Working Travel: Realizing a Dream in a Year

Chapter 11 Finally found the most lucrative job

Fantasy Middle Earth New Zealand

A full 7 months after arriving in New Zealand, I set foot on the land of the South Island.At 10:[-] in the evening, the airport in Christchurch was deserted.I don't know if it was because of the earthquake, but the walls of the exit passage are still covered with a thin layer of wood, which looks like it is under repair.Except for the parking lot outside the airport, there seems to be no bus platform. I walked back and forth several times, not only did I not see a car, but there was not even half a person.When I returned to the exit passage again, two staff members in yellow uniforms walked towards me.I seem to have met a savior.

"Hi, good evening, do you know where the bus stop is?"

They looked at each other, and one of them motioned for me to follow them.

As soon as I got outside, they asked me if I had arranged accommodation, and I said, "No, I plan to find a holiday park or youth hostel in the urban area."

They introduce themselves: "Kevin and Jason, work at the airport." Kevin made several phone calls and finally he said: "The holiday parks are probably closed, you'd better find a BBH to spend the night. Near the cathedral There are some."

"There are probably no buses anymore, where do you want to go?" Jason said.

I decided to go downtown, we broke up with Kevin at the airport and Jason drove me.Along the way, Jason introduced me to this city that had just experienced a major earthquake.Except for sporadic scaffolding, it is not obvious that the magnitude 7 earthquake has just come, and the houses are still alive.It took less than half an hour from the airport to the downtown square, and Jason and I shook hands and said goodbye.

"Are you okay alone?"

"I'll take care of it myself. After all, I've been in New Zealand for more than half a year, haha."

"I still feel guilty for leaving you here alone."

I really don't know what to say.

Christchurch is a completely strange city, I was a little excited and walked in the direction of the cathedral.Under the spotlight, the church turned white and looked very energetic. It reminded me of the amazing night visit to Himeji Castle in Japan a few years ago.There is a tall Christmas tree outside the main entrance of the cathedral, standing quietly under the bright moon. The lights wrapped around the Christmas tree are mainly silver and white, twinkling like stars.A pair of lovers whispered on a nearby bench, and several tourists with huge SLR cameras hung on their chests were still lingering in the night scene.Friendly passers-by, unexpected hitchhiking, safe and sound Garden City, the beautiful first line of the thousand-line poem of Nandao has finally been written.

I found a hotel near the Botanic Gardens and settled down.The next day was sunny, and I wandered around the botanical garden by the Avon River all morning. There was a fountain at the entrance, and the walls of the pool were covered with blue tiles. At first glance, I thought it was a mirror reflecting the sky.The botanical garden occupies a huge area, and the large green space and the flowers blooming along the way make people feel relaxed.The center of the botanical garden is a rose garden. When I walked through the white flower gate, I was thinking that it would be better if there was a girl by my side.

The spring in New Zealand is very warm this year, and the flowers have been blooming until early summer, so the cherry season comes later than usual, and there are still about 10 days before the start of work. I plan to take advantage of this gap to go hiking in Aspiring National Park. Many hiking routes there can see glaciers, which is the scenery I have longed for.

I only stayed in Christchurch for two nights, bought camping stoves and fuel, and took a long-distance bus to the south.As a big city, Christchurch gave me a completely different impression from Auckland. The former is quite artistic, while Auckland is a commercial port that travels from south to north, and everyone is in a hurry.I planned to take some time to visit Christchurch slowly before returning to China, but two months later, another major earthquake razed this garden city to the ground, which is really embarrassing.

After the bus drove southwest from Christchurch for more than two hours, lupine flowers in full bloom gradually appeared on both sides of the road, purple, pink, and white. I pressed my face against the window for fear of missing the beauty of any flower.Looking out from the front windshield, the bus is like a boat driving on the colorful flower river, and at the end of the river is the pure blue sky and childhood without any impurities.Yes, childhood, because I was like a kid on a spring outing.

I can't describe the shock of seeing Tekapo Lake (Tekapo Lake) for the first time. Although I try to recall, I don't know what other words to use to describe the scenery at that time except the word shock.In this world, there are scenery first, and then words are invented, so all the words cannot express one ten-thousandth of all the scenery.When a friend introduces a certain scenery to you, you can even close your ears, just look at the sparkle in his eyes to know how beautiful that place is.

