It's nice if you are there working because you don't necessarily have to work "hard". It's unfortunate because much like Australia, it's IMPOSSIBLE to ever get anything done, i.e. go to the bank, the post office, or any other important errands on a regular basis. Every other week there is a holiday, and if the holiday is on a weekend, they just push it to a day of the week. For instance, "New Years Day" was on a Saturday this year. So New Zealand and Australia both, had an "extra" holiday on Monday, also known as "New Years Day". Go figure, again, very good if you are working on one of these holidays because they pay you time and a half, not good if you're trying to get your affairs in order.
I did 2 things when I got back. I set up a cell phone so that potential employers could call me and I set up a bank account. Afterwards, I set out to find work immediately. The countdown had begun. My intentions were never to stay in New Zealand, so my proverbial eye was on the prize. The goal was to make enough money to support myself in Australia from the moment I arrived. So the thought process was, I've had my fun here in NZ so now I'll work and make as much money as I can to start my adventure in Australia.
I printed out over 30 CV's (which is what they call resumes) and hit the town. I walked all over, applying to every place I could think of. Even applying to some places where I had no business being, like lady shoe apparel and the library. Asking everyone in sight, even places I knew weren't hiring, in hopes that someone would throw me a bone. It seemed like no one was hiring at all. "You just missed the season", I'd hear, which is complete bullshit because I'd later find out that New Zealand and Australia alike would rather lie to you then actually tell you their not hiring. It's got to be something about telling people bad news. No one likes to tell people something they don't want to hear. So instead of helping you find a place that is hiring, or allowing you to save a resume, they just tell you "We'll call you" or "Leave us your resume". I literally would high five people who were honest with me. "Sorry, we're not hiring"...."Thank you!", I'd exclaim, "high fives are in order, you people are awesome".
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| Wouldn't have made it without her |
I did end up finding work, 3 jobs to be exact, 2 with a little help and one completely on my own. One was at the cafe with Maria (my surrogate Tongan mother), the same one that Matt worked at. I'd work there 3 or 4 mornings a week, with under the table wages. It wasn't even work really. She is such a sweet lady, she basically paid me to hang out with her all day. I did the dishes, handled the cash register, served customers and cleaned, none of which are incredibly taxing, in fact just listing my responsibilities now makes it seem more like a job than it actually was. She would always feed me and we would do the word puzzles and brainteasers in the paper together every afternoon. I think she just enjoyed the company because she didn't really need me there most days.
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| Matt, Maria and I outside the "Happy Kiwi" |
Matt worked at 2 cafes, the "Happy Kiwi" with Maria. Where he woke up at 5am everyday to do the baking, the other cafe named "Olivers" at night. The other cafe was beside a pizzeria, Matt put in a good word to one of the owners for me. I lied and told the owner that I would be staying in New Zealand indefinitely. I felt bad about the lie at first, but after working there for a little bit, I didn't feel bad anymore. It was my least favorite job, the lady was a complete "insert derogatory slang for a larger woman who can't help but be fake nice to everyone she meets".
Travelers have to be careful when they obtain a new job. A lot of places choose not to treat the traveller properly or pay them correctly. It reminds me a lot of how Americans treat the illegal Mexicans in some ways. It's sad but you're travelling and most likely NEED the money, so you take what you can get. The "lady" or "harpie" at the pizzeria promised me $19/hr for 5-6 days a week at the start. I started working immediately and would do whatever they asked, including staying extra and working late. When it came time to get my pay check, I realized that it looked a little off...by a little, I mean a few hundred dollars.
She justified this injustice by saying that she herself was taking out "what the taxes would be". So that when she put me on the books later, I could claim all those taxes as well. She actually convinced herself she was doing me a favor. Um, in America my dear...we call that skimming off the top...and it's bullshit. You can't tell someone you're going to "pay them under the table" and then take your own taxes out. This obviously didn't sit well with me from the beginning. However, I wanted to work as much as possible and I generally liked the other employees at the pizza place, so I basically told her that wasn't our agreement and if she wanted me to continue working there, she could either pay me the wage she promised or I wasn't going to work there as much.
It wasn't a huge deal, I just let her know that her and her business were no longer a major priority for me. She decided she'd rather keep paying me her own "taxed" wages so I put my concentration on my next and favorite job.
