New Zealand Weekly Update #88

Last updated on Juli 15, 2024

24th of June to 30th of June 2024

Approximate reading time: 5 minutes

Lets get it started

Another week has ended, a new week has started. And I am sitting on my couch, just back from Dunedin. Some broth in a pot on the stove, the laundry is currently in the washing machine and its raining outside. It is raining a lot. So there are some struggles in town with flooding and stuck cars. And my week has been quite a disaster. Tuesday around lunchtime. I got myself some food from New World, our grocerie store in town. Meat balls and pasta. Yummy as. Three hours later. 3 PM. My stomach has decided to go for some circus. Cramps. And as soon as my collegues would start talking about food my stomach would flip and cramp even more. 5PM. Time to go home. I do not even remember how I got home. I was driving, this is for sure. Straight to bed. Covered in blanked. Shivering. Shaking. Freezing. And the bin next to me, as I knew what might come next. 5.45PM. First session, a couple of Wüüürrghhh and Üüürrrggghhh and Hüüüürrrrgggghhhh. Bin full. Stomach empty (so my first thoughts). And I was moving to the living room. Not shaking anymore but I felt like shit. Session two at aroung 7PM. Another couple of times with weird noises and filling the bin again. I felt better afterwards, cleaned out the bin, rinsed it and back to the couch. Trying to sleep. Haha! Session three was about to come. Another couple of times until the stomach was empty as. And this was a great finale guys. And I tried to sleep again, no chance. Fever dreams. I kind of woke up every couple of minutes. Mind was going crazy. Sore muscles. Headache. No rest.
And even though I knew work would be very busy for my team mates the next day, I called in sick. Because I was sick. Felt sick. Felt like shit. And was not even able to get off the couch once the next day. The only thing I was able to have was a small bottle of coke (not healthy but full of sugar and liquid), which was given to me by Sophie, my great housemate. Long story short, after almost a week I still feel pretty tired, I am getting back slowly and steady but this was a hell of a night and a week team. And it has not been over…

Happy Matariki

Some great and exciting news now. This week was Matariki week. Maori New Year. Which is celebtrated all over the country in different ways. A public holiday. A day to remind yourself of your beloved ones, of those who are not with us anymore. A day / weekend to spend with family and friends. And friends who a part of your family. So Sammy and me decided to visit some friends in Dunedin and to get out of Wanaka for a couple of days. Got our stuff ready and all the way to Dunedin, time for a road trip. Along stunning nature, having a tea after half the way, some music and great talks. And we arrived around 7PM at the house of Sammy’s friends. And it was not just a couple of friends, it was round about 15 people. In a house up a steep hill out of Dunedin. With a fireplace outside, heaps of cars, some would talk, some would prepare food, some would drink. And we in between. Warming up, small talk with a couple of people while standing in front of this awesome fireplace outside of the house. And now and then having a Jägermeister, brought by me. Some german style right 🙂 . And at around 11PM Sammy and me went into the car, covered in heaps of blankets and falling asleep.
The next day, it was time to prepare the Hangi. Hangi is a Maori tradition, long story short, you heat up your food in the ground, So Doug, our host, digged a hole ouf already a couple of days ago and built up some fire logs on top of it. On top of those logs you could usually find heavy stones or metal plates. So the idea of the Hangi is that you heat up those stones / metal plates as much as possible. The whole set up would fall into the hole. In the meantime a bunch of other people would prepare the food basket filled with vegetables, meat and all sort of stuff. When the Hangi is ready, a couple of people with shovels would empty the whole hole, including the ashes. The hot stones / metal plates are then placed in the hole and the foodbasket on top of it. Then you cover the whole setup with potatoe sacks (soaked in salty water beforehand) and you cover the whole setup with soil, so no steam can escape the setup. And afterwards you would leave it for a couple of hours. And that’s it. Of course you want to make sure you do not burn yourself with hot ashes or wood log while doing the whole procedure, because this whole setup is hot as fuck! And you want to be as quick as possible to not loose to much heat.
And after a couple of hours, you eat! Chicken. Lamb. Vegetables. And you enjoy the area, the company, a drink and some traditional cooked food. Filled with all the energy from the soil and ground. Nga Mihi Nui!

What else to say?

On our way back to Wanaka we would stop in Dunedin for a little breakfast and a walk along the beach. And afterwards all the way back to Wanaka, being very tired but very happy and filled with amazing food and good energy. It’s been ages since I was out of Wanaka and was driving those distances. It felt amazing and I am still stoked by the Hangi. And I am still pretty tired and exhausted from this food poisoning. But I will get back.
Talking about getting back. Immigration has changed the rules again to apply for Residency. Happy days. So instead of getting my Residency soon, I have to remain patient, hopefull, happy and I have to cross my fingers. Again and again and again.

See you soon guys

Your DingyInternational
Felix