It has been a bit longer than normally before this update, but I had to concentrate on other issues for a while. Among which:
· House sale
Of course I am far away here on the Mainland (the South Island of NZ is called the Mainland), but this subject was constantly on my mind. We have had a lot of viewers through the house and finally got one offer in. However, that was a few days later withdrawn which was possible on basis of one of the conditions of the contract. So, we are back to square one now and will just see what happens. The market is now really getting into the Xmas slow down, so we do not expect anything to happen between now and February. Therefore Marco has decided to stay in the house and try to upgrade it a bit and market it again at a later stage unless something is going to happen out of the blue.
· Working at Seresin’s Estate
At the end of October my work experience started. The plan was to do as much different work on the vineyard as possible, but at the biodynamic vineyard one of the big problems is weed control. Since no herbicides are used to control these, there are only mechanical ways of controlling the weeds. One of these is a tractor with blades on each side that can cut the weeds from under the vines. Since my start my main task has been to drive this tractor. I must admit that it is quite boring work, but with some music via the iPod it is bearable. Apart from that I have done a little bit of shoot thinning and some wire lifting. We are in the middle of the growing season and because of the rain early on and the sunny conditions of the last weeks the vines grow like mad. So not to get too much vigour on the vines it is necessary to get rid of some of the shoots, so to be able to get enough energy from the plant to the fruit instead of to the leaves. Furthermore, the grapes need sunlight to ripen and an excess vigour would prevent the sun to get to the grapes.
· Integrating in Blenheim
I have also been busy with trying to make some contacts in and around Blenheim. This is not always very easy, but that is mainly my own problem. I haven’t yet joined a group of any kind via which I could meet people, but on the other hand slowly I start recognising people in town. It all just takes time and I realise that Welly Rocks in Wellington was a perfect opportunity to meet a great bunch of people!
· Final exam results?
We still did not receive our final results back – they were promised for the end of November, but heya this is laidback rural New Zealand. So, I guess it will take until January to get the results to everyone – LOL.
· Outward Bound Scholarship
In the mean time I had applied for a scholarship for a course at Outward Bound, see: http://www.outwardbound.co.nz/. This will be awarded on 17 December and I do not exactly know at this moment what and when it will be, but I am very excited to have won this scholarship. Some people who have done a course at Outward Bound say that it was a life-changing experience! Could even more be changing in my life – sometimes I have the feeling that it has been enough since the last few years, but on the other hand I have never a dull moment and can not easily get bored this way!
· “Cadetship”
Via our school an opportunity was presented to the first year students that had passed all exams and that at least had residency in NZ to apply for a ‘cadetship’ at one of the wineries/vineyards in Marlborough. The place is The Crossings, see: http://www.thecrossings.co.nz/. It meant that they offered a workplace for two years during which a student would work full time and finish the last year of studies online during that two year period. This sounded like a great opportunity for me so I applied and was offered the position!!! However, it turned out that the school can not produce all the papers on line that are needed, so probably I will be working 4 or 3 days a week and attend classes on the other day(s). The details need to be finalised but I will probably start somewhere in January. I plan to have a bit of a cycling holiday first, because I will have very busy times ahead of me.
This was my ‘news’ of the month in brief. Tomorrow I will be travelling to Wellington to finalise my ‘life’ there: packing stuff, having a splitting up gathering at our house, attending a concert, drinking some wines etc. etc.
Never a dull moment!
And most of the time I am able to keep on smiling……..
Cheers,
Anita
04/12/2008
02/11/2008
Life Goes On
First of all a big ‘THANK YOU’ for all the kind reactions on the last news – it was heart warming! I will try to send a personal message to everyone, but this might take a while.
Although my private life is in turmoil lately, my day to day life in Blenheim had to go on as well, since a lot was on the horizon. I attended classes and wrote some more reports for two weeks after my return from the last trip to Wellington! It was like the report writing would never end.
One of the big advantages, however, of doing a wine course is that you have to do a lot of tastings – also as part of the curriculum, so often we had an afternoon sensory class, meaning we learn about the wines and that needs tasting the wines!!
Although my private life is in turmoil lately, my day to day life in Blenheim had to go on as well, since a lot was on the horizon. I attended classes and wrote some more reports for two weeks after my return from the last trip to Wellington! It was like the report writing would never end.
