I love not having to work
My vacation is a blast so far. I’m having an absolutely wonderful time.
I got in to Christchurch around 8:30 pm after a fairly uneventful flight. There were all of nine passengers on the plane (seven winterovers and two Kiwis that showed up at Winfly that I’ve never met), and not all that much cargo. This left a lot of empty seats and a lot of empty floor space. No one sat next to each other, so no crowded shoulder or elbow space, and there was enough room for people to lay down and sleep if they so choose. The empty floor space was great for getting up and stretching my legs. I did my usual in-flight C-17 entertainment: listening to my iPod for the first part of the flight and then watching my own personal in-flight movies on my laptop. I watched The Muppet Movie and then two episodes of Firefly. Got to love a bit of humor on uncomfortable flights
The weather was absolutely great when we got out of the airport. It was already dark, but the sky was clear, and it was warm! Apparently, the locals thought the breeze was a bit chilly, but I was out in shirt sleeves and felt great. I went to my hostel and checked in, dropping off my bags. I went back out to look for some of my friends. I stopped by both of the bars that a lot of the MacTowners usually hang out in, but I didn’t see any of the people that had just gotten off the plane with me. I was also looking for one friend in particular: Katie. She had worked with me in the galley over the summer season, and she had lived directly across the hall from me. I would often go across the hall to hang out on her couch and talk with her and her roommates (I didn’t have a couch in my room). She was scheduled to leave early morning on Saturday, so Friday night would be my only opportunity to catch up with her.
Instead of walking back to my hostel the same way I went to the bars, I decided to go farther out of my way to take a different way back, sort of on a whim. While I was walking, I noticed an Irish pub called The Bog, which I had never been to, but I had heard was a nice spot from some other friends. I decided, “What the heck? I’ll see what it’s like and if I recognize anyone in it.” I’m really glad I walked in. As I was walking towards the back of the bar, I saw some people at a table shouting. They might have been calling my name, but I couldn’t tell over the noise in the bar. I also couldn’t see who it was, since they were in the shadow, until I got closer. And then I was happily surprised to see it was Katie, with my friends Ruth and Wade. Ruth also worked in the galley last summer season, and she also spent the winter working for a different department. Wade was another friend that I made over the winter. They had both left on an earlier flight (I left on the third flight on Friday; flights one and two took place on Tuesday and Wednesday).
We hung out for a number of hours, sometime after midnight (which meant Katie didn’t get too much sleep before having to be ready to fly at 5 am). There was a live band playing at the bar, and they were really good. The lead singer had a great voice that leant itself to many different styles of songs. It was kind of funny, because they played all cover songs. American cover songs, for the most part. They did really nice versions of songs such as My Brown Eyed Girl and Burning Ring of Fire, but with their own little twists on them (like the bit of flamenco flair on Land Down Under). We drank a few beers, sat and talked, and even got up and danced a little bit. Then we headed back to our hostels. I walked Katie back to her place, even though it was in the opposite direction as mine because it was the last time I would get to see her before she went down to the Ice. It was also a wonderful night, and I wanted to be outside as much as possible. There was also the fact that for the first time in a long time, it was Friday night and I didn’t have to work the next day (something Ruth kept commenting on at the bar), so we could be like most people and party without worrying about not getting enough sleep before Saturday morning.
I also had to deal with a bit of sensory overload. There were tons of people around, and there were all sorts of smells (which we rarely get outside down there - usually it’s only the fumes off of a vehicle or maybe the smell of Blazin’ Redfish being fried in the galley wafting out from the vents), including perfume, which I had almost forgotten about. It was also really weird being in a room that was mostly women and one that had mostly young people in their twenties and early thirties. And then there was the fact that people were dressed for “fashion” again. Including all of those teens walking around the streets that were trying to look cool and unique and weren’t always succeeding at the first and definitely weren’t always succeeding at the latter.
