Update post apocalypse

Mogwai being all cute

So, it's a Sunday morning here in Otaki, I'm sat on a sofa with three cats napping next to me, it's raining outside so my plans to be productive out on the sanctuary are slightly thwarted. But nonetheless, I had blog on my list of things to do today so at least there are fewer distractions and I should be able to get this done. There's some updating to do here as I've not written in my blog for about a month. I've also decided that I need to change the name of my blog as travelling teacher doesn't seem so relevant anymore. I'm not teaching so much as learning, and I'm not travelling extensively either, I more just plod about in a vaguely haphazard fashion and look at stuff and think about things. So this shall be my final entry in travelling teacher. It's satisfying leaving it on 42 posts, the answer to what's the universe, life, everything?

Catchup:

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I left taupo for Napier. I wanted to go to Napier originally as it's the same name as an ex student and I considered doing something wine related there. In the end I stayed at Andy's backpacker, I have a good friend called Andy so of course I'd have to stay there. I got stuck in their office with my big bag, in my defense, the office was more of a little section of a hallway separated from the kitchen and the hall by a couple of doors. I booked in for four days there, and despite being advised by a few people not to go as it was nothing special and there wasn't much to do there, I loved it. It had more character than a lot of other towns. People had told me it was all about art nouveau, I didn't really know what that was, and wasn't particularly interested, but it certainly gave the place a different edge. I did an immense amount of shopping, went for my usual walks up big hills. Sat at the beach. Started making jewerelly. Read terry Pratchett and hung out in this AMAZING cafe where I ate an array of non vegan cakes, excessive quantities really... Research if you will for my vegan cake versions of all these delightful delicacies. The lemon curd brioche was immense. I bought a beautiful print of a cat next to some books and a teapot, as the place is famous for art etc. and decided it was ok cos I'm probably not going to do anything like bungy jumping. The people at the hostel were great, the guys who worked there were lovely and really chilled out, there were some real characters, like Willie, who had been in prison, for setting fire to things, and the man who talked the whole way through skyfall saying how boring it was and how it was the worst James Bond. Good times. (Actually it was really annoying at the time and I told him afterwards he would be the worst person to go to the cinema with. I felt bad for a day and apologized the next.) they also had a Starcraft championship going on so I got to play on Starcraft for the first time in years! It was awesome, but apparently, I'm really rubbish at the game, I guess I used to cheat before...

I left Napier for Wellington where I'd be staying with the boys who I lived with previously for another week. They even came to pick me up from the bus stop which I wasn't expecting, it was our first road trip together. Good times. I had returned to Wellington to sort out a bicycle to start my trip round the South Island trip. I had big plans to build it all myself with the help of the guys at the 128 bike workshop. 128 had all changed when I was there before, the anarchist community were all in disagreement and my friends were being proper shunted. There were other care takers, who were doing a lot of community work, but for me, it just wasn't what I had wanted to come back to so was a touch sad. The guys in the workshop were great, I've learnt more about bicycles that week and the other week when I returned than I ever had when I had bicycles in my life before. (Little mogwai, the kitten, has come to sit in my lap now, he's all soggy from being cleaned by nana the cat, who only has two teeth, her methods of cleaning appear to be largely: drool all over the other cat. He's purring away happily now, who'd have thought I'd ever like cats so much? Animals are great. ) anyway, I spent a happy week in town before leaving to come to the sanctuary. So I left my old housemates with a load of stuff I'd come back for and went to spend some quality time with the animals at the black sheep sanctuary.

Cat was leaving that weekend for the final part of her herb course, she's almost completed her diploma. The others were all off tramping. I thought maybe I'd get lonely or bored. But with terry Pratchett and a sanctuary full of animals, neither of these things are possible. I spent the weekend alone, and loved the peace. I loved feeding and petting the animals. Even the scary cows. The weather was too wet to do any gardening but I tidied and cooked and was just so content. When cat returned, she was telling me more stories about her course and the things she learnt and I suddenly thought, hey! I should totally live at the sanctuary and do this course. Who needs to see the South Island anyway? Mother would be angry and no doubt shout at me, but it'd be funny going to countries all over the world and missing the reason why most people go. But why would I go there when I want to learn about permaculture and have found a place where I can get hands on experience and do a herb course and become a natural healer?

