Plan change

Hello dear ones,

so much has happened in the last few days. I wrote my last entry on Tuesday, May 2nd and somehow I did a lot this week. Well, except for the rest of Tuesday, I just slept and then did normal things like doing laundry and cooking.

Wednesday (3.5) I was with my new Canadian roommate at the art museum. Once again I realized that I'm just not an art person. I didn't understand most of the artworks and wouldn't have recognized them as artworks either. Sometimes I really wonder who decides that such things belong in an art museum. But well, maybe I simply don't understand the artists. I liked the realistic paintings the best, both by the indigenous people and the landscape pictures. I found it funny that there was a whole exhibition about the statement: Bad Hair Day. There were also some beautiful or funny pictures. At noon I also tried German home cooking and made potatoes with peas and carrots as buttered vegetables, and brown sauce. For a first attempt, I didn't think it turned out bad at all. In the evening, I received some bad news that unfortunately I didn't get the position in Queenstown that I applied for. So I won't be going to Queenstown in mid-March to work in the ski area. I have now decided to stay here in Christchurch and earn money. I will also look for another job so that I can really work 50 hours a week and save enough money for a week of skiing vacation with snowboarding school and other activities. Maybe I can even save enough money so that I don't have to work anymore starting in spring. We will see, I will definitely keep you posted.

On Thursday morning I woke up relatively early and the radiant sunshine persuaded me to go for a hike today. I set off at 10 a.m. and first drove over the pass to Rapaki Bay, where there is this beautiful pier that you can admire as my new background image and also here in this post. Really great bay. After that, I continued along the coast and for the first time went through the tunnel that connects Christchurch and Lyttleton to get to the Rapaki Track. There we went up a mountain again, but the view was very nice. Because of the great weather, you could admire the Alps again, which are already covered in snow. When I got to the top, I could look back at Lyttleton. Luckily, I also managed to get back to my car before it started raining. In the evening, I was rewarded with an incredibly beautiful sunset and then I went with my German roommates to play billiards, so to speak as a little farewell party since Gerrit moved out on Sunday and Christopher is flying on Tuesday. It was a very fun evening and I played relatively well, even though we unfortunately lost 4 to 3 in the end.

On Friday (05.05) I thought to myself that since I'm staying here for a while anyway, I can also completely unpack my suitcase and then clean my whole room. Everything now has a place and I can enjoy the next few months. In the evening, I went to work at the bar. It started late, but it was a good evening. The only thing that sometimes bothers me a little is when my boss runs around excitedly and gets hectic because a guest has to wait a minute to order something. Well, on the other hand, I can understand it because it's her bar.

On Saturday morning I had to get up early because I got a job at the horse racetrack from the temporary employment agency. I worked in the owner's lodge, where the racehorse owners could get a drink before the respective races and have their horses presented in a paddock. A dream job for me, as I could watch horses all day. Wonderful. It was also great that we received chocolate as a gift. In the evening, I drove home for a short time and ate something before I went to work at the bar again. It was a great evening, even if it didn't get busy until late again, but it was relaxed. After work, we sat together for a while and talked, which I also found very nice.

Yesterday (Sunday, 07.05) I was really tired after 10 hours of sleep on the weekend, but I still rallied and went to a bar with an acquaintance and had a beer there while enjoying pleasant live music. A young woman sang cover songs and accompanied herself with a guitar or ukulele, which was very suitable for this bar. In the evening, I cooked myself a huge portion of noodle casserole and chatted a bit with my roommates. Two new roommates also moved in yesterday, one (Stefan) who takes Gerrit's place and a Frenchman (Max) who moved into the room with the other Frenchman (Quentin). Otherwise, I didn't do anything special anymore.

This morning (08.05) I got up early to apply to a company where my German roommates also work or have worked. Since they didn't respond to my email and calls, I just drove there this morning and lo and behold, I signed a contract and will probably start next week. Yay. I will probably work 45 hours a week, which should allow me to save about $300 per week for my trips after winter. At 1 p.m. I had a drug test that I passed once before. I'm curious if I can really start on Monday and will definitely keep you posted.

See you soon, your Jessi