started arriving, and I started feeling a lot of pressure, the good thing was that they ALL started helping me, so while I was doing the sauce and the chicken, they became my tortilla making army.

it was a fun night! we laughed, and talked, and drank some wine. I was for sure going to miss them once I left.

the next day I stayed at home all day, writing and setting things for my departure. I was leaving on the 6th of October to LA from Auckland, so I had to find my way back up there. I found one of those relocation sites where you can rent cars for free, and there I found a car I could pick up in Wellington and return in Auckland airport after two days… so I decided to drive up to Rotorua, stay there for two nights, and then leave early on Sunday morning directly to the airport… the tricky part was that it would be a manual car, and it has been a WHILE since I’ve driven one… oh shit!

the next day I met with Angela. we went for a big walk and had some lunch together. we printed a couple of the “Funky Green Biatches” photos to give to the hostel owners as a thank you gift… she wanted to hang out a lot before I left, and I really wanted to do the same, but I just had a lot of things to do so I decided to be with her that whole day, and then see her on my last night… I was going to miss her for sure!

next day my driving lessons with Tasarla started. we went op shopping together along with Josh. I found this very cute outfit to wear the day I would meet with Robert, and other than that, nothing. in fact, I couldn’t really buy stuff, I actually had to get rid of my winter clothes because where I was going, was not as cold as NZ.

almost every day since I got to Wellington I had been texting and skyping with Robert. when I was in Napier, Robert and I had decided to go to Mexico. but I didn’t want to go back to Mexico City, it would not be fair to enter my comfort zone with him, specially if he doesn’t speak the language. I already had my ticket and I couldn’t afford to lose that, I was running out of money and buying a ticket to go somewhere else was not the best idea. so he agreed to come with me. we would fly to LA along with his friend Sebastian, stay there four days, then say goodbye to Sebastian and go to San Diego for a night to take the plane to San Jose del Cabo the next day. in Mexico we would start working for a guy from the States in Cabo Pulmo where he has some kind of hotel, a place that seems wonderful. we also had booked some work in exchange for accommodation with another couple in a ranch with horses, but that was not until the end of December. we decided that, because it would give me the chance to find a job to save some money and travel some more, if that’s what we wished for in the future. he was coming with me! he was being the sweetest guy ever, comforting me because I was really nervous with the road trip, and the manual car… he really cared for me, and we were both very excited to start this new adventure together!

on my last night in Wellington, my Kiwi family invited Angela and me to have a farewell dinner and drinks. this time, was the real goodbye… until they go to Mexico again, which seems more possible than me going back to NZ. we had dinner in an Indian restaurant, and then had some beers at a pub called Laundry… a pretty cool place!

next morning, Tasarla took me to where I had to pick up the car… I was VERY nervous… of course, I took the wheel and the engine stopped like three times right there in the car rental company… in front of everyone… terrible! Tasarla tried to cheer me up and helped me feel less nervous… we said goodbye with a big big hug, and we both drove away…

I was sad to leave my family… but I’m sure we’ll meet again someday… that’s what families do!

note for the road… may the Gods be with me and the people around me while I drive…

Funky Green Biatches

Posted on September 24, 2013 by karenula

after living and working in Rotorua for a while, the three cleaners of the Funky Green Voyager decided to go out and “explore the world”.
my coworkers had been there for three months already, I had only been there three weeks… yet my time in NZ was coming to an end and I thought I should still travel yet a little bit more and try to get to Wellington to say goodbye to my Kiwi family.

we started our trip heading to Taupo along with Nick (who had now a romance with Andrea), and we stayed there at the Blackcurrant Backpackers for one night.

next morning we said goodbye to Nick, he had to go back to Rotorua and then he and Andrea were going to travel in Australia for some months, so Andrea wanted to see as much as possible of NZ as well.
we then toured around the city, especially at the lakefront and then headed directly to Napier.

we had another job for accommodation waiting for us in Napier, this time for the owner of the Stables Lodge Backpackers. this hostel was mainly inhabited by longtermers working in the area. I cannot really say I felt at home there, maybe the fact that my time was running out made me antisocial, but I really didn’t feel like making new friends and the place was not appealing to me either (not that it’s not nice, it’s just not my style).

we started working the next day. we had to work three days from 11 to 5 and that would give us six nights at the hostel. the owner picked us up and took us to her house where she has horses, a cute dog, citrus trees, and a veggie garden among other things. we had to do some gardening chores. at lunchtime she found out I was Mexican and asked me if I knew how to make flour tortillas, and I proudly answered YES (thank you Shireen). she asked me if I could teach her how to make them next day in the morning before going for a horse ride.

so the next day I was sent directly to the kitchen to show her how to make tortillas, but she had to go here and there, so I just made them and wrote down the recipe and cooking method for her. when she finally came back, she was happy with all the tortilla making, and – to make me feel like a TRUE Mexican maid – she then asked me if I could wash her car in the afternoon after we came back from the horse ride.

Nugget

before we left she asked me if I could cook a Mexican dish for them to have next day for dinner, so again, the Mexican maid would be present.

so my last day of work I spent it in the kitchen. I was really looking forward to doing some outdoor chores that involved physical labour, but nothing… I was indoors all the time, standing in the kitchen…

the rest of the days in Napier were slow and I was not really feeling very well, so while Andrea and Angela went out to town to walk and shop, I would stay in the hostel skyping, writing, or baking bread…

the day we left Napier we headed first to Temata Peak, near Havelock North, to take a view of the area from above.

then we went to the longest place name in the world

we ended up in Dannevirke, the “Viking” city of New Zealand, looking for a place to stay, but no luck… so we drove all the way to Palmerston North to spend the night there.

the tiki love bus

next morning we went to Mangatainoka to visit the Tui brewery. if you are not familiarised with this beer, well, let me tell you that it’s not NZ’s best but the advertisement sure is! Tui is promoted through a humorous advertising campaign which uses stereotypes, heavy irony and the phrase “Yeah Right”. these advertisements have caused some controversy, such as a billboard stating “Camilla for Queen? Yeah Right” and one stating “Aucklanders are people too. Yeah Right”. others to have made the news include “Dad’s new husband seems nice – Yeah Right” and “I nvr txt whl drvn – yeah right” among others. the brewery has a huge magnetic billboard where you can put whichever phrase you want making your own “Yea Right” Tui ad… the result:

after our little fun time we went to Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre to finally see some living kiwi birds (not like the dried ones in the museums).

Angela and Andrea trying to get the perfect shot

and then all the way to Wellington where I was dropped off at my Kiwi Family’s house.

my adventures with my Funky Green Co-Biatches came to an end. we would still see each other in Wellington the next days, but soon Andrea would leave for Australia, and I would leave the country in a little less than two weeks as well… I will miss them for sure, it has been fun!

being Cinderella

Posted on September 15, 2013 by karenula

the sulphuric smell of the town greeted me the moment I stepped down the bus. I had been thinking of cancelling the rest of my trip and change my plane ticket to return home earlier… but, WHAT WAS I THINKING?! how could I’ve possibly thought of not coming at least to Rotorua?! this magical place seems to have everything… but of course you need a month and thousands of dollars to do it all: from bouncing inside a ball, to getting a deep tissue massage; from riding the shotover jet, to riding a horse… all kinds of activities, for all kinds of people, of all ages.

Funky Green Voyager was going to be my new home for at least two weeks, and the long-termers and staff were going to be my new family.
I was introduced to them. the long-termers were Mark (England), Tom (N. Ireland), and Dave (Scotland). the staff were the couple Astrid and Kyle (managers, Germany and Canada respectively), Nick (manager, USA), Angela (cleaner, Canada), Andrea (cleaner, Germany), and Jack (cleaner whom I was replacing, USA). they all seemed to be a well formed group of friends, and though most of them were really nice from the beginning, I knew it would be tough to enter the group, specially if I was here to “fill” someone else’s place.

I got settled in my dorm, unpacking and using the lockers they provide (where you cannot really LOCK your stuff) to really feel at home. that night I met a Belgian couple that had been in Ahipara and had met Anna and Jeronimo (the Germans) as well.

the first day I went out to town, I had to see where things were: the great and very-loved op-shops, souvenir shops, supermarkets, three dollar shops and, of course, McDonalds.

on the way back to the hostel I was thinking I should buy some credit for my mobile and text Anna and Jeronimo to see where in NZ they might be… but I didn’t have to do that, the moment I walked in the hostel I saw their backs in the smoking gazebo… I really couldn’t believe it! I didn’t have to see their faces and they didn’t have to see mine, they knew it was me when I said “I was going to send you a text today”… Anna jumped and ran to hug me!