If the beauty of Lake Tekapo made me dizzy, then the beauty of Lake Pukaki (Pukaki Lake) woke me up again.After the Tasman Glacier (Tasman Glacier) melted, the magical waters formed showed a sticky milky blue color. I believe God would like to taste the taste of this toffee when he saw it.At the end of the lake rises Mt Cook, New Zealand's tallest peak, still covered in snow.

I only had time to click a few times with the camera, and these peerless beauty disappeared from my eyes.The terminal station Wanaka (Wanaka) is a small town surrounded by mountains and lakes. Compared with the first two lakes, Lake Wanaka is as quiet as a virgin and lacks the breathtaking charm.At the EPA office, the staff told me that there will be rain in the Wanaka area from the day after tomorrow, and many trails in the Matukituki Valley (Matukituki Valley) are not suitable for travel, including my long-awaited waterfall ridge route (Cascade Saddle) Route).In the end, I had to choose the one-day route of Rob Roy, which also saw the glacier.

If the beauty of Tongariro is its fury, the beauty of Aspiring National Park is pure magnificence.The Southern Alps run through the park from south to north, and the meadows in early summer can no longer see much green, replaced by deep and light yellow, and the light blue Matujituji River flows through the valley, standing on a high place Overlooking, among the snow-capped mountains and the golden meadow, there is a curved jade belt dotted, no matter how you look at it, you will never tire of it.The glaciers on the top of the mountain began to melt under the hot sun, and countless trickles flew down from the heights, like tears of the mountain.

At the Aspiring Lodge in the national park, I met an elderly British couple who were leisurely leaning on a bench and reading, with their trekking poles casually put aside.

"You two look strong and strong. I hope I can walk when I am your age." I said from the bottom of my heart.

"I'm sure you can," the old man said forcefully, and then he added, "It's just that the recovery is slow."

One of the advantages of being young is that the circulation of joy, anger, sorrow and joy in the bottom of my heart is more vigorous than the withering of vegetation.The annihilation of the sky and the earth, and the rebirth of lawlessness, this is the so-called poetry and wine while you are young, so some things must be done when you are young!
Let the cherries fly a little longer
Sure enough, it rained the next day. I finished my hike and spent two leisurely days at BBH on the shores of Lake Wanaka.The work of the cherry orchard will not start until after Christmas. I don’t know how Westerners spend Christmas. I suddenly thought of this problem, so I went online to find a place to change.The search went very smoothly this time. In a small place called Kurow in North Otago, there is a small resort. The operator, Taiari, has a cherry orchard, and the cherries are already ripe, so she Then look for help online.We just hit it off.

There is no bus for bitter meat, so I took the bus first and then the bus, and arrived at the gate of the resort in a quiet afternoon.There is a rose garden at the entrance, two cottages are located in the depths of the rose garden, bypassing the rose garden, a parked truck is making a rumbling sound, and the truck's butt is facing a small warehouse.A couple who looked like a couple were about to leave with a paper bag in their hands. It seemed that they had just bought cherries.That's when Taiari appeared.She has snow-white hair, but her gestures reveal strength that doesn't match her age.She took me to the warehouse. It turned out that this was the store selling cherries. Some cherries were waiting to be sorted on pallets, and some cherries had been packed in paper bags with the price marked.

"This truck is for refrigerated cherries."

As he said that, Taiari opened the carriage, and a gust of cold air rushed in, and the floor of the carriage was covered with trays.

Then, under the guidance of Taiari, I looked at my room.Of the two houses I saw just now, one of them is actually the owner's residence, and the rest is a resort. There were no guests just a week before Christmas, so I was lucky to be the owner of the cottage.The house looked old, the living room was decorated in the style of decades ago, the TV was even black and white, and the walls were painted orange, exuding an ancient and warm atmosphere.The bedroom, kitchen and bathroom are clean and tidy. Looking out of the bedroom window, there is a rusty second-hand bicycle on the porch, sleeping under the lazy sun.Whenever I see a house like this, I feel a longing for home.

I put down my luggage, and Taiari went to her cherry orchard.The garden is not big, and the entrance is not as high as mine. She removed the wooden latch and opened the door to enter.A large white net is covered on the top of the garden to keep out birds.There are more than 500 cherry trees in the park.The cherry trees are much smaller than I imagined, and some only reach my chest.The bright red cherries are all over the branches, which are extraordinarily bright in the green.

