Back in England it took at least a week to get back into the habit of flushing the toilet paper down the toilet.
And it just seemed so cold - not real summer! But it was nice to be able to do stuff without sweating all day.
We had a super stressful start to work - got an email at Athens airport telling James about a job opportunity in Napier. So full steam ahead investigating forestry industry and employment options in NZ remotely. Sending CV and covering letter to people, getting in touch with old referees. Deciding that no job was worth living in Tokoroa for. Nelson tugging at our heart strings because of family connections and happy memories. Maybe next time. Because after weeks of agonising, we've decided to come back to Napier. How weird that I'll be a North Islander for a bit!
But it's all very exciting too. And emotionally charged. You've no idea what a huge mental upheaval we've had in the last few weeks. Our whole perspective on the world seems to have changed. Our main occupation will not be intrepid backpacking for much longer. We are going to settle down to a real job - shock horror!! But it will be SOOOO nice to have some money again. Being poor wears super thin super quickly.
So we've used the few minutes of intermittent internet here to look at what cars cost in NZ these days, and to look at Napier on google maps. Neither of us have really spent much time there, but we remember the whole art deco thing, Pania of the Reef, the vineyards and the sunshine.
The work here has slipped into the same pattern as last year, but I think we're coping better with it. 25 people for dinner? No worries. Three courses or four? Most of our time is spent picking raspberries, preparing veges, washing dishes and supermarket shopping. And on sunny days, doing the gardening. James has cleared stacks of trees from around a pond in the garden and it's looking pretty good.
Some weeks are very busy, with lots of mouths to feed. Cowes week (an international sailing regatta) saw 14 people in the house who all required full cooked breakfasts at 7.30am and three course dinners at 8pm. Those were long days!
One thing I don't recommend though - trying to watch NZ in the Olympics from another country! It's impossible. The BBC even switched to another event just as the rowing twins were about to get their gold medals!
We also just booked our flights home - via New York and Tahiti! It really helps having another trip to look forward to. I'm so excited about the shopping in NYC and James starts smiling when we talk about the diving we'll do in Tahiti. Only five more weeks of earning money till we hit the road again :)
Oh, and James has put lots of pretty pictures from our travels on the web. You can see them by clicking here
http://picasaweb.google.com/cat.and.james
Enjoy!
