I completely believe hitchhiking is looked down upon in the states because of the media. Yes, I know I am a big burly guy. For me physical safety is rarely an issue. I would never want any of you to do anything you are not comfortable with. And for my female readers a strong guy with you will never hurt- that being said:
If you ever find yourself in New Zealand needing to get from point A to point B, without a car, guy or gal, rain or shine- hitchhike.
Many people who come here are impressed by how cheap some bus companies are. Some people say that it's to dangerous to hitch. Some people think its far more reliable and timely to take a bus. A lot of cities have trains, and taxis aren't all that expensive.
Let me tell you why I hitchhike:
People. Experiences.
Lets say you hop on a bus. Put in your head phones or read your book. Wait. Get to your hotel. Check in. Go up. Go to bed. Congrats you met the check in person and made eye contact awkwardly on a bus with some rando for a split second.
My first week or so in New Zealand, I will admit, I got a couple busses. I now COMPLETELY regret that. Why? Because these people put southern hospitality to shame. (And ill never get that money back) Lets say driving straight through a route would take 3 hours. Hitch hiking it takes 5-6. Why? I only wait like 20-30 minutes TOPS at any stop. So why does it take longer to hitch?
The first man to ever pick me up hitching it was named Patric. He drove me 30 minutes to the small town of Whangamata. I was about to hop out the car- when he asked me if I knew what grass bowling was. I did not. He is a greens keeper. And took me to his bowling club- taught me the game- and let me play for a few minutes. He then gave me a ride around the town showing me all the sights before dropping me off on the far side of town. This sort of thing keeps happening!!
An elderly couple showed me a giant open air gold mine in Waihi. You're not thinking giant enough- I promise.
I have made plans with relatives of people giving me rides to stay with who live on South Island.
A group of three girls bought me dinner and joked along with me for ages!
And then there was Wayne. Wayne took me my final 1 1/2 hour stretch to New Plymouth. I will never forget the first two questions he asked me: "do you smoke?" (Rolls me a cigarette) and "do you drink?" (Hands me a chilled can of rum and coke). And then we hit the road. Once we got close to New Plymouth, I was asking him to drop me at a camp site. Wayne asks if I'd like to stay at his place. I say- really?!? He says sure! (No, before that point I had no real idea where I would be staying that night) So Wayne takes me to his place. A clean house in a convenient location in New Plymouth. Tv. Radio. Hot shower. Spare bed. Food. And then Wayne leaves. Oh yeah, he had told me before that he would be staying at his woman's place about 20 minutes away. I had a house to myself. Wayne- picked up a hitchhiker. Judged his character within an hour and a half of talking and joking around a good deal. And then gave him his house. Would you do the same? Would I? Depends on the hitchhiker I guess.
I know one thing for sure, just about anything in this world can be dangerous if done improperly. I've stuck to major roads, in the day time.
I cannot speak in any way to the whole world, but i can for NZ. If you ever find yourself here, don't spend a dime on transport. Walk or hitch. Maybe from the airport to your first stop get a bus. Then get your head about you. Maybe make a little sign that says "I'd give you a ride" or "not as scary as I look." Stretch out your thumb. And go for it.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Differences and Similarities
To start this post my original thought was to do a "pro/con New Zealand list", then I realized I would rather point out the differences than write down negatives about this amazing country.
Differences:
They don't have Ketchup(American). They have tomato sauce. No, it is not the same, and as a matter of fact anyone who tells you they are the same- has either never had both, or is a dirty liar.
Driving on the left side of the road. Luckily I haven't had to do much driving- some driving, but mostly in rural areas. Apparently my drivers license is valid here! Who'd have thought.
Vowels. Ooooh the vowels are different. It is one of the main features to a New Zealand accent. Soft "I" as in six is a hard "e". Soft "e" sounds like soft "I". Mind you I'm a Mississippian who has been known to skew vowels, but it is making it hard to understand some people. Not all, not even most, but some people.
Illegal to hit your kids. Kid acting up? Thinking about spanking him? Could cost you jail time if little Timmy has evidence to take to the police.
Guns. So many places to go with this. When I tell people I own gun, they look at me with bewilderment. "You can just go buy a semi-automatic rifle....." "That's insane" "why would you ever want one" "are all Americans like you?" It's as if many of these people expect that I've shot people in cold blood. Totally opposite from the typical South US view.
Internet. People's payment plan and data might change but most of them are similar from what I've seen. You "top up" each month and purchase your amount of usage. However many gigs that might be. If you run low you "top up" again and can use more Internet. From what I've seen people don't have infinite Internet. And I've been at some pretty "flash" houses.