"The cherries are starting to ripen this week, first the red cherries, then the white cherries, you came just in time. I go to Oamaru every morning to be a babysitter and come back in the evening, with you, I don't have to be busy all the time It's late."

"After the cherries are picked, they are rinsed with cold water and poured onto pallets in the warehouse, where they will be sorted and packed."

"Any other jobs?" I asked her.

"We want to welcome Christmas cleanly. Clean the windows when the cherries are finished. I haven't cleaned them for a long time." She smiled a little shyly.

We picked cherries together for a while, and Taiari said she lived alone and her husband had just died.No wonder she's a bit reticent, I always thought she must have been a more cheerful person before, maybe she hasn't recovered from the loss of her husband.This cherry orchard was bought by her and her husband a few years ago, and they took care of it together. This year is the first harvest year of the cherry orchard, but she is the only one who can taste the sweetness.

"Why are cherries so expensive? They are the most expensive fruit in the supermarket." I asked Taiari.

"Planting cherries takes a lot of energy, and you have to water them at a fixed time. In the past two years, I always got up before dawn. And the cherries are very afraid of rain, and they will split when it rains."

Taiari is always away during the day, and she prepared enough ingredients for me to make breakfast and lunch.The only time I see her is at dinner, when we're both a little tired after a long day's work, and there's not much to talk about during the meal, but Taiari occasionally corrects my eating habits.

"You're in New Zealand, you just have to look like a local! Can you use a knife and fork?" she asked, looking at me with interest.

"This, I really don't know, I can use it however conveniently." I forked a piece of steak, put it in my mouth and took a bite.

"It's very impolite of you. Do you know why we cut food into small pieces and then eat it with a fork? Because we think that food should not be spit out after it enters the mouth. Like you, take a small bite, Put it back on the plate, it's not good."

"Ah, what you said really makes sense! Well, I'll be a real New Zealand man!"

I patiently ate the rest of the dinner with a knife and fork.Taiari smiled with satisfaction.

I finished cleaning all the rooms before Christmas, and the picking of the cherry orchard is also coming to an end.

"Tomorrow is a day of celebration. I have several friends coming over for the festival, and my youngest son is also coming. Can you help us cook some Chinese dishes for everyone to try?"

"No problem." I agreed without thinking.

experience real christmas
My first Christmas abroad is finally here.I always thought Christmas dinner started at night, and while I was cooking lunch in the kitchen, Teare's son Bruce knocked on the door.Seeing me boiling water, he said in surprise, "Why are you still busy? Come and eat with us!"

When I came to the living room, Taiari's relatives and friends gathered together, and the atmosphere was cheerful and warm.The Christmas tree stands in the middle of the living room, under the tree there are piles of presents, and the beautiful outer packaging almost steals the limelight of the Christmas tree.

Before dinner, everyone exchanged gifts.Except for me, the special guest, all five of them received gifts from the other four, and it took a long time for everyone to unwrap the presents.Unwrapping presents is a very happy thing.

"What will it be?"

"Really been waiting."

"Could it be that one, my collection will be enriched again!"

Happy bombs exploded in the crowd, and I was deeply infected by the smiles on everyone's faces.The gifts Bruce received: five handkerchiefs, a pair of socks, a box of biscuits, a pair of cufflinks, a wallet, a set of body care products, a laundry basket, a T-shirt, a set of body fragrance series, all of which are Inexpensive and practical gadgets.

"No, this is for you!" Taiari handed me a beautiful blue paper bag.

Although I guessed that I would also have a gift, I was still surprised and moved when I received it.I unpacked it, and the gift was an exquisite key ring, with the epitome of Bitter Meat Town painted on the turntable in the middle of the key ring.

Of course, I also prepared a gift for Tai Ari, a pendant with traditional Chinese characteristics, with a pattern of more than every year.

