Write up, Round up!

Christmas Eve I worked in the orchard till 3pm. I was working with Ken the Korean singing Christmas carols all day. He loves music and it's fun singing English words trying to keep the tune in your head while Ken sings in Korean to the same tune. Very off putting but very funny. Then after I went to Alex and did Christmas food shopping with Steven, Seira, Ken and Myoshi laughing all the way about lovebites on Ken's neck (from Myoshi) and dancing to the Christmas album - the only time I've heard it this year. We stayed up very late into Christmas morning making food and preparing for the next day's dinner. I never made anything then as mine had to be made on the day but I enjoyed watching everyone else cooking and seeing the different foods of Japan, Germany and Korea.

Christmas morning I got up very early (6am - I got to bed about 2) and started cooking which took me 2 hours. Then I got changed and went to mass - which was very nice as it was so busy with children so I couldn't hear what was being said half the time.

When I got out of mass the sun had appeared AND it stayed all day. WOW! We have been rained off almost every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day and 2nd Jan what horrible weather. But at least we get good weather of the 'famous' days. We had Christmas dinner/lunch at 3pm and after. Dessert was started about 10pm with champagne toasts after that! I never saw my bed till about 5am. There were picts taken of the night sky, of juggling, of old friends returned for dinner, of new people only in a few days and lots more besides! The drink flowed and flowed and flowed till we could drink no more only stagger to the tap for water and we had eaten so much we camped out on the floor cos we needed our 'bellyout time' (that is an actual Dutch phrase for the relaxing time after a meal) and we all revelled in it! There were many helpings and so much food made that it lasted at least another three days. The limbo competition was not much fun for the competitors but very funny watching after I'd dropped out! At least it was won by a girl!

Boxing Day was very, very relaxing as none of us were too much bothered to do anything energetic. We did follow local tradition round here and go to the Miller's Flat Boxing Day Rodeo. It was good fun we saw the last 5 of the 14 acts as we were all too lazy to go on time. It was a real rodeo - none of the safety enhanced boring stuff you see in Britain but real people getting almost trampled on by bulls, thrown off in very painful ways and cowboys strutting around in their slacks, boots, hats etc.

We did work during the week - for 5 hours on Wed and 1 1/2 on Thurs till we got rained off. As it had been raining during the night on Thursday our nectarine trees which we were summer pruning were very wet and Ken (thinking it was funny) sneaked up behind us shaking the trees putting great big, freezing cold drops down on us. My jumper was so soaked by lunchtime I had to take it off and eat my lunch freezing cold - next time I really do need to remember to take my rain jacket but it really is very uncomfortable and awkward to work in.

I won't bore you with another update on my bunjy jump but I will tell my story of New Year's Eve after the jump.

We went to the pub fir the bells. They were late!! It was after 12 before Steven gave up and started the countdown - then when the band finished their song they started the countdown. So I've had at least 2 countdowns into 2005 both of which were late. Christmas and New Year are nowhere near as built up as in Britain. Here, as I found out at mass on sunday, that one guy (Ok - he is the scary guy who tries to take an interest in me way to much) was on the internet when MSN reminded him that it was almost 12. How sad is that???!!!!!! We stayed in the pub for a few more hours drinking more than we really should but enjoying it and dancing with the locals - laughing at the absurdities. Then we headed back to the hostel, unfortunately followed by the creep Malcolm and his unfortunate brother. When we managed to get rid of them we (sorry I as it seems I was the main enforcer in the plan) suggested walking up the hill that is directly behind the hostel to watch the sun rise.

Steven, Matt (the English guy), Seira and I all set off for a wee trek. Matt and I armed with torches and Steven without a jacket and in his socks, believing that he didn't need shoes (he's still pulling the thorns from his feet). There is no path (that we knew about) up the hill so went straight through the grass and bushes pulling ourselves up with them. Steven decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and off he set (he really had had a lot to drink), soon we could hear nothing of him and we were only half way up. Matt, Seira and I were climbing by ourselves occasionally shouting Steven's name waiting for a reply - nothing. I was at the back of the line pushing Seira when suddenly I heard crashing through the undergrowth behind us. I started asking who it was my torch trained on the spot, hoping it was Steven when Malcolm ugly head appeared. He'd dropped his brother at home and was following us - without a reason. Malcolm scares Seira and me at the best of times therefore ona hill in the pitch black with Steven still missing and him racing towards us was not good! He did come with us up the hill. Seira and I were gettign more and more worried about Steven as we'd heard nothing in about 20 mins and we were nearer the top. To say the least with Malcolm suggesting which way to go and being a pain suggesting things about where Steven had gone Seira and I were almost at breaking point. She had lost her gran during the week - to lose a backpacker friend on top of that ( as there seemed only two possiblities - he'd fallen or gone back) was not good. All of sudden Paul (the other Irish guy staying) was behind us and I explained what was wrong. We then tried to phone the hostel to find out if Steven had gone back and Malcolm had his phone. Funnily enough Malcolm's phone had run out of battery. Thoughts of Horror Movies were drifting through my head with Malcolm as the killer as it is well known he has a crush on Seira ( not a good crush either).

We called out Steven's name shouting and shouting, looking behind us at the hill that went up further incase he'd been stupid enough to try climbing it, flashing our torches to show our position and try attracting his attention if he was on the hill or at the hostel. At least the lights could be seen being buzzed about. I prayed for a miracle as that was the only way I could see of us finding Steven alive. I turned round and looked at the middle of the slope and there was Steven - Miracles come in all sizes we really did have a miracle then as he'd fallen asleep on the hill waiting for us to 'catch him up' and was frozen. He joined us at the top of the hill and Paul who'd been searching just above him shouted that he'd fallen and lost his glasses. So Paul and I (once I reached him) began looking for his glasses luckily he found them - therefore all we lost that night was Steven's hat and the sunrise as it was so cloudy it never really rose till midday.

To get down the hill was no easy task - either climb to the road and take the long way down or go straight down the hill. So after the careful planning of a moment in our desparation to get off the hill we sat on our asses and slid the whole way down. Stopping occasionally to remove painful wedgies, disentangle ourselves from bushes, avoid the rocks and check that we hadn't burned holes in the seats of our trousers. We did get covered in seeds from the grass and mud. At the bottom of the hill we had to jump over the electric fence, climb more fences into people's gardens, and sneak through them very quietly - which is quite a feat when the alcohol hasn't worn off!

When we got back to the hostel we were laughing too much about it and Malcolm started trying to moan at us because he had to work that day - none of us cared too much and laughed at him as it had been his idea to climb it anyway we definetely had not invitied him!

We slept very late that day and only rose to sleep in the sun that was out in the afternoon! An activity that has been continued to now and till Wed at least!!! (Or at least when the sun's out)