Summer Vacation in Maui, Hawai'i

Aloha! This entry is written more diary style as that's how I wrote it; every or every second day documenting what had happened. I'm having issues with some of the photos I took so I'll either add them to this post later or I'll add them in a separate post. Either way I will let you know when they are up.

Well, it's  21:03 on June 4th. What a time we've had and we've only been here a day and a bit.
I traveled from Banff at 9:30 to Vancouver on the 2nd via bus which was long, but seeing as it didn't get dark until I arrived in Vancouver at 10pm it didn't seem too drastically long, more like a normal day really but one spent sitting down the whole time. I was picked up by Adam, Becky, Maria, Elly and Axel, then we went to a car park and walked to a tavern for a drink before heading to the Airport to park the car. We weren't allowed to enter the parking lot until after 1am so that was a little disappointing having to stay up so late before we could try get some sleep but that's life. There was a shuttle bus that we caught from the parking lot to the Airport and once in the Airport we found some seats and tried to catch some shuteye. I got maybe an hour if that and as I hardly slept the night before and got probably the same amount of sleep on the bus I was wrecked before we even started flying. The first flight was to San Francisco, departing at 6:15am and about two and a half hours long. There was almost no one on the flight so we got to stretch out and have a three seater row to ourselves and get a little more sleep. The flight to Maui was a little longer, departing at 9:45am five hours and completely packed. We were down the end and surrounded by children. Needless to say no sleep was achieved.But once we gained Hawai'i, it was all worth it. The warm breeze, the ocean (which I haven't seen in seven months, was a very welcome sight-and having the salty smell in the air was heavenly), the laid back atmosphere, the beautiful resort we're staying in, the sun..everything is amazing. We went for a wander and found some food and then decided a swim was called for. Sunset is around eight here so that's a bit different from home in Banff where it sets at ten-thirtyish. I swear before my head hit the pillow last night I was asleep.Today we went out for groceries and to book a surfing lesson. I got fruit for smoothies as I've been craving a real homemade one for months; by the way it was amazing. Our lesson was at half twelve with a (as Elly put it) gorgeous brown-as-a-nut-with-green-eyes-and-dreadlocks guy called Justin. It was girls first and Becky didn't want to so I had to be the first one. But I got up my first time! He used to date a Maori girl he told us and he likes Weet-Bix and TimTams, but has never tried Marmite as his ex was part Australian so she feed him on Vegemite. Honestly, the amount of people who think New Zealand is just about the food.. One time I paddled out to him to catch a wave he asked me what 'padu' meant, but he said it 'paddoo' so I was confused until he mentioned watching the 'nek minit' videos. (If you haven't seen the videos it's a grown white guy who talks about his push scooter being stollen from outside the dairy. It's really bad as it makes us look like we're a retarded nation. Maybe we are, seeing as we can't seem to pronounce our words right and all. So save yourself the horror and don't bother watching.) (And padu (I don't think I spelt it right) if you didn't know is a word that's used to describe something dirty, or yucky; if someone calls you that it's not nice.) After the lesson we got a free hat and a certificate that 'surftifies' that we've completed a beginners surfing course. That part was a little lame but oh my it was so much fun! We went and got food and after that came back to the hotel and blobbed. Becky and Adam went out for dinner as it is his 31st birthday and then we went out for a drink before coming back to bed.

June 5
I got up at six thirty this morning as that's when I woke up. I went for a walk and a quiet sit but the ocean for an hour and then came back and watched telly while having breakfast. We then went to the pool and then the beach where we sunbathed and swum for most of the day. After getting geleto and realising I was burnt I decided to come home where I am now, listening to YouTube 2014 songs and attending to emails that I have been long avoiding. We are having a BBQ dinner tonight which I'm looking forward to. You're not a true Kiwi if you don't enjoy a good BBQ. (I had shrimp for the first time-they're quite nice.)

June 6
Today we went for a wander up the beach to Baby Beach. I was quite burnt from the day before so I placed my towel under one of the trees. I didn't like Baby Beach so much as there were screaming children and people close by; I much rather prefer 'our' beach where we went surfing.We walked back to town to have lunch and Elly, Marie and I chose to have it at the Hard Rock cafe while Becky, Adam and Axel decided to have it somewhere that did sea food. I had a massive pile of nachos and then decided I wasn't up to going back to the beach so went back to the hotel. I went to bed early as I was feeling gross so I missed out on going out to dinner with everyone else. They all got dressed up for it too so I was a little disappointed but I seriously couldn't make myself feel up for it.

June 7
We went snorkelling today! We spent the whole day on a boat; at the start when we were looking at booking the trip we were a little apprehensive about spending 7 hours on this trip but it flew and felt like only one, if that. Elly lent me one of her t-shirts to cover my burn which was lovely of her. We caught the bus from out the back of the cinema and arrived just in time to check in and then head to the boat. Adam forgot the boarding passes but remembered he'd left them on the counter when we got to the dock so he ran back for them and it was our turn to board (we waited so we'd be last) just as he came back, good timing. We headed to our first snorkel site and muched on some pineapple, orange, banana and coffee bread. I thought it was going to be a big island but it was really little; I'd say less then half a kilometre long. We used the built-in slide to enter the water and were the only group to do so because we're oh so brave. There were other boats mored there so we had to stick within a parameter but we saw a small white tipped reef shark, Bubbles, the Captain and the psycho kid fish off Nemo and a ton of other beautiful tropical fish. Maria even saw Nemo but we weren't that lucky. The hour seemed to drag just a little as there wasn't a lot of space to wander but the corral was beautiful and there were sea urchins to see; it was gorgeous. Lunch was served heading to our next site which was a privately owned island with one or two small settlements on it. The site we were going to go to was too rough so we headed around the island 20 minutes more to another site; Shark Fin Cove, named so because of a rock there that looks like a sharks fin. The ocean was so, so blue heading there, and at this site we were in 55 or so feet, whereas the last one we had mored at 40. We used the slide again; the water was quite blue and the same kinds of fish were there as well, but as the water was deeper we didn't get so close. There was another reef shark, just sitting on the bottom on the ocean for a bit so that was exciting, and then just as we were about to leave we turned around and there was a sea turtle just cruising along. They haven't been seen there for over a year, and it was magical. It moved so effortlessly. We also say a flat fish the blended in really well with the sea floor, some goat fish and a few other colourful fish that hadn't been at the other site. The corral wasn't as beautiful but it had a more rugged feel. It was still amazing though.On the way back to dock we hit some roughish waters and a few people were sick, including Elly, Axel and Becky; half our group. But we made it back and got a free poster each; mines of a sea turtle which I'm pleased with. We did a little souvenir shopping and I got a surf board keyring for either me or Mr P and a shark keyring for Matthew. I wished he'd been there to share the experience with me as he would've loved it even more then I did.We missed the first bus back to Lahaina so we sat around at the general store for an hour until the next one came along and used the wifi. I learnt that Wellington is the windiest port whereas the one we were in in Hawai'i is the second. Also, our first site was used for bomb practice after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, and when we headed to our second site we passed an island that was used for practice as well, but all the bombs haven't been removed so all vessels have to stay 2 nautical miles away from it. (During lunch we had a little history lesson so that was cool; I love history.)We headed out to a new place for dinner, a pizza place. It was quite nice but we were worn out from our day so headed home to bed soon after finishing.

