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
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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.
Friday, January 25, 2013
A Little Over A Week In Country and NZ is AMAZING
Wow this place is breathtaking! My trip to Clevedon(where my first farm is) from Auckland(where I stayed a few days after landing) wasn't bad at all. One funny thing did happen though.
While waiting for my host in Clevedon to pick me up from Papakura(where the bus took me from Auckland) I was sitting outside a closed shop. My pack was at my side and I was just sitting. Most people passing by paid me little notice. A few people actually crossed to the other side of the street, i noticed cause i was doing was people watching while waiting. A few people stopped and said hey and asked where I was trying to go.. Then a woman offered to buy me lunch- I was full so said no thank you... She said "good for you, son." I thought that was odd- just the way she said it. Then another man stopped by me and started digging out change from his pocket... It was at this point I realized ... wow I look like a homeless person... Then I thought... Wait... I pretty much am homeless hahaha. I refused the change and tried to start sitting differently. Thinking that would somehow help.
My time at Crabtree Farm has been pretty freaking sweet. My hosts name is Marcia. She is a 50 something British woman with an accent that I thought only existed in movies. It's the old British, very proper, "darling won't you come in for tea", kind of accent. She only ask me to work 3 hours a day. It's super easy work. Planting a few trees and prune some in the vineyard. The only hard work so far has been taking care of all the Gross(soft o, not sure of the real spelling). It's a horrible bush. It's nothing but spikes and if it sticks you it's like getting bit by an ant, it's got this venom in it. Sucks hard core. But then again how much can you complain when you get called in from work for lunch that consist of very upscale food. Think stinky cheese and wine every day.
For the first 6 days I was here there was also a woofer(different work live program that only does organic farms) named Jenn. Very nice American girl from Oregon. Jenn was a good worker and very nice. We could also joke back and forth very quickly. And soon her, Marcia, and myself were all rolling on the floor laughing at each others "naughty"(in Marcia's words) jokes.
Since she was here before me she got dibs on the guest room and I have to sleep in the garden. Oh no! It's actually really awesome- cool in the evening. Its about 30 yards from the house. Separate so it's nice. Grassy area surrounded by flowers and tropical trees. Great place to hang my hammock.
As far as adventures go there have been a few pretty fun moments. As soon as I saw that Marcia had a 4-wheeler, I knew much fun would be had, eventually had to teach Jenn how to drive it. I've been across pretty much all 100 acres of the farm now. Really cool woods and ridges. The farm is located in a valley between two steep hills. They are very tall for hills but also very beautiful. From ontop of the ridge overlooking the house it looks something like the shire. Soft rolling hills with golden grass. A creek rolling through on one side with willow trees along the bank. A now well pruned vineyard(thanks in most to Jenn), its about the size of a football field. Multiple duck ponds. Crabapple trees. And loads of trees I've never seen before.
I went to the one pub tonight and met an American named Nick. He had some legit philosophies on how the American lifestyle has made traveling not attractive to Americans. Long story short we take to much pride in 'Mercia. And think that all other countries are inferior, so why travel? We are the best. It kinda forces people into this mindset of "high school, college, marriage, good money, kids....." And if you break that you're nuts!! I think there was something to that.
Well yall, I'm not sure where exactly I'm going to take this blog. I could just ramble on and on like this entry(thank you so much for reading by the way, I know this one was to long), or if I meet enough cool people with interesting points of view I could take this blog on the social commentary path. Or just talk about only the fun things.
What do y'all want to hear? Write a comment, Facebook me, or email me.
While waiting for my host in Clevedon to pick me up from Papakura(where the bus took me from Auckland) I was sitting outside a closed shop. My pack was at my side and I was just sitting. Most people passing by paid me little notice. A few people actually crossed to the other side of the street, i noticed cause i was doing was people watching while waiting. A few people stopped and said hey and asked where I was trying to go.. Then a woman offered to buy me lunch- I was full so said no thank you... She said "good for you, son." I thought that was odd- just the way she said it. Then another man stopped by me and started digging out change from his pocket... It was at this point I realized ... wow I look like a homeless person... Then I thought... Wait... I pretty much am homeless hahaha. I refused the change and tried to start sitting differently. Thinking that would somehow help.
