April 27, 2008 8:30 pm, Waipu, New Zealand (North Island)
Waihoihoi Lodge
"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your inner contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments." -Elizabeth Gilbert "Eat, Pray, Love"
Yesterday I arrived at Waihoihoi Lodge, a gorgeous women's retreat center in Waipu, about 2 hours north of Auckland. It is a beautiful building, with vaulted ceilings, ocean views, and a huge organic garden outside. Most importantly . . . . I have my own room and bathroom!! I am WWOOFing here . . . which means I am working in exchange for room and board. For about 4 hours work a day I am fed delicious meals and I get my own room. So far work has included cleaning, cooking, and gardening. It feels rather like a weekend at home. I have plenty of free time, I get to sleep in (breakfast isn't until 8:30), and there are two dogs to play with. Free internet, cable TV, tea time all day . . . today we visited the beach, went for an amazing bush walk along the coast, and then we came back to the lodge and I baked cookies. I also helped Cerridwen make Spinach and Feta scones which turned out fabulously.
Needless to say, I am happily enjoying myself. It is such a blessing to be in one place, able to relax into my settings and feel at peace. I am really enjoying the work, both digging in the dirt, and the normal routine of cooking and cleaning. It does make me miss my parents house and their garden! I'm looking forward to enjoying it this summer. Mom and Dad- make sure to plant some Lemon Verbena so I can make that cream&fruit dish!
Oh! And this morning I went to mass with Danielle in a nearby town. Some of the prayers were said in Maori, which was very interesting. I was so happy to be at mass, and the priest (who had met me before mass), made sure to welcome anyone from abroad, "especially visitors from Massachusetts." The three women here are a mix of Catholic and Anglican. Today a guest arrived, a young Anglican woman priest who works in Wellington. The whole retreat has a lovely spiritual feel to it, and the mealtime conversations can be intense.
Funny note: Upon entering Waipu, you are greeted with a sign, "Waipu, Cead Mile Failte!" What is the Gaelic for "A Hundred Thousand Welcomes" doing in this small New Zealand town? It turns out that this was originally a Scottish settlement, and there is a strong Celtic heritage here. While playing with the dogs at the beach today, we actually saw a bagpipe practice!
I will check in again (trying to keep in touch more, obviously!!! Love you Mom!!!!!) soon!
Lots of Love
Anna
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Ceid Mile Failte!
Posted by
Anna T.
at
1:32 AM
Labels: new zealand
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Anna--Daddy and I were north alog th ecoast from where you are, in Paihai/Paihui?, east of kaoheke. The place is where "first contact' was mak=de, between the Brits and the Maori. I remember seeing where you are from teh raod, though, or at least looking out on the bay and sahying to daddy that it looked like polynesia! Glad you got to such a lovely mass. Love you so much--mom
Hey anna, it's Eric. long time no chat. I figured after our first conversation through gmail that I'd be lucky and catch you on at the same time I am. Oh well, I guess that's not the case. Everything sounds so amazing and new. I'm stuck here in the same boring routine every day. Haha, ugh...
What's this about summer at your parents' house? What about Maine to see the guy from Israel? I told they folks at work about him, and they were making church bell noises as a joke.
did your cookies taste good?????
I hope so!!!!!!!!!! I miss you a lot!!!!!!!!- Grace ( your cousin, in case you forget, i mean you have been gone for such a long time)
Mom- I'm headed up to Pahia on Saturday for two nights!! I hear its beautiful! I'll be doing a day trip up to Cape Reinga (the tip top).
Eric- you'll have to come up to Maine and visit with him! And me!
Grace- Thank you for asking! The cookies were okay, although a little dry. I followed a recipe on the Baking Powder can, and I think it was for crisper, drier cookies than we are used to. They call them "biscuits" here! And they call biscuits, "scones!" Oh, and I do remember that Grace is my cousin :-) Miss you!
Post a Comment