Prison Life

I have already picked up another job duty here at the prison: I'm going to be a tour guide! Since I already have experience as an interpreter from Fort Edmonton, they thought I would be good at leading visitors around the place. Once I learn the script, I'll be sure to record some of the cooler stories here on my blog.

For the writing portion of my job, I'm going to be researching and writing a script for Anchorage, Alaska. I'm pretty excited about it, since it's the largest city in Alaska, and I've always wanted to go there. It's going to be weird to write about a place I've never been to though.. Here's to Google Maps!

Prison is pretty cool so far. I haven't really had trouble sleeping at night, although once people start moving around in the morning the noise travels really easily since the doors aren't really doors, and it's pretty much impossible to sleep in. That's probably a good thing though. The kitchen is fairly well stocked in terms of pots and pans, and the TV room has SkyTV and freeeeeeeee internet! Oh how I've missed mindlessly surfing the net. It's also nice that I can actually Skype and upload pictures without having to pay for it by the megabyte. My friends were having a Christmas party, and I got to see all of their beautiful faces together. Technology makes leaving home so much easier.

Napier is absolutely gorgeous. The prison is located up on Bluff Hill, so I'm about a 5 minute walk from the ocean and 10 minutes from town centre. The beach is rocky, but there's a paved walking/bike path all along it and Pohutukawa trees that are just starting to bloom. Napier was hit by an earthquake in 1931 by a 7.2 magnitude shock, so the prison is a bit misaligned in places, but the town site largely destroyed (it also killed about 150 people). The whole town was rebuilt in Art Deco style, which was popular at the time and the most cost effective way to rebuild, especially during the depression. They've kept it up too, so it feels like you're walking in the past.

However, nightlife is a little bit dull. On my first night here, we went to the Dram & Cock Pub but were one of the only groups there. It was a Friday. My second night, I went to a Reggae show with a few other inmates. The concert was put on by the Shakespeare Dub Syndicate. They were pretty good, although when we got there at 9, there weren't too many people there. Lucky for the band, the place really picked up by 11 and when we left, they were about to play their fourth set.

I should try to get a job here, but there aren't any signs posted in any storefront windows and I feel awkward walking into a place and begging for a job. To make my reservations more legitimate, Christmas and New Years are coming, so I don't know how much I'd work anyways. I might as well enjoy the holidays.