Wwoofing

So....Wwoofing. Or "Willing workers on organic farms" as it is called. And this is what I am doing currently, at a family's house/farm on the East Coast of the North Island, in a tiny area called mangauri.

So when I realized that my daily budget in New Zealand, thanks to the automatic withdrawing of my bank account from the US department of Education, will have to be around 40$ a day including accomodation, I realized...well..."shit." I would have a plane ticket and basically a place to stay with probably some instant noodles and peanut butter sandwich, but goodbye to any sort of activity/fun things/beer. So my solution? Wwoofing.

What is wwoofing? "WWOOF New Zealand is part of a world wide community that promotes awareness of ecological farming practices by providing volunteers with the opportunity to live and learn on organic properties. WWOOF is an enjoyable, educational and safe way to explore and get to know the people in the country."
Basically, I provide my excellent organic farming knowlege and skills (which are none), in exchange for a place to sleep and food on the table. The goal: to learn from kiwis about sustainable living, to see the area from the knowledge of a local, and oh yeah, to not spend any money. WIN!

So the wwoofing website is a bit like an online dating site; you post a profile and a picture, tell a little bit about yourself, and then you can search keywords in waht you're looking for in a host, whether it be "Northland" or "wine making" or "non-rapist", whatever. You send them a message telling them when you'll be in the area, and if they have room, they'll email you with some details about the work you'll be doing, their farm/family, etc. And thus: wwoofing.

So here I am after my 2nd full day of Wwoofing on the Mackintosh's property. Bianca and Andrew are super cool; Bianca has a huge garden, grows all her own shit, a greenhouse in her home, and every meal we have eaten has mostly come straight from the garden (even beer and wine!). Andrew has let me borrow his guitar/surfboard, and promises to hopefully take us fishing out on their boat one day soon. Kids are freaking little balls of energy, and have taken to me and Sophie pretty easily. They are used to having wwoofers and Au pairs so new people are like new toys for them. Which is cool, but the older girl is treating me a bit like her personal servant, which is not so cool.

It's only day 2 of Wwoofing but my ass, arms, and back are sore as hell from ripping out thistle from their garden. And (to the pleasure of my parents and my brother I am sure), I have officically been converted into a carnivore once again...I have eaten meat the past 4 dinners (lamb, mutton, some other mysterious animal), but it has been meat that has come right off of their farm, and I know how much goes into raising the meat on those kiwi farms (see "shifting cattle"). So I could say that I know it is meat that has been treated fairly and I have no problem eating it, or I could just admit that I'm honestly afraid to say no to a meal that's being put in front of me for fear of sounding like a snobbby American. Either way, seems like I'll be eating many more animals for the duration of my stay in New Zealand.