What day is it?

I walk briskly down the cold corridor of the staff housing only to find my room is colder than the outside. I immediately crank up my heater and turn on the electric blanket, ( which I am lucky to have, "thank you Mike") as I began to get ready for bed. Getting ready to collapse into a bed that sinks horribly in the middle and always attempts to jab me with its springs is more like it. Nevertheless its a bed and I am most happy and grateful for it. Once I have all of my layers on, I fall into bed, being mindful of course of the jabbing springs and the ever growing sink hole.
I can hear a South African accent in the background and the loud but intriguing chatter of three Brazilians down the hall. I am not sure if they realize just how their voices carry....
Within no time I have tuned them out only to be guided by the calling of the nocturnal birds, the rhythm of the Tasman Sea which rocks us all to sleep and the mighty presence of the Southern Alps that are just outside my window. I am in a glorious paradise that has the ability to inspire and uplift the soul.
There was a light dusting of snow on the mountains today, and as the blue sky ran into the white mountain tips and the green flora floated up to meet the earth brown base, I felt swept away.
Haast is in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and I have been here now for over 4 weeks. Some days I am amazed, even bewildered that here I am living and working with the same people everyday, in a extremely remote place and yet I have managed to keep some of my sanity. I suppose, when I think about it, how much did I have to begin with?
It wasn't until recently that I noticed just how isolated Haast truly is. Although being so remote is just one of many qualities that Haast bestowes on a person. Here you can loose and find yourself all in a day, its unbelievable . Although some days you find yourself in the most peculiar places....perhaps its in the vastness of the Tasman Sea or maybe in the laundry room where you fold what feels like twenty thousand sheets....but wherever you are you are not alone.
The season is ending, the craziness at the World Heritage Hotel is slowing down and we all cant help but feel exhausted and yet excited for some time off to explore more. When I first arrived I noticed how often people asked what day it was and I now I know why. Its like a vortex here, all we have been doing is working and sleeping...the days melt together and before you know it, its been a week and now its the middle of my 5th week. It seems impossible, odd, surreal...I have been here that long? I must admit, its been really nice to stay awhile in one place, but the itch of moving on is making its presence known more and more each day.
Here, in Haast, I have been able to explore the under world of housekeeping.... and I feel quite confident in my bed making abilities now and I am pleased to say that I can clean a room in 15 mins....oh yes....and it looks good too!!

A week or so ago Barbara ( a sweet girl from France) and I walked down to Haast beach and as we stepped out from the pony-greeted path and onto the sand, the world stopped. It came to a halt. Barbara and I stood in a bubble of mountains, luscious green mountains, tall tan grasses, still drift wood, soft sand, divers rocks, ocean, sky, clouds, and sun. It was angelic. Time didn't exit and we ran like children running out to recess into the salty juice of the Earth. We stood as the natural world turned and twisted all around us. The sky, dotted with white to light grey puffs of clouds shone an orange sun setting in the distance. The reflection of both clouds and water created and set the stage for all the senses to absorb the moment. The colors and feelings were unreal. A pale blue clothe covered practically everything above the sand. The pale blue seemed as if it was sinking into my eyes and filling my entire being. We became the pale blue. We rolled with the waves, sand with the birds, stood tall with the grass and grounded with the trees. We were one. I gazed in awe of what was happening all around and inside of me. I still find trouble getting the words right, because just as a picture taken with a camera, it isn't captured as it truly was.
Something is happening out there. Somethings is pulling at me in a ways that I haven't felt before. I am drawn to that beach, in that space, I am drawn to loose time and let the world around me go, melt, fade, evaporate. There is a silence there that can be heard. A silence that lets you know it is alive. A deep breath. A long slow breath that empties you into the space.
The crests of the water's waves were floating above everything else, calmly, in perfect harmony. I am immersed in this greatness forever.

A piece of my journal:
As she lays pondering her day, looking over what has happened, she thinks of the beach. Haast Beach.
The sun dusting over her like powdered sugar through a sieve, coating her skin, flicking in her hair, caressing her whole being.
The tunnel-like sound swept across the waves to meet her at the shore line like a galloping horse through free fields.
There is a trance like state that magnifies every sense she experiences, every tickle, every thought is consumed by the depth of power and grounding the moment has brought.
The salt water runs over her pale toes, cleansing aways the day bringing new life to the roots of her body.
The soft stones slip through her hands like water, leaving a glow that radiates her skin.
She closes her eyes only to be open to the smells, the touching, the sound.
The moment my leave, but it will always return.
It is always here, there, everywhere...just waiting for her to remember, and remember she WILL.

Oh, by the way....the strawberries are doing just fine....at least most of them!!!! HOORAY!!!!!
Love you all soooo much!!