June 8
Today we didn't go to the beach for the first time. We chilled by the pool most of the day and I decided to take myself for a walk. I found the cafe that Justin the hot surf teacher works at, but it was closed. On my way back to the hotel I found some outlet stores and inside Calvin Klein I found a strapless bra; the one thing that I have been looking for since arriving in Canada. Life just simply isn't complete without a strapless bra. There was 25% off that already and they were on the last day of a 30% off your sale price deal. Panties were 3 for $25 too so I decided to walk back to the hotel and get money for them. I also decided to get the maxi I'd seen in Honolulu Surf Co., and to complete my shopping mission I went into the souvenir store for Bubba Gump and found a keyring that I'm going to give to Dad. There was nothing there that said the line he quotes most though: "Me and Jenny go together like peas and carrots" which was a little disappointing. But that's life. When I got back finally I took a dip in the pool with the others and adopted a black tube crop top that had been sitting around on one of the walls all day-score! We all got our own dinners and just blobbed.

June 9
Today while Adam and Axel went scootering around the island and Maria sat by the pool, Becky, Elly and myself took the bus up the island to Black Rock. It's by a resort so we got to see the more glamorous side of Hawai'i; I still prefer our beach that's a little run down and full of character. We didn't leap off the rock until after lunch (we had panini's; I mention this because Becky had been hungering after one since and then it was only Becky and myself as Elly didn't feel like doing it. She instead stayed on the beach and captured the moment we took the leap and when we saw the..but wait. I'm getting ahead of myself.We took the bus at 11am to the next bean up, Ka'almapai or something like that. It was spread in front a massive building complex compromising of high apartment blocks, shopping centre, restaurants and rental shacks. We had a nosey around the craft fair that was set up in the courtyard of one of the hotel buildings and there, if you haven't realised already, confirmed something that I became aware of just the other day; Maui is named after the same dude in the Māori legend that fished up the North Island of New Zealand and whose canoe is the South Island. I thought that was really cool as it made Hawai'i feel like it had a tie to home. Speaking of ties, there was a Shaw Street two blocks over from where we were staying. I'm not saying it's a sign but… Also at the fair was a stand that sold wood sunglasses. They are honestly the most comfortable thing I have ever worn and they were super comfy too. The price we didn't even enquire about as we knew they'd be out of our league but if I was rich I most certainly would have bought a pair.We finally made it to the beach and it was beautiful. Light sands and blue sea lined by palm trees; it was everything the postcards show you. There was no surf break like at our beach but where the waves crashed on the beach it was quite strong and once you were in there was a steep drop off after about only two metres. It was quite fun bobbing in the water and having your head higher then the lowest point of the beach. I'm not sure if I'm describing this beach very well but I hope the photos I took will explain it better.After lunch as Becky and I were waist deep in the surf just about to swim out to Black Rock I saw an object right by us. What at first glance through the water looked like a rock turned out to be a grown sea turtle. It poked it's head out and blew water at us and the others that were around it. Thankfully no one crowded it as I thought it looked a little stressed as it surfaced and puffed water a few times more before it found a way out to deeper water. Seeing a second turtle so close was really cool, but it kind of unsettled us a bit as we didn't really fancy swimming above turtles and not being able to see them to avoid them, but we headed out anyway. Just as we got to the rock I had this weird sense that there was something in the water next to me, and the first thought was: reef shark. But I told myself I was being stupid and just because we'd seen the white tipped reef sharks while snorkelling didn't mean they were here at this busy beach so I calmed the rising panic and clambered up the rock. As we got to the top two guys who'd been sitting there as we approached turned to us and asked: "Did you know you almost touched a turtle as you swum up?" That kind of freaked me out seeing as I'd somehow known there was something near me, and didn't really make me super eager to leap into the sea again. But we did leap, twice in fact and the adrenaline was pretty cool. There's a horrid-yet-thrilling moment after you jump when you feel like you're not getting any closer to the surface of the ocean but yet you still have that loosing-your-stomach feeling that accompanies a fall.. So all in all it was a great girls day. We headed back to the hotel at six a little burnt and rather tired, it's great how fresh air and adventures make you sleep soundly. Again we all got our own dinners, it's nice not going out every night.