I went walking around all over town and shopping Saturday morning (after a nice breakfast of a meat pirogi and a chai latte - followed by a crepe made at the Saturday outdoor craft market by the Arts Center). I went and bought a bit of food (apples! plums! bananas! oranges! carrots!), and then went shopping for a few other things. I bought a battery operated travel alarm clock and some clothes. I got a pair of padded bike shorts and bike gloves in preparation for my five day bike tour, a pair of new tennis shoes to repair the ones I threw away while packing (they had worn away the padding in a spot that left a piece of plastic wearing away at the skin on my Achilles tendon), and some new socks (to replace all the ones I had thrown away due to holes worn in them). I also went to a backpacking store and spent some money on some somewhat expensive (though high quality) lightweight rain pants and coat. I also bought a pair of really lightweight pants (with removable legs to make them shorts) to replace my one pair of khakis I had on ice. It was the pair of pants that I had pretty much worn all year when I wasn’t at work, and it showed. I had torn a small hole in the left knee on my very first day on Ice (the only time I fell like that the entire year) and had put duct tape on the inside of the pants on that hole and on the tears in the hem at the bottom of the legs where I had worn holes from having them get under my heels while walking barefoot or in sandals (and yes - I did that a lot, even in Antarctica, and I’m not just talking about doing it inside only, either). Two days before leaving the ice, I managed to tear the worn fabric around the crotch. It as only noticeable when I sat with my legs apart (you couldn’t see it while I was standing), but I duct taped that too, which was definitely not an acceptable long term solution. And khakis, with all of the nice extra pockets, don’t seem to be as popular here as they are in the States. I found other cargo pants with the extra pockets, but they were of a thicker material and usually of styles meant for people concerned about looking popular (such as camouflage print), so I bought a more expensive pair instead of the cheaper styles I usually wear.
I had a very delicious, absolutely scrumptious lunch. One fresh, crispy carrot cut into sticks, two ripe, firm, juicy, sweet plums, and later a can of soda and a wonderful firm, but not too starchy, banana (with a berry muffin as a late afternoon snack). Can you tell how much I was enjoying the fresh fruits and veggies? I spent the afternoon walking around the Botanic Gardens down by the river, wearing a very generous amount of sunscreen that I had applied all over my pasty white face, arms (sleeveless shirt), legs (shorts), and top of feet (can’t forget those when wearing sandals all day). I took quite a lot of pictures of the flowers and trees, though the roses at the center of the gardens weren’t blooming yet (I got to see them on the way out last time, though). I had my music playing softly the entire time, and I sat down for a while with Thud! (the Discworld book by Terry Pratchett that I had read for the first time on the flight down to New Zealand and that I had left in storage here while I was down at McMurdo). I enjoyed the feeling of sitting in the grass reading a great book for a while until the evening wind got a bit chilly for all of my bare skin once I had stopped moving around.
I went back to my hostel to grab my fleece and hat (though I stayed in the shorts) and went out for dinner. I went out for Indian food at a great restaurant called Two Fat Indians. I ordered a cider and a couple of samosa puffs (filled with the traditional spiced potato and pea filling) to start with, and then had a chicken curry, rice, and garlic naan for my main dish. I ordered the medium spiciness, which wasn’t enough to make me flap at my mouth in pain, but it was enough to get my sinuses cleared and my eyes to start watering a little. It was a wonderful dinner. I wasn’t able to finish it all, so I brought the rest back with me to put in the fridge at the hostel. I then read for a bit before falling asleep with my window cracked for the fresh air and the smell of growing things.
I slept in a bit this morning, and then, instead of getting out of bed right away, pulled out my book and kept reading. I eventually had a breakfast of an apple and a mug of chai while downloading my pictures from the gardens onto my computer. After a nice long shower (and more SPF50), I went back out to walk around again (though not as much since my legs were a bit sore from the previous efforts). I spent a while browsing through the photography, food, and SciFi/Fantasy sections (which, unfortunately, like the couple of places I had briefly checked the day before, did not have the new Terry Pratchett book nor the new RA Salvatore books). I then grabbed lunch at a very small Greek place near Cathedral Square. They make a truly excellent Souvlaki (grilled chicken breast pieces, lettuce, tomato, and tatziki wrapped in a large, chewy pita hot off the grill). Very tasty and healthy as well. Then I went and sat in the grass by the river, with the ducks and other birds coming and going, listening to my music, and read the rest of Thud!. The Discworld books are such great fun and so very well written.
Then I went back to my hostel to sit down relax. I watched another episode of Firefly (Our Mrs. Reynolds), and then sat and typed this while the other people in the lounge watch Return of the King. I ate a dinner of tea (without cream or sugar for once - I’m working on the more healthy eating and exercise weight loss thing while here) and the cold leftover curry, rice, and naan. And a banana. =D
I’m having a great time, if you couldn’t tell. I hope all of you back home are doing well. I’m off to my room to read or watch some more Firefly or a movie.