I was very happy to see them! I was not starting to work until Monday, so it was good to have someone I knew with whom to hang and do the touristy stuff in the meantime. and in fact, that night we went to The Polynesian Spa to get into some rotten-egg smelling hot pools… WONDERFUL (one of the good things of Rotorua is that you can fart and blame it on the town’s natural odours).

next day we went to Wai-O-Tapu to see all the geothermal pools. unfortunately, it was a crappy weather day, so besides getting soaked, we couldn’t really see the colours. it really is worth going, though! it’s beautiful!

Anna and Jeronimo filled me in with the Swedish’s (Robert and Sebastian) update… they had been in contact with Sebastian, in fact they had all stayed in Kerikeri at the same place where Chris and I did (where we met the Vanuatuans and Maori). they had stopped walking the Te Araroa Track and were now moving by bus or hitchhiking. apparently they were near Auckland now, so that meant they might come to Rotorua any time soon.
“oh! you should tell them to stay here if they come to Rotorua… I’ll probably be here for more than two weeks anyways” I said to Jeronimo, trying to sound as casual as possible.

the next days we took it easy. I started working from 10 to 12 every day, being the Mexican Cinderella. after work we just relaxed in the hostel or walked around town… we would play games at night with some of the guests and some of the staff. we met great people, specially Meredith from China and Laura from Germany, who would hang with us at night.

Anna and Jeronimo were looking for a place where they could stay and work, and on Wednesday they left to a private home they found near town. Meredith left that day as well to continue her travels in Taupo and Napier.

little by little I was blending in with the Funky Green family. on Thursday some of us went to celebrate Mark’s birthday. we started having a couple of beers at his work (the climbing wall) and then headed to The Brew.

the main plan was to end the night in a bar called Lava Bar, but it was around 1am, the birthday boy was a wee bit drunk, and we all decided to call it a night and just go home… and man, was I glad we did that… the moment I entered the hostel kitchen, the first thing I saw was Robert walking towards me saying something… I flung my arms around him with a loud “heeeey! good to see you again!”.
they had been waiting since a little after 10pm in the hostel to get a room. unfortunately, the office closes at 10 and they couldn’t find anyone. the good thing is that they asked for “Karen the Mexican” and that gave them immediate access to the facilities by one of the guests. but Sebastian left to find somewhere to sleep other than the common room of the hostel, and Robert then got a bed in my dorm… I couldn’t sleep that night, I guess I was just too excited of finally having him here.

next morning we both woke up pretty early, and he set off to the shops to buy stuff for breakfast. Sebastian arrived just in time for it. we talked and they filled me in their walking and non-walking adventures. then they waited in the hostel until I was done with my duties, and we went for a walk in town and along the lakefront. Robert was hyper, he couldn’t stop laughing or talking, he said he was just happy.
we met with Anna and Jero to have some lunch, and then we went to the hostel to hang and talk some more the five of us.
that night would be TACO NIGHT, and no, not Mexican style tacos… it was going to be the Swedish Taco Night, Robert would not even let me make the tortillas. they invited people to join in something like a trade “we cook, you just pay your share, we all have fun”.

so the three of us set off to the supermarket to buy all the stuff. I tried HARD to take over and cook as Mexican as possible, but I gave up with Robert’s stubbornness and they ended up buying their “Old El (fucking) Paso” shit. at cooking time all I did was the guacamole and I let them do their “tacos” (which were more like Tex-Mex burritos… with sour cream… yuck!), and I promised I wouldn’t bitch about them – hard task.

the night went smooth. we were all happy eating, talking, playing games… it felt really good to have them home. they are both helping all the time, having fun, bringing people together, being silly, or having great conversations… I didn’t want them to leave, ever… but I knew their policy, they don’t stay for more than two nights (maximum three) in one place. that meant I needed to make the most out of the few days we had together – and this time I was definitely getting an email address.

on Saturday again they waited for me to finish my chores, and then we walked to the drift karts to have a small race which Sebastian won. we walked back home through the park with hot pools (which you can only see, not touch), and we just relaxed in the hostel. Robert and I were together all the time just getting to know each other. that evening they decided to stay one more night! lucky me, I had yet one whole day to get to know him a little bit more.

on Sunday morning they went to the Redwoods to do a small hike while I worked. when they came back again we were just relaxing and playing games in the hostel. the days were very pretty, but I really didn’t feel like doing anything else than being with Robert. our time together was coming to an end and I still didn’t have his email address… that day we decided we would look for something to do together in another country. we both still want to travel, we want to work, and most importantly, we want to get to know each other. yes! I’m guessing this might come as a shock to my close friends that read this (if they read this)… apparently, I will no longer be travelling alone… I know it sounds crazy, but it feels right.

they left next morning quite early. I’m one of those persons that feels sad when saying goodbye to other people… surprisingly, I was not sad… in fact, I was happy (weird). again, I knew I would see him someday, and I knew that we both had to end this trip our own way before starting a new one together.

Sebastian

Robert

that day Anna and Jero came to visit. we went for a stroll in town, but I was just too tired and unable to talk much with them.

the next couple of weeks in Rotorua were cool, funny, bizarre, stressful… just a combo of emotions because A LOT of thing happened.

Meredith came back, and we went along with Angela and more people to Mount Maunganui with Mark.

Angela and Andrea were leaving on the 15th and invited me to join them on their road-trip, and I said yes… I would like to see more places, and specially say goodbye to my Kiwi family in Wellington.

I also met the owners (who were on holidays when I first arrived) and I was surprised of how nice they really are. I had created a very different image of them. the manager Astrid (who seemed to be bitching about everything, now that I think about it) would say horrible things of them and call them names as often as possible… I’m not sure if she meant them or if she was just trying to play the “cool manager” with a “I’m on your side” kind of crap… the worst part of this, is that the owners trust her with their business and probably have no idea that she speaks shit of them behind their backs… it makes me sick… honestly guys, if you have nothing good to say about other people it’s actually better if you keep your mouth shut!

it also happened that Astrid started to act super weird with us the cleaners. one day from laughing together and her being all hyper and almost stripping in the common room, she went to throwing things around and bitching later on on Facebook about HER being her only best friend… first I thought she was having marital problems, but then she would not come and hang with us in the common room. we then got told that she was upset because we didn’t invite her to the shops one day (a day that SHE was working). I think things got worse when the owner offered me to stay as a manager for the next three or four months (when the current managers left), and also the fact that he said in front of her that I have a better English than her… so, of course, she didn’t want to see me near her… hey! it’s not my fault that my English is better…

I seriously thought about the job offer… it would be a great opportunity to learn the art of hostel managing, especially if I wanted to have a hostel myself, and it would be a payed job (which was something I wanted in NZ long time ago). that being said, it meant that I would actually have money to continue travelling or at least that I wouldn’t go back home bankrupted. the tricky part was that I would have to apply for a visitor visa extension, and I had already been here three months, went out, came back again and was actually questioned about my motives for coming back; I would have to change my plane ticket, which was a big expense; though I wouldn’t have to pay for accommodation, but yes for food and stuff… so I was really, REALLY considering it. I asked Robert if he would come back to Rotorua for three more months and work here, and he said yes… but something didn’t feel right… Robert was not crazy about NZ, and I was already tired of being here. I needed chaos and less green. I wanted to travel with him but going forward, not going back. and though the thought of earning money was appealing, I had to follow my heart – as corny as it may sound. so I refused the offer, and continued my search for a place where we both could go.

so back to the plan of road-tripping with Angela and Andrea on the 15th.

I was absolutely getting along with everyone in the FG family – except, obviously, for Astrid.
Angela and I would spend hours together listening to good music and watching videos in the winter garden. Andrea unfortunately was not feeling very well, so she would usually be in her room. but we would all hang in the common room to talk, have beers, play games and be a happy family at night.

I used my Mexican-hippie skills to braid Andreas hair with coloured threads… then I found out that people charge like $30.00 for that… damn!

the owners invited us one night to have dinner at their place and watch the rugby match.