Taiari told me that the gifts for Christmas basically don’t exceed [-] yuan, and the most important thing is sincerity and fun.Judging from the gifts everyone received today, I think there is one more thing to add, which is practical.Christmas is one of the most important festivals for Westerners, and its status is equivalent to the Spring Festival of our Chinese nation.We also give presents. In my memory, the most impressive thing is the red envelope. Parents open the red envelopes from other people's homes, look at how many banknotes are there, and then wrap a red envelope of the same value and send it back.The currency has circulated in a circle, and the distribution of wealth has basically remained the same, only silly children are always looking forward to earning money during the New Year.Gradually, giving red envelopes during the Chinese New Year has become a formality, a hilarious performance with empty meaning.

After the gift exchange, Taiari introduced me to the dishes and desserts.

"It's turkey, we all eat it at Christmas. It's even better with some cranberry plum sauce over here."

"Wow, I haven't eaten turkey yet! Looking forward to it!"

"It's Pavlova, a traditional New Zealand dessert. It's made with egg whites and cream. It's delicious. But those nasty Australians insist that they invented it. I can't stand it."

"What is this?"

"It's called a Trifle, and you put custard on top of the cake and eat it with fruit."

Before the knives and forks started, we sounded the colorful Christmas confetti, which is a paper tube made of hard paper, which contains small gifts, paper hats, etc.There are wires on both ends of the paper tube. When two people pull it at the same time, there will be a snap sound. The gift inside will belong to whoever the paper tube stays on the line. This thing is environmentally friendly and fun.We played a round like children, some people wore colorful paper hats, and some people got pendants and other small gadgets.

As the champagne-colored liquid fills the clear glass, the Christmas feast begins!
This is the fullest and most sumptuous lunch I have had in New Zealand. The combination of the rich roast turkey and the refreshing sweet and sour lingonberry sauce has an unparalleled impact on the taste buds.

In the afternoon, I fried Chinese food for Tai Ari and her friends on my full stomach.Due to poor cooking skills and limited materials, I used tomato scrambled eggs and green pepper potato shreds.Tomato scrambled eggs are a popular favorite among amateur chefs. Almost everyone who claims to know how to cook will choose it when asked to show their skills.Fortunately, Tai Ari and others didn't know about it, and they thought there was some secret technique in this dish.

"This dish is the most famous Chinese dish," I began to introduce, "scrambled eggs with tomato!"

"This dish is stir-fried green peppers with shredded potatoes!" I continued to introduce.

Everyone showed an "eye-opening" expression, which really made me dumbfounded.The only consolation is that the two dishes were swept away.

Christmas is a day for family reunion in the West. I don’t know when it started, and I don’t know why. After it spread to China, it has become a festival for young people to revel or date lovers.The only reason I can think of is that our happiness is becoming more and more fragile, and any straw that does not belong to us is used to be given the mission of happiness.This is really a bad thing, although Christ Jesus probably didn't mind being able to bring happiness to more people.

The Legend of the Fruit Kingdom

Christmas is my last day at home in Taiare, and with the warmest memory of a Christmas from the summer, I bid farewell to bitter meat and hitchhike back to Central Otago.Cromwell's huge fruit models are always fresh and tempting under the blue sky.In the fruit rivers and lakes of New Zealand, there has always been such a legend that there are two peerless masters in the South Island and the North Island. The name of the North Island is Te Puke, who is good at making a strange weapon covered with fluff. ——Kiwi fruit.With this unique skill, Emperor Buzhi has firmly occupied a place in the Global Fruit Martial Arts Conference, and many people even drool in fright when they heard the name of this weapon.

And in the mountains of the South Island, above the green lake, lived an even more remarkable figure—Cromwell.He does not have the prestigious reputation of Emperor Buzhi, nor does he have magical weapons.Cromwell's success has been doomed since the day he was born. Yes, he is the proud son of heaven born at 45 degrees south latitude.Here belongs to the temperate maritime climate, because it is in the westerly belt, and the westerly wind prevails.Cromwell gathers the essence of heaven and earth, and has mastered [-] weapons such as cherries, plums, apricots, and pears since childhood without a teacher.Over time, people remembered this dazzling weapon, but forgot the low-key Cromwell.

In the summer of 2010, a young man named Wu Fei traveled thousands of miles across the ocean and came to New Zealand. He worshiped under Cromwell, and after a month of devilish training, he finally learned the basics of 45 degrees south latitude. Cheats of the cherry roll.Every working holidaymaker, even if they don't know Cromwell, can hardly resist the lethality of cherries.

(End of this chapter)