12/16/09
He said:
Strange how these trips have ways of meandering and leading themselves in directions that you could never predict. Even with the caveat upon leaving that the very nature of the trip is unpredictable, you still find yourself surprised. Our WWOOFing experience has provided confirmation of this. Not that the actual work we have been doing hasn’t been interesting because it has. But the more intriguing piece of the trip thus far has been our host themselves. So...I would like to share a tale of three women.
Before we left for New Zealand, the WWOOFing looked attractive for several reasons. 1.)A great way to travel and see the country in a very inexpensive manner. 2.)A unique opportunity to learn totally different skills from the rest of my life previous to now with what appear to be very willing teachers. 3.)We would have the chance to contribute to the country rather than suck the life out of it as tourists often do. And that is all great. And indeed, I have felt all of these things to be true. New things aplenty, work aplenty and seeing lots of the country. But these things pale in comparison to the most interesting aspects of WWOOFing: our hosts.
I suppose I assumed that most of our hosts would be families or couples. The website often bills hosts as people who have travelled a good deal and now want to share something with the rest of the travel-bug-bitten world. But our hosts have been much different. If you read earlier blogs you will hear about Frances our first host in the Coromandel.
But to elaborate a bit more, Frances was/is a completely self-made women. Unlucky in love (two divorces, one deceased), she has the presence and skill of a women who has had to provide for herself. And a life of primarily loneliness has made her maybe a bit “peculiar” hence the pet possums, gerbils, birds, reptiles, etc... But beyond that she has truly incredible talents. Besides being strong as an ox (literally), she has several talents. She has bought rebuilt and sold several houses on her own, can darn and spin wool as well as knit it into useful articles of clothing, is an accomplished cheese maker and teaches classes to this effect and she drinks beer in a fashion that would compete if not destroy most well accustomed drinkers. She has a hardy belly laugh that is infectious and you would not find a more honest and straight forward person.Next comes Jane in Gisborne. Totally different, but independent and strong in her own ways. Although she does live with a man who provides for her financially, she has had to build her life in other ways as it seems the life of a traditional “farmers wife” has not suited her. So she has, bought and created a piece of property she then transformed into a “retreat”, created miles of well documented, mapped trails for visitors to hike around her property, returned to school and learned some form of drafting so that she can design homes for people in her spare time and she has done all of this while raising a family that seems not only to speak to one another, but to actually enjoy each others company!
Finally we come to Anne...what can I say about Anne? We met Anne in Napier at an old Wool Mill she converted into a house and also an event catering arena. Anne was another woman living on her own after recently losing her husband. Although devastated by the loss of her husband, she managed to pull herself up, get her business back together and attempt a second run at life. Another independent woman, Anne had, since her husband died, run and managed an event hosting business that used to necessitate two to run. And for this reason, she had become very particular about the way it was run. She was hesitant to change any aspect of the business. And as fate would have it, I was the first male to come along who was pushy enough to even attempt such a thing. It came to be that I fell in charge of music for the events we helped host. Unknown to me, Anne had not allowed anyone to do this as it was her husbands favorite job. And so tightly did she hold onto this, that the very sight of me at the computer selecting songs and trying to get people to dance was too much for her. She broke down...it’s weird how you come into peoples lives. For some reason, Summer and I came to her so she could see that it was okay to let go, that she could release the control she had on her business and its efforts to keep a memory of her husband.
But it’s crazy...all of these women have given much to us, been so generous, and it’s so great to know that at least in this one instance we have been able to give something back...
She said:
From docking and tagging sheep, picking heads off rhododendrons, cleaning, weeding, more weeding, garden maintenance, washing dishes, washing more dishes, to working company Christmas parties, I have done it all and happily at that! The work at times can be tedious and boring and other times just plain hard work but I am quickly realizing that it is not the work that is defining my experiences in NZ but the people that we are meeting along the way.
I left for this trip wanting to escape the bland conformity of the American dream, to free myself from the entanglement of expectations, of possessions, and the illusions we create to make ourselves feel complete, successful, and even happy. Stripped of my comforts of home, placed in anxiety ridden situations which have challenged me to confront my insecurities, I have discovered so much about myself and much of this discovery has been fostered from the amazing people I have met along the way. This trip has been full of dynamic, progressive, interesting women (all in their 50-60’s) who have such a zest for life. They all have been women who are accomplished and vigorously live very full lives. I have been truly inspired by these spirited women and have begun to recognize that my need to escape a “bland”
existence is not where I go but how I cultivate myself. A lot of this trip has been a wake-up call to me- a reminder that I am in charge of creating my own existence and life is really what you make of it no matter where you are. My fear of being apathetic and conforming to societal norms is really more of a personal fear and an excuse not to take responsibility for myself and recognize what I need to do to grow. With these travels I have broke free from my bubble and have opened myself up to meeting new people and embracing new experiences and with many laughs, tears, struggles, and more laughs.....I have been encouraged to live my life with a new perspective. Thanks to Frances, Jane, Anne and Kate whom all have inspired me in so many different ways.On a lighter note.....New Zealand colloquialisms:
Sweet As!
Good on you.
Hows it? Ya Good.
When you say Thank you....They say thats alright or thats okay.
There’s a sale on.
Ta- For Thank you
Jandals- Flipflops
thats all I can think of for now!.....Happy Holiday’s To Everyone!!!!