Andrea, Angela and I went to the Redwoods for a walk before leaving the city.

Angela and I had a terrible roommate, who we named Mr. Snores, for FOUR nights! a Malaysian guy that came with his girlfriend (who wisely asked for a “female” room, bless her) and was an openly snorer: “hello, my name is ‘Ching’ and I snore BIG TIME”… “hello Ching(atumadre)!”
we had to change rooms the last night after not being able to sleep the previous three nights… and his stupid girlfriend was stealing blankets from other rooms and changing dorms and beds as she pleased, without asking or even telling us that she had done that… so we had to guess if someone was using that bed, or not, and changing sheets… I just wanted to slap her!

when my days in Rotorua were coming to an end, I finally met someone that was going to Hobbiton and back to Rotorua… he was going in the morning, so I had to ask for permission to skip work… lucky for me, Nick (aka The Corndog, because he was calling me a beaner all the time) was working that morning, and let me go!
I would’ve definitely regretted going back home and not visiting Hobbiton, especially if I consider myself a good LOTR fan. I will not lie, it is FUCKING expensive, but TOTALLY worth it! the guides are super nice, the Green Dragon is awesome, everything looks ready for filming… just perfect!

recognise this door?!

Anna and Jero came to say goodbye on Saturday. and that night, our last night, the owners invited us to their house to eat pizza and say goodbye as a family… everyone was leaving soon. we (the three cleaners) were leaving next day, Kyle and Astrid like 3-5 days after us, Nick like 5 days after Kyle and Astrid… even the long-termers were leaving soon as well.

the next day we trained the new cleaners, packed our stuff, and went to the owners’ house once more to celebrate her birthday.
then, with a couple of pictures, saying thanks, and lots of kisses and hugs, we set off to our new adventure in the Tiki Love Bus…

Rotorua/Funky Green, we will miss you…

more northland

Posted on August 23, 2013 by karenula

I left Ahipara on Monday, August 12th.
Riah gave me a ride to the hostel where Chris had stayed in Kaitaia. and with a big hug, we said goodbye.

I had booked the Harrisons Cape Runner tour for that day along with a night in the hostel. when I arrived there, two other girls were doing the same: checking in for one night, doing the Cape Reinga tour, staying in room number six. their names: Cally (from South Africa) and Sara (from USA).

we hopped into the bus, which was full of cute, older people. most of them part of a group of friends from Wellington.

we started the tour stopping at Ancient Kauri Kingdom, a coffee shop with lots of souvenirs and Kauri wood stuff… FYI Kauri trees are the largest (by volume) but not tallest species of trees in New Zealand, standing up to 50m tall in the emergent layer above the forest’s main canopy. It has been estimated that before 1840, the kauri forests of northern New Zealand occupied at least 12,000 square kilometres. today, there is only 4 per cent of uncut forest left… SAD!
after this, the tour took us to Houhora Heads, a very small town mostly occupied by people living in trailer homes.

then they took us to Rarawa Beach… a beautiful place that might be super cool for camping in summer!

then we had the biggest ice cream ever in Te Kao before arriving to Cape Reinga.

The name comes from the Māori word ‘Reinga’ that means ‘Underworld’, referring to the belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld. it’s also the point where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet.

we then had lunch at Tapotupotu Bay, where a group of dolphins was waiting for us riding the waves.

we headed after this to Te Paki Stream & Sand Dunes, where obviously the only ones to do tobogganing where us three… we had SO much fun!

and then to ride along the Ninety Mile Beach in the bus from north to south.

we returned to the hostel and the three of us decided to go have something to eat and buy some wine for the night… the night went smooth with some card games and talks… they invited me to join their roadtrip, and that was good for me because they were going south to Auckland through the west coast, and I really wanted to see that. so I agreed, thinking that maybe I could get dropped off at a very nice beach.

next morning we woke up very early to leave Kaitaia.
we drove all the way to Kohukohu to take the ferry, but we missed it by two minutes, so we returned to the town to try and use the library’s wifi… but oh surprise… no wifi.
so we just sat there relaxing for a couple of minutes and then we went back to the port to hop on the ferry.
I had three options to be dropped off at: Opononi, Omapere, or Dargaville.
I thought of staying on Omapere because it seems beautiful, but since we drove past it to get to the “Labyrinth Woodworks, Maze & Puzzle Museum”, I thought it was too much driving for the girls to take me back, and I really wanted to see this huge Kauri tree called “Tane Mahuta”… so I told them that I would stay in Dargaville instead… though I had the feeling it was going to be a VERY boring town…

so, we saw the maze place first. to be horribly honest, I would’ve saved those four dollars for a good pie or something… it’s not worth going… it’s not even a maze! it’s just a zigzag thing where you cannot even get lost…

we then drove to Tane Mahuta… it’s a very short walk, but it is pretty amazing to see a tree that size! Especially after knowing that they are sort of extinct because they used them all for construction and other things.

after this I got dropped off in Dargaville… and as I thought, it was a town with nothing interesting (there’s not even a McDonalds!!!)…
I went to the Greenhouse Backpackers, which used to be a school where the current owner attended… I asked Daren (the owner) if there was someone else staying here, and he said that there was only this guy called Bruno… I froze… “Bruno?” I asked… “yes, he’s a Maori guy that is selling his book”… “whaaat?! I’ve met this guy in Auckland! and I’ve met his daughter in Kerikeri!” and sure thing, Tuhoe “Bruno” Isaac was in the dorm, and of course he recognised me and greeted me happily telling me that he had seen Whai, and that she told her we met!

I went out to town – first to the library to use the wifi and tell mom and dad that I’m still alive, then to grab something to eat, and then to the supermarket to buy some things for dinner.

then I just relaxed in the hostel. writing, and talking a little bit with Bruno and with this other older guy called Willy, who is originally from Croatia. the evening passed, and I finally bought Bruno’s (very expensive) book… I thought our “friendship” history gave me the right to have a long and beautiful dedication and autograph along with our picture taken… but all I got was:

To Karen
ch…
Tuhoe Isaac
Best Wishes
13/8/2013

damn! after all we’ve been through…

next morning I took the shuttle to arrive in Whangarei and went directly to the YHA… I still had to kill some time to go serve in the Meditation Centre a week from that day (on the 21st), and I still needed to figure out how the hell I was going to get there…

I wrote a text message to Paul the Dutch to see if he was still living there, and he told me that Chris had arrived that day and was staying with him. in the hostel I met this really cool girl from England called Emma, with whom I went to the supermarket and had dinner back in the hostel.

next day I met with Chris. we walked around town and then decided to go up the mountain, where the YHA is, to the lookout… but stopped in the hostel for a cup of tea. there we met a Maori guy called Chazz who offered to take us up in his car. we walked down and went to Paul’s house, where Chris was going to cook dinner for him and his flatmate. So the four of us were hanging, having some wine, talking, and eating… fun times!

on Friday I got picked up by John, my kiwi mom’s brother… or in other words, my kiwi uncle… I was going to stay with them (John, Shireen, and Patrick) in their beautiful house in Ngunguru until the meditation course started.

my time with them was happy and relaxing. uncle John took me on a rowboat to the beach the day I got there, we went to see Patrick play football on Saturday, I cooked Mexican breakfast on Sunday and then went for a walk to the lighthouse on Kukutauwhao Island and a visit to the beach in Matapouri.