One of the big advantages, however, of doing a wine course is that you have to do a lot of tastings – also as part of the curriculum, so often we had an afternoon sensory class, meaning we learn about the wines and that needs tasting the wines!!
Finally we have been able to bottle our white and rose wines (see picture) – and we will be bottling the red wine soon. Faster than planned the study week was there and then the exams even!!! Needless to say that I didn’t get the preparation I had wanted with too many things going on in my mind, but I gave it my best try and in the mean time the first – positive – result was received, yiippiiieee!!! At first I was a bit disappointed that it was ‘only’ a B+, but when I realised I had the 4th highest mark out of 25 students, I was quite proud of myself.
After the exams it was time to go to do some vineyard experience again. Luckily I have been able to get a casual job again at Seresin Estate, the bio-dynamic vineyard/winery where I also did my pruning experience during winter. I started here last week and slowly try to get into the work routine again. I will be trying to work during most of the summer period to be able to go on studying next year.
With regards to the selling of the house, I can only mention that we have had two open homes and that the tender closes this Wednesday. Please keep your fingers crossed!!
Cheers,
Anita
25/10/2008
House for Sale
All Dutchies will remember this song from way back:
'House for Sale' by Lucifer
"The sign went up one rainy morning just a couple of hours after dawn
Mrs. Hanley peeked out through her curtains, wondering what was going on
The neighbors said over coffee cups, that nice young couple is breaking up
In the living room the crystal and the linen sit all packed and set to go
I tell myself once more I won't be here this spring to see my roses grow
And all the things you tried to fix, the roof still leaks, the door still sticks
House for Sale
You can read it on the sign
House for Sale
It was yours and it was mine
And tomorrow some strangers will be climbing up the stairs
To the bedroom filled with memories
The one we used to share I know you always loved that painting
From that funny little shop in Spain
Remember how we found it
When we ducked in from that sudden summer rain
But I think I'll keep the silver tray
My mother gave us on our wedding day
House for Sale..."
To hear the song click here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df_DqGQTKTk&feature=related
Unfortunately, I have to inform all of you, that we are in this situation at the moment. The sign ‘For Sale’ has gone up this week and this and next weekend we will have Open Homes for interested viewers.
We had to decide to put the house on the market since our relationship is not working anymore. Some of you will be surprised, others maybe not. Of course living apart for a while has not helped with preventing this situation, but it is definitely not the (only) reason. We have gone through some rough times lately, as you can imagine while going through separation and will try to settle everything in a friendly way. The first major thing though is to try to sell the house, since this will give both of us more financial flexibility. With the present house market this might cause a problem, but we have a good real estate agent and are confident that it will all work out. It is a shame to have to sell, but on the other hand not a real drama, since it is only about money. Luckily we are both healthy and will have to go on with our lives and as soon as the finances etc. are settled we will be able to do so.
A real final divorce like we know that in The Netherlands will take a while, however, since in New Zealand you have to live separate for two years before you can officially divorce, so the official break up will take much longer. But for NZ law we have separated and will be regarded as ‘singles’.
I hope we haven’t shocked any of you too much with this news.
And I would have a lot more to tell you, like the exams that I just finished and my wines, but I will leave that for next time.
Cheers,
Anita
'House for Sale' by Lucifer
"The sign went up one rainy morning just a couple of hours after dawn
Mrs. Hanley peeked out through her curtains, wondering what was going on
The neighbors said over coffee cups, that nice young couple is breaking up
In the living room the crystal and the linen sit all packed and set to go
I tell myself once more I won't be here this spring to see my roses grow
And all the things you tried to fix, the roof still leaks, the door still sticks
House for Sale
You can read it on the sign
House for Sale
It was yours and it was mine
And tomorrow some strangers will be climbing up the stairs
To the bedroom filled with memories
The one we used to share I know you always loved that painting
From that funny little shop in Spain
Remember how we found it
When we ducked in from that sudden summer rain
But I think I'll keep the silver tray
My mother gave us on our wedding day
House for Sale..."
To hear the song click here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df_DqGQTKTk&feature=related
Unfortunately, I have to inform all of you, that we are in this situation at the moment. The sign ‘For Sale’ has gone up this week and this and next weekend we will have Open Homes for interested viewers.
