Baby boomers love to argue that millenials are killing all sorts of industries, including the napkin industry. Well I raise you this, you hard-hitting, justice-for-napkins-seeking reporters- It's actually the Kiwis.

Really, one of the great mysteries of New Zealand is the lack of napkins. Where are they? How do you eat a Kiwi burger (which is delicious by the way) without napkins and NOT get it everywhere? It's sorcery, I tell you! Sure, it's better for the environment, but AT WHAT COST?!?

Coming from a place like Texas, where it's customary to grab a small mountain of napkins or an entire roll of paper towels to accompany any slightly-messy meal, it's almost a miracle how Kiwis mainly manage to eat without them. How is there not mass chaos?!

Anyway, besides my ongoing investigation into the lack of napkins in New Zealand, the past two weeks have been pretty relaxed. I have been living on a flower farm, or more specifically a place called 'The Flower Barn' in Kumeu, which is a town about 30 minutes outside of Auckland. In exchange for food and a place to stay, I've been weeding, trimming roses, moving planks of wood, and sweating buckets in a greenhouse (which often makes me feel like I've been transported to August in Houston).

Overall my first WWOOFing experience (WWOOF is the program that sets you up on farms like The Flower Barn) has been pretty great. While the attraction list for Kumeu is limited- it basically includes walking to town or going to Muriwai beach- it's not a bad place to hang out for a while. In fact, when you aren't drenched in sweat the greenhouse really is a beautiful place to be... and apparently I'm not the only one to think so either, as several of our projects have included getting the greenhouse ready for wedding photo shoots.

The only problem with staying in one place for a while and not constantly having to worry about food and where you'll sleep is that it isn't always that exciting to read about (or easy to write about). As of now, I am back in Auckland to figure out boring things like bank accounts, getting a tax number, and my upcoming plans. Then i'll be headed back to The Flower Barn for two more weeks before making my way to the south island to work at a hostel in Greymouth (which is on the west coast). After that i'll be heading to work at another hostel in Fox Glacier- at least that's the plan for now!*

While I may be in a calm stage in my journey, save a few random adventures and much needed dance classes (more on that soon), at least it'll give me time to delve further into the mystery that is New Zealand's lack of napkins...

*Of course those plans changed and the hostel in Greymouth fell through. Keep reading to see what I did instead (:

#NewZealand #Chapter3