Kukutauwhao Island

the following days I basically stayed at home. I was getting tired of travelling and spending so much money. I thought of changing my flight to go back home when the meditation course ended, but the “penalty” for changing dates was something around NZ$300… so I decided I’d better spend those dollars in something worth visiting… and besides, I was already in this part of the world and I would definitely regret not visiting more places once I got back home.
I gave up on serving in the meditation course as well. it was just difficult to get there without a car. I needed to go to Auckland to take another bus that would drop me on a town between Auckland and where I was now… just stupid… instead I found a job opportunity on the BBH website: Rotorua’s Funky Green Voyager needed a cleaner in exchange for accommodation, wifi, and laundry… “well, I’ve never been to Rotorua… from there I might be able to go to Hobbiton! ooh! and get into one of those stinky hot pools!… and just for cleaning? bitch please! I’m THE Mexican maid! ok… I’m calling them NOW”… I got accepted immediately, they had just posted the ad when I called, so I took it as a sign… I even got a free bus ticket from a Brazilian guy that is now in Spain and is definitely not using his “nakedbus passport” with seven trips left… everything was set… I was arriving in Rotorua on Friday, and even my uncles let me stay with them until that day! Orsome!!!

so I just relaxed and enjoyed the days in beautiful Ngunguru with this beautiful family! I cooked a Mexican dinner for my uncles and their neighbours. Shireen gave me a recipe for making TORTILLAS… that’s right, an English woman teaching a MEXICAN this! outrageous!

on Thursday I went to visit another kauri tree, his name: Tane Moana. it turned out that this small walk is part of the Te Araroa Track that the Swedish were walking… so before going there I did the math in my head and I thought that I was right on time to meet them face to face in that forest… if that happened, I don’t know what I would think or do… I was breaking with my meditation vows of not generating new cravings, but for some reason I could not stop thinking of that cute, very blonde guy…
of course, I didn’t meet anyone, and I didn’t hear anything other than the pīwakawakas that were around me… the meditation “guru” in my head said “see, I told you… now you feel miserable because your craving turned out to be just that, a craving”… and although I did have my hopes high, I didn’t feel miserable like my imaginary teacher said… I knew I would see him again, though the fact that they are WALKING made things very complicated in times and stuff…

I said goodbye to the family that night, and next morning Shireen took me to the bus stop in Whangarei.

my favourite place

Posted on August 11, 2013 by karenula

the moment I met my new host Riah, I knew I was in for a good treat!
she had a very positive vibe since the very first second.
She’s a Maori girl that actually SPEAKS Maori. she works in the local radio station in Kaitaia and she and her dad, Ricky, live together in Ahipara.

first we went to pack n’ save in Kaitaia, and I bought stuff to make dinner that night: quesadillas. and then we went to her sister’s house to pick up her dad.

Ahipara is a 15 min drive from Kaitaia, and it’s the very beginning of the 90 Mile Beach (which is actually 55 miles long).
when we got to the town I couldn’t really see much of the beach and stuff, but from Riah’s house (which by the way was a beautiful house and one of the cleanest I’ve ever been to) I could see why I wanted to come here… I’ve been wanting to go to a nice beach ever since I got to the Northland.

I started making some ham and cheese quesadillas for dinner, teaching Riah how to flip the tortilla… so the last ones she did them by herself, and she called them “great party food”.

flipping the quesadilla

after dinner we went to visit her friend Trudy taking her the last quesadillas, which she also thought they were “great party food”.
then we had some drinks with her in the toolshed in the back. Riah had taken a couple of bourbon and cola cans, so I had one… terrible mistake!!! after I finished it I started feeling sick, I excused myself and went out to the garden to throw up, while I tried to shoo the cat away (THAT would’ve been even MORE embarrassing!). I came back in, not being able to look them in the eye and apologising ALL the time!

back in the two bedroom house, Ricky offered to sleep on the couch and gave me his room… I didn’t want to take it, I thought it was enough for them to have me staying in their house, and I really didn’t mind sleeping on the couch at all! but he insisted, so I gratefully took it.

next day, while Riah went to work, Ricky and I set off for a big walk in town. I had contacted the hostel from Ahipara because they needed someone to work there in return for accommodation, and I really, really wanted to stay in Ahipara for a while. so Ricky took me to the hostel, and then he went fishing on the beach while walking back home.

the hostel, Endless Summer Lodge, is just beautiful! a lovely old house with a huge garden on the front and just a couple of meters away from the beach. there I talked to the owner to see if they still needed someone, but unfortunately the guys that were working there were going to stay for another week or so. their names: Anna and Jeronimo (any guess where they are from?…correct! Germany). I talked to them a little bit, and they seemed like very cool people. so before leaving I asked them for their phone number and gave them mine, in case they had a plan and wanted to hang or do something.

Endless Summer Lodge

I walked back home on the beach, met with Ricky who was not far away fishing, and then arrived to the house where I had some lunch.

then Riah came and took me for a drive on the beach. it was an amazing feeling!!! then she took me to Shipwreck Bay and to a sort of lookout on the hill… Ahipara, I love you!

on Friday I went down to the beach to walk and take some pictures… I got a message from Chris telling me that he got tired of Kaitaia and was now in Ahipara. he was staying at the backpackers I had visited the previous day, so I told him I would visit him after lunch. then I saw from far away two guys with their backpacks walking towards where I was standing… I was a little bit curious to see who the hell would be walking on the beach at this time of day. I was starting to walk back home through the main road, but I realised that the only way back I knew was through the river and the park. so I walked back to the beach to take that path and came across the two backpackers I had seen from the distance: two very tall, blonde guys that were even carrying their tramping poles, seemed like they had been out on the beach for quite a while… “Germans…”‘ I thought. we just looked at each other and said “hi”.

so I went back home and had some lunch. then went down to the beach again and started walking towards the hostel to meet with my friend and “ex-husband” Chris.

I was happy to see him. I came into the hostel to have some coffee with him.

there I saw the backpackers again, cleaning their tent and getting rid of all the sand. I was interested in them, so I started with the now well-practiced ice-breaking questions:

me: “sooo, where are you guys from?” (expecting the obvious answer, I thought I should’ve asked “so, what part of Germany are you guys from?”)
them: “Sweden”
me: “oh (well, that’s a surprise)! I know just one word in Swedish: skit!”
them: “ha ha ha”
guy 1: “we just saw you when we were coming in from the beach, right?”
me: “yeah! that was me… sooo, why were you walking… where have you been?”
guy 1: “we came from Cape Reinga we are walking all the way down to Bluff”
us (Chris and I): “walking?!”
them: “yes!” with a big smirk on their faces
me: “wow! so, how did you get to the Cape, then?”
guy 1: “we hitchhiked”
us: “nice!”

it seemed as if they were not really interested in having a conversation, so we left them and went to the front lawn to have a cigarette with Jeronimo and Anna.
I went back in, and met the Swedish again. I really wanted to talk to them (the fact that one of them was really cute had NOTHING to do with that… yea, right!)
me: “sooo, what are your names?”
guy 2: “I’m Sebastian”
guy 1: “I’m Robert… and you?”
me: “I’m Karen”
Robert: “have you been here for long?”
me: “I arrived in Ahipara on Wednesday, but I’ve been staying in a house near where I saw you first”
Robert: “cool! so, I’m going to go look for my sweater and buy something to drink… are you going to be here to have some beers at night?”
me: “yeah, I think so (I hope so)”.
and he left riding a bike barefoot…

the sun was starting to set, and I had been told not to wander around alone at night, so I started to worry a little bit and decided to walk back home along the beach, watching this beautiful sunset… sadly I was going to miss those beers with the cute Swedish guy…

next day I went to visit Chris again. it seemed like no one else was in the hostel… so we walked to the fish & ships shop in town to have lunch. that night Riah’s sister, Ann, was having a housewarming party and we were both invited. so after eating we went to Riah’s house to see what was happening. she told us that we were not leaving until eight, so we asked her if she could pick us up at the hostel. so we walked back again.

the Swedish and the Germans were playing monopoly. I sat next to them while Chris sorted his things. Anna lost first, then Sebastian… Robert seemed to have a good method to make everyone owe him money… then Chris came and asked me if I wanted to play chess with him in the common room, but ended up playing backgammon. Anna and Sebastian went out for a smoke, so I joined them.. and I learnt my second word in Swedish: tack (thank you).

when eight o’ clock approached we came to say goodbye to the rest. it was the Swedish’s last night, they were leaving next morning at 4 am to continue their walking odyssey… I wanted to ask them for their emails or phone numbers, but for some reason I thought “when I meet them again…”. so with a big hug I said goodbye wishing them safe travels, and went off to the party with Riah.

we arrived to Kaitaia and went directly to the liquor shop. then to Ann’s house where the party started with drinking games. we were six girls and Chris was the only guy there (lucky bastard). we drank and played ALL night… all kinds of games, the goal was to get pissed fast, and we achieved it (some more than others)… and at 12 Ricky came to pick us up. a fast but REALLY fun party!

next morning Riah left very early. I tried to go to the beach but the wind was very strong and I was getting blown away, so I just returned home to watch some TV with Noah (Ann’s son) and Ricky.