We had to decide to put the house on the market since our relationship is not working anymore. Some of you will be surprised, others maybe not. Of course living apart for a while has not helped with preventing this situation, but it is definitely not the (only) reason. We have gone through some rough times lately, as you can imagine while going through separation and will try to settle everything in a friendly way. The first major thing though is to try to sell the house, since this will give both of us more financial flexibility. With the present house market this might cause a problem, but we have a good real estate agent and are confident that it will all work out. It is a shame to have to sell, but on the other hand not a real drama, since it is only about money. Luckily we are both healthy and will have to go on with our lives and as soon as the finances etc. are settled we will be able to do so.
A real final divorce like we know that in The Netherlands will take a while, however, since in New Zealand you have to live separate for two years before you can officially divorce, so the official break up will take much longer. But for NZ law we have separated and will be regarded as ‘singles’.
I hope we haven’t shocked any of you too much with this news.
And I would have a lot more to tell you, like the exams that I just finished and my wines, but I will leave that for next time.
Cheers,
Anita
27/09/2008
Holidays?
School
Life at school is getting a little bit hectic lately. All the assignments need to be handed in at the last moment and a lot of the information needed was only available just in time. So, not able to plan a lot ahead and this has forced me to get into the Kiwi-style of organising – I must admit that I am getting better and better at it. My desk at home, however, looks great these days with some tulips from the landlord's garden.
Finally, on Friday 19 September we have a break in our schedule and I really feel like holiday, I organise a basic wine tasting at our house. It was again a very enjoyable gathering, but unfortunately we have to send the guests away around midnight to not annoy our landlord too much. For me that wasn’t bad anyhow, since I have to get up early to fly to Wellington
My week in Wellington
Saturday
Since I have the car in Blenheim, Marco rented a car for two days so we could explore the Wellington region. On Saturday he picked me up from the airport (what a luxury in stead of having to go on two buses) and we headed for the Wairarapa. Here we started with some coffee at the Martinborough Hotel and spent the rest of the day tasting wines at different wineries. For me it was very interesting to hear the different philosophies and types of wines. This area is especially famous for its Pinot Noir and – although I am not a real lover of Pinot Noir – I have tasted some really good ones here!
In the evening we had dinner with a Spanish friend of Marco’s who comes from a huge wine growing area and family in the wine industry in Spain. We had a nice meal with good Spanish wine!
Sunday
On the Sunday we went to Eastbourne to let the wind go through the hairs. It was a typical Wellington day: grey, windy and some drizzle. Oh, how lucky I am to live in Sunny Blenheim. We also went for a walk on the beach on the Kapiti Coast before heading back to Wellington and to spend some lazy time at home.
Monday
Then it was time for me to do a bit of housework, not too much though, since I had scheduled some meetings. First met up with a good Dutch friend living in Wellington and later on I had a good time – while having a few Daiquiri’s – with three girl friends. We had good laughs and my belly and jaws were still hurting the next day. But a good start of the week, I must admit!
Tuesday
On the Tuesday I even managed to fit in another catch up with an American girl friend, which I had not seen since a while. Another very enjoyable evening out in town! And very relaxing after all the housework.
Wednesday
On the Wednesday I travel out to the Kapiti Coast on the train. I had never done this train trip before, but unfortunately, it was real Wellington weather again, so I did not get a good look at the Kapiti Island etc. I visited good friends in Paraparaumu, whom I had not seen since a long time either. I spent a very enjoyable afternoon and evening and ate ‘Erwtensoep’ (Pea Soup) for the first time of my life. Lovely!
Life at school is getting a little bit hectic lately. All the assignments need to be handed in at the last moment and a lot of the information needed was only available just in time. So, not able to plan a lot ahead and this has forced me to get into the Kiwi-style of organising – I must admit that I am getting better and better at it. My desk at home, however, looks great these days with some tulips from the landlord's garden.
I have mentioned before that the subjects for this semester are not the easiest, most ‘sexy’ ones and therefore we struggle a bit at times. It will be interesting to see how many of our class of 25 will pass all of the exams and be back for the second year in Feb’09.