June 10/11
Boo-hoo, last day! My, how time has flown. After packing everything up we headed to the beach for a few hours then trooped back to the hotel where we had some BBQ shrimp before heading out for a late lunch-I think every time I have shrimp from now on I'll think of Hawai'i. Captain Jack's has been our 'local' since day one and we had the same waitress as our first day there; she practically knew our order. One last dip in the pool after Jack's and then we were picked up by the Airport shuttle and carted off. We got to watch the sunset on the drive and someone mooned us out their pickup window while we were on the highway..Hawai'i can be so glamorous at times.Going through security was quick and easy this time. I forgot to tell you but while we were going through Vancouver's Airport security we had a few bags that got pulled aside. One was for too large a containers of shampoo and conditioner (Maria), another for not taking the laptop out of it's sleeve (Elly) and mine was pulled aside because I'd forgotten that there was water in my bottle still.  I was also told off before going through the metal detector as I had my beanie in my back pocket and needed to remove it. What criminals we are, trying to destroy the safety and wellbeing of everyone on board!! Jokes, I know that there are rules for a reason, but it was certainly an interesting way to start our trip. Oh, there was a little hiccup going through in Hawai'i, one of my bracelets set the detector off so I had to do the walk twice, but that was it. Seasoned travellers are we now.Our flights went like this; departing Maui at 9:05pm for San Fran-5 hours. Departing San Fran at 6:37am for Denver-2 and 1/2 hours. Departing at 11:20am Denver to Vancouver was meant to be just under 3 hours but the co-pilots seat for some reason was broken so we were delayed for around an hour while a new one was found and attached to our plane. That flight seemed the longest out of all; I think because we were so tired by that stage and sitting in the plane waiting for the seat to be fitted seemed to take forever. Also jumping through all those time-zones does something to you, but we made it to Vancouver and once we got to the car we headed to Granville Island for some much needed lunch as we were all famished. Our delay got us in at half past three in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten since breakfast in San Fran. Those samosas were pure heaven.The girls went shopping for a MacBook for Maria (she has three more flights tomorrow as she's heading back home to England) so the boys dropped me off at the bus station. They're planning on heading back through Banff at some point in their travels of Canada so it wasn't goodbye just yet. Which is good; I despise goodbyes. I'm on the bus now typing this up and we're just about left the greater Vancouver area. Facing 12 hours in this seat isn't terribly appealing but it's been totally worth it.

Mahalo for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoyed it. I view it as your supporting me even if you're just reading it to be nosey and see what I'm up too. ;)

201 Days of Sunshine

Not literally of course. There were days of cloud and lovely days of snow but I was living at Sunshine for 201 days. When written down it seems like a very, very long time but when you live it, it truly does fly. I still can't believe it's over. I've just removed all the photos and videos I've taken on my phone off it and deposited them onto my Mac; there were 793 of them. That may not sound like a lot for how long I've been here and all the things I've done; road tripping from Vancouver to Banff, winning Trappers bar pool competition (still one of the highlights of my season), dog sledding, learning to ride the park, Calgary hockey game, paint balling, staff parties, boarding trips to Panorama, Big White, Norquay, Lake Louise, Castle, Revelstoke, Fernie-not to mention that I've spent a whole seven months with Sunshine's slopes right outside my door. But it's a lot for me as I am the worst at remembering to take photos of anything. Looking back through them all brought back so many memories, some good and others not so thrilling. It's been such an epic journey and I've learnt so much about myself; my weaknesses and flaws, my strengths and my passions. It's something that I will never be able to experience again, the people that I have met will never all be in the same place again. The lessons I've learnt I hope I don't have to learn again (like how one does not clean a wine glass). One of my dear friends, work mates and neighbour described it beautifully: It's been like a dream. We can't make it keep lasting forever but we will always have the memories. It will stick with us forever, in our hearts and our personalities as we have grown to become (hopefully) better, stronger people. Those weren't Lilo's exact words but that's the gist of what he told me three days before we all had to leave; when I was having a little panic attack (and a long held of cry) at the thought of having to pack and leave the place and people I have come to love dearly. I am eternally grateful that I was given this opportunity and I am looking forward to seeing what adventures the next four/five months will bring in the town of Banff.

Speaking of that, I have just started a new job. It's at Evelyn's Coffee Bar, a well established coffee house in Banff. I had an interview with them before I had finished up at Sunshine and had two trial shifts the weekend I moved off hill. Yesterday was the last of them and I start my proper training shifts in two days. There is the opportunity for staff accommodation but I'm still waiting to hear back about that. It was such a blessing having this job lined up coming down from Sunshine as I felt really unsettled about finishing my contract and having to possibly face the very real nightmare of being unemployed for a long while and running out of funds. I'm so thankful that a job was provided for me to move into right away; it's been a massive relief. I'm currently living in the HI hostel in Banff, at a discounted rate as they still give those who were employed by Sunshine cheaper accommodation until the first of June, so that is another blessing.

On June 2nd I bus to Vancouver to catch an early morning flight with some Sunshine friends to Hawaii. I get back to Banff on the 12th and have no other epic travel plans until September-ish when I hope to have saved enough to leave Banff and travel Canada for about three weeks and see the sights before returning to New Zealand.

Anyway, I'll fill you in on what happened the last 23 days we had at Sunshine now.

On the 1st it was Renée's 21'st, and it just so happened that there was a staff Karaoke event organised at Trappers that night so we were able to celebrate her birthday with most of the on hill staff. We dedicate most of our songs to her, much to her embarrassment. But as far as 21st go it wasn't too embarrassing so she got off lightly.

We Housekeepers getting our groove on..now that was an embarrassing moment! (L-R: Becca, Sandra, me, Miriam, Becky, Azralia and Simone)

A few evenings later on the 7th after chilling out in Trappers, some of the staff members decided to hike up a slope of Wawa and have a little bonfire. Someone brought their guitar along and we sat out under the sky plucking random chords until far too the morning. My friend Azarlia somehow managed to slide off the little ridge we were sitting on and into a drift, narrowly missing a tree stump. That girl is the most accident prone individual I have ever met! I was the first to leave, at 4am (even though I started work at 9am) and as I was walking back to my building, Arnica, I noticed the snow underfoot seemed to be moving. I looked up and it was the reflection of the Northern lights. They weren't brilliantly bright but they were still beautiful, and made staying up that late/early definitely worth it.