when Riah returned from town, we went down to the beach on her truck to pick up some pipis (clams) for dinner…

pipis

back home I made some of them as Mexican style as possible, with the lifesaving just-add-water salsa that Sandra gave me in Australia. the rest of the pipis were cooked by Riah with some veggies, noodles and curry, she also made some mashed potatoes… is was all yum! then I packed and sat with them to watch some TV before going to bed. I was leaving next morning to do the Cape Reinga tour and I would stay in Kaitaia with the hopes of finding a ride back to wherever…

the shortest marriage

Posted on August 7, 2013 by karenula

Chris and I had prepared a couple of cardboard signs to start our hitchhiking adventure with a little sense of humour… so this is what we had to show our possible drivers:

we were standing on a crossroad near the exit to the motorway… we walked there and stood for about 20 min when our first driver stopped.

her name is Susan, she saw us standing there, read our signs and decided to come back for us. she did not have to go to Whangarei or any other place other than her house in Auckland. and still she picked us up, and drove all the way to Warkworth.
she was ONE CRAZY CHICK! in the good way… she was all hyper turning the volume up with every song, laughing and saying that everything was a sign or a good omen… simply nuts!

pink: Susan

in Warkworth we got picked up by Peter, a guy that lives in Whangarei. again we only had to wait for 20 min. he was a very nice guy, interested in what we are doing in NZ and stuff. he dropped us off at the iSite where Sophie (the German girl from Auckland) was waiting for her bag to arrive.

green: Peter

we got picked up by the owner of the hostel where we were going to stay. there we met Paul, a very fun Dutch guy that is working in Whangarei. we were all in the same room. that night, after dinner and joking that we were like a married couple (though we were just beginning), we just had beers and played some card games.

next morning Sophie appeared, she switched hostels and was given the extra bed in our room. so the four of us went to see the waterfall and walk a little bit along the forest. we then went to the supermarket to buy stuff to have a BBQ at night.

honeymooners

Paul went to rugby training, we got into the hot tub, and I got a message from Flavia saying she had a campervan until sunday so she was coming our way.

when Paul came back we had our BBQ with some nice beers.

then Flavia arrived, we had some more beers with her, and then went to sleep… or did we…
it turned out that Paul and Sophie hooked up with a terrible teenager strategy that actually worked!!! she was complaining of having the upper bunk, so she simply went into Paul’s bed telling him she was not moving… I thought that was pretty lame, but after they were both in the same bed, we just started listening to this smacking and saliva sounds… very inappropriate! I did tell them that there is a big, heated, and lonely common room where they could go, but they didn’t reply… at least they stopped making sounds… for a while… at around 4 am I heard Chris telling them off because he couldn’t sleep…

next morning the five of us went to have breakfast… and then we left Paul with his new girl to take Flavia to the falls, and hit the road.

we drove mostly along the coast, stopping every now and then to take pictures, see a beach, have coffee or a cigarette… until we reached the town of Russell and stayed at a holiday park for the night.

Russell

next morning we had breakfast at the beach, and then crossed on the ferry to get to Paihia. we stopped there to take a look around and then continued to Kerikeri were we got dropped off at Aranga Backpackers and said goodbye to Flavia.

orange: Flavia

we stayed in Kerikeri for a whole week, a result of our indecision of how and where to go next and the shitty weather.

we did some walks around the area, seeing the Rainbow Falls, the Maori village and the old English houses.

the hostel was packed with people mainly from the Pacific Islands. men and women from Vanuatu, Tonga, Kiribati, and some Maori were living there for the fruit picking season. there were also some Germans that had jobs in the area.
it was a funny hostel because we were all divided by ethnic groups: from hut 1-7 Vanuatuans, 8-9 Asian, 10-11 Europeans (or white butts), 12-14 Kiribatians, 15-24 Maori girls and others not working in farms, 41-76 Tongans and Maori boys… and the rest, who knows…

we immediately made friends with everyone.
the Vanuatuans were shy but very, very friendly. my favourites: Manuel, Kevin and Douglas.
the Maori guys were just amazing, open and friendly… and you won’t believe this, but remember I told you about the Maori guy selling his book? well, his daughter Whai was living there!
and my favourite German was Timo.

Chris and Manuel

on the back: Douglas and Kevin

Jordan and Jesse

Whai

Timo

we were playing cards almost every night, drinking a lot of wine because is cheaper than beer, cooking amazing German and Mexican meals, I gave a haircut to Timo and Whai, and I got a marriage proposal from Manuel… yes! first time in my life… and he was insisting A LOT!

so after a week we decided to leave, and Timo had offered us a ride to Whangaroa because he was going near there.

yellow: Timo

Whangaroa was a dream! a very small town with literally NOTHING, but just beautiful! I wanted to stay there forever. and the backpackers, one of the prettiest I’ve seen.

we said goodbye to Timo, and then walked around town.

next day, our marriage dissolved abruptly… for some reason Chris was ignoring me and being a complete dick, and sadly it was affecting me terribly. after being so close this past two weeks, we now were acting like complete strangers…

I started stressing out because I didn’t know what was going to happen with the rest of the Northland trip. I was not going to hitchhike by myself, so I needed him… but why would I want to continue travelling with a person who is being a jerk? that night I confronted him, but like a teen girl he said “nothing”… “fine!” I thought, I’m definitely NOT going to beg for his attention.

next day I talked to the manager, a very sweet french girl called Oceane. I asked her about the bus or other means of transportation to get to Ahipara (where Whai is from), and after telling me what my options were, she said that she might be going to 90 Mile Beach on Thursday, so she could probably give me a ride to Kaitaia.

I confronted Chris again that day, telling him that if I do not get a ride, he cannot leave me hitchhiking by myself. he agreed… he would come with me to Kaitaia and there we would split, but he also wanted to stay in Whangaroa for a couple more days. when Oceane told me that she was going I felt a relief that I would no longer have to be with Chris… but in he end, he decided he wanted to come as well… bugger…

next morning we were friends again… like if nothing had happened. Oceane gave us a lift telling us what was cool in every town we crossed… a great travel guide!

blue: Oceane

I had contacted a host from Couch Surfing in Ahipara, so I was going to meet her in Kaitaia that afternoon, and Chris needed to find a hostel. so, like old times (or more like two days ago) we went together to find a hostel, leave our stuff, and go find something to eat. then he came with me to meet my host Riah, and we said goodbye with a big, big hug… not knowing if we would ever meet again…

total time of marriage: 15 days

there and back again

Posted on July 24, 2013 by karenula

after going through customs, where I was questioned about my motives of coming back to the country (because I had been here three months already), I finally got to the first backpackers that I ever stepped into in my life (and on this trip). it was Saturday at 1am when I got there. though people were socialising in the lobby, I just wanted to go to bed. I was not tired at all, but I was feeling very confused – not knowing why I hadn’t stayed longer in Melbourne.

the next day I texted Flavia, a girl from Uruguay I met back in march when I first arrived into this country. it turned out we were both staying in the same hostel, which that night was throwing a costume party (which I had no intention in going until then). so we met in the evening to go buy our drinks and costumes… she would be a weird female version of Chaplin and I would be a very feminine marine.

the party was nice, people actually dressed in costumes (something that doesn’t really happen in Mexico). we went to bed early because Flavia had to work next day, and I was not very much in the mood.

next morning I changed hostels, and went to the YHA. I had two prepaid nights there that I had to use. to be horribly honest, the other one is always filthy, the kitchen is too small, you don’t really meet a lot of people… and that last thing is what I needed, to meet someone with a car that may want a travel partner to share costs… so I moved.

I thought it would be very easy to find this person with a car in Auckland, but I was mistaking… seemed like everyone there had already travelled and was just waiting to take the plane back home.

but I did meet some very nice people, among them Giorgia from Italy, Fabian from Austria, and Chris from Germany. this last guy is a very extroverted person that just came to my table and asked if he could sit… he had a great attitude! so that day we talked about our plans and what we wanted to do the next few weeks.

another VERY interesting person I met in the hostel was Tuhoe “Bruno” Isaac. this Maori guy, with a full moko on his face, came on Sunday evening into the hostel… to stay here… it was awesome to see the looks on all the guests’ faces! no one knew what was happening… it’s SO weird to see a local (very local by the looks of it) staying in a hostel.
but he turned out to be a very nice person (when sober) with lots of stories to tell and advice to give.
he’s been travelling for six years in his own country to sell his book: TRUE RED, a sort of autobiography.
I liked Bruno, every time we met he would call me “bub”, like if I was his granddaughter, and we would talk (actually he was the one doing all the talking) for hours.

on Monday night I was going to have some drinks with Flavia, and Giorgia joined. I wished I would’ve met her before, because we bonded immediately and travelling with her would’ve been very fun.

