Catch-Up

Good evening, my fine American friends. Liz here, with a quick update from the other side of the world. Since the boat ride, Jen and I have been working a great deal at the Swiss Café, where, believe me, we are getting plenty of hours.

I take that back – we’ve either been working or we’ve been “on call,” which means, in Swiss Café terms, that we sit out on the deck, get served wine, and look like we’re having a great time (which is very easy after the second or third bottle.) This is an attempt to bring passerby into the restaurant so that they can have just as great of a time. Kelly, our manager, brings out bottle after bottle of the expensive stuff that vineyards send her as samples, as well as platters of “chips” and “tomato sauce.”

The other day I spent two hours on the deck with Kelly, the chef Paini, the other waitress Nami, Kelly’s boyfriend Mike, and our friend Jamie. Poor Jen was working, and had to watch us all get sillier and sillier. Apparently she worked alone all night because Kelly and Nami got too drunk to work. This is standard NZ practice, I guess.

I actually worked last night. Two Floridians came in and tipped me – I love Americans. (No one tips in New Zealand. For stellar service, you might five or ten percent, but that means you were truly above and beyond. On the other hand, this means that as waitresses we get $12.50 an hour.)

There was also an elderly couple from Germany who barely spoke a word of English, so I got to translate the menu and take the order in German, and felt very useful. This has been happening more and more frequently. Working at a Swiss restaurant might prove to be the first time in my life that my German skills have come in handy outside of Germany itself.

In other news, the waves were giant today and I went running through them. We’re starting to get prepared for Halloween – it’s not a big deal in NZ, but we’re making everyone celebrate. Tonight is a big rugby game between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies, and we’re all going to the pub (Tui) to watch the game at half seven. I ate a Clementine yesterday that I just found on the ground walking down the street. And that trail we hiked on that was covered in dead possums is now apparently closed because it has been overrun with dead bodies – all of which, in a strange turn of events, were allegedly poisoned illegally. I guess someone in Paihia really hates possums.

I’d like to close this post by running through my and Jen’s new “Centabay Family,” because we spend 90% of our time with these people, and it’s important that y’all know who they are. Plus they’re just pretty cool.

1: Jack, Ryona, Murky, and Mow (pronounced so it rhymes with ‘wow’.) Jack (45 or so) is the manager/owner of Centabay, and thus an interesting mixture of boss, dad, and creepy-flirty-old-man-at-the-bar to all of us. He makes a lot of lewd jokes and loves making fun of all of us in turn, but he’s a great guy. He runs the hostel well, he does a lot for us (two days ago Jamie got a concussion and Jack called an ambulance for him and then went to pick him and Lewis up from the hospital at one am), and he’s an awesome dad to Ryona. Ryona, then, is his adorable and incredibly clever 8-year-old daughter, who treats us all like older brothers and sisters. She’s awesome, and one of the smartest and most mature little kids I’ve ever met. And Murky is the tiny dog and Mow is the grumpy cat who sheds everywhere.

2: The Peruvians: Holly and Fio. Holly is 27 and Fio is 24 and while they met while traveling, they’re actually both from the same area of Lima. They’re smart, happy, friendly, and super nice. They’re also awesome dancers, especially salsa, and they cook awesome fried bananas. I honestly can’t think of two better personalities to live with here.

3: The Scots: Jamie and Lewis. Jamie’s 19 and Lewis is 20 – they’re our little ones. They’re loud, hilarious, extremely confident and outgoing, say the f-word at least once in every sentence, and occasionally wear their kilts out to the bar. They tickle, pick up, wrestle, make fun of, and pester the four of us girls incessantly. Their goal is to turn Jen and I into “lads,” which mostly means that we need to develop drinking tolerances that rival theirs.

4: Jonny, the Argentian. Jonny’s our newest addition, having only been here about a week. Holly and Fio have someone new to speak Spanish with (they’re trying to teach us all Spanish phrases as well.) He’s 25 and used to work here last summer. He’s funny and goofy and likes kayaking and running. He’s a little quieter than the others, but every once in awhile he comes out with some totally shocking comment. When he was little he played soccer with his neighbor friends with a ball made of paper and tape.

5: Sky, the Canadian. Sky (31) is sort of the mini boss. She actually gets paid, instead of just working for accommodation (the rest of the above, and us, are the cleaners.) I do not like Sky. Not one bit. She talks constantly. She nags and complains and repeats herself and makes every conversation about herself. Occasionally she does something very nice and generous, and she’s a really good manager sort of person, but she’s too annoying to make up for it, I hate to say.

6: Dan, the Englishman. Dan is 22, and he doesn’t clean here, but he’s living long-term in Centabay and has kind of become an associate member of our family. He works in Paihia as a dishwasher. Sometimes he’s completely out of it, but he’s always up for anything and is extremely funny. I love his accent. He is also extremely gullible, we’ve found out.

7: Craig, the Kiwi. Craig is in his late thirties and builds houses. He’s living here long-term as well. Craig knows how to do everything. He’s extremely handy to have around. He loves drinking – I think he lives here so he can meet people to drink inordinate amounts of alcohol with. He’s a great guy, though, and loves giving us all advice and assistance, like we’re his own kids or little siblings.

Those are the most important characters – I know it’s a lot, but remember them now!