If you’re ever looking for a vacation filled with uber-alternative life philosophies, colourful characters (with oh so vibrant auras), and an organic lunch served with a large helping of quack, then look no further then WWOOFing in New Zealand. As I have mentioned previously, Hana and I have been saving money by staying with people for a week or so, and working for them in exchange for food and accommodation. However, there are other unforeseen costs associated with WWOOFing, namely one’s patience and sanity in dealing with the eccentricities of the hosts.
Our first experience was with the German couple, Rolf and Inge, who ran the eco-wellness centre and organic garden in the North. I have already mentioned the homeopathy. Enough said right? Oh, but then there were our lovely lunchtime discussions about a range of topics including salad ingredients, different country’s healthcare systems, local historical must-see sights, and the 2012 Mayan Prophecy. Everyone’s familiar with this one right? I am of course referring to the Mayan Long Count Calendar that ends on Dec. 21, 2012 and posits that some worldwide catastrophic or transformative events will take place that will alter the nature of humanity. Now if all goes well, we could all be looking at advancing to a higher spiritual dimension. That’s the good news. However, if circumstances head in unfavourable directions, we could be looking at a major geomagnetic reversal, and our universe pulsating at a much higher (apparently uninhabitable) frequency. Now if this concerns any of you, I have located our sanctuary. Rolf and Inge have already acquired a special machine that will be able to recreate the frequency of a pre-2012 era, sigh, a simpler time.
And then there was Christine and John, the couple in Waihi who we were supposed to build a shed for. When Hana and I first arrived at their large, somewhat dilapidated Edwardian house, we were greeted at the front door by the bra-less buxom woman Christine who had just finished power washing the side of her house and was soaked head to toe. This was a very interesting, and lasting, first impression. She never did put on a bra. John was an eccentric sort that specialized in fixing harmonic dampers in cars, was obsessed with model airplanes, and thoroughly licked his plate clean after every meal. Christine makes a living through EFT (emotional freedom technique. Manipulating people’s energy fields through tapping on foreheads), sex coaching, and writing erotic novels (New Zealand Best Sellers!). They both practice the blood type diet (you eat things according to what your blood type is), and according to Christine, her and John work well as a couple due to their Chinese and astrological sign alignment (They bickered about some inane thing every 5 min.). Aside from all that, they had the most eclectic collection of STUFF cluttering up every corner of their house that I've ever seen. I felt tidy in comparison! Me!
We never did build the shed. I spent the week mowing the lawn, baking bread, and learning how to knit. John used his engineering expertise to assist in the construction of the shed and infuriate Hana. So Hana spent the week trying not to kill John. Oh, and their cat was cross-eyed. 
