Week 46 - Work work work work work

You can probably guess from the headline - this week was all about working hard.

On Monday, Franzi started at the van rental company. She works there for 42 hours a week, cleaning the small campers inside and out at a brisk pace.

Surprisingly, the pay is above minimum wage, and the work environment is really nice. Unlike at the kiwi plantations, the employees here are appreciated, and a good team atmosphere is prioritized.

The work itself isn’t complicated; you just have to remember a lot of small steps. Luckily, it isn't physically demanding, only her legs get really tired after 8 hours. Franzi definitely enjoys it.

She gets to her workplace well by bus except on Sundays, even though the journey takes quite a long time. The return trip is a bit more stressful by bus, but fortunately, her supervisor doesn't live too far from our flower farm, so he can give Franzi a ride occasionally.

Julian, on the other hand, has to step up on the farm and takes on a few hours from Franzi, who, despite her full-time job, also works on the farm on her two days off.

How long Franzi can keep up this pace remains to be seen ;-)

The 6 to 7 hours on days without Franzi are really exhausting because most tasks, like trimming hedges and especially cutting flowers, take a toll on the legs and back.

It's good that we can use the small spa pool here to relax our muscles in the warm water after the hard work.

While Franzi is busy washing campers on weekends and earning money, Julian has weekends off and can relax and take care of a bit of housework.

On Saturday evening, he was even needed again at the restaurant, marking his second workday there. The colleagues in the kitchen are all so friendly, and even though it can get a bit stressful, he enjoys washing the dishes.

This time, he got to help skewering satay sticks. The highlight of the evening was a generous tasting of various delicacies served to him by the boss as a reward - including the skewers he had prepared himself.

Before starting work, he even had time to meet up with the two boys we know from Gisborne for bowling. Contrary to expectations, he was able to keep up with both of them effortlessly.

Additionally, we have to report that our boss's parents have recently gotten a little puppy. The playful little guy is named Garry (we might be able to share a photo later).

This led to the family cat deciding to escape the chaos and move in with us. Luna now often lies with us in the sun, and we got to take care of her over the weekend.

In the coming weeks, our priority will still be on working, but we will still keep you updated, even if there might be less exciting news to share.