I didn’t give this post a real title because there has been no outstanding theme since my last entry. That’s both good and bad. Although nothing has gone awry, I’m still dealing with the same struggles with which my success fluctuates daily.
Mike and Kath invited me to stay indefinitely as long as I could promise to make good use of my time in Rotorua and start earning my keep around the house and garden. Sounds like a great deal to me.
First, one detail I forgot to mention in my last post. Mike and Kath have an old cat that doesn’t like new people. Well, on Monday it finally decided it liked me. I got home when nobody else was around and the cat approached me for the first time. It let me pet it, and later when I was on the couch, crawled up and fell asleep.
Wednesday: This was many days ago, so I don’t remember all the details of what I did. I remember having a slow morning and going for a ride around noon. The ride was one of my best since arriving. It had been a few days since my last ride due to adverse weather, so my legs were fresh. It felt like I had a endless supply of energy I could tap into on the climbs, and I felt comfortable on my bike beneath me. The ride put me in a good mood. I stopped by the shop after.
Thursday: Rainy day. I had a hard time figuring how to spend my time. After moping around the house for awhile, I finally forced myself up and out. I went to a local shopping center to check out a store Kath had recommended. I stopped into a Superette next door for some tomatoes and an onion. Then, to kill time, I looked into some of the surrounding restaurants to familiarize myself with some of the food options here. Next, I went for a drive, something I’ve used as a therapeutic escape in the past. I drove out on Tarawera road which I had been on multiple times before to access parts of the forest and a few lakes further on. This time I drove it all the way to it’s end at Lake Tarawera. The scenery was incredible and the road reminded me of some of my favorites back home. At the end, I found a side street that led right down to the water and stretched out across the front bench seats of my van to read. The clouds and wildlife made for a peaceful setting, and my book was a nice distraction from boredom. It rained on and off, but right as I finished a chapter and decided to leave, the sun poked out. Five minutes down the road I was hit by a torrential rain, much heavier than any I had experienced up until then. Then it started hailing. I felt cozy in my van.
Friday: I had work at 8:30 and it was steadily busy. By the time my shift ended at 3:00 I was exhausted. The weather was good so I had planned to ride, but I went next door to veg out on the couch for a few minutes first. While I was relaxing, I got a text from Alex asking if I wanted to ride. It was perfect timing. He and another guy nicknamed “Weasel” took me for solid ride. My legs were tired and I had to push to keep up on the climbs. Also, I smacked my kneecap on my frame trying to ride a technical feature up and out of a creek bed. Ouch.
Saturday: I had work again at 8:30 and it rained so the place was a zoo. Morgan came in just as it was getting really crazy and helped relieve me (and my back from hunching over the sink). When he left I was able to keep up with the flow until the lunch wave hit. He returned from his errands and was able to save me once again. I was exhausted afterwards and came home for a chill afternoon. I watched my second rugby game last night. The All Blacks’ B-team smoked Japan 69-31.
It isn’t raining today, but it’s awfully windy. I want to make use of my day off by going for a ride in the decent weather, but I’m whipped. I probably will later once I’m feeling a little better, but in the meantime I’ll have to find stuff to do to keep myself engaged. I’m thinking more reading and grocery shopping. LOL
This past week Mike and I started a show called Gotham. I’m finding it very entertaining.
I miss my friends.
My adventure in New Zealand 
Dear Anders. I have greatly enjoyed reading your accounts here. The daily life details and personal thoughts you share remind me of some of my experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana…figuring out how to spend time in a new place. I now look back at the little bit of writing, and especially the few rolls of bw film I shot with a completely different sense of their value. They didn’t seem that important at the time but 30 years later what I can say is that I wish I had taken many more photos. Things change and places change and photos take on a documentary value of their own, even beyond the intentions of the photographer. So I would suggest that you consider seriously taking up photography again, not just as a way to fill up those unstructured moments, but as a way to really see the world around you. To understand the particular shapes and colors of that place. The unique faces. The weather. The particularities of the light. If you were to shoot in film it is actually feasible to develop yourself with just a little planning (I did it in Africa with almost no water or electricity). That would totally change the WAY you see too. But a phone camera will do. I urge you to look at the work of William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Eugene Atget, Vivian Maier. They all deal with the idea of “place.” The stuff you write makes me think of them and you might be inspired.
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Your comment just made my day, Ms. D. I was thinking about photography earlier today as if you somehow planted the seed in my mind before I had read this. There are a million incredible subjects to shoot here in New Zealand, and I agree that taking it up again could be a great diversion while I’m here. I made an effort to take lots of photos on my recent trip to the East Cape which I just posted about today, but not all of them were given the same attention I used to strive for as a more adamant photographer. Certainly it can be regained. As for developing my own film, that is something I will research. It might be tricky in a van, but anything is possible I suppose. The smartphone will do for now. I remember a few of those artists from your class, but I’ll have to familiarize myself with their work and stories. It’s funny, now that I’m out of school I’m finding myself hungry for knowledge in a way I never imagined I would be when it was served to me on a golden platter. I’m a curious person at heart, and I want to be good at what I do. If anything, this experience is offering me a real appreciation for the opportunities I’ll have at university. I hope all is well back home and at Gunn. With love,
Anders
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