I haven’t had the chance to update for a couple of weeks because I’ve been so busy, but really wanted to since so much has been happening. I got a job at the Remarkables! Finding a job in QT was insane. Incredibly competitive. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Thousands of qualified people looking for a handful of jobs and a lot of people shit out of luck as a result. To illustrate the point, I went to a recruiting event for a company that owns a group of bars in town. Literally 500 people showed up for 20-30 positions.
I was super lucky to get the job. NZSki, the company that owns three of the major mountains in NZ (Coronet, Remarkables, and Mt Hutt) had officially finished hiring in April so it was pretty much out of the question if you asked anyone. I had met this Brazilian guy at the gas station one day who was telling me he was going snowboarding for the first time the next day by himself. I was like, “shit, I’m unemployed, I don’t have anything to do, I’ll teach you”. While we were up at the mountain I told him I had wanted to work for NZSki and he did some asking around and heard through the grapevine that they were hiring for just a few positions on the D/L, not publicized. Still I was like eh, it’s a long shot and just a rumor. I struck up conversation with the girl at guest services while buying my season pass and she tipped me off to check with Food & Bev. On a whim after an awesome day of riding I decided to walk into the cafe and ask for the manager. The guy interviewed me on the spot. Turned out my timing was perfect - they had just finished interviews and were about to make a decision that night to make 5 hires out of 100 applicants (and that’s without ever posting a single ad for the position - just word of mouth!). The next day I got a call to start the following morning!
So, I work at the cafe at the resort. I’m that girl at the till (cash register) with a little name tag that says “Gloria” from San Francisco ringing you up for your burger and asking you how your day is going. We pretty much do everything though, from stocking to helping in the kitchen to bussing tables to making food.
People here work really hard. I’ve been working 6 days a week for the last couple of weeks which is why I’ve been MIA on the computer. It takes me about 2 hours round trip to get up and down from the mountain so I’m out of the house from 7/8am to 6/7 pm every day, and then there is literally something going on every single night. All the locals are in the same boat though, it’s Australian and Kiwi holidays for these few weeks so everyone I know is working 5/6 days a week and still going out most nights. Basically no one in QT ever really gets a full night’s sleep.
But, we are happy. If there’s anything everyone agrees on it’s that it’s all worth it to be here. The view from my living room window and our front patio, and the routine drive to work or to the grocery store, offer breathtaking scenery of the mountains, the lake, the endless sky and at night countless stars. So, so beautiful. And you can’t complain about a job that allows you to walk out of your work, strap on your board and be on a lift within a minute. On the 4th of July my boss let me and the other American guy off early and we went riding. We were like, “Holy crap, we’re snowboarding on the 4th of July!!” We called it our 4th of July miracle. That night my flatmates and I hosted a little BBQ at our place with sausages and steaks to celebrate America’s birthday.
I love that people here are so passionate about riding and skiing. It’s what you do on your day off and any chance you get. Last night my coworkers and I went night riding at Coronet Peak. It was so much fun. They’re all crazy about boarding - they’ll go for weeks at a time without missing a single riding day. It’s good because I feel challenged riding with them and I’m being forced to learn to ride park and do tricks because that’s what’s big here.
So much to write and say but getting tired and have to wake up at 6:30 for work tomorrow. More to come later…!
