In honor of Maori language week, Tēnā koutou!! "Hello" (to three or more people) and Haere mai "welcome" to our blog!
We are adjusting quite well so far. New Zealand doesn't seem as different as you might expect. However, there have already been a few things that we have noticed as being truly Kiwi. We have learned that a dairy is a convenience store, that fat free milk is called trim milk and that hokey pokey is the nation's favorite ice cream flavor which is plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of sponge toffee (we have yet to try that but will report back when we do)! Kiwis also LOVE their soup - especially Pumpkin. Trey has tried a few now and they really are quite tasty. Mmmmm. Don't forget, it is winter here = comfort food.
That said, people seem to dress the same here and believe it or not, the accents are not as difficult to understand as we thought. Music is similar and movies are only on a bit of a lag behind the US. And we cannot even tell you the amount of US chains we see everywhere (Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, Subway and Starbucks). I guess one shocker though was the Kiwi Burger which consists of hamburger, lettuce, tomato, beetroot and a fried egg!!!! Yeah, Jocelyn won't be trying that one.
Yesterday we strolled up and down Victoria Street which is just a few blocks from where we live. It is filled with trendy boutique shops and cafes. Cafes are HUGE here and there is no shortage of coffee, tea, sandwiches "sammys" or "toasties" which are toasted sandwiches and baked goods such as scones. Kiwis are big on their feta and brie cheese as well. Almost every sandwich will have one of these. Also, they seem to enjoy their breakfast - most cafes serve it until at least 2pm if not all day! SWEET!
Today we went back into the City Centre to retrieve our EFTPOS cards which then allowed us to go to Vodafone to get our mobiles (cell phones)! We are now officially Kiwi mobile users. The plans are much different here and almost everyone has internet on any phone - even the low level ones. Changing your plan/upgrading is easy and there are really no fees. So much different than the US - in a good way. We are "best mates" which means that we get to call each other unlimited and we both have free internet for 3 mos. Additionally, we can call the USA for $2 a hour until the end of the year. Also, the kiwis seem to be much more into texting than talking. For example, Jocelyn's plan is 20 minutes of talk time with 600 text messages! How weird is that??
We are also trying to figure out grocery shopping and which store to make our "regular." We have gone to "New World" a few times now and plan on trying Pack N Save and Countdown next. Pack N Save you pack your own groceries which Jocelyn is not too keen on, but Trey is always willing to save a buck! Countdown will likely be the one we choose. New World seems to be more like a Whole Foods and a bit expensive for some things.
After grocery shopping we hopped on the free shuttle which loops around the center of the city. Can you imagine a free city shuttle in the US - no way! It is very convenient and drops us off about a block from our place and picks up right in front of all three grocery stores. This may not matter much when we have a car as all the stores have parking lots, but for now it is great. So, the free shuttle is interesting - as everything else in NZ it is very clean and they actually play radio - songs from the 60's and 70's mostly but really soothing and nice. People are of course very friendly as well.
Finally, we visited the Visitor Center in Cathedral Square and picked up loads of pamphlets. There is food and wine tours, hiking trails, skiing. We think our first trip will be to Methven & Mt. Hutt (southern alps) very near to Christchurch and have buses that go directly from Christchurch for very cheap ($60 NZD - approx. $40 USD). Skiing season will end around mid October so this makes sense as a first trip - plus, Jocelyn is dying to learn how to ski and Trey says this is the perfect climate for her to learn. This way when she visits the Holzwarths and Strokers in Colorado she will be a pro! :)
Well, tonight we are off to meet up with Jay and Ness, the lovely couple we are buying the car from. They have suggested a place called Lotus Heart on Columbo Street which is a vegetarian restaurant downtown. We are really looking forward to meeting them - it will be nice to know other people here - especially Americans who can give us helpful hints as we adjust to our new surroundings.
Well, off to get ready for dinner and test ginger ales......that's right......we both really like ginger ale but there is no true equivalent to what we know in the US. There is Schweppes dry ginger ale and Schweppes ginger beer and a few others. It is pretty confusing so we just bought a bottle of each and we will sort it out on our own! LOL
P.S. We have included some pics of our flat and the view from it. Enjoy!
More to come.........................
