I raised my heavy head to see the edges of my window shades glowing orange. I could hear my flatmates bustling about the bathroom and kitchen getting ready for work, so I knew it was around 6am. Although I was disappointed in myself for not squeezing in more than 2 hours from the last time that I hit the sac, I was happy to have been up at dawn to see the sun rise out of my southward-facing window. The sky was on fire and reminded me of a morning in early May during my sophomore year of college when my roommate, Rachel, woke me at 5am to see a a crimson sky over Harlem. We lived on the 9th floor of Sulzberger tower, at 121st street and Amsterdam with windows facing north and east overlooking Morningside Park and apartment buildings crowned with New York City water towers (one of my most favorite parts of our urban landscape). Like then, my eyes adjusted to the early morning light of May, I grabbed my camera and tried to photograph the rapidly changing canvas. My window overlooking east Christchurch doesn't have views of water towers (or any towers at all), and the highest features of the landscape are the sparse urban trees and the Port Hills in the distance. My new urban cityscape glowed under what was promising to be a crisp and bright late autumn day.This aside, my month has been lacking in adventures. I've been doing heaps of work this month--from essays for my classes to interviews for my research--so I've stuck around town. While I've been itching to travel for weeks, I do enjoy the routines of life here and feeling like I'm a part of the community, albeit a temporary fixture. I ride my bike to uni 4-5 days a week for class, I have my voice lessons with Sacha on Wednesdays and yoga follows. I've done occasional work in the community garden on Fridays, and on Saturdays and Sundays I visit the farmers' and flea markets to stock up on fruits, veggies, eggs, and my favorite homemade pestos and relishes. One week, my friend Emily and I split a bag of persimmons--how's that for local adventure and excitement...
Outside of my daily routines, I've also gained some new skills: cheese making and rock climbing. Knowing that my friend Emily is a big fan of cheese, her flatmate's dad tipped her off to a home cheese-making class being taught by a well known cheese artisan from the north island. Since I share this obsession with her, Emily suggested I join her in attending the full day class. So one warm and bright Saturday morning I drove out to the Langdale Vineyard Restaurant in the farm country just west of Christchurch. After driving up through the vineyard and parking my Subaru beside a stream, I found my way through the restaurant to the winery hall, usually reserved for small events and wine tastings. By the bar, there was a large table set up like a cooking show, with a portable gas stove, large pots, cheese cloth, a cheese press, fresh unpasteurized milk from the farm, thermometers, and sterilization equipment all behind a row of neatly displayed culture kits, handbooks, and other cheese-making
merchandise.I poured myself a coffee and grabbed a freshly baked muffin and sat down at one of the small round tables with the other 15 or so cheese novices, mostly middle aged women from town or the country. There was only one man, looking very rustic in his red flannel, accompanied by his girlfriend. I was surprised to learn that he was a Gouda man, very quiet yet obviously passionate about his cheese. The day started out with Gouda and then moved on to quark (a traditional cottage cheese) and Camembert. Our instructor was a pretty, petite woman with clipped-back yellow hair wearing a long and plain linen skirt, white blouse and wool vest. She looked like she jumped out of an L.L. Bean catalog or Country Home. But Martha Stewart-like looks can be deceiving. She told us her life story of living in Britain, Africa, India, and now New Zealand, where she worked on many farms and honed her skills in cheese factories. A well-guarded craft unique to each region, cheese-making has traditionally been inaccessible to amateurs. So our instructor's mission is to make cheese-making available to anyone and possible at home with basic equipment. (If I don't get around to trying it at home, at least I'll be a more informed cheese consumer.)
It was a wonderful day of learning the ins, outs, and what-have-yous of cheese, which included a gourmet lunch and wine courtesy of the restaurant and its vineyard. Emily and I drove home replete and slightly lethargic, with our cheese-making instructions in hand. So, with a tummy full of good food, some wine, and cheese, I collapsed on my bed and slept for hours.
The other skill I acquired this month was rock climbing. I had done some before, but I had never taken a class. I signed up for 2 sessions of the basics: knots, harnesses, carabiners, and belay techniques. Unlike the cheese-making class, I've been following up on the class, practicing on the small climbing walls at uni and hopefully, one of these days I'll make my way to the Rocks, a large climbing center in town.
Aside from all this, I've seen some concerts including a kiwi band, The Brunettes, gone to Puppetry of the Penis (don't ask, just Google), and been enjoying the local brews with friends.
Cheers,
D