Finally, on Friday 19 September we have a break in our schedule and I really feel like holiday, I organise a basic wine tasting at our house. It was again a very enjoyable gathering, but unfortunately we have to send the guests away around midnight to not annoy our landlord too much. For me that wasn’t bad anyhow, since I have to get up early to fly to Wellington
My week in Wellington
Saturday
Since I have the car in Blenheim, Marco rented a car for two days so we could explore the Wellington region. On Saturday he picked me up from the airport (what a luxury in stead of having to go on two buses) and we headed for the Wairarapa. Here we started with some coffee at the Martinborough Hotel and spent the rest of the day tasting wines at different wineries. For me it was very interesting to hear the different philosophies and types of wines. This area is especially famous for its Pinot Noir and – although I am not a real lover of Pinot Noir – I have tasted some really good ones here!
In the evening we had dinner with a Spanish friend of Marco’s who comes from a huge wine growing area and family in the wine industry in Spain. We had a nice meal with good Spanish wine!
Sunday
On the Sunday we went to Eastbourne to let the wind go through the hairs. It was a typical Wellington day: grey, windy and some drizzle. Oh, how lucky I am to live in Sunny Blenheim. We also went for a walk on the beach on the Kapiti Coast before heading back to Wellington and to spend some lazy time at home.
Monday
Then it was time for me to do a bit of housework, not too much though, since I had scheduled some meetings. First met up with a good Dutch friend living in Wellington and later on I had a good time – while having a few Daiquiri’s – with three girl friends. We had good laughs and my belly and jaws were still hurting the next day. But a good start of the week, I must admit!
Tuesday
On the Tuesday I even managed to fit in another catch up with an American girl friend, which I had not seen since a while. Another very enjoyable evening out in town! And very relaxing after all the housework.
Wednesday
On the Wednesday I travel out to the Kapiti Coast on the train. I had never done this train trip before, but unfortunately, it was real Wellington weather again, so I did not get a good look at the Kapiti Island etc. I visited good friends in Paraparaumu, whom I had not seen since a long time either. I spent a very enjoyable afternoon and evening and ate ‘Erwtensoep’ (Pea Soup) for the first time of my life. Lovely!
Thursday
Then on the Thursday it was back to assignment writing, but luckily we had an invite at the Spanish friend’s place, so we enjoyed a nice Tortilla (Spanish omelette) and some more Spanish wine.
Friday
On the Friday I had to finalise my schoolwork (I nearly managed to finish one of the three assignments) and after that I headed to the Police Bar where Marco was already having some beers. We were even able to catch up with friends for a little while in the Belgian pub in town before we went to the Town Hall to see the famous Wellington band “Black Seeds” perform (they are heading to the UK soon), see: http://www.theblackseeds.com/hifi.html
Saturday
On Saturday it was brunch time with our neighbours/friends in town which is becoming a kind of ‘tradition’ in the mean time. After which I had to do some shopping in the big smoke. However, some stuff I wanted wasn’t even available in the capital of NZ.
Sunday
Now it is Sunday and the weather looks nice. We might go to Tulip Sunday in the Botanic Gardens before heading to the pub for another Welly Rocks Meeting. After that it will be time for me to fly back to Blenheim!
Then on the Thursday it was back to assignment writing, but luckily we had an invite at the Spanish friend’s place, so we enjoyed a nice Tortilla (Spanish omelette) and some more Spanish wine.
Friday
On the Friday I had to finalise my schoolwork (I nearly managed to finish one of the three assignments) and after that I headed to the Police Bar where Marco was already having some beers. We were even able to catch up with friends for a little while in the Belgian pub in town before we went to the Town Hall to see the famous Wellington band “Black Seeds” perform (they are heading to the UK soon), see: http://www.theblackseeds.com/hifi.html
Saturday
On Saturday it was brunch time with our neighbours/friends in town which is becoming a kind of ‘tradition’ in the mean time. After which I had to do some shopping in the big smoke. However, some stuff I wanted wasn’t even available in the capital of NZ.
Sunday
Now it is Sunday and the weather looks nice. We might go to Tulip Sunday in the Botanic Gardens before heading to the pub for another Welly Rocks Meeting. After that it will be time for me to fly back to Blenheim!