Lingo. Lord-a-mighty there's a ton of it. Flash means cool. You have to end every sentence with "hey" or "aay" to make sure the person heard you. A torch is a flashlight. Togs are trunks aka swimsuit. Jandals are sandals (most of their sandals come from Japan... Japan + sandals = jandals). Rubbish can either mean trash the item(s) or it can be a stand alone adjective. To many to think of now. This might be a running theme.
Air conditioning. Nobody has it. Like nobody. Really flash houses just have an abundance of windows. The breeze can get so legit that you usually don't want one. However I've also noticed that it'll be like 75 and a breeze and people will want to put on a jumper(sweater) and complain about how cold it is.
Washer and dryer? More like washer and clothes line. Sure hostels have dryers but the people who live here don't. I've done a good amount of laundry while here, and so far only two of my host have had dryers, and they don't use them. (I should mention that my cross section of NZ so far has been thorough.) It's not at all like people of lesser means don't have dryers and people with greater income use them everyday. Even those families I've stayed with who were better off don't use them. A total waist to them a drier seems. The sun and breeze are right there... Why not use them.
Recycling. Now don't get all upset. Yes a lot of Americans recycle, I know, I know, I know. Good for you and I'm proud of you. But here.... EVERYBODY, EVERYTHING, ALWAYS- seriously. It's logical, useful, healthy for the environment... And people actually do it...
I'm sure I'm missing scores of differences but these are the big ones that have stood out to me over the last month. None really negative, just different.
I hope you enjoyed the read. Keep the emails coming I love to hear from home and stay in touch if possible. Got questions? Suggestions for my next writing subject? Email me!
Stevegoesabroad@gmail.com
Take care y'all!
Steve
Differences:
They don't have Ketchup(American). They have tomato sauce. No, it is not the same, and as a matter of fact anyone who tells you they are the same- has either never had both, or is a dirty liar.
Driving on the left side of the road. Luckily I haven't had to do much driving- some driving, but mostly in rural areas. Apparently my drivers license is valid here! Who'd have thought.
Vowels. Ooooh the vowels are different. It is one of the main features to a New Zealand accent. Soft "I" as in six is a hard "e". Soft "e" sounds like soft "I". Mind you I'm a Mississippian who has been known to skew vowels, but it is making it hard to understand some people. Not all, not even most, but some people.
Illegal to hit your kids. Kid acting up? Thinking about spanking him? Could cost you jail time if little Timmy has evidence to take to the police.
Guns. So many places to go with this. When I tell people I own gun, they look at me with bewilderment. "You can just go buy a semi-automatic rifle....." "That's insane" "why would you ever want one" "are all Americans like you?" It's as if many of these people expect that I've shot people in cold blood. Totally opposite from the typical South US view.
Internet. People's payment plan and data might change but most of them are similar from what I've seen. You "top up" each month and purchase your amount of usage. However many gigs that might be. If you run low you "top up" again and can use more Internet. From what I've seen people don't have infinite Internet. And I've been at some pretty "flash" houses.
Lingo. Lord-a-mighty there's a ton of it. Flash means cool. You have to end every sentence with "hey" or "aay" to make sure the person heard you. A torch is a flashlight. Togs are trunks aka swimsuit. Jandals are sandals (most of their sandals come from Japan... Japan + sandals = jandals). Rubbish can either mean trash the item(s) or it can be a stand alone adjective. To many to think of now. This might be a running theme.
Air conditioning. Nobody has it. Like nobody. Really flash houses just have an abundance of windows. The breeze can get so legit that you usually don't want one. However I've also noticed that it'll be like 75 and a breeze and people will want to put on a jumper(sweater) and complain about how cold it is.
Washer and dryer? More like washer and clothes line. Sure hostels have dryers but the people who live here don't. I've done a good amount of laundry while here, and so far only two of my host have had dryers, and they don't use them. (I should mention that my cross section of NZ so far has been thorough.) It's not at all like people of lesser means don't have dryers and people with greater income use them everyday. Even those families I've stayed with who were better off don't use them. A total waist to them a drier seems. The sun and breeze are right there... Why not use them.
Recycling. Now don't get all upset. Yes a lot of Americans recycle, I know, I know, I know. Good for you and I'm proud of you. But here.... EVERYBODY, EVERYTHING, ALWAYS- seriously. It's logical, useful, healthy for the environment... And people actually do it...
I'm sure I'm missing scores of differences but these are the big ones that have stood out to me over the last month. None really negative, just different.
