Part 4/9:
With that intoxicating dream, I spent my student loan on a plane ticket to New Zealand. My plans led me to volunteer on organic farms through a program called WWOOF—Willing Workers on Organic Farms. However, my romantic notion of living off the land was punctuated by the less-than-idyllic experiences I had with certain hosts. One memorable couple was so consumed by their disdain for each other that they projected their bitterness onto their surroundings, leaving me to ponder my own escape.