I could definitely use a holiday now……….. but back to ‘business’ tomorrow. Another two weeks of classes, a week of study and then it is exam time.
Cheers,
Anita
Cheers,
Anita
07/09/2008
School trip Nelson/Motueka
Last week I was on a school trip to the North Western region of the South Island to experience the vineyards and wineries in that area as part of my studies. The approach there is really different. While in Marlborough the vineyards and wineries are very big and a lot are owned by huge foreign companies, in the Nelson region most are still family-owned. Therefore, the approaches are very individual and we have seen a lot of different philosophies about growing grapes and making wines. Of course the biggest part of the trip consisted of tasting wines – and while we got to taste wines at the wineries, we did a lot of wine tasting ourselves in the evening in the backpackers in Motueka where we stayed. And even for serious wine students tasting wine can get boring, so we changed to beer for one evening. One of the classmates organised a 25 litres keg, but it was not enough and we finally drank wine as well (can’t remember a lot of that night, only that I slept for about two hours at the most). Motueka is a nice little town close to the beach – a few of us even managed to get away one afternoon to enjoy Kaiteriteri and surroundings. It was a lovely, sunny afternoon and we walked along the beach and collected sea shells – it was like holiday! It was a shame however that I couldn’t get away from the school group very much apart from that to explore a bit more of the scenery and integrate with the locals. After the classmates left for Blenheim I decided to stay in Nelson and spent two nice, quiet days there. What did I do in this nice town that I often refer to as ‘little Wellington’: hanging around, watching movies, visiting galleries, eating and drinking etc. Just the things you normally do on a small city trip.
Back in Blenheim it is time to write a few reports, two of which are very important but very difficult as well. Not really looking forward to the upcoming busy weeks, but heya that’s life of a student. You can’t have fun every day! (although it should be possible).
And of course I also have to work in the library again.
Back in Blenheim it is time to write a few reports, two of which are very important but very difficult as well. Not really looking forward to the upcoming busy weeks, but heya that’s life of a student. You can’t have fun every day! (although it should be possible).
And of course I also have to work in the library again.
So, that’s it for now – two weeks and then I am spending one very long week in Wellington!
Cheers,
Anita
23/08/2008
Just a wee update
School
The subjects that we have to study during this semester are completely different in several aspects than the ones in the first semester and I have huge trouble to get my head around them! The subjects are: Plant Science, Soils and Weeds, Pests & Diseases. These subjects are of course very important and interlinked. Since my focus is on Bio Dynamics I try to take this perspective, which doesn’t make it any easier – not for me and not for the tutors!
One of the tests for Plant Science was around herbicides. In practice this meant that we had to prepare several herbicides and spray them in a certain part of the school garden. As some of you may guess, I did not want to do this and needed to have a talk with the tutor. He, luckily, was very understandable and thus I could pull out of this (in my opinion unnecessary) experiment.
A same approach I wanted to take in the assignment for Weeds, Pests & Diseases where we have to write a spray management programme for a vineyard. I have tried to change this into a Bio Dynamic approach but have troubles finding the necessary information and I will possibly not be able to get enough marks by doing it this ‘alternative’ way. So, I had to go back to Plan A, just do what the tutor asks you to do (not easy for Anita).
Some of you have asked me about the wines we were making. These are about finished but we would need to filter these wines before we are able to bottle our top quality products. However, the filter machine in the school vineyard is broken and so we have to wait, and wait and wait a bit more………to be continued.
Weather
A few weeks ago it was suddenly like an ‘upside down’ world in the Marlborough (the area where Blenheim is located). It rained very heavily for a few days, resulting in extreme flooding in and around town. Not a usual sight in this mainly dry area. Roads were blocked and it caused damage to houses. However, we were very lucky in comparison with other areas of the country where damage was more severe.
Sports
Lately I have not been sporting very much. I have tried playing badminton, which was great but caused me a calf injury, keeping me from playing soccer. Then I started playing soccer again and I injured my foot, so now I am totally out of action, although I try to go to the gym whenever I have some ‘spare time’.
Marco in Blenheim & house sitting
This weekend I have been asked to housesit for friends who have a cat that needs to be looked after. The house is located in between the vineyards, sheep and looks out on the snow capped mountains. In short, a real holiday destination.
