Mandarin Picking

Ola, como estas? (Spanish: Hi, how are you?)



I got a job picking mandarin oranges on Monday and it was my first day as well as LAST day at work! Yes, picking mandarin is not an easy job but differentiating those fruits with a little patch of green that I'm not supposed to pick is even harder. Yes, you guess it right, I'm colour blind. Yellow fruits are good to pick but reflection from the sunlight made all fruits on the tree look the same so I end up not knowing which one to pick. I didn't tell the boss before starting out that I'm not good with colours but I think somehow he knew something wasn't right when so much good fruit were left on the trees even after he taught me several times on what to pick. Anyway, I confessed later that day and he said he'll try to pull some strings and find me a job in one of the local packhouses. So I got paid NZD70 (NZD56 after tax) for picking a bin (one bin is about 1 cbm) that Monday. Nevermind-lah, it's enough to cover my rent for half a week already.


The lodge is more lively in the evening now as there many backpackers from South America. Loud Spanish music is becoming the norm here but the English backpackers call it dodgy music.


It's only autumn but the weather gets really chill by 5 pm and my fingers are freezing. This is only the 'winterless' North Island. Not sure how I'll survive on the South Island in July.


Adios (Bye).

Regards,
VIENTO (It's 'Weng' in Spanish; given by my Uruguay dorm-mates)


Pictures: House lights are out by 11 pm & a typical evening at the lodge dining area.