Leeton, Australia

That next day we returned from work to the sound of silence. At least that what it felt like when Tom and Sarah wasn't to be around. the two new German girls left just the day after as well, which brought it to be only 10 of us left at the shack. I was gardening that weekend, together with Nikki and English Marc, back at the farmer me and Nikki worked for my first week here. We finished around lunchtime on Sunday thought so I spend the rest of the day with Stina cleaning the kitchen. A massive major cleaning. Just the stove (which hasn't been cleaned for years) took us a good 2-3 hours to do. When Michael found out he gave us one bottled beer each. He's way to price us. And everyone is well happy for a bottled beer. 

The next week started off with rain. Only in the night thought, but it was still to muddy for us to work in the field the day after. As I got that Monday off, I spent the entire day at the gym. Such a great feeling even if I found it hard to move my body the next couple of days. As we got Tuesday off as well (wether is the boss), we decided to have a BBQ in the park. Myself, Nikki, Katharina, English Sam and Belgium Sam (who just arrived to the shack). The Sam's are going under names such as Sam1 and sam2, sailor Sam and Simon, English Sam and Belgium Sam or old Sam and new Sam to separate them from each other. 

We brought some good speakers, buyed food and bottled German beer along our walk to town and headed for the park where they got BBQ supplies for public use. We ended up chatting the hours away, enjoying out bottled beer, going crazy at the playground before returning back to the shack. Such a lovely day. 

 Me, New Belgium Sam2, old English Sam1 and German Katharina 

I was put back at desuckering the next couple of days as well until the weekend arrived. Nikki and Kat decided to have a party with the theme 'fancy at the fruitshack'. I recon it was just for them to get a reason to dress up and put make up on but it did ending up beeing quite enjoyable for everyone. The night started, continued and ended just as all the other party nights at the shack. Drinking, playing games, chatting and laughing before everyone drops of to bed one by one. It's always really good fun, and something we all looking forward to throughout the week. Even the smallest things shall be appreciated.  

That next Saturday I was put on a orange picking job together with German Kat, Belgium Sam and English Livy, who's been a part of the shack for only a few days. We had great fun together, chatting, singing, getting our armes scratched while filling bins up with oranges. Our hangover caught us by the afternoon after a late night and a long day in the field and we felt a bit miserable under our trees when it by then started to rain. We kept shouting to each other 'think of the experience', to keep our mood on top. And since it was one of the less paid work as well thinking about the money wasn't really helping. We finished the job by the end of the day thought, which gave us another day off that Sunday. Sam1 and 2 was the only ones working, so the rest of us drived in to town for another BBQ in the park before going to the pool where the sam's joined in as well.

 Sam, Livy, Kat and myself with all the bins of oranges we manage to pick that day. 

     The week continued as usual, with desuckering. We had to finish quite early every day thought since the heat was killing us. It's not much to do at the shack in the afternoon, so I went back to the gym one day which was as good as always. Trying to make it there at least once a week. Me and Livy went for a walk to town after work that Thursday, mainly for the amazing soya cappuccino Stina makes us at her cafe. Grabbed another roadie on our way back to make our walk to a little adventure. It's not much work going on at the moment, which gave me another day off at Friday. Livy finished at midday so we went for the gym again. Unfortunately, they closed before we god there which made us end up at the cafe insteead, for another soya cappuccino. As it was about to be Linda's 22 birthday we throught her a surprise party that night. I had to try to keep her away from the goon room for about 15 minutes just before midnight, without making it look obvious, so that the other could prepare the surprise and celebration stuff, cake and presents. I didn't do very well to be honest, but it turned into a good laught and she did appreciate everything we did for her. Michaels younger brother came by as well, he use to join us on our drinking nights. This time he turned up in he's limousine, and took us for a drive around town. Wow. So basically, we all sat in this super fancy limo, having a glass of wine together, with him as our driver. Amazing. 

Me and Livy were the only unemployers that next day. After a well needed sleep inn we went to a park next to the shack to do a bit of yoga and exercising. Cheaper and closer than heading for the gym, which is closed on weekends anyway. We had great fun and felt well good afterwards even if we did end up just lying on the grass, listening to music and chatting to randome people walking pass. Back at the shack we decided to spend more of our free time learning how to speak Spanish. With her Spanish phrase book and my 'learn how to speak Spanish' app on the iPad we started our first lesson ..  The two of us went back in to town that night. not for going to the bar as you usually do on a Saturday night, but for another soya cappuccino. It was some kind of car event going on so Stina worked an extra shift. And we actually really enjoy the walk there and back. 

Leeton, Australia

So I've now started my third week at this farming thing. And it's quite funny how it took me and Nikki over a week to realize that we've been sleeping with one of our windows open the whole time. No wonder it felt like sleeping in an igloo the last few nights. So for the last week I've done nothing but desuckering, which I getting a bit tired of to be honest. And my legs, and back as well. The people and the atmosphere around here are as good as always thought. 

Last Thursday we threw a big Halloweenparty (as big you can make it by 13 people), which turned out to be great fun. Everyone was involved, even the two German girls who's never gives any effort to talk to everyone, showed up for a bit. Everyone dressed up. Spend the night with beer pong, chatting and randome drinking games which was good fun, even if getting up at 7 the next morning desuckering wasn't as funny .. 