The subjects that we have to study during this semester are completely different in several aspects than the ones in the first semester and I have huge trouble to get my head around them! The subjects are: Plant Science, Soils and Weeds, Pests & Diseases. These subjects are of course very important and interlinked. Since my focus is on Bio Dynamics I try to take this perspective, which doesn’t make it any easier – not for me and not for the tutors!
One of the tests for Plant Science was around herbicides. In practice this meant that we had to prepare several herbicides and spray them in a certain part of the school garden. As some of you may guess, I did not want to do this and needed to have a talk with the tutor. He, luckily, was very understandable and thus I could pull out of this (in my opinion unnecessary) experiment.
A same approach I wanted to take in the assignment for Weeds, Pests & Diseases where we have to write a spray management programme for a vineyard. I have tried to change this into a Bio Dynamic approach but have troubles finding the necessary information and I will possibly not be able to get enough marks by doing it this ‘alternative’ way. So, I had to go back to Plan A, just do what the tutor asks you to do (not easy for Anita).
Some of you have asked me about the wines we were making. These are about finished but we would need to filter these wines before we are able to bottle our top quality products. However, the filter machine in the school vineyard is broken and so we have to wait, and wait and wait a bit more………to be continued.
Weather
A few weeks ago it was suddenly like an ‘upside down’ world in the Marlborough (the area where Blenheim is located). It rained very heavily for a few days, resulting in extreme flooding in and around town. Not a usual sight in this mainly dry area. Roads were blocked and it caused damage to houses. However, we were very lucky in comparison with other areas of the country where damage was more severe.
Sports
Lately I have not been sporting very much. I have tried playing badminton, which was great but caused me a calf injury, keeping me from playing soccer. Then I started playing soccer again and I injured my foot, so now I am totally out of action, although I try to go to the gym whenever I have some ‘spare time’.
Marco in Blenheim & house sitting
This weekend I have been asked to housesit for friends who have a cat that needs to be looked after. The house is located in between the vineyards, sheep and looks out on the snow capped mountains. In short, a real holiday destination.
I picked up Marco from the airport in the morning (missing part of my lectures) and we drove to Picton to enjoy this village, which mainly exists because of the ferry terminal to/from Wellington. It is lovely located on the sea and the Marlborough sounds. Here we walked and sat around a bit – watching the (very slowly paced) life go by.
We also watched a rugby match in Blenheim – unfortunately, the regional team “Tasman” lost pretty badly from the visiting Hawke’s Bay side.
Now, we have another week at school and then we are out on a 4 day school trip to the Nelson and Motueka area (the western side of the top of the South Island). This will be filled with visiting vineyards and wineries; a lot of wine tasting will be part of the trip. Needless to say, that I am very much looking forward to spend some time out of the Marlborough region and experience other places where grapes are grown and wine is made in different ways.
Cheers,
Anita
24/07/2008
The Life of a Viticulture Student
Pirate Party
To get rid of the exam stress, some classmates organised a pirate party. Since this was in the middle of Euro 2008 where at that stage Holland was very successful, I decided to add a bit of orange to the party.
The party was a huge success and it lasted until the next day and was still going on when I finished my casual Sunday afternoon job in the library at 16.00 hours.
Work on the vineyard
After the release of the stress, it was time to start doing the real work. In this case we had to do two weeks of pruning experience in a vineyard. I chose to go to the Biodynamic vineyard where I had been before. Since it is middle of winter I was prepared for some very cold starts. I had to get up around 6 am to be able to start work at 7:30 am. A few of those mornings the car was frozen, so it took a while before I could drive away. As a real kiwi I do not use a scraper to de-ice my windows, but just turn on the motor and switch the airco on full warmth. After five minutes the windows are clear. This is not the most environmental friendly way of dealing with the problem, however. The cold however was more of a problem first thing in the morning. Waking up in a room/house that has the same temperature as the air outside (a few degrees minus) is not very comfortable. However, as soon as you are in the car and get warm, it’s okay and while working on the vineyard I have hardly been cold at all.
Apart from the pruning work I was able to do some other things as well, like there were: making of compost, adding the bio-dynamic preparations to these compost heaps, extensive morning teas, attending staff meetings and…… Tai Chi sessions! The latter was a great intensive at this vineyard.