We had been promised a terrain park lesson on the evening of the 9th which I had been looking forward too, but it got cancelled because the weather wasn't good enough-even though it had been a lovely day and was a clear evening. That was a little disappointing but seeing as the date had kept being pushed back we had guessed that it wouldn't eventuate.

The 12th was another free BBQ dinner for the staff and a volley ball net and a soccer field were set up for some casual games. It was a splendidly sunny summery evening and it was great to all hang out and have good food and play some sports.

The last Trappers party was a pyjama party. There had been votes going on about what we wanted it to be; the top voted one was pyjama, but only because lingerie wasn't deemed an appropriate theme.. The pool table was broken that night so free pool made the evening even better in mine and Azarlia's opinion. (We may have been the ones who accidentally broke it but we're not quite sure how exactly we did it..) Everyone thought that it would be a big final party but it was actually a medium sized crowd which was nice as there was space to breathe and move and you knew everyone so it was more an intimate farewell then a crushed goodbye. Which was lovely.

Myself and Rob (a Kiwi/Aussie) at the pyjama party

A photo of Trapper Jerry (whom Trappers the bar is named after) which hangs in Trappers..the bar.

Not so lovely was the news we woke to the next morning. Some of our staff members had been fooling around after drinking on the back of a moving snowcat, had fallen off and been run over. We were told that he had broken his back, crushed his legs and would be lucky to ever walk again. This shocked us all and made the mood a bit somber as you can imagine for a few days. But it's come out that he only cracked a few ribs and maybe broke the tip off one of his vertebrae. He's one an extremely lucky guy.

The last time I went out (on the 17th) was terribly sad. I really, really love snowboarding and I wish I could chase winter all year round! I do need a new board though..I took a chip out of the nose of my board a few months ago and as I finished my last run I noticed that I'd taken an even bigger chip out of the back of my board..I think because I crashed into a tree. Oh well, at least I broke my board on the last day of my season then half way through it, right?

Myself, Elly, Maria and Becky on our last shred

Monday 19th was Slush Cup, and the last day Sunshine was open to guests. We housekeepers only worked 10-1:30 as all we had to do was strip the rooms as no guests were staying on hill. By the time we finished though a crowd was already gathering around the jump and pit so we gathered in Azarlia's room and watched the live feed on tv and listened to the crowds reaction out the window. Some of the other housekeepers went to the hotel rooms with balconies to watch it so I pinched a photo from Becca to show you what it looked like:

The blue tarpaulin you can see is the pit and the strip of clear snow leading up to it is the slope the skiers and boarders used to gain momentum. Sadly Trappers is in the way of you seeing the full thing.

For those of you who don't know what Slush Cup is I'll explain. A pit is dug, about 6 foot deep and 120 feet long-that is the measurement from the end of the jump to the end of the pit-and this year it was the longest pit in Sunshine Village history so they claim. It's filled with water and slushy snow to keep it chilly, and the aim of the game is to get enough momentum to ski or board over the water without wiping out, in all manner of crazy costumes. Only three or four skiers were able to do so. It was the 86th annual running of the event this year so nutters have been doing this for quite a while.

We Housekeepers in Staff Caf at the Housekeeping Send Off For Sandra Breakfast, the morning of Slush Cup (L-R around the tables: Becca, Karolina, Simone, Miriam, Sven, Azarlia, Toni, me, Sandra, Olivia, Elly, Becky and Mareika.)

Once it was over we casually wandered over to catch the gondola down to base as we had a staff dinner party to get to. It was a low-key event, and almost everyone went into town afterwards for a final party in the clubs. I had my interview at Evelyn's the next afternoon so I didn't catch the 10am bus back up the hill with everyone else, instead I slept in a puddle of sunshine in the park until it was time. Thankfully I was able to catch a ride with Becky in her truck to Sunshine in time for last gondola-I didn't fancy staying another night in town. It was my last ride on the gondola though I didn't know it at the time. We had been told that on Friday when we all had to vacate the hill that the gondola would be running but on Thursday they changed their minds and decided that they were closing it that evening and we would have to catch a snowcat and then a bus to get off. That made moving more difficult but I had wanted to ride in a cat since day one so it was cool to actually be able to tick that off as achieved.

Luggage was loaded onto crates at the front and..

passengers sat in a box on the back of the cat.

On our final day of work (Thursday) we had a chip and drink party as a little send off. We also played pool in the hotel games room on the really nice pool table (we're used to playing on Trappers' table which is notorious for it's curves) which was a treat. Becky and Mareika decorated our laundry room with streamers and wrote this thank you for us. Was a nice surprise to come in to. 

Literally all that we had to do on Thursday was vacuum the rooms. We had cleaned the washrooms the day before so seeing as we had time on our hands, Toni, Azarlia and I dressed up in the shower curtains that had been removed from the rooms. Don't we look dashing? (Photo credit to Toni.)

Oh. It's been the best time and I'm sad this is the last Sunshine dedicated issue of my blog. I say dedicated because the hill is open in the summer for hiking and I'm hoping to make it up there one sung day to see the slopes without snow on them and take a little walk down memory lane..even though I won't have been gone that long at all.

Goodness, it's nearly 20:30. Time flies when you're reminiscing.

Until my next entry (which after I've talked about Hawaii will probably just be about coffees so don't look forward to it too much)..

April Events

The end of next month marks the end of season. Waa!! I'm going to be so sad when we all leave and winter is over but I'm getting excited about summer here and the new adventures waiting to be adventured.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Winter (well technically spring snowboarding) is still happening and there have still been staff events happening. Let me tell you about those.

Firstly we had a bonfire one Monday evening. It was a bit weird as there's light until almost nine now so having a bonfire at six in what seems like broad daylight but nevertheless it was good fun. Free hot chocolate and marshmallows didn't dull the mood either. After the bonfire some of us went to Chimney Corner (the hotel restaurant) for a farewell dinner for Ben, our favourite Australian security guard. Drinks at Trappers followed and poor Ben got lifted up (he's the same height as me, so not the tallest lad around) and duct taped to one of the support poles in Trappers.