"Creoles" was the bar job I obtained in Orewa on my own. There was only a few bars in the town and it was the karaoke bar (obviously not a first choice), but all the money was made primarily from the poker machines. As I would later learn that is how most bars make their money. I have learned from my mistakes though, I will NEVER work in a karaoke bar again unless I absolutely MUST. The amount of people who sing in public, that SHOULD NEVER SING IN PUBLIC is atrociously high. This has to be stopped, I'm thinking of forming a group about this. Signs will be printed, protests will be formed, voices will be lost, I promise this.
The manager told me that I would need a certificate to become a manager at the interview. I like this guy and didn't want to lie to him so I told him the truth, and that was that I would only be there for a few months. He needed help for the Rugby World Cup which lasted about as long as I would be lasting in the country. We agreed that I would work for $120 a night, whenever they needed me, which equated to mainly weekends.
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| Not just for Monopoly anymore! |
They wanted me because I was American and "knew what customer service was about". I try to play that particular attribute up as much as I can during the interview process. I also try to hide the fact that I hate drunk people, but I digress (yes, ironic twist that someone who gets drunk as me hates other drunk people, when he's not drinking).
While I was working, I usually looked for things to do to cope with the boredom, things like helping out the kitchen and cleaning, so I'm pretty sure they loved me working there as well. It seemed to them that I was going out of my way, but to be fair, I felt like I should do more work because they were paying me silly wages to do what I do. On several occassions I was told by one of the employees, "You don't have to do that, it's not part of the job". Which I thought was fantastic because all the other jobs I've had it seems like they can't find enough stuff that's "a part of the job", aka "stuff they don't want to do themselves".
Everyone there was really nice and helpful. As I've written before that's who I spent a lot of my leasure time with. I learned a lot from them about bar tending in another country because while it is the same profession there are subtle differences in the way they like things and how things are done.
I worked these 3 jobs 5 days a week, with Wednesdays and Sundays off. Sounds impossible and it wasn't always easy but it was a great schedule. Monday and Tuesday mornings at Marias; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday nights at the pizza place; Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday nights at the bar. I rode my bike to the pizzeria and bar which was about 22-24km total, so roughly 4 miles there and 4 miles back. The ride down was always fun because there was an incredibly large hill that I'd fly down and pass cars, literally pass them. The ride back, not so much fun. After a long shift the last thing you want to do is ride up a large hill. I was able to walk to Maria's in under 5 minutes.
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| You know...just a few! |
I managed to save a few thousands dollars this way. By working in the cafe and pizzeria I managed to cut down buying groceries because I could make my own food and take extra home for future meals. Working at the bar helped cut down on my drinking tabs because I was usually working on the weekends when everyone went out and plus we would always have a few after shifts and pitch in for some cheap wine on the way to Apple's house.
All I really had to pay for was rent. So making trips to the bank was always fun. They were always so curious about me. Amazed that I had been in the country for only a few weeks and to already have 3 jobs and be making so many deposits. They said they would use me as an example for the hard pressed people (lazy) who would come in and say they couldn't find work.
They also took pictures with me because they thought I looked like Taylor Hawkins, the drummer from the Foo Fighters. The manager actually thought I WAS the drummer from the Foo Fighters, I'm not sure how she got so confused about my situation.
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| Apparently, I look/looked like this guy |
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| I'll let you be the judge |
All I know is that one day while I was making a deposit she came over to me and took a picture of me with her cell phone. She told me she was sending it to her daughter and couldn't believe she met me. She asked me what I was doing in Orewa and where the next tour stop was. Keep in mind this was NOT the first time she'd met me, nor the first time I was in the bank, far from it. It was weird but I like these sorts of shenanigans so I played it up for her. Telling her how well the tour was going and of course, the band groupies, naturally.
It was all in good fun, but that's how I survived country number 1 on my own. It was scary at first but I just buckled down...because I had to. It's different when you NEED to do something as opposed to just WANTING to do something.
I'm very thankful that I have that ability to adapt and succeed when that "necessity obstacle" factors in. If I wasn't able to, I know I wouldn't/couldn't be able to travel this way.
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