I hope you enjoyed the read. Keep the emails coming I love to hear from home and stay in touch if possible. Got questions? Suggestions for my next writing subject? Email me!
Stevegoesabroad@gmail.com
Take care y'all!
Steve
Friday, February 8, 2013
The Accents Are Different, But the Laughs Feel the Same
I arrived at Purangi Winery almost a week ago, at first I was overwhelmed with options, people, personalities, the building, and the benefits of working here.
But now I've grown very comfortable here. Until now I had only worked at a place either by myself or with one other person. There are a total of 8 internationals working at the winery right now!!! And everybody is interesting in their own unique way. On the whole we all have a blast! After work for the day is done, the jokes and games start.
We have a lot of benefits from working here. Weekly poker nights(I had a great time and only spent $20NZ some people spent over 100). Trips to the beach. HackySack. Ping Pong. Watching Flight of the Conchords. Eating great food. Wood fired pizza is a staple of my diet right now. All the food we can eat. And oh yeah- as many adult beverages as we can reasonably tolerate. I've also learned a lot here including how to play backgammon and a huge amount of NZ slang.
I definitely have grown accustom to being here. The living arrangements are a bit dodgy(during my first shower here I was joined by a chicken), but it makes up for it with the laughs you share with the other internationals and Danny. Danny is the son of Bob. Bob owns the place while Danny runs it. Me and Danny get along great. Our comedic styles work well together when we can understand each other.
Apparently I have a crazy accent. I had no idea till I got here. It throws a lot of people off. Talking with the Germans can be a trick sometimes, but we get through it.
It's a cool little community here that they have built and I can understand why some people stay here for several months in a row. For me it's the open road though- I hitchhike Monday to Tauranga(a place I can now pronounce without people correcting me)
But now I've grown very comfortable here. Until now I had only worked at a place either by myself or with one other person. There are a total of 8 internationals working at the winery right now!!! And everybody is interesting in their own unique way. On the whole we all have a blast! After work for the day is done, the jokes and games start.
We have a lot of benefits from working here. Weekly poker nights(I had a great time and only spent $20NZ some people spent over 100). Trips to the beach. HackySack. Ping Pong. Watching Flight of the Conchords. Eating great food. Wood fired pizza is a staple of my diet right now. All the food we can eat. And oh yeah- as many adult beverages as we can reasonably tolerate. I've also learned a lot here including how to play backgammon and a huge amount of NZ slang.
I definitely have grown accustom to being here. The living arrangements are a bit dodgy(during my first shower here I was joined by a chicken), but it makes up for it with the laughs you share with the other internationals and Danny. Danny is the son of Bob. Bob owns the place while Danny runs it. Me and Danny get along great. Our comedic styles work well together when we can understand each other.
Apparently I have a crazy accent. I had no idea till I got here. It throws a lot of people off. Talking with the Germans can be a trick sometimes, but we get through it.
It's a cool little community here that they have built and I can understand why some people stay here for several months in a row. For me it's the open road though- I hitchhike Monday to Tauranga(a place I can now pronounce without people correcting me)
Saturday, February 2, 2013
A Note On Culture in NZ
I've been asking different people while I've been in NZ and as far as I can tell. New Zealand has a pretty sweet culture.
Andrew (one of the parents that hosted me in Bombay, NZ) and I had a nifty conversation about culture. He tells me that at one point recently in his life 1 in 5 Kiwi households (New Zealanders) owned a boat. Not way surprising because New Zealand is separated into two main islands (cleverly named North Island and South Island). But he says that between time on the water and sports- that's pretty much NZ culture.
People work during the week and then use the weekends to do something outdoors. Most trucks have a hitch. Most SUVs have a spot for a surfboard or paddle board to go on top. And just about everybody has a tan.
So far in New Zealand I have eaten a majority of my meals outside on a patio or porch. And almost everything has been healthy(at least compared to the food I'm used to in the south). Working just about everyday + time in the sun + healthy food = -12 lbs since I left the states. I'm not even trying to lose weight!! But a complete change of lifestyle seems to be doing me some good! From what I've seen healthy people are the norm in NZ. And slowly but surely my tan is building up!
Summing up NZ culture in a sentence, "laid back and relaxed", Jackie. "The western version of island life", Rebecca. "Lazy.... but somebody's gotta do it", Andrew.
Andrew (one of the parents that hosted me in Bombay, NZ) and I had a nifty conversation about culture. He tells me that at one point recently in his life 1 in 5 Kiwi households (New Zealanders) owned a boat. Not way surprising because New Zealand is separated into two main islands (cleverly named North Island and South Island). But he says that between time on the water and sports- that's pretty much NZ culture.