Tuesday morning Chris came with a brilliant idea… since we both had a lot of time to kill (he was waiting for his girlfriend to arrive on August 17th, and I was waiting to serve at a vipassana course from August 21st to September 1st), he asked me to hitchhike with him to Northland, and it became our new plan… we were doing it next morning! that meant: pack again, get rid of food, throw away clothes that you are NOT using, get a cardboard and a marker…

that night I tried to have my picture taken with Bruno, but he answered “have you bought the ($45.00) book yet? when you buy the book we can take a picture together”… bugger…
later Chris and I went to have some farewell drinks with our friends from the hostel… another girl that came with us was Sophie, who was crying in the room because the bus had left with all her things except her… so we asked her to join us so she could cheer up a little bit.
after a couple of beers and watching some people make fool of themselves with karaoke, Flavia came with some of her Argentinian friends to say goodbye as well.

on Wednesday morning we got ready to start our hitchhiking adventure aiming to hit Whangarei, a two hour drive, in one day…

a lot of melbourne

Posted on July 19, 2013 by karenula

the day I arrived home after the meditation course, Sandra and Glaudio were waiting for me. it was Sunday.

the moment I came in my cellphone started making all kinds of noises… I had heaps of emails, messages, and notifications now that I had wifi again… I was overwhelmed! my heart was, for some reason, pounding heavily and I just couldn’t manage to respond to every message easily… I had a lot of trouble and I just wanted to throw the damn thing away…

after having lunch my friends took me to the market and supermarket to do the groceries for the week. my reintegration to society after being in Meditation Bootcamp was becoming a difficult task. I could not stand being surrounded by people. first I was following my friend like a child behind mamma’s skirt, then I just gave up and stood in the corner waiting for her… I was not talking much and, again, I felt overwhelmed and my heart was pounding.

that day I called Elmina. we were chatting a lot, laughing and talking about why she left and what had happened the days she missed.
she was back in Adelaide, where she lives, and since I still had a month in Australia before going back to NZ, I considered going for a weekend to visit her. unfortunately, the plane tickets were somewhat expensive, and I couldn’t find a ride share or anything similar to get there. so I didn’t see her again.

so the month I had, I spent it in Melbourne.

first week: catching-up with friends.

on monday I rested – from not moving a finger in meditation.

on tuesday I saw Jo… we met in Fed Square to go grab a cup of coffee and walk around the CBD. I updated her on all that had happened in the course since she left, and she told me what had happened when she left. it was very nice to see her again, she was a joyful person in the course and helped me keep going in the beginning of it… and of course she was the same joyful person outside of it.
then I saw Gianluca because he was leaving soon, so we met for coffee and then did a little walk along the river.
at night Glaudio, Sandra and I went to a birthday dinner at a nice Spanish restaurant and then back home.

next day I met with Luis, he was with a Mexican girl that had just moved to Melbourne to study one semester, Jimena. the three of us met with Jesús, another friend from architecture that is also studying there. we had lunch at a great sandwich restaurant and then walked along the river… we stopped at a bar that is under a pedestrian bridge called Ponyfish Island, and then we went to Jesús’ end of semester party with his classmates.

next evening I met with Sandra to go see a movie from the Spanish Film Festival, and then we had dinner with her boss (who happened to be in the movies) at a GREAT genuine Italian place called Pellegrinis Bar… highly recommended!

on Friday Sandra and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood. we got to Acland Street, in St Kilda, where we came across a tattoo shop… and I just had to do it (sorry mom). I wanted a reminder of what I had learnt in my ten-intensive-day meditation course: anicca
so while my new tattoo artist named Jack got ready, we went to have some vegetarian at an awesome place with an awesome philosophy called Lentil As Anything.
then back to the studio to have this done… to be honest I was nervous, though it’s not my first tattoo the fact that it was going to be done, like we say in Mexico, en caliente (or straight away) made me feel very anxious… but I just had to do it!

then we walked back home along the beach, and detouring a little bit on the pier, having this amazing sunset:

at night we went to Don Fernando’s Pizza & Tacos to celebrate their first anniversary, so it was nice to be with all the Mexican family again.

on Saturday I met up with Luis and Jimena to have lunch at a vegetarian restaurant in Fitzroy, but, since it was closed, we decided to go to Brother Burger… why not… from leaf to beef… and then we ended the evening with a chocolate beverage from San Churro.
Jimena went back home, and Luis and I walked back to his place, touring around the area.
at night I had some drinks at Mesa Verde (a “Mexican” bar) with the group of Australian architects I met back in Mexico about a year ago thanks to Sandra. we were meeting near Luis’ apartment, so I basically killed time with him, and then went off at 7:50pm (Luis had stuff to do as well) with the big risk of being the only one on time for the appointment, which was at 8pm.
and just as predicted, I got a call from Drew saying he would be like an hour late because his plane had been delayed… and no sign from the rest of the Aussies. I was waiting for an hour, but was very well taken care of by the gorgeous bartender, who spoiled me with some of his favourite tequila and I introduced him to mezcal.
Kris and Katie arrived… we started talking, remembering those days in Mexico. we talked about what has been happening in our lives, you know… the usual catch-up.
then Drew came and I was so happy to see him! no offence if someone else is reading this, but it was with Drew and Josh with whom I had deeper conversations and bonding experience in Mexico. unfortunately Josh had to work that evening, so seeing him would have to wait until Wednesday, when Drew was having dinner with some friends, and Josh and I were invited.
then Max came with some friends, and he was the last of the group of architects to come… I honestly would’ve liked to see more faces, but, oh well…

after mezcales and cervezas we were quite drunk (ish), and at 2am they turned on the lights and basically kicked us out of the place… I had enough courage (or alcohol) to write my name and number on a piece of paper (along with a “xx”, courtesy of Drew) to hand it to the bartender… after he opened it, I had to read his lips saying “I have a girlfriend”… embarrassed I turned around and asked the rest of the group if we could leave NOW… and we did, without turning back…

on Sunday I had a very relaxed day with Sandra and Glaudio, walking around some parks and eating fantastic Thai food at the iSpicy, then watching movies back home…

second week: a little bit of everything

I did some of the touristic stuff, like visiting the Shrine of Remembrance, the National Gallery of Victoria, walking the bridge over the Yarra River…

I visited Luis a couple of times in his apartment, we went to the movies to see Despicable Me with Nils (his flatmate) and Jimena… sometimes he would visit me in my neighbourhood! we also went to have dinner with Jesus and his cousin at a great Vietnamese restaurant in the CBD to say goodbye to them because they were travelling in Asia soon and I wouldn’t see them again.

I went to Drew’s dinner in his beautiful house in Kensington. he and his partner Cameron did this delicious dinner for some of their friends, Josh and I among them. they have this cute dog that for some reason reminded me of Jacinto, a dog I had in Mexico than now lives with a friend because I’m traveling (what one has to give up to follow her/his dreams). we had a great time, it was good to see Josh and catch-up with him, as well as to meet all this wonderful people.

on Saturday Sandra, Glaudio and I went to pick up Sandra’s new friend from Chile to take her (and me… the tourists) to Mount Dandenong.
we went to the lookout, walked around the park, visited William Ricketts Sanctuary, had lunch in one of the towns around, then visited a small place where you can feed birds, and then headed back home.

at night we had like three parties, so we started with the Colombian one… but it turned out to be so good that we stayed there the whole time. there I met Mikel from Spain, a super fun guy with whom I was joking and talking nonsense all night long.

third week: fun week (it’s simple, I did all I was about to miss if I didn’t started now)

I did a bike ride with Jimena and Luis along the beach from St Kilda to Brighton Beach, and THAT was fun! there is a track people take for running or biking, so we rode all the way to Foreshore Bay to see the little houses from a distance.