So when I returned to Wellington I had new plans to plan, either way I'd still need a bicycle so I got back onto that.  I stayed at the 128 house one night and the next day I was interrogated by some other 128 community group members. It all felt a lot less welcoming and I stayed at the boys house for a few nights on the sofa as they have a new housemate now, kirsten? and she's amazing!!! Making afghans and awesome vegan chocolate milkshakes! She's my new favourite housemate there, and I told the boys as much. I didnt want to impose too long so i spent a night a Raquel's house and a few at toms house. I experienced some AMAZING vegan potlucks and picnics. Vegan food is awesome. At these social event there were also lots of doggies, which was frikkin awesome too, rad if you will... Greyhounds are really cool doggies!

Bicycle adventure

I also, naturally spent a lot of time buying stuff for my bicycle and extending my working holiday visa and fixing up my bike. When I finally finished, more or less, I attempted an easy ride with my excessive luggage to Raquel's house, about three km away. bout 1 km in the chain broke and none of the gears had been working anyway and all in all it was probably a worse bicycle than when I started. The main thing is I know more about how to fix a bicycle now and how they work. Tom helped a great deal by offering his bike, named Thrush, a rather unfortunate name really, especially as people keep making the joke: so tom gave you thrush? but I'm not allowed to change it.  We took parts from my bicycle, lets call her... Rubbish, and used them for Thrush. I mean, i say we, really tom did all the technical stuff while i watched and screwed on the easy things and gaffer taped a doll to the front ( as you do). A few days later I was ready for my 80km journey back to the sanctuary where I was to spend Christmas and New Years. So, for some reason, I thought the journey would be fairly straightforward and took written instructions but no map. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake. I got lost on multiple occasions, on one occasion I asked a passing stranger for help, and he said he didn't like to say where the road was because it was right over the other side of town and he wasn't sure if it was the road I was looking for. After help from about four other people, I determined that man must have been right, but I was so far in the wrong direction he didn't like to say. I had to go down a massive hill I'd just cycled up, through town, where I asked at a gas station,  after already consulting patients in a drs. Then cycled down another hill and up another to be told I had to go back down that one and turn right. Honestly, I said to people after the ride, I got lost about five times, but half the time I didn't realize I was lost. I'd probably travelled a bit over 40km when I sort of recognized where I was, about half way through my journey, it had taken seven hours so far. It should have taken five in total. I texted k8 to let her know I may be late in arriving at the sanctuary, and explained where I was. Nekminute, k8 was there on the main road, luckily she got out of e van and started speaking to me, I was so focused I would have cycled right passed otherwise. It seemed ludicrous not to accept a lift. Seven hours cycling is a touch exhausting. I mean, I could have gone further, but I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it, and getting lost is quite hassly. I am also a firm believer in serendipity and signs etc. you know, like that story of the man on the roof when there's a flood and people come to save him, but he says no to their help cos god will save him and then he gets all angry at god when he drowns and god is like well I sent you a helicopter and everything... So I took the lift the rest of the way. It was a long way and I would have had to camp en route if I'd continued. I did feel a little bit like a failure. But I was happy to be at the sanctuary, and started making friends with the French wwoofer, françois.

Christmas

Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere is all different. In a conversation with Nick on Skype recently, we both agreed Christmas in England is better. It just feels odd having a BBQ for Christmas, and there are no sprouts!!! It's outrageous... You call this Christmas? Also, I got sunburnt playing Kubb. And ate far too much sugar after baking cinnamon swirls, baclava and banoffee pie. All of which were naturally immense. K8 made a trifle, which was also delicious. I sat in the cold hot tub and read some hobbit while k8 tried to make us all have a water fight. We all went swimming in the river later, which is pretty awesome. The weather has been so hot of late that after a hard days work there's nothing better than going for a quick dip. You get a little bit attacked by sand flies once you're out though. I have a load of new scabs on my legs now.... Mmm. Scabs. There was no exchanging of gifts, because that's not what Christmas is about, I don't think Christmas should be about eating until you're sick either, but I find it hard not to most years. I think next year I'll try not to. I know Christmas is about Jesus being born, but why do we indulge ourselves so much at this time? The gifts Jesus were given were in honour of him so as long as we honour God I don't really see the relevance of anything else. I think the best way to honour God is to respect the life that he has given us, plant and animal, to protect this environment provided, and to say thank you for it all. I shall endeavor to refrain from indulging myself excessively at this time in future and make sure I am more grateful to God.

That takes you up to today. I shall tend to the animals today and maybe do a spot of gardening if the rain clears up. Paint my table and clean and tidy. I'm going to try and read more about permaculture, as I think that is the solution to all life's problems. That and veganism. Living here feels more like living in unity with the earth and with God than most other places. It's a simple, loving, caring place, all the animals know it; nana is even cleaning mogwai's smelly bottom now. ( Thats what Love is).