Somewhere in the middle of nowhere

Somewhere on the east coast of the South Island, between Christchurch and Timaru, there is a small patch of land where the world is still in order. We have been here for a week now on a small pig farm, staying with a very lovely family and helping with the daily work (for those who don't know, this type of work is called wwoofing, which means we work a few hours a day on the farm or in the house and in return we get accommodation and food). The farm is a bit off the nearest village (Hinds) and is surrounded by fields. It consists of about 300 pigs and piglets, a few cows and sheep, a horse, a pony, two goats, a dog (Oskar, the funniest and craziest dog I have ever seen) and three cats. Stephi and Alister live here together with their three adorable children (2, 4 and 5 years old).

Jonas works on the farm every day and helps with feeding, cleaning the stalls, and all the other tasks that need to be done. My work mostly involves taking care of the children and helping with household chores, like cleaning windows, cleaning or tidying up the kitchen, etc. Theoretically, I'm doing the same things as at home, but it's different here. It's so beautiful to see how children can grow up so freely, independently, and happily, experiencing nature and animals, and playing barefoot in the mud like real children (at this point, greetings to Nati, you would love to work here too =)

Otherwise, we're doing really well here!! Our accommodation is a small hut with a bathroom and kitchen, and a super comfortable bed (finally a decent mattress and a cozy blanket), Stephi is an excellent cook, and we look forward to our shared dinner every evening. And it's also good for both of us to finally have a task again and not be hanging around each other 24 hours a day.

The farm's main income comes from breeding the piglets, and I love going to the barns with Jonas every evening and watching the little piglets drink and sleep. One evening, we even witnessed the birth of two little piglets. It was truly incredible to experience something like that, and for me, one of the most beautiful moments so far... those who know me better know how much I have always liked these animals since I was little. But there are also not-so-pleasant moments, unfortunately, there are stillborns and some piglets that are crushed or trampled by their mother and end up dead in the straw. But that's part of it too...

Since Stephi and Alister will be going to Germany for a few weeks in April/May with the children (Stephi is from Germany and emigrated to New Zealand 10 years ago), they asked us if we could take care of the house and the farm during that time. Of course, we agreed immediately and are already looking forward to coming back here for a few weeks. This has slightly changed our travel plans, but it's worth it. So the plan is to stay in New Zealand until May 11th, then spend two weeks "vacation" in the Fiji Islands, and then continue on to Hong Kong and Beijing.

So now you're all up to date again=)

Regards to all of you at home!!