That was on the 7th. On Friday 11th Adam, Becky, Elly and I went to Calgary to watch the Calgary Flames take on the Winnipeg Jets. Wednesday 9th there had been a staff trip to the hockey organised but their seats weren't as good and it turns out that Friday was also fan appreciation night so we got a free scarf each and at intervals during the game different sections of the stadium got free stuff thrown at them; shirts, gift cards etc. Our section didn't get anything chucked at it but we weren't crying about that. The Flames lost but the atmosphere was so awesome and it was a bucket list item ticked off.

Mwah, Elly, Becky and Adam

The ice getting prepped

Monday 14th there was a staff six a side soccer tournament with a free BBQ dinner for spectators and players. We housekeepers (plus Axel, my neighbour who works at Trappers during the day in the kitchen) got together a team. We were the only team of mostly all girls; in fact we were the only team with girls. The boys all joked about going soft on us but we won quite convincingly our first game and won the respect and fear of the rest of our opponents. Our next game (which would have seen us through to the final had we won) was decided on penalty shots and we didn't win sadly. The team that won said they were glad they didn't have to play us so that was a nice pat on the back.

The following Monday evening a volley ball net was erected in front of Trappers and a few of us turned up for a fun game. We ended up playing for over two hours until we lost light and the wind chill got us. It's been fun playing sports as we've done nothing sporty at all these past six months.

Wednesday 23rd was the 80's party at Trappers. It coincided with our security supervisors 30th birthday too so double celebration! It was so much fun and everyone really got into the dress up and looked incredible. 

Renée and Matt

Azarlia

80's Housekeepers (clockwise from back): me, Azarlia, Becky, Eva and Elly 

Some of the awesome staff in their getups

Azarlia and Miriam

Friday 25th was paint balling!! So much fun and I even got some bruises..sadly it was only but a few. We left base at ten and got to the field at noon. It took an age to get us all sorted but then we were let loose and played various games on the different fields they had. There were heaps of different ones decorated with burnt out cars and buses and tires in strategic piles and wooden walls and branch stacks..it was epic. Sadly I was having too much fun shooting and getting shot to take any pictures.

Today I went down to base on the skidoo with George. So much fun! We zipped down the ski out to base where he had to unload the garbage from the day out of metal crates into the truck. Poor fellow, none of the crates went smoothly and I now have a new found appreciation for what it is the warehouse guys have to do. Heading back up the ski out was more exciting then going down as the snow had firmed up a bit more so we were able to go faster and take turns tighter. Dad, I still plan on getting a dirt bike when I get home. ;D

Unloading the crates

George working hard

In other news, I have conjunctivitis in both eyes. I had to take the day off today (Sunday) to go to the doctors as I was sent home early yesterday because I couldn't focus and they were really painful. Seeing as it was Sunday and I haven't had a Sunday off all season I took the opportunity to go to church. I Googled Banff churches and Banff Park Church on Cougar Street sounded like the Bible Chapel so that's where I went. It was really weird being in a church again but Canadian churches sing the same songs as Marton churches so I wasn't standing there dumbly like a complete heathen. All in all it seemed pretty legit so I might go there again once season is over. After church I went to the doctors and was told what I already thought; that I have conjunctivitis. There is nothing I can do except let it run it's seven-to-twelve day course-I'm really hoping it's seven days!! I've also a sniffly nose and sore throat which is part of the virus so this week hasn't and won't be the best one I'm guessing. Never mind though!

On that delightful note I shall leave you. We are meant to be having a Karaoke/Bingo night at Trappers on Wednesday (rumour has it) so that should be…interesting. Might let you know how that goes in the next update which might not be until the end of season..can't believe I've nearly been here seven months. Time flies I tell you.

Kia kaha everyone.

March in a Nutshell

I'd better start off with what I missed from February.

We housekeepers went on a group board break one day and chucked some bras we had unclaimed in Lost and Found.

Me, Becky, Olivia and Elly

On the 11th Becky and I did a First Aid course, which was super fun and easy. You'll be glad to know we passed so I can (try to) save a choking you with this new found knowledge.

Below are some photos of Becky's birthday at Norquay.

Norquay Shredding Crew. Rob, Elena, Alan, Rachel, Becky, Alex, Elly, me, Ally, Olivia and Matt.

Myself, Olivia, Elly and Becky

Tubing

That was February.

March.

Nothing interesting happened until Wednesday 13th when we had our pre-St. Patrick's day party at everybody's favourite bar, Trappers. The bar keeps swapped their normal grey uniforms for green, there was green decorations up and best of all-the beer was green. I'd never seen that before (probably because I'd never celebrated St. Patties day before) but I was assured that it's quite common, and there is even a river that gets dyed every year for that one day. I don't want to know what they put in it to make it so. Well actually I do. Even better then green beer was the igloos that we built earlier that evening. Ed, the front desk supervisor and our housekeeping supervisor Mareika decided that we should have a team building exercise so got a guy in to show us how igloos are built. My team consisted of Adam from concierge, Azarlia, Sandra and Eva who work with me. We were the only team to finish our 'inhabitable' igloo-something we are quite proud of. In case you don't know how to build an igloo, you saw blocks of snow, starting smallish and working bigger, slanting them so they lean on each other. They naturally curve in and wind up to become an igloo. Sounds simple but it took us like two or more hours to complete. But such an awesome experience.

Floor planning with Eva and Azarlia

Helping Adam

Eva, myself, Azarlia, Igloo, Adam and Sandra

This was taken just as I broke the doorway..you can see the crack..

Friday 15th we staff had a little movie night in one of the meet rooms of the hotel. It was something to do and quite fun to do something as a group.

