When I arrived in New Zealand me and my best friend stayed in a hostel at first. This was really expencive and we noticed that our money would soon be gone if we would continue staying there. Then we found out that our bank accounts from Germany were blocked and that we could not cash out money. We tried to phone them but we could not get anyone on the line. So we went to have a beer with our last 10 New Zealand Dollars. In the bar we met some nice guys. One of them introduced us to someone in another hostel were we could work in the housekeeping and stay for free.

This was a quite nice option and the next day I could also get contact with my bank. Eventhough I went three times to the bank before going to New Zealand they had not unlocked my account. After 10 minutes on the phone the problem was solved. Lucky us, no starving needed at this point. Of course we got some weed to celebrate and also to enjoy the new job. The picture below shows the table in the kitchen of the hostel workers. 4 hours of cleaning every day, except 2 days a week. No salary of course. But the atmosphere amonst us workers was great. I still feel that we are a family somehow. My best friend also got together with another girl who was working with us. I gave the drawing above to another close friend from the hostel. He left it there when he left the hostel and it was still there half a year later when I gave the place another visit. I met this friend last year in India.

Previous parts of the story:

Portrait of a beautiful girl -1
Tribal drawing & text about Ta Moko -2
Lake Mangamahoe - Drawing + Photography -3
Cape Reinga - Lighthouse Drawing + Photography -4
Poem (1/2) +Drawing + Photos -5
Poem (2/2) +Drawing + Photos -6

Lots of Light and Love <3