My time at Crabtree Farm has been pretty freaking sweet. My hosts name is Marcia. She is a 50 something British woman with an accent that I thought only existed in movies. It's the old British, very proper, "darling won't you come in for tea", kind of accent. She only ask me to work 3 hours a day. It's super easy work. Planting a few trees and prune some in the vineyard. The only hard work so far has been taking care of all the Gross(soft o, not sure of the real spelling). It's a horrible bush. It's nothing but spikes and if it sticks you it's like getting bit by an ant, it's got this venom in it. Sucks hard core. But then again how much can you complain when you get called in from work for lunch that consist of very upscale food. Think stinky cheese and wine every day.
For the first 6 days I was here there was also a woofer(different work live program that only does organic farms) named Jenn. Very nice American girl from Oregon. Jenn was a good worker and very nice. We could also joke back and forth very quickly. And soon her, Marcia, and myself were all rolling on the floor laughing at each others "naughty"(in Marcia's words) jokes.
Since she was here before me she got dibs on the guest room and I have to sleep in the garden. Oh no! It's actually really awesome- cool in the evening. Its about 30 yards from the house. Separate so it's nice. Grassy area surrounded by flowers and tropical trees. Great place to hang my hammock.
As far as adventures go there have been a few pretty fun moments. As soon as I saw that Marcia had a 4-wheeler, I knew much fun would be had, eventually had to teach Jenn how to drive it. I've been across pretty much all 100 acres of the farm now. Really cool woods and ridges. The farm is located in a valley between two steep hills. They are very tall for hills but also very beautiful. From ontop of the ridge overlooking the house it looks something like the shire. Soft rolling hills with golden grass. A creek rolling through on one side with willow trees along the bank. A now well pruned vineyard(thanks in most to Jenn), its about the size of a football field. Multiple duck ponds. Crabapple trees. And loads of trees I've never seen before.
I went to the one pub tonight and met an American named Nick. He had some legit philosophies on how the American lifestyle has made traveling not attractive to Americans. Long story short we take to much pride in 'Mercia. And think that all other countries are inferior, so why travel? We are the best. It kinda forces people into this mindset of "high school, college, marriage, good money, kids....." And if you break that you're nuts!! I think there was something to that.
Well yall, I'm not sure where exactly I'm going to take this blog. I could just ramble on and on like this entry(thank you so much for reading by the way, I know this one was to long), or if I meet enough cool people with interesting points of view I could take this blog on the social commentary path. Or just talk about only the fun things.
What do y'all want to hear? Write a comment, Facebook me, or email me.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
That time I randomly stumbled across a Scottish Cultural Festival
Well it's pretty much exactly like the title suggests. I was walking around Auckland NZ, and i realized I was close to a museum- from what I had heard it was worth a look. As I was trekking to it I started hearing bagpipes. Seeing as how I love bagpipes I followed the noise until I was at a Scottish Cultural Festival. Unfortunately they were out of the free whiskey and haggis but it was still fun talking with people!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Auckland!
From the second I could see the country side from the plane I knew I would love this place.
I haven't really left the city yet, that should happen Sunday morning on my way to my first farm in Clevedon, a city not to far from Auckland assuming I can get this bus/train situation figured out. It shouldn't be to hard because I have a lot of help from my hosts here in Auckland(Sarah and James).
It's kinda funny but the first food I had in New Zealand was Pizza Hut! And it's SOOOOOOO much better than American Pizza Hut, I'm really glad Sarah suggested it. The other food Ive had so far has been pretty regular stuff, I have yet to identify what "New Zealand Food" is.