People work during the week and then use the weekends to do something outdoors. Most trucks have a hitch. Most SUVs have a spot for a surfboard or paddle board to go on top. And just about everybody has a tan.
So far in New Zealand I have eaten a majority of my meals outside on a patio or porch. And almost everything has been healthy(at least compared to the food I'm used to in the south). Working just about everyday + time in the sun + healthy food = -12 lbs since I left the states. I'm not even trying to lose weight!! But a complete change of lifestyle seems to be doing me some good! From what I've seen healthy people are the norm in NZ. And slowly but surely my tan is building up!
Summing up NZ culture in a sentence, "laid back and relaxed", Jackie. "The western version of island life", Rebecca. "Lazy.... but somebody's gotta do it", Andrew.
Bombay, New Zealand
My time spent with my host family here in Bombay has been pretty awesome. (Jackie and Andrew the parents, Amy and Jessica the twin girls- not identical the other one, and Rebekah the niece on a working Holliday from holland) Originally I was under the impression that this was an olive tree orchard. Turns out some time ago they got rid of many of their trees.
They still have olive trees here but I didn't get to pick olives or press them or anything! However- wow I still had a blast. They gave me my own room, bathroom, balcony, and living room. They only asked me to work 3 days. 6 hour days but it wasn't to bad. Pruning hedges, pruning olive trees, topping a few olive trees(chainsaw work up in an olive tree is a hoot), cutting down one small tree, weeding, moving heaps of old decking, getting rid of thistle. Nothing way to hard and it ended up being totally worth it!
Like I said, they only asked me to do 3 days work(Tuesday-Thursday), because on Friday we went by boat to their beach house! ON AN ISLAND!! Soooo many fun things! My first day on the island Jackie told me about some of the scuba gear they had, then mentioned that there were scallops in the bay that the house overlooked. 30 minutes later I was collecting scallops!! Then after we cleaned them- I kinda bailed because hey... I collected em :) the rest of the weekend was full of music on the beach, hammock chillin in my eno(who has now been named smokey), another dive for scallops, buscuiting(inner tube being dragged by a boat- aka tubing) , kayaking, snorkeling with the kids and heaps of fun!
The family and their friends who joined us stayed in the main house and I got my own "Batch". I freaking LOVED the batch! My own place on the second floor of split level kind of thing that I had all to myself. It was sweet in a rustic ocean kinda way. Great view every morning!
Being a lifeguard came in handy, on the island another mom and her two kids joined us for the weekend. And they were all able to take it a little easier knowing a LG was snorkeling with their kids.
Next stop is Coromandel, NZ. Bus takes me there tomorrow and Ill be at a winery! So excited but also sad to leave it here. It's kinda awesome. I know this feeling will keep being repeated as I go about my travels.
They still have olive trees here but I didn't get to pick olives or press them or anything! However- wow I still had a blast. They gave me my own room, bathroom, balcony, and living room. They only asked me to work 3 days. 6 hour days but it wasn't to bad. Pruning hedges, pruning olive trees, topping a few olive trees(chainsaw work up in an olive tree is a hoot), cutting down one small tree, weeding, moving heaps of old decking, getting rid of thistle. Nothing way to hard and it ended up being totally worth it!
Like I said, they only asked me to do 3 days work(Tuesday-Thursday), because on Friday we went by boat to their beach house! ON AN ISLAND!! Soooo many fun things! My first day on the island Jackie told me about some of the scuba gear they had, then mentioned that there were scallops in the bay that the house overlooked. 30 minutes later I was collecting scallops!! Then after we cleaned them- I kinda bailed because hey... I collected em :) the rest of the weekend was full of music on the beach, hammock chillin in my eno(who has now been named smokey), another dive for scallops, buscuiting(inner tube being dragged by a boat- aka tubing) , kayaking, snorkeling with the kids and heaps of fun!
The family and their friends who joined us stayed in the main house and I got my own "Batch". I freaking LOVED the batch! My own place on the second floor of split level kind of thing that I had all to myself. It was sweet in a rustic ocean kinda way. Great view every morning!
Being a lifeguard came in handy, on the island another mom and her two kids joined us for the weekend. And they were all able to take it a little easier knowing a LG was snorkeling with their kids.
Next stop is Coromandel, NZ. Bus takes me there tomorrow and Ill be at a winery! So excited but also sad to leave it here. It's kinda awesome. I know this feeling will keep being repeated as I go about my travels.
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