From the hairdresser who wasn't a hairdresser

When traveling, you sometimes experience the craziest things. Some of them are good crazy, others, well, bad crazy. And sometimes, out of a lack of alternatives, you walk into an abandoned hair salon that, apart from that, actually looks quite trustworthy. I mean, there were even business cards and the hair salon was equipped with everything an establishment of this kind needs (at least from a layman's point of view). So, how could I have been suspicious? Well, maybe my communication difficulties with the 'hairdresser' should have been a hint (after the third time, I still didn't understand the good man and just nodded with a friendly smile). But I thought to myself, 'What the heck...He's a hairdresser, he must know what he's doing'. The 'hairdresser' had a different idea in mind than my plan to finally get my hair to one length and impose a hairstyle on them. Although I didn't understand a word of what he was telling me, it sounded so credible and professional that I eventually agreed. About three scissor cuts later, my hair was much more uneven and far from being the same length. Maybe it was just the 'hairdresser's' artistic freedom, but maybe the 'hairdresser' with the very professional-looking business card (no joke!) wasn't actually a 'hairdresser'...The latter seems much more likely the more I think about it. In any case, we were pretty mad on our way back. Our anger was intensified by the fact that suddenly the city seemed to consist solely of hair salons that we obviously hadn't seen before...Finally, we tried to make the best of the situation and imagine things that could have been even worse (for example, if the stuff the 'hairdresser' put in my hair at the end had caused acute hair loss...Wait a minute, WHAT IF IT REALLY DID???).

In addition to the encounter with the crazy pseudo-hairdresser, we spent the last few days mainly looking for a job. I'll spare you the boring details. Just this much: We saw and heard the phrases 'Sorry, no Jobs' or 'Sorry, we are booked' in every conceivable form. Well, on the hundredth time, it finally worked out and we were hired as 'Housekeepers' in a hostel in the Lake Taupo region for two weeks. Meaning: we take care of the hostel and in return, we can stay there for free. Plus, it saves us about 700 dollars. Similar to WWOOFING, except that we can gain some work experience and add a nice addition to our CV...

Of course, we also did something for our souls that had been tortured by the job search, so we paid a short visit to the nearby hippie-artist-surfer town Raglan. We stayed in a cozy eco-hostel that offered surf and yoga classes, among other things (which we sports dummies didn't take advantage of). Old railway cars served as bedrooms, which was pretty cool.

After returning to our favorite hostel in Hamilton (now for the fourth time) and finally being rewarded for our lengthy job search, we spent yesterday on a relaxed sightseeing tour of Hamilton. We started our tour at the Waikato Museum. It had everything from an exhibition about World War I, to the puppet collection of a German puppet maker, to a presentation of 'Art Crimes', which exhibited fake, replicated, and stolen artworks, among others. After that, we paid a visit to a second-hand store (which made me very happy) and strolled through the 'Hamilton Gardens' at the end of our tour. All in all, it was a successful day.

I have to say, I'm really going to miss Hamilton. Those who have been here before probably won't be able to understand that ('It's freezing cold here!', quote from a hostel acquaintance). Well, the city is not really beautiful, but it has a good heart. The trick is to visit the city again and again. It becomes more sympathetic with each visit and you discover a few more beautiful corners with each visit. For us, Hamilton already feels almost like home...I'm also going to miss the 'Eagles Nest Backpackers'. The hostel is very small and cozy and the atmosphere is very familiar. Practically, you have the chance to get into a conversation with everyone who comes along...

Now we still have to somehow manage to pass the time until our job on the fourteenth of December, which shouldn't be too difficult for us, after all, we are in New Zealand.

To be continued...

Richi&Maggi, 05.12.2016, Hamilton 18:58 Uhr