It's the perfect weather here. Sunny, breezy, cool... perfect. The apartment I'm staying in right now is close to the harbor so it's cool and just awesome in general. I really like Auckland but really want to get to the country side soon. The city is great but I think I'll like the country even more! Tomorrow I'm hoping to go to a place called One Tree Hill. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Tree_Hill,_New_Zealand A 360 degree view of awesome country side!
I have yet to get my iTouch hooked up to wifi but when that happens a few pictures should pop onto my facebook/instagram.
Everybody I've met has been pretty cool. On the flights over I ran into many different people who all had cool trips to talk about. On the last flight a couple, The Wyatts (http://wyattsinwellington.wordpress.com/) were a couple who were doing a pretty sizeable hike down to Wellington. So pretty much going from the North part of North Island all the way to the South. Scott had me worried for a little bit when he talked about it possibly being hard to get my visa in New Zealand but it all worked out!
I will forever remember the feeling I had when I saw my pack at the baggage claim in the Airport. She was beautiful! Not a scratch on her and everything was there! She's the pack I'll be taking around the world with me and it killed me to be apart from her not knowing how she was. Yes, this sounds a little crazy but that pack is all I have now O.o As I grabbed her off the conveyor belt I remember looking and two strangers standing side by side watching me. One of them obviously a backpacker and he smiled. The other a guy in a suit, he looked at me strangely. The backpacker understood my joy I think :)
I know this post has been a little all over the place, it was written pretty quickly because time on the public library computers is limited. Sorry for the spelling mistakes that I'm sure are in here!
So, I'm in Auckland, I'm safe, Everything is going great! Farms and Backpacking start Sunday! Christchurch by April 15 or I get deported!
Take care and thanks for reading,
Steve
I haven't really left the city yet, that should happen Sunday morning on my way to my first farm in Clevedon, a city not to far from Auckland assuming I can get this bus/train situation figured out. It shouldn't be to hard because I have a lot of help from my hosts here in Auckland(Sarah and James).
It's kinda funny but the first food I had in New Zealand was Pizza Hut! And it's SOOOOOOO much better than American Pizza Hut, I'm really glad Sarah suggested it. The other food Ive had so far has been pretty regular stuff, I have yet to identify what "New Zealand Food" is.
It's the perfect weather here. Sunny, breezy, cool... perfect. The apartment I'm staying in right now is close to the harbor so it's cool and just awesome in general. I really like Auckland but really want to get to the country side soon. The city is great but I think I'll like the country even more! Tomorrow I'm hoping to go to a place called One Tree Hill. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Tree_Hill,_New_Zealand A 360 degree view of awesome country side!
I have yet to get my iTouch hooked up to wifi but when that happens a few pictures should pop onto my facebook/instagram.
Everybody I've met has been pretty cool. On the flights over I ran into many different people who all had cool trips to talk about. On the last flight a couple, The Wyatts (http://wyattsinwellington.wordpress.com/) were a couple who were doing a pretty sizeable hike down to Wellington. So pretty much going from the North part of North Island all the way to the South. Scott had me worried for a little bit when he talked about it possibly being hard to get my visa in New Zealand but it all worked out!
I will forever remember the feeling I had when I saw my pack at the baggage claim in the Airport. She was beautiful! Not a scratch on her and everything was there! She's the pack I'll be taking around the world with me and it killed me to be apart from her not knowing how she was. Yes, this sounds a little crazy but that pack is all I have now O.o As I grabbed her off the conveyor belt I remember looking and two strangers standing side by side watching me. One of them obviously a backpacker and he smiled. The other a guy in a suit, he looked at me strangely. The backpacker understood my joy I think :)
I know this post has been a little all over the place, it was written pretty quickly because time on the public library computers is limited. Sorry for the spelling mistakes that I'm sure are in here!
So, I'm in Auckland, I'm safe, Everything is going great! Farms and Backpacking start Sunday! Christchurch by April 15 or I get deported!
Take care and thanks for reading,
Steve
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