I met with Mikel a couple of times to have lunch and walk around different areas of the city.

one afternoon Sandra was meeting with some of her uni friends at an Irish pub called The Cork Man, where every Thursday locals gather to play some Celtic music… it’s AMAZING to see that! there were easily like 25 people playing at the same time, all kinds of instruments playing one song. for me, that I’m a huge Celtic music fan, was just beautiful!

went to a Footy match, “Collingwood vs. Adelaide” with Sandra, Glaudio, Oli and her brother, Marcel, and Luis.

on Saturday Sandra and Glaudio took me to a Quidditch match… oh yes! you read right… QUIDDITCH!!! Harry Potter’s favourite sport became muggleized… they are basically the same rules as in the book: you need a broom and have to hold it all the time, need to score the quaffle through the hoops, there are beaters, chasers, seekers and keepers… but the funniest part of it all is that the snitch is in fact a human being running around trying not to get his ball caught!
it is simply BRILLIANT!

in the afternoon we went to the movies to see Lonely Ranger, and then to have dinner with Oli, Marcel and some of their friends. after that we went to a great pub called Open Studio where a wonderful jazz band was playing: Shirazz.

next day I met with Mikel again to have lunch and walk around St. Kilda. then to a farewell party of one of the Mexicans from my friends’ family. there I started feeling that I should’ve stayed longer in Melbourne. all their friends were asking me why was I leaving, and if I could stay longer or return soon… I felt part of that family, I was joking with all of them and feeling the Mexican love… even one of them, Fernando, offered his place to throw me a small farewell party!… I was going to miss each and every one of them.

fourth week: farewells

on Monday I had my special day with my friend Sandra.
we went to Geelong to walk around, have lunch and coffee, and just hang!

on Tuesday I went with Luis and Nils to have dinner at 1000 £ Bend to have some delicious kangaroo burgers (I know it sounds horrible, but they are in fact nice, and there are too many kangaroos in Australia).

with Nils

on Wednesday I met with Lisa (my dear friend from vipassana… with whom I talked all the time after Jo had left). we had coffee and a GREAT long chat! it was lovely to see her again before leaving the country!

later that night I met with Sandra to have a only-girls-old-friends-night-out, meaning: just the two of us!
we started with a beautiful ice cream from Spring St Grocer, continued with an alcoholic warm beverage at Madamme Brussels, and ended with Chinese noodles!

Thursday came, and that meant my last day… we had the small party announced on Facebook with the best name and slogan ever:

LET US DRINK LIKE DWARVES, SMOKE LIKE WIZARDS, AND PARTY LIKE HOBBITS!

it was a great night (not cold or rainy) at Don Fernando’s Pizza & Tacos. we drank and talked and ate delicious pizzas!
like always, some came and some couldn’t make it, but still I was happy to see them and sad to leave them all.
I will miss you, my new Melbourne family!

with Jo

on Friday I was basically freaking out because I hadn’t packed my stuff… but still I had time to meet with Mark and Ali… oh yes! my Kiwi parents were in town! I was so happy to see them, and hopefully I’ll see them again when I’m back in NZ!

and then Sandra took me to the airport… with a big hug and almost tears in my eyes I said goodbye to my friend!
I am forever grateful that they had me in their house for so long!
happy times!!!

eat, pray, laugh

Posted on June 23, 2013 by karenula

it was Wednesday 12 of June when I set off for a new adventure, something completely unknown to me: meditation.

I took the train from Chapel Street to get to Lilydale. the ride was silent, and I was just thinking that I had no idea what to expect from the course I was about to begin…

just for you to know, I will not be telling what the course is about… I think it’s something everyone has to experience for themselves and not through my very personal opinion of it.

I got to Lilydale, had some lunch, and then waited in line to take the bus to Woori Yallock. when I was in front of the bus driver, I asked him if he could tell me when we reached the stop I needed to get off at… another girl was about to ask the same, so she looked at me and asked “Vipassana?” and I said “yes”.

her name is Elmina. we sat together and started talking… I didn’t want to start any conversation with someone that was doing the course as well… you see, Vipassana is a ten day meditation course in silence, and I thought that if I made friends in the beginning I would not be able to keep my silence vows… but she was just too nice, and we talked and laugh all the way. it was the first time we did something like this, and we had so many things in common…

there was another girl on the bus doing the course for the third time. her name is Michelle, from Hong Kong… she told us that Vipassana changed her life, and that she had actually served in this centre just ten days ago… she’s a traveller, just like me, so that made me feel good somehow… apparently I’m not the only one on the other side of the world doing crazy stuff like this!

we waited at the bus stop to get picked up by someone… Michelle left first, so while we waited we met Lorraine who was in the same bus as us an had overheard our conversation.

we arrived at the centre, and there we had to fill a form where we solemnly swore we would not leave the course before it is over. we had to give up our cellphones, pens, books, cameras, iPods… anything we had that could distract us or the others… and so we did… or so it seemed to.
the staff had already arranged our bed places, I was in room 1a and Elmina in room 3a, which was good… we both knew (and in fact we laughed about it) that if we were in the same room, things would be difficult…

we were able to talk until the first meditation at 6 pm, that’s when the silence began, and it was not only silence, you can’t make any eye contact or any sort of gesture… so after making my bed, and presenting myself to my roommates, Chrissy and Hana, I went to Elmina’s room along with my new friends.

she was staying in a room with Lorraine and two other people, Jo and another girl who’s name I can’t remember. the six of us (the girl who’s name I don’t remember left) talked, laughed, and finally group hugged encouraging each other before setting off for dinner.

it was the last proper dinner we would have… we sat together appreciating every moment we had to talk and make jokes… then, off we were for my first meditation ever…

the staff had arranged our sitting spots as well.
I was surprised to enter the meditation hall and see that I could actually SEE the boys… I thought we were supposed to be completely isolated from each other… I was sure that if we shared meditation time and place with the guys, there surely had to be a wall or something to divide us completely… guess they do trust us after all…

we all started with a small mat and one cushion provided by the centre. I saw how people that have meditated before had their special cushions to sit on and their own beautiful coloured blankets… that seemed like a good idea, I was freezing during my first meditation, so I would grab one of those blue blankets the centre provides for next time.

silence begun, and with it the feeling of wanting to search for people’s gaze, the feeling of wanting to laugh with someone about something I found funny, the feeling of getting to know my new friends better…

days started passing… and they seemed like months.
I started crying every evening because I felt angry all the time… I didn’t understand why I was there, and why my new friends would not look at me when I was trying so desperately to look at them, to have a feeling of reassurance that I was not alone, that I was not the only one having a terrible time.

every evening we had beautiful sunsets, and I hated not having my camera with me… every day I saw all kinds of beautiful birds near me, and again I hated not having my camera.

the whole thing of sharing bathrooms, the vegetarian food, the change of routine and eating hours, the being on your ass all day made me (and, apparently, everyone else as well) unable to go to the toilet “properly”… so we were all taking these strange leaves they have as a natural laxative (seems like we are not the first ones on the history of vipassana that are constipated)… when the leaves started doing their job (by day three or four), it was useless… being on your ass all day makes your back and muffin area so sore that you cannot push adequately, so you cannot “adequately” shit…

by day three I started noticing how hot the male manager was, but I was not the only one… every time he walked to the back of the hall I could see some heads following him… I had decided to live a hippie week, so you can imagine the hippie chimp I was becoming, and I could NOT go and talk to him like this on day ten… I was horrified by the idea.

rumour has it that if you get to day four, it is very likely you will stay the whole ten days… and on day four a miracle happened… on the midday break a girl started swirling around the garden like a crazy patient on a mental hospital… it was HILARIOUS! luckily, Jo had seen that too! we both started laughing… we kept on walking to get away from there and we were just laughing our asses off. and after that, every time we met somewhere we would look in the eye and laugh.
that made things a lot better, the feeling of losing my mind faded.
after dinner I got closer to Jo when no one was around, and told her “I need to talk”, and she replied “so do I”… we went to hide behind the bushes like high school girls hiding to smoke… I just needed to let the whole swirling thing out of my system, and it worked, I was not laughing anymore when I met Jo, and it all helped me get through the next days as well.

on day five Jo came to tell me Elmina had left (and then we were five), and that she was thinking of doing the same… for a moment I froze… “fuck! how could she leave? and… her email? number? how am I supposed to ever find her? we were going to have breakfast together on Sunday!!!” luckily (or rather smartly) Elmina had given Jo her phone number, so, following her steps, Jo and I went to find a pen to exchange numbers as well.
back in the room I had to tell Chrissy this… and so we exchanged numbers too… just in case someone left earlier.

