Well feedback from last time was
that it was long and sounded like we were having a terrible time, which we
weren't mostly. So I'll attempt to rectify with just the high- low-lights of
the week.
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| Waikumete Cemetery: imagine trying to find Willy's dad in there! |
1) We got online,
me on Saturday. Willy had to wait till Monday when his ethernet/USB connector
arrived by an asian bicycle courier. Internet costs about $1/Gb, a bit more
expensive for us than in CR. So now we can use internet from home, but we'll
miss the fantail that used to come and fan its tail right over our heads in the
living room at Helen and David's. Maoris say it means someone's died, but it's
never anyone they know.
2) I was meant to
be replacing Deirdre who we are subletting from on her community meal cooking
team but it turned out she'd already cooked but just wanted me to pay her. This
didn't seem like it was in the spirit of being on a team and it also didn't
seem like they had spent the money on the food (bread, soup, guacamole, salad
from the garden, pear crumble for 40 people for $200). I was uneasy - it seemed
like we were ripping people off. I offered to make something else for the meal
but then I'd have to pay twice. On Thursday's team a couple of people were sick
so Willy and I helped and we all made a scrumptious meal of roasted vegies,
humous and quinoa and chickpea salad. The next day I went to see the
coordinator to see if a team actually needed someone, but they all had their
full complement. So I decided I would help on Deirdre's team and cook
vietnamese cold rolls and it cost so little I probably won't worry about the
money. In the mean time Daniel, the team leader told me not to bother and that
Shingo would replace Deirdre on the team. He's going to be away in France next
month so I'll probably talk to Shingo about what I should do. There's a weird,
controlling vibe to doing the cooking even when you're on the other side of the
world, and someone else said she thought it was part of an eating disorder.
They all only eat every second day and only completely unprocessed food and wear
earplugs so they can listen to their heartbeats and breathe in synch with them.
They tried to convert us to this practice when we arrived.
3) I had a meeting with a business
advisor to discuss my business plan. He thought it was amazing, extremely ambitious,
the way things would inevitably go eventually but way ahead of its time. He
also didn’t think I could find anyone to be able to do it in NZ. So that was
kind of fun, but didn’t get me anywhere. The plan is to start up a conservation
investment scheme.
3) Chris and Joel
had a joint birthday party on Friday night. They showed videos, including the
wizard of oz, on a back projected screen with music and dancing. Saturday
night after the common meal Glenys and David's had a concert by a folk duo they
knew from heart politics for their 40th wedding anniversary. They
celebrate people's birthdays at the common meal one a month. There's a special
birthday hat with candles on top and they ask you what was the most important
thing from your last year and what do you hope for from your next year and how
Earthsong can help you achieve it.
4) There's a food
coop that operates out of Earthsong and has a stall at the small market on the
corner opposite. We got a call to help set up because some of the people were
sick. We put all the food out, expensive organic produce and had a coffee and
brownie at the cafe run by Buffy who also runs the nearby community garden.
It's a good place to hang out and meet people on a Friday after work - all the
food coop types come and get their food then all the restof the produce goes
to the common house for Earthsong residents to buy.
5) There was a
site meeting on Thursday night after dinner. The eight attendees checked in and
they then went through 9 agenda items, one of which was paying 3 invoices and
another was 12 matters arising from the last meeting including the fencing in
of the orchard so the chooks can be put there without getting eaten by
neighbours' dogs - a working bee then completed on Saturday. They also set
up a group (including me) to develop bike sheds for the site and approved a proposal to the
full group that one of the members be allowed to build a tiny house on site.
All by consensus in hour and 25 mins (MV Friends business meeting take
note!).
6) Willy managed
to track down his father's ashes which it turns out are in
a cemetery 4 stops away on the train. Willy knew his father died in
Auckland 42 years ago and no one had been to collect the ashes. It seems they
buried them in 2001. We'll go and visit some time soon and get a plaque made.
They were going to take the ashes to scatter in Starnberger See in Bavaria, but
since they are already in the ground...
Well, this has
only turned out slightly shorter than last week. Is it any less awful sounding?