Tuesday 18th to Friday 21st I went on a little roadie with Becky, Adam, Matt and Elly. We left Banff after work on the 18th and headed in our red rental to Fernie Ski Resort. Wednesday we boarded all day and Fernie was a really cool resort but unfortunately it had been rained on a week or so prior so even though there was powder on the top under was all rough and bumpy, so that kind of ruined it. We headed to our accommodation in Pincher Creek for the night. Thursday was boarding again, but this time at Castle Ski Resort. The powder there was amazing-easily the nicest pow I've seen in my life. It was a smaller resort and tucked away-the best kept secret ae. We stayed the night again in Pincher and took our sweet time heading back to Banff. It was nice having that whole day to head home as it meant we arrived back at work feeling like we'd had time off, and not like we needed a days rest.

Elly and Becky excited for the 'weekend' boarding

Becky at Fernie

Elly at Fernie

Adam and Matt at Fernie

Becky and Matt at Castle

Elly hugging powder at Castle

A snow storm blew up on our way back to Pincher Creek

Scenery on the way back to Banff

Wednesday 26th I went dog sledding! It was so much fun. Becky, Adam, Elly, myself and a bunch of others from our resort went (it was a trip Employee Services organised for us). Elly and I were in the same sled and we got to drive it. We got a run down of the breeds of the sled dogs before we headed off and interestingly enough Husky's aren't used normally as all the 'work' has been bred out of them in search of their pretty looks. We had a guide with us so had a team of eight. Our leads were called Ofire and Lady. Behind them were Tsunami and her partner whose name I can't remember, then Trixie and Cracken, and finally Cyclone and Baloo. Kraken was my favourite as soon as I saw him so I was really happy when I found out he was on our sled. It was so nice to be near a dog again!

Kraken and I

Dog sledding group

Today we were meant to have a bonfire night with hot chocolate and marshmallows but it's been moved to tomorrow as today we had an avalanche on the Dive and all the trail crew members were there, and not setting up the fire-totally understandable. So next time I'll tell you all about that.

"Magical Blog"

This post is dedicated to George, Olivia and Elly.

Tonight after work Olivia and George and myself sat down to watch a film. We decided on "Easy A" and if you haven't watched it it's formatted in like a video blog. For some reason George asked me if I had a blog; I learned from Olive Pendergast's mistake and confessed that yes I do have one. Before I knew it "Easy A" was forgotten and they were reading my blog-start to finish. George was jealous that he hadn't made it yet so implored me to write this so he could read about himself. So this is really for George Mann, the slurring* English man who lives down my hall.

Before we started the film Olivia (who has just moved into our section coz we're all awesome and is Elly's new roomie) was locked out. We thought at first she was confusing her keys, then that she wasn't  holding the door handle just right (her door it turns out is quite temperamental) but we couldn't open it no matter how many different angels the handle was held-or how hard George ran into the door. We took shelter in George's room listening to Ben Howard until Security Ben came down the hall and saved the day letting us in with his master key. (There you go Olivia, you just need to get a master key and all your problems will be solved.)

They now want me to write about our awesome day yesterday. Sadly, George doesn't make this entry as he was too cool to hang with us. But anyway, after work Olivia, Elly and I went to Becky's for a movie night; it was Iron Man, and the recording cut out just as Jedediah was about to attack Pepper-talk about a cliff-hanger. Once we were all tucked up in bed someone checked aurorawatch which is the website every looks at to see the likelihood of the Northern Lights appearing that night. Yeah. (George's input right there.) It was 91% so we all leap up, chucked jackets and boots on and went out to have a looksie. We could just see the faint green glow from them and got so excited that we started to hike up Wawa. We don't know exactly how tall it is but it's steep and we (numpdies we are) decided to go up the black run. It was quite icy underfoot and thankfully we didn't slide all the way back down. It took probably half an hour to reach the top and by that time the clouds had blown over and we couldn't see the lights anymore. So we sat on the chair that was conveniently perched at the lift and ate chocolate somewhere in the degree of minus teens. Going back down was quicker but scarier as the moon was covered and it felt like your feet were going to slip out from under you and you'd barrel down to the bottom. So Becky, Axel and Olivia got out plastic bags that Axel randomly had in his pockets and slid down on them. Elly and I walked down like goobers.

In the morning we girls jumped on the gondola and caught the bus into Banff. After breakfast at Toulooloo's we traversed the 10km out of Banff to Norquay in yet another bus. There was quite a crew from work there; Security Matt, Rob, Alan, Alex, Ally, Elly, Olivia, Rachel, Becky, Elena and I. We shredded for a while and then headed to tubing where the guys throwing us down the tracks guessed we were work. When we asked why they said it was because we were a large group-it was like being a homeschooler all over again.

Once we left Norquay and reached Banff we checked into our hotel and blobbed until eight. Dinner at Chili's, more hotel blobbing and then clubbing summed up the night. Getting to bed at half two with a half six wake up with a full days work ahead wasn't so exciting but we managed.

And that brings you to Olivia being locked out.

Thanks goes to George's Toronto's Maple Leafs hat which I wore while writing this; and his broad music genre playlist.

*I caught up with George one morning last week while out boarding on Wolverine park and as we were conversing on the way up the lift the subject of accents came up. He joined the club of people who think we say our I's and E's funny and I retaliated by saying his accent sounds slow and mumbling. He laughed and agreed, saying he's been told that he talks really slowly and people fall asleep before he finishes his sentences. (Ohk, I added that last part-but it's a good description!) It's safe to say George will never be a rapper.

George is buggin me to finish so he can read this so I'll stop typing now. Hope this was everything you thought it would be George.

This is The Hat.

More Oddities

This is another post full of catch-up information.

On the 23rd of January I went with some workmates on my first trip to another resort-Lake Louise. It was all our day off so Olivia, Michelle, Sarah and I caught the morning bus from Banff to Lake Louise. With working at the resort I'm at we get to ride there for free and as it's not even an hour trip it was well worth it; bluebird day and a little sprinkling of powder. Woop-woop! It was one of those days where you know that you have improved since first arriving in Canada and I got a complement that made my day; Sarah said I was quite good. (I'm not but it's far lovelier to hear that then that you're terrible and should quit, am I right?) That evening at Trappers was a themed party - Thrift Shop Formal. It was interesting to see how people interpreted that title..some wore horrid old style bridesmaid dress types and others wore a mash-up of tragic clothing articles that probably should have been binned not op-shopped. But it was a good night and entertaining seeing everyones outfits.