Jo left… and then we were four…

several things happened the next days… people where starting to look at each other, making eye contact, smiling, sometimes even whispering, my guess is, we all felt as though losing our minds, and we all needed some sort of comfort… Hana had her iPhone with her the whole time, and it actually rang once IN the meditation hall… one girl passed out during meditation and it freaked me (and others) out… I borrowed a pen to start writing what had happened each day… Chrissy sort of asked me to leave the course because I had a pen (apparently it was way worst than having an iPhone), and then she changed room… I started talking with my neighbour Lisa… I was able to borrow a pair of tweezers from her, but… THE HOT MALE MANAGER LEFT!!!… guys started looking at the “girl’s menu” on day nine…

then day ten came, and after the morning meditation we were allowed to talk… and although I had been talking since day four, it was a relief to talk out loud!

we were all talking nonstop, of how funny the chants were, and how the teacher had been very strict, of funny things that had happened… we were all letting ourselves go, laughing, crying, complaining, appreciating…
we all started exchanging numbers and phones as well.

in the 1 pm meditation someone’s stomach started growling BADLY! and, well… I started laughing BADLY as well… I just couldn’t stop… but the worst part was that people were laughing with me, so that made it difficult for me to stop… and I’m sure I heard one of the servers laughing hard and turning it into a cough! haha… I started biting my lips, didn’t work… then I started biting my fingers, didn’t work either… so I stood up and left the meditation hall for the first time… of course, the manager came after me, but when I showed her my bleeding fingers she understood and let me stay out to calm myself down.

of course, by the next meditation I had to improvise and put some paper tissue in my ears… when I ever felt like laughing, or if I accidentally heard someone’s stomach or laughter, I started scratching my earplugs to just listen to that and distract my mind… I never thought I would have to endure one hour like that! but, we were all happy, cause even guys were laughing, and that was a nice feeling for a change!

at night I visited Chrissy in her room, and we talked for hours.

the next day we had to clean our rooms and some other area of our election from the centre, after that we were released from Meditation Bootcamp (as Lisa called it) and able to go back home… which was a shocking experience but I will tell you about that in another story…
Chrissy took a whole group back to Melbourne, and we all said goodbye for “until next time”…

now, here I’m going to list some things that I think are good for you to know if you are thinking about taking the ten day course.
first of all, do not rely on my experience to make a decision… everyone is unique (or so they say), and therefore everyone’s experience will be different in so many ways.

THINGS I KNEW BEFORE BY PEOPLE THAT HAVE TAKEN THE COURSE:

– they will not give you dinner. if you are a new student they will give you a fruit… of course you can drink all the water you want.

– you’ll be sitting for A LONG TIME every day.

– if you get through day four, it is likely you’ll get through the whole ten days.

THINGS THEY DON’T TELL YOU THAT I THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW:

– it’s supposed to be Buddha’s original and unspoiled method to reach enlightenment.

– try to talk the minimum necessary the first day, and it’s better if you do it with older people, not people your age.

– I do recommend to stick to noble silence. and though its something difficult because you feel terrible, I honestly would’ve liked to meet my demons…

– bring your water bottle

– you can ask for the discourse to be played to you in any language

– if you are a traveller without any bedding stuff, do not worry, it is likely they’ll have things you can borrow… just ask before you go.

– lunch is always different, don’t think you’ll be living of tofu every day.

– they provide you with all necessary blankets and cushions to meditate but, if you can, bring a very comfortable cushion to sit on.

with old friends

Posted on June 11, 2013 by karenula

after a four hour flight, I arrived in Melbourne…

there’s a two hour difference with NZ, and it was around 9 am when I came out of the airport to take the bus to Southern Cross Station, where I was meeting with my high school friend Sandra.

Sandra and Glaudio have been married and living in Melbourne for three years. both Mexican, they came here for her to study her masters, and they were able to stay longer because of his job.

so, Sandra came to pick me up, she had taken the day off to be with me. it was so nice to se an old familiar face. we took the tram to go home… I was hungry, stinky, and tired… so she cooked me some breakfast while I took a shower.

we took the tram back to the city, she toured me around the CBD, showing me where the important things are, and what’s worth visiting… I will be staying a total of six weeks in Melbourne, so there was really no rush in going to see all this places at once, or that day… we took it easy.

we had lunch at Nando’s in front of the public library. there I texted another old friend from Mexico, Luis, who is studying his masters there as well. it turned out that he lives right in front of where we were, so he came to catch up with us.

the three of us walked a little bit more, and then we stopped at a beautiful bar called Section 8, where I had my first mulled wine ever… DELICIOUS!

it was a bright, sunny day… but I was SO tired… I didn’t sleep the night before, and though the clock there pointed 5 pm, for me it was 7 pm zombie-mode.

so after one drink, we went back home… I tried to stay awake to greet Glaudio, but couldn’t, and went to sleep (like a proper Kiwi) at 9 pm.

next day I stayed at home… it was the first time I was able to actually get installed in one place… I had my own room with my own closet! it was so nice to be able to unpack all and put it on shelves!

the apartment is located in a beautiful neighbourhood called St Kilda. the tram station is near, the beach is near… it’s just perfect!

at around 6 pm I went to the CBD to meet up with Gianluca (yes! my Italian friend from Mount Cook). we had a quick coffee, a little talk, and then we both had to run… I was meeting Sandra near by to go to a conference imparted by the creator of 350.org

after the conference, we went to a girls night out with two other Mexicans, Ale and Oli. first we stopped at Asian Beer Cafe in Melbourne Central to have dinner and a couple of beers, and from there we went to another bar where we were joined by one of Ale’s coworkers, a cute Kiwi guy they wanted to introduce me.

we then went back home, and Glaudio hadn’t arrived, so for the second consecutive night, I hadn’t had the chance to greet the man of the house.

next morning I finally saw Glaudio. we had breakfast and then walked to Oli and Marcel’s (her boyfriend) house to take one of their cars to have it for the weekend.

we went to the Good Food and Wine Expo that evening and bought loads of delicious stuff… some kind of Nutella, chocolates, sauces… we also ate a lot there, just trying the stuff they were selling… pretty good!

in the evening we went to a bar called “father’s office” to celebrate a Mexican girl’s birthday. there I met part of my friends’ Mexican “family”… a group of paisanos of all ages, students and residents, all united by one thing in common: taco blood.

next morning we drove to Daylesford to spend the rest of the weekend. it was Queen’s Birthday Weekend now in Australia, so Sandra and Glaudio had Monday free.

we arrived at a nice little house where a Colombian couple lives.
Gonzalo and Edna are friends of Glaudio and Sandra. Edna’s sister and her husband were staying there too, so we were seven people in one house.

we went to the farmer’s market, and then to have lunch at a very nice place that had incredible pizzas. after that, we went to a chocolate factory where they make this delicious hot chocolate with chilli powder and cardamom… AMAZING!

we then went to a pub to have dinner, drink beer, and dance at the beats of the eighties with some 60 year old chopper gang members.

back in the house we lit a fire in the fireplace, cooked some marshmallows and sausages, drank some champaign, and ate cake…

of course, we all had food comma after all this food in just ONE day.

next morning we had breakfast at home, and then we went to a lavender farm where they have an amazing lemon with lavender ice cream.

we went back home to pick up our stuff and say goodbye to everyone.

and off we were to see the Hanging Rocks. this is a very peculiar rock formation near the town of Woodend.

on the way back we stopped at a hotel/restaurant/pub to eat, and I had an amazing BLT with chips.

on Tuesday I stayed in the neighbourhood all day, walking around Chapel Street to buy all the stuff I needed for my ten day meditation course that was starting the very next day.

at night the three of us had dinner together, and we said goodbye laughing about my situation for the next days, and them wishing me to find myself in this new adventure.

novaeseelandiae

this is basically what I'm living, take it as an update, novel, or travel guide…

third time’s the charm

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being Cinderella

more northland

my favourite place

the shortest marriage

there and back again

a lot of melbourne

eat, pray, laugh

with old friends

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