I was the only staff member living on site, no one hung out together, the lodge was a billion miles from civilisation (duh) and I only had a pushbike, all the male staff were married, and the locals were hostile (again, duh!). Ah, rich people.īefore I arrived I dreamed of long summer evenings, hanging out with the other staff, swimming in the river, finding a cute local summer boyfriend, and having a great growth experience. This is one of the numerous downsides to having incredibly shitty parenting no one to tell you, when you are young and dumb, that it is illegal for employers to pay less than minimum wage, that legally the lodge was allowed to charge me 9% of my gross wage for room and board and not a cent more, and that I was about to be exploited all to hell.

This is one of the numerous downsides to having incredibly shitty parenting no one to tell you, when you are young and dumb, that it is illegal for employers to pay less than minimum wage, that legally the lodge was allowed to charge me 9% of When I was young and dumb-even dumber than I am now-I spent a summer as a live-in staff member at a prestigious, World's-Top-Hideaways-list-making New Zealand luxury lodge, waiting tables and working housekeeping. When I was young and dumb-even dumber than I am now-I spent a summer as a live-in staff member at a prestigious, World's-Top-Hideaways-list-making New Zealand luxury lodge, waiting tables and working housekeeping.

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