This is me at Lake Louise with one of the cool ice sculptures.

With Housekeeping we've been pooling all the tips we find which makes things a lot fairer in this unfair world. The money has been going into the piggy bank but the food, alcohol and other random articles that get left behind get divvied at the end of every day. We've also had the occasional day when Alan the Maintenance man buys us hot chocolates from the hotel cafe, Java Lift and we all sit around in a room (check out, not stay over) and have us a little break. Generally someones found food so we crack that out too. I can't tell you the amount of times we've had these raging parties.. ;) (You might be interested to know that the most common tips are small change, alcohol and three bananas. Honestly, we've found a three banana tip an uncanny amount of times. But we likes it. Free bananas! Who wouldn't love that right?) Anyway, the other Friday we divided the money, finally managed to organise a cover for the late house person shift and went into Banff for our Christmas Work dinner. (Yes, our Christmas work do was in late January but that's how we roll..) It was really fun to get out all together and have a chill meal. And the fact that we were using our tips to pay was the best part - no dipping into our thin pay checks!

My second trip to another resort was to Big White back in British Columbia on the 4th-6th of February.  I went with my rookie Jess and some workmates, Becky, Adam and Elly. To sum the trip up quickly it involved getting on the coach after work at 17:30, a 7 hour trip (with a half hour break in the middle), some sleep in a hostel, riding for two days, getting back on the coach and arriving back in Banff at 2. We didn't get into our beds in the hostel until 3 and with having to get up at 6 for the bus at 7 so we could get back up the mountain for work at 9..I don't think I need to tell you just how tired we were/how long that shift felt. Anyway. It was so cold while we were at Big White! We had to stop every couple of hours to go and warm up as we were literally chilled to the core. I have never had to use toe or hand warmers but we used them both days. And I have never been quiet so sick as I was nearly the whole trip. I've never been able to shake my cold since moving here but I'd had the flu the week before and still wasn't quite over it. But the first day of boarding when I was in the washroom getting ready I got pins and needles in both of my lower arms, then lost feeling in them, my hands clawed up, I felt like I was going to pass out and vomit and my hearing went all cloudy. I freaked out a little and just cried out to God asking Him for help and I gradually gained normalness. I still went out boarding but I called it a day in the mid afternoon and went to bed for two hours before heading out for some dinner and giant jenga. That evening I managed to finally purchase some flu medicine and after taking those I've finally shook the flu but this cold is still hanging around. The second day of boarding (armed with my flu pills) was a lot better and I did my first tree run. That was probably the highlight of my day.

Left to right: me, Elly, Adam and Becky at Big White.

On the 11th of February Becky and I did a First Aid course so I am now qualified up to Level C CPR..so you're safe in my hands..for the next three years.

I've just been on my third trip out and this one was to Panorama on the 13th of February with Reneé and Azarlia. It's about a 2 and a half bus journey and as it was only a day trip and we had to be back by 17:00 for the last gondola we didn't get too long to ride but it was still a good time. I was offered a job there too and decided to turn it down for my current job so I was interested to see what I had refused. Pano has some long runs, like you have to catch three long chair lifts to get to the top and it's an age before you make it back to the bottom. There was heaps of pow as they had just had a dumping so that was fun and also horrible as it had been so long since we'd ridden in powder we'd forgotten you had to ride differently. But once we adjusted our riding style we were sweet.

Reneé and I at Panorama.

And that's about it. I'm off to another resort tomorrow for Becky's birthday. I'll let you know how Norquay goes soon(ish).

For A Realist I'm Pretty Pessimistic

Just as a heads up, you probably won't want to read this entry-it's all complaints and negative thoughts.

I'd been warned that there would be a time where I got tired of being here and would wish to be home but I'd shrugged it off and thought that couldn't possibly happen in my dream land Canada but: that time has come. Gone are my plans to extend my visa for another year and gone is my enthusiasm to be here. I think it's partly to do with coming out of what they call the "honeymoon phase" and constantly being in various stages of sickness but it's mostly because I really don't enjoy my job and I spend all my time working at that job and hardly ever boarding. I tried really hard at the start to overlook all the downs and try keep the positives in focus but there are precious few positives left.

In New Zealand there is the good old She'll Be Right attitude, where we fix something with number 8 wire and duct tape and just get the job done. Here though the She'll Be Right attitude is completely different. Nothing gets fixed or ordered on time and no one cares how that can effect your job/the guests stay. And it seems like there is no use of those good old qualities Initiative and Common Sense.

When we arrived we were told that we were here to have a good time; after all it's a working holiday right? Wrong. For housekeepers anyway. We are the only department on hill that doesn't get ride breaks or shifts that give us time to board so consequently we only get to ride on our days off. And seeing as we work in the hotel and when the snow is good more people come we only get one day a week (sometimes even up to every eight/nine days) off. It's all very disheartening when everyone is talking about how they've boarded every day of the week and are really improved and you haven't improved much at all because you're stuck indoors nine to four thirty-ish working. Take it from me: housekeeping is the worst career ever. I would never have chosen to work in housekeeping back home full time as I really detest it yet here I am doing just that; it's starting to look like I came to Canada to clean rooms when I was meant to come to board. And more and more I feel like I'll need a long holiday as soon as this "working holiday"is over; it's wearing me out (mentally and physically).

It's just gotten on top of me this past week and needless to say I haven't been in the best frame of mind. I just feel like giving up and going home but each time I think that I remind myself there's snow outside and I'll eventually get out there and enjoy it. Little by little though that reminder is losing it's weight.

I've had friends ask me about the possibility of changing departments but the other supervisors don't want to touch a housekeeper-it's like we've got the plague or something. That makes trying for anything new extremely difficult. Also seeing as we are at our full capacity staff-wise there are precious little jobs going.

