Hostel Insomnia

It seems that I have insomnia when staying in a bed in New Zealand. Sometime between 1 and 5am I become wide awake. Even if I am exhausted the night before, and/or filled with libations, this has been a pattern now for the last 3 to 4 times, I'd say. This time, while in Queenstown, it happened around 3am. It makes me miss sleeping in my tent, where I get a glorious 9-11 hours of sleep, crashed as hard as a rock.

The common area and kitchen at this backpackers is closed from 11:45pm to 7am...another reason why I would not take the owners offer of working here end of Dec. (This is in addition to the horribly messy kitchen and the frat house party vibe). Therefore, I am left to write while sitting on top of a wooden dresser, in the hallway outside our share room. To the left of me is a pair of blue vans - the ones kinda like keds, and a butter knife. To the right of me are snowboard bindings and a pair of socks. Choice, eh.

So what am I thinking about? Breakfast. Cooking it. I can see the full plate in my head and while laying in bed I was putting it all together - which preparation of eggs would be best, how to slice the bread, what to add as the sides. I need to go to the market and get eggs and olive oil, but this is the dish: poached eggs & avocado on toasted soy & linseed sourdough with a rustic spinach, portobello and cherry tomato salad. The two slices of bread would be cut in half, diagonally, then laid across from each other, creating an "x". On opposite sides would be the two poached eggs, atop the toast, and the other two halves would have perfect slices of the most beautiful avocado I have seen since arriving in New Zealand. Lastly, the salad would be gently placed in the center of the dish, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. To finish, sprinkling of fresh ground sea salt and black pepper, oregano and basil. Could go over everything, but maybe just the eggs. That's it. That's the dish I can't get out of my head right now.

"Today" I drove again - second time on public roads in NZ, going from one town to another. This time it was about a 2 hr trip from Wanaka to Queenstown over the Crown Range. May not sound like anything to write about but it's my second time on for reals driving a manual...and I love it! And I already feel pretty damn confident doing it. Ridiculous that I am 28 years old and just now learning manual, but stoked that I am learning in another country. What a happy accident.

Two nights ago, we got off the trail of a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip, on a 36km super intense trail. It was another all over body workout and we were wrecked! The backpackers we picked out on the ride into Wanaka was just out of town and turned out to be another hilarious and surprising experience. "So there is a stag party having strippers in the common/kitchen area for the next hour and a half... but you have untimed hot showers and full length clean towels?! Okay! We'll take the bunk beds please!" After a quick jump in the showers, rushing because we were told a bouncer would not let us in our room in 10 minutes, we noticed that the hall was quiet...then we saw cops talking to drunk males outside our room window. That stripper party never happened. Turns out those sloshed dudes were such idiots that they refused to pay the stripper because allegedly she was ugly. Win for us. But what a-holes!

After enjoying our Tasty Delights India Food a group of four old kiwi men pop into the common area. I must admit I was a bit worried at first - "oh no, drunk old men". But of course, since we're traveling, and in such an awesome country, it turned into an awesome night. They each stagger in and apologize since that they've been drinking all day. The last one in, and the sober one (he was driving), sets down two glasses and a beauty in a box on the table. I try not to stare, but I sure as hell look out of the corner of my eye - Glenlivet 12 year. Yummmmm. Without notice, I continue my gaze and focus on the conversation in the room - who knows what it was but the drunkest guy was absolutely hilarious and we had very similar personalities.

They hand my travel partner a beer and offer me one, but that wonderful sober kiwi spoke up and said, "either of you care for some whiskey?" I wouldn't be surprised if I blurted out a, "hell yes" but hopefully I said something more mature...who knows...think I blacked out with excitement.

So there we were - two Cali ladies sipping whiskey and the local brew, chatting with 4 old time kiwis who are enjoying their yearly boys' fishing weekend, in the common area of a hostel which sits behind a nice hotel along Lake Hawea. We spoke of careers, politics, whitebait, and whatever else came up. It was grand. Passing around my dark chocolate with almonds to everyone before retiring to bed, and hearing them all enjoy it, was such a simple and fantastic feeling. Just being able to give something back to someone who gave something to you - to thank them and share with them. Wonderful feeling.

I got to experience the feeling again tonight, cooking dinner for my travel buddy. I was overjoyed all day, buying the most beautiful fresh ingredients from the market, building the colorful and delicious plate of food in my head as I grabbed each item, then setting everything out in the kitchen and doing my thing. Ahhh. I always enjoy it so much. I realized while savoring each bite of the most tender salmon I can recall that the kitchen may be where I feel the most naturally creative and confident. This may be a sign that I should pursue the food world further. It's not the first time I've thought about it - I've read all Anthony Bourdain's books a d been turned off to chef-dom. I've read almost all of Michael Pollan's books and been turned onto only the best ingredients, hunting and gathering for your own ingredients, and looking forward to learning about the variety of cooking methods. I've got endless recipes in my books and on Pinterest that I've tried on friends and most go over well. I love devising a dish with the ingredients of a mystery box on a food show. I'm always intrigued by dishes at restaurants which put together ingredients I would never think to pair, and soaking up the complex flavors of each bite. The list goes on. It would be fun if some job came up in NZ where I could play with food!  Just get a taste of that world and see if it suits me. We'll see...

It's 5am now. My sandfly bites (which add up to around 40 on my legs) are still itchy as ever. I'd love to shower and wash my hair, but I don't have a clean towel. It's raining outside. There are no markets or cafes open yet. Maybe time to take a stab at that sleep thing again...or I'll just start looking for jobs...

Life is interesting,
Natasha