The support from the colleagues was very good as well. They are all very friendly people with a great approach to everything living. It was very refreshing to be able to be part of their team for a few weeks.
For pictures, see: http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/AnitasTourDeAotearoa/Blenheim/Pruning%20Experience/?start=20
Wellington
Just before the end of the full four weeks I decided that I deserved a trip to Wellington, before the start of the next semester. Here I started with a Girls’ Night Out in town: having some drinks and dinner, seeing Mamma Mia (the movie), having some more drinks and dance the night away. It was a fantastic night out and we, girls, are already looking forward to the next one.
Back to school
And then, suddenly it was 14 July – back to school day. We started with a day of First Aid Course, which is part of the curriculum. The rest of the week was filled with trying to get back into the routine and see what the papers of this semester are about. They do not sound very interesting: Soils – Weeds, Pest and Diseases - Plant Science, but luckily we also still have the production of our own wine to do. Our rosé is ready to bottle, but we have to wait for the right equipment to arrive. We are doing trials with our red wine, that is partly spoiled by bad bacteria, but hopefully we can still make something ‘drinkable’ out of the 150 litres. And then there is my own Sauvignon Blanc which is not too bad at all. This is also very close to bottling.
By the way, the first exam results were above expectation – so it seems that I am on the right track.
As you can all read from the above I have not been bored the last weeks and will not easily get bored the upcoming months with the subjects that I have to study.
Cheers,
Anita
To get rid of the exam stress, some classmates organised a pirate party. Since this was in the middle of Euro 2008 where at that stage Holland was very successful, I decided to add a bit of orange to the party.
The party was a huge success and it lasted until the next day and was still going on when I finished my casual Sunday afternoon job in the library at 16.00 hours.
Work on the vineyard
After the release of the stress, it was time to start doing the real work. In this case we had to do two weeks of pruning experience in a vineyard. I chose to go to the Biodynamic vineyard where I had been before. Since it is middle of winter I was prepared for some very cold starts. I had to get up around 6 am to be able to start work at 7:30 am. A few of those mornings the car was frozen, so it took a while before I could drive away. As a real kiwi I do not use a scraper to de-ice my windows, but just turn on the motor and switch the airco on full warmth. After five minutes the windows are clear. This is not the most environmental friendly way of dealing with the problem, however. The cold however was more of a problem first thing in the morning. Waking up in a room/house that has the same temperature as the air outside (a few degrees minus) is not very comfortable. However, as soon as you are in the car and get warm, it’s okay and while working on the vineyard I have hardly been cold at all.
Apart from the pruning work I was able to do some other things as well, like there were: making of compost, adding the bio-dynamic preparations to these compost heaps, extensive morning teas, attending staff meetings and…… Tai Chi sessions! The latter was a great intensive at this vineyard.
The support from the colleagues was very good as well. They are all very friendly people with a great approach to everything living. It was very refreshing to be able to be part of their team for a few weeks.
For pictures, see: http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/AnitasTourDeAotearoa/Blenheim/Pruning%20Experience/?start=20
Wellington
Just before the end of the full four weeks I decided that I deserved a trip to Wellington, before the start of the next semester. Here I started with a Girls’ Night Out in town: having some drinks and dinner, seeing Mamma Mia (the movie), having some more drinks and dance the night away. It was a fantastic night out and we, girls, are already looking forward to the next one.
Back to school
And then, suddenly it was 14 July – back to school day. We started with a day of First Aid Course, which is part of the curriculum. The rest of the week was filled with trying to get back into the routine and see what the papers of this semester are about. They do not sound very interesting: Soils – Weeds, Pest and Diseases - Plant Science, but luckily we also still have the production of our own wine to do. Our rosé is ready to bottle, but we have to wait for the right equipment to arrive. We are doing trials with our red wine, that is partly spoiled by bad bacteria, but hopefully we can still make something ‘drinkable’ out of the 150 litres. And then there is my own Sauvignon Blanc which is not too bad at all. This is also very close to bottling.
By the way, the first exam results were above expectation – so it seems that I am on the right track.
As you can all read from the above I have not been bored the last weeks and will not easily get bored the upcoming months with the subjects that I have to study.
Cheers,
Anita
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