More New Zealand Tidbits from Laura

1. “Ta” means thanks (they’re just too lazy to pronounce ’long’ words I guess)
2. Bitter and better often sound the same (I use context clues to not get confused ;) ) Eh, Nick?
3. Jandals are sandals, togs are bathing suits, and sandals are flip flops.
4. They sell fake snow covered Christmas trees, though they have a warm Christmas here. I guess it’s for all those northern hemisphereans longing for a cold, snowy Christmas. (yes, hemisphereans is a word, at least in my head).
5. Kiwis use automatic transfers from the checking(cheque) account for everything from church offerings to house mortgages. I couldn’t believe it when we were in church, they were taking up an offering for an upcoming event and said the debit machine was set up outside if they wanted to give. People use cash here less than in the States and no one uses checks, or cheques (English/Kiwi spelling)
6. Kiwis are New Zealanders, kiwis are little, nocturnal birds and kiwifruit is a kiwi. And they eat it with the skin on (or at least Nick does).
7. New Zealand peppers are jalepenos and cost $40/kilo, goodbye hot salsa!
8. Tea is dinner
9. Many Kiwis barbeque on the beach for Christmas tea (refer to #8)
10. Be prepared to be mocked if you buy Starbucks coffee or any other chain store item, unless it’s a Kiwi chain store. It’s all done in good humor.
11. Bush is a bad word, Clinton‘s not so bad( I don’t make the rules, sorry Bush-lovers)
12. In order to speak Kiwi style, don’t pronounce any ‘t’s unless it starts with a ’t’, every now and then throw in a soft ‘r’ sound like at the end of the word ‘idea‘, roll up your lip slightly(Elvis style) and you got it made!
13. Most assume I’m Canadian, not because of the accent, but because they don’t want to insult me by calling me American. You just have to laugh!
14. Kiwis have told us Australia would be awesome if it weren’t full of Australians. Same love-hate relationship we have with Canada, better yet, Canada has with us.
15. A chemist is a pharmacy. (the only place you can buy contact solution-$30 for a bottle of Alcon labs stuff)
16. Cheddar cheese is white, actually, all the cheeses here are white. I guess we color it in the US to make shopping quicker or less challenging?
17. Kiwis seem to have a lot of meat flavored potato chips and Mac N Cheese, like lamb and mint potato chips and chicken flavored, too. Ewe!
18. Making new acquaintances is good at first, but is hard to extend beyond that.
19. To guarantee a job, you generally must sign a contract with the employer after a trial period.
20. 25 Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) feels like 100 degrees in the sun, due to the ozone being the weakest in this hemisphere. (Wear sunblock!)
21. Synonyms for ‘cool’ : sweet as, choice, mint
22. Oh, btw, mint is commonly used as an herb to flavor lamb. Sounds disgusting, but it’s Daniel-approved!

Highlights from DZ

A scenic view of the harbor holding the small town of Akaroa. You can swim with dolphin(s)!

Lyttelton Harbour, where many dock sea-bound vessels of all sizes.

A bridge over the Avon River near downtown Christchurch-truly the garden city.

That's a lot of liquid!

Nick, Rob, and I catching a view of the sunset while simultaneously not falling off the roof.

A blurry Laura taking a bite out of her B-day calzone.

Dawn of my B-day at New Brighton Beach, where I later saw a killer whale and then surfed in the same area-that's 3 first's in a row!

Great Kiwi singer/songwriter named Brooke Fraser. Check her out! Wish I could show you, this auditorium is nice! (Town Hall Auditorium-downtown Christchurch)

This is the company I spent my first 2 and a half months of employment at. Theophany Loudspeakers makes hi-end speakers that are simple, quick, and beautiful. This was a booth we had set up at a home show in Christchurch. Those little skinny ones would blow you away. We'll see if I can bring some to the states.

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

So, here's the birthday boy having some cake! Doesn't look a day over 29. Everyone wish him a happy birthday. And here is the rest of the cake for you guys out there...

Jobs? Housing? and Other Questions We Are Asked...Answered!

Jobs...this is a bit cruel right now to post about, because Daniel is currently working, but looking for other work. Oh well. I(Laura) have been working full time at a retail shop called Mountain Designs in downtown Christchurch. We sell outdoor equipment for camping, backpacking, hiking, etc. If you would like to take a look at our website, it's http://www.mountaindesigns.com/ . It's a good job with good people and I enjoy it, though you wouldn't believe how many of the like stores are in a central location in Christchurch. I don't know how they all survive.
Daniel is currently working building high end speakers at Theophany. Theophany is the name of the company and it's just 20 minutes outside of Christchurch. He enjoys working with his hands, but something closer to Christchurch would be better.



Housing...We live in a house with two flatmates named Rob and Nick. It's just a 5 minute drive from downtown Christchurch in a suburb called Spreydon. They try their best to teach us the Kiwi way of doing things and speaking to be understood by other Kiwis, but it's a difficult road. haha! We're still trying to figure out the difference between when they say better, bitter and butter, right Nick?!



Other Questions...We do take public transit, but also bought a rockin' 1986 Toyota Corolla. It's gets us around, though by the time we get to where we're going it smells like a hot glue gun. Explain that one!

All right, since I am new to this posting and picture adding thing, hang with me. This picture is of our first chips and fish experience. Yes, I(Laura, the vegetarian) do eat fish sometimes.

This is punting, or as we would say, taking a ride in a gondola. It's in Hagley Park next to downtown Christchurch.

We also took a day trip to Hanmer Springs. There are lots of hot spring baths, but we opted to take a hike up to a waterfall. It's quite a commercial town now, but a beautiful setting in the mountains

This is the hike up to the waterfall...sorry I didn't get them in order.

And this is Hagley Park again..beautiful! It also has a botanic garden.

One day trip to Akaroa, which is about an hour away. It's a French settlement, so all the streets are names Rue.
I can't remember the name of this place, but it's a rock beach on the way to Akaroa.
This is New Brighton Pier. They just outlawed fishing on the end, because of the mess it made. But it's still neat to walk out on and see the waves rolling in. It was a bit cold out on the pier which Daniel demonstrates here, or maybe he's just gassy?

NZ Tidbits

Well, to start things off, I (Laura) will give you some tidbits about New Zealand that I have learned since being here:
1. a bum bag is a fanny pack. (call it a fanny pack and expect to get a weird look, as fanny refers to the lower front part of a woman)
2. use sunscreen or you will burn in 10-15 minutes
3. it is cold in winter and hot in summer...duh! (say good bye to central heating and cooling in homes and some cars. we've been using a heated blanket to keep from freezing at night)
4. fish and chips are required to be eaten at least once a week while here (they're cheap and well deserved after a hard work week according to Daniel)
5. New Zealand chips are like potato wedges, New Zealand fries are skinny french fries, New Zealand crisps are US chips...are you following? me neither.
6. New Zealand coffee is not filtered, they laugh at us for that. New Zealand coffee is like an espresso, so beware!
7. Daniel and I had our first New Zealand tramp, but don't be scared. It only means we went for our first hike here. (to tramp is to hike)
8. recycle, recycle, recycle or they won't like you! (that's for you, Rob)
9. stay to the left on the road and look right before crossing the road or you're in trouble.
10. a dairy is a corner shop
11. eftpos is to pay with debit
12. no one here knows their zip code, even though they are supposed to use them
13. and finally, the All Blacks might have lost, but don't tell any Kiwi, they took it pretty hard.

Pictures to come!!!!