That following weekend my dearest friend Cornelia came and visit me here in Leeton. she was on a roadtrip with the tree other girls I met in Bali, and they kindly decided to go 10 hours off road to come visit me. (That was probably not the main reason but I'd like to believe that). I met them straight after work on Saturday to show them the very highlights of Leeton and the fruitshack. They wasn't to impressive to put it in a nice way.  We went together to the bar that night, together with Katharina, one of the German girls I work with and I German guy who's just here for one night sorting some papers out. He's done his 88 days on this farm already to get he's second year visa , but unlucky for him the immigration didn't believe that he's done it properly so he had to come back to get some papers signed. To top it all he accidently drove over a kangaroo on he's way here which pretty much crached he's car, or he's bosses car who wasn't too happy about it. We all felt a bit sorry for him that day. Anyway, other than nice beer for once it wasn't too much happening at the bar (obviously, I'm still in Leeton), which made us drive back to shack sharing a few beers with Tom and Stina instead. I got a nice sleep in the next day, as it was my first day off since I got here. Even if my mother woke my up calling on Skype. Hihi. After a nice breakfast together with my Swedish friends we drove to Griffith, which is the bigger city next to Leeton where Cornelia and one of the other girls where catching a train down to Melbourne cup the same evening. We spend the day shopping which was well needed for me since Tom was about to leave in a week and planned to bring his hoodie with him. We got some shopping done following by a fabulous picnick in the park, a nap in the sun perforce saying foodbye to my lovely friends again. 

That following week I continued with the every day desuckering. It was getting ridiculously hot in the afternoon, up to 40 degrees so we had to take off earlier every day. We finally finished the field early Thursday morning, but by the time we were about to drive back from the field Katarina managed to drive into the very only ditch in the field which made the car get entire stuck. We all tried to push it while Kat was hanging on the gas but nothing could move it in that stage. To top it all, millions of big ants were crowling up our legs as we were pushing the car which made Linda and Kristina, the two other German girls screaming, jumping up and down at the same time as we where pushing. We didn't do very well. And Katharina was out of stage worrying about her car at the same time as we all was laughing finding this whole situation hilarious. When we finally realized that there's no way to move this car by our own we contacted Michael for help. He called our farmer who send us his neighbor to our rescue. 

After our adventurous car situation we still returned to the shack really early, before Stina even started her work that day. She's kind of cheating her way to get her second year visa by working at a cafe, owned by a farmer who agreed to sign her off anyway. 

Around midday more and more people dropped in as it was way to hot to be working in the sun. That's when we all decided to spend the very sunny day by the Leeton pool. As it was too many of us to fit in Katharinas car, the new German girls who just arrived to the shack took the bike there while Tom and Nikki was walking. Turned out to be a one hour walk there thought so on the way back we stopped by Stinas work to get a lift back to the shack. The pool was great fun, I brought my waterproof camera with me as well which turned out to be a good laught and by the end of the day I had about 240 pictures from about the last couple of hours. This picture is of me, Nikki and Katharina. 

That night Michael took us kangaroos potting again, as a last wish from Tom before he was leaving that Saturday. We only got the spot of around 5 of them this time, but got to see them jump over the fence which was quite cool. After a while we gave up and drove to the river insteead were we all sat under an amazing sky of stars, drinking champagne and sharing good stories. Such a nice end of a perfect day. 

The next day the most of us had an day off, mainly because there wasn't any work who needed to be done. I walked down to and around town for a while, visit Stina at her work where I met up with Tom, Nikki and English Sarah as well. As it was Tom and Sarah's last day which they obviously was quite sad about, we bought a bottle of champagne for the walk back and shared things we wouldn't miss about fruitshack. To make them feel better about leaving. 

 - like the fact that you're not allowed to drink from glass bottles (the reason we bought the champagne for the road) 

 -  desuckering 

- the uncomfortable beds

- the fact that you have to take a shit with people standing just outside the door

- eating cold pasta for lunch in the middle of a field

- all the fucking bugs. flies, Mosquitos, spiders, cockroaches that literally is everywhere

- the fact that you have to walk outside every time you have to go to the toilet

- getting up at 6 every morning 

- Sandra's alarmclock that never wakes her up 

- the wifi going on and off whenever it feels like to 

- the sometimes ridicously low hourly salary 

  .. To name a few

That ningt we had a goodbye party for Tom and Sarah. As fun as always with games such as picking up boxes using only your mouth and nothing but your feet allowes to touch the ground. Laughing and chatting the night away. Sarah and especially Tom has been at the shack longer than any else of us, and it definitely won't be the same without them. We all had a tearful goodbye the next morning as we were heading to work and the got ready for the train back to Sydney before Sarah's flying home and Tom got a flight to New Zealand. May our path cross in the future. 

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So before I'm about to end another massive post (this blog is ending up like a novel), I have to give my father all my best greetings for his birthday. All my thoughts with you (even if I'm quite sure you're not reading this anyway) enjoy your day and your year as a 57 year old. Love you