It's also hard as after a none-stop busy time since opening in mid-November we started to drop in bookings for a few weeks in mid-January and they told us that our hours were going to drop to three working days a week as a result. I was the only one thrilled to hear it as it meant four days to board a week. By the time they implemented it though our bookings were heading back up so we only had that wonderful freedom for about a week. The brief taste I got of what we really came for (in case you hadn't realised, I'm talking about boarding) has made this second dry patch far harder to take.

So in short, I'm starting to dislike Canada. Never thought I'd say that but there it is.

(I first posted this on the 17th and looking back on it it's quite negative so I'll try end this on a better note.) It's not all bad; some days are good, don't get me wrong. Everyone's in a good mood, all the work gets done smoothly and at the end of the day you actually find yourself liking life and enjoying your work and the team you're with. It would be nice though if there were more of those sorts of days.

Little Oddities

[This post isn't really about anything, it's more of a fill in of the difference in stuff over here that I've forgotten to mention.]

If you have never left New Zealand, you will probably have never had to deal with the mocking our accent brings. For some reason people can't understand our 'E' and 'I'. We say 'deck' they think we say 'dick', 'check-in' sounds like 'chicken' and 'Emma' sounds like 'Amma'. The only way to get away from the teasing that follows the pronunciation of one of these or various other words is to say them in a Canadian accent. I learnt that pretty quickly as it got kind of awkward every time I introduced myself; everyone would either ask me to repeat my name and then be like 'Oh! You mean Emma!' or 'Amma, that's an unusual name!' and I'd have to correct them. So now I when I introduce myself I talk Kiwi until my name and then say it Canadianly. I get odd looks but at least I can say my own name right now.

So many odd things here are opposite to home. There are the obvious like driving on the other side of the road but the not so obvious was walking on the opposite side of the pavement. In Vancouver it was difficult to walk as you were dodging people with each step; until I realised where I was going wrong. Light switches are another thing that are different. Normally at home if the switch it flicked up it is off and if it is flicked down it is on. Here it's the other way and it took me a bit to get used to that in the hotel rooms. Also, as I work with a few Brits they call vacuums hoovers, power plugs power sockets and chips crisps. All these odd words are making it into my vocabulary so here's a heads-up; I'm going to sound a bit freakish when I come home. Speaking of home I Skyped there for Christmas and they picked up on a few of the things I saw differently already. As one of my mates here [Azarlia] is from down South in New Zealand she says her 'R' different and as I'm around her all day I now say my 'R' the same as her. Freaky sounding me is already under transformation.

I mentioned in one of my early posts in Vancouver that it was really hot inside everywhere. Good news is that we're now accustomed to the huge temperature variance between in and out. So much so we even feel the need to wear jumpers inside. [Shock and horror right?!] We've had a few chilly days this past month. Today is meant to get down to the early -20s but a few weeks ago it got to round -30 so they shut down the lifts and gondola as it was too cold for the machinery to operate. I had been told that  you couldn't feel that much difference between -20 and -30 and it's true. You're ears and nose just hurt and each breath too. So now when we have days in the minus single digits and early teens it feels positively balmy and we wander around in just shirts.

This thermometer is meant to read -5 or 6 degrees lower then the actual temperature but this is what is read on the day the gondola and lifts shut:

There is a hot tub at the hotel and when we are under 50% full we staff get to use it-it's amazing. The steam condenses and settles on your hair and then freezes, which makes everyone look like they've got grey hair. You can't go out after a shower if your hair is still wet too as it freezes and goes all crunchy like someone clumped too much mousse in it.

On the 12th of December [the night of my operation] there was an event in Banff called Rail Jam. They set up a kicker and rail down a side street surrounded by snow and a pulley gives the boarders enough speed to get up and on. It was really cool watching all the guys and a few girls do it; one of the maintenance workers from the hotel entered and he did really well. No one had too hardcore a stack but there were enough to keep you expectantly on your toes. Totally inspiring too, I decided I'm going to do park one day.

With my injury I wasn't working many hours in the hotel as a housekeeper so I got offered a three hour shift on the 18th of December at front desk while the front desk team had their Christmas dinner in the hotel restaurant. I'd had absolutely no training on front desk previously but I accepted as they said that it would be a really quiet night. I turned up fifteen minutes early to have some time to learn a bit and low-and-behold, they were on the tail end of a rescue operation as two guests had gotten stranded up one of the mountains. That took up my 'training' time so in the end instructions were hastily thrown at me and I was left to it. Thankfully the supervisor had left me a walky-talky to call him on in case there was something I had no clue what to do and not even ten minutes after they had gone upstairs I had to call him down. I had to call someone down about three times that night but each time I was able to learn a bit more so the last five minutes of my shift I felt like I could handle it. Typical. But it was a really good experience to have and actually fun towards the end.

Because I wasn't doing much and the little I was doing was over using my hand I was sent down to Human Resources to help down there. That meant I had to catch the gondola every morning at 7:30 to get down to base for an 8 o'clock start. I didn't mind this daily commute too much as it was great alone time but those cars do get a bit chilly so that wasn't so pleasant. But it was really good working in HR as it helped my hand to heal up and I'm going to be back in the hotel tomorrow. I've really missed my team so it'll be great to be back.

Banff and the Bow Valley being in a National Park are renowned for the wildlife everywhere, but being up here we don't get much variation. There is the occasional bird but that's about it for daily creature spotting. I'd been told that the hotel has pine martins living in it but I hadn't seen any until the other day. It was really exciting to see something different and even though they aren't meant to be approached they are really cute. Azarlia saw a Pika right outside her window a few nights in a row [she's on the ground floor of her building and the snow constantly drifts up to the top of her window; and this Pika had dug a little tunnel right past her window] but the custodians have to clear the windows so the tunnel got dug up and Pika still hasn't returned. She was the only one to have seen him so for a little while the joke was that she had imagined him but as she had been rather attached to the fellow the jokes stopped when he stopped appearing.

I'd better go, but I'll leave you with this. Renee and I went to the Banff Library last week as she had study to do for our staff Fire Crew [I just had the day off] and we saw this little guy right outside the window we were sitting at: