Everyone always asks me what is different between New Zealand and the United States. So how different could two first-world western countries be? Quite a bit different, as it turns out! I suppose this is more a comparison of NZ and Montana, but here are some things that I've noticed in the month I have been here:
1. The language - yeah its english, but I can assure you it is spoken quite differently down here! Both in terms of accent and sayings, Kiwis have their own (awesome) variety. Some of my favorites: Sweet as, flash, hard out, chunder, etc.
2. School - obviously the next biggie: I go to an all girls' school here, so that has been a HUGE ajustment
3. Uniforms - yeah, I wear a uniform to school.
4. Money - way cooler looking down here - colorful, with cool clear parts!
5. Wildlife - when you go walking you don't have to worry about bears, wolves, mountain lions, snakes, spiders, or virtually anything else that would want to hurt you.
6. Airport customs - you don't even have to take your shoes or sweatshirt off!
7. Driving - its on "the wrong side of the road!"
Ok, now just a list of different things - hopefully they're pretty self explanatory!
- they don't refrigerate their eggs
- people can get away with saying more on tv without getting fired
- eat more fish
- we have "interval" or "morning tea" - basically what would be recess in the States
- dinner is called "tea"
- you HAVE to wear sunscreen when you go out, due to the hole in the ozone located directly above NZ
- butter is used on sandwiches instead of mayo
- marmite... I have yet to try it, but a lot of people love it!
- a shopping cart is not a shopping cart. It is a trolly.
- AMAZING FISH AND CHIPS
- incredibly windy roads. You have not been carsick until you have driven the road from Blenheim to Nelson.
- Rugby
- Track cycling
- Greenery - more leafy trees and amazing gardens
- So many different kinds of "biscuts" and "lollies" (candy) that I can't list them all!
- creamier ice cream
- Hoky poky ice cream (amazing)
- incredible beaches
- more kids here leave high school before graduation
- NCEA examinations - instead of a GPA there are national exams that are graded on a not achieved, achieved, merit, and excellence scale
- Blenheim has no stop lights and very few stop signs
- slower internet
- much nicer McDonalds buildings
- tomato sauce = ketchup
- netball
...and so much more! Basically, there are a lot of underlying things that make NZ different from Montana. It has been fun experiencing everything here, and this list definitely does not include everything.
In other news, school is good, my feature article in media studies is on the way Americans are viewed in NZ - its been interesting to research for it. To some extent it hasn't set in that I'm in New Zealand, to be honest! Its hard to fathom that I am halfway around the globe from my home at this very moment. Crazy...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Natural Disasters and all that Jazz
Well as you may have heard, Christchurch was rocked by another huge earthquake today. 6.3 on the Richter scale, and although it wasn't as bad as the 7.something quake in September it was ranked as a level 3 emergency (the worst it can get) because of the number of lives lost. At only 5 km below the surface, lots of buildings were damaged and as I write this the death toll is climbing. My heart goes out to those who have lost someone in the quake or who have lost their home and posessions. It was interesting to be here for one of the largest natural disasters that NZ has had in a long time, it vaguely reminded me of whatching the news on 9/11 in the morning when they were replaying the videos of the attack. Its pretty intense.
In other news, I had an uneventful school day and got to come home early due to a teachers' union meeting. Soooo... yep I wasn't going to post today but I felt it was necessary to acknowledge the hardship those in Christchurch are facing. It sure makes me glad to be where I am, safe and sound.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
February 20, 2011
So it's been awhile since I've posted... I have officially determined that I am not the type of person who is good at routinely doing things like posting on a blog or writing in a journal. So, I will work on it, but I will probably go to a one-post-a-week strategy and just update on what's going on every weekend (if I can). Anyway, here's what happened this week in Blenheim:
I had an uneventful week at school, classes are ramping up but nothing else of note happened that I can remember.
Friday night my host family and I went out to see the move "A Better World," a danish film about pacifism vs. violence. Very thought provoking, very well filmed, I would definitely reccomend it to anyone. Warning: NOT a "pick me up" sort of movie. If you are in a bad mood it won't cheer you up. But it is worth seeing. Also: it is subtitled.
Saturday was a nice lazy day, I woke up, made some toast, read the paper and helped Kasia do the crosswords (ok saying I helped is a bit of an overstatement... I listened and attempted to come up with things while she and my host mom figured them out). Then Kasia and I went for a nice walk, and finished up the day by making dinner. We made delicious pesto, bacon, and tomato pasta. Then we had hokey pokey ice cream for dessert while watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Hokey pokey ice cream is the best ice cream I've ever had, its as simple as that.
Today, I woke up and made toast again, but then went to work on my Media Studies feature article outline - which I am starting to freak out about a little bit, not going to lie. I'll turn out ok though, I still have a week or two to perfect it. After that I skyped Dad (Cayley and Mom were skiing). We had a nice lunch of yummy meat-stick-things and some delicious smoked trout, amidst a heated political discussion. This afternoon we drove over to Picton and Kasia and I got to ride in my host dad's Porsche on the way over!! So much fun!! Picton is a nice little town, we went into some shops and looked at some cool souvenier things, but then went down by the water. We walked down over the "coat hanger bridge" and to the marina where all the nice yachts are, and we saw what must have been the biggest privately-owned boat I have ever seen. It was 120ft long (or something like that) and had a HUGE mast. Anyway we looked at the boats for a bit, then walked back and went for a swim which was wonderful. For dinner we got fish and chips. I am in LOVE with NZ fish and chips. They are the best I've ever eaten. Served in newspaper and all warm and crunchy... mmmm yummy. So we ate all our delicious fish but then the sand flies started biting so we packed up rather quickly.
After a quick drive home and a short stop in the grocery store, we came home, showered, and ended up watching "10 things I hate about you" with Heath Ledger in it. Overall an excellent day! Sometime soon I'll write about all the differences between the US and NZ, when I have time and actually get around to it. But I have a busy day tomorrow (school) so I'll sign off and get to bed. Hope everything is well back in the States, xoxo.
I had an uneventful week at school, classes are ramping up but nothing else of note happened that I can remember.
Friday night my host family and I went out to see the move "A Better World," a danish film about pacifism vs. violence. Very thought provoking, very well filmed, I would definitely reccomend it to anyone. Warning: NOT a "pick me up" sort of movie. If you are in a bad mood it won't cheer you up. But it is worth seeing. Also: it is subtitled.
Saturday was a nice lazy day, I woke up, made some toast, read the paper and helped Kasia do the crosswords (ok saying I helped is a bit of an overstatement... I listened and attempted to come up with things while she and my host mom figured them out). Then Kasia and I went for a nice walk, and finished up the day by making dinner. We made delicious pesto, bacon, and tomato pasta. Then we had hokey pokey ice cream for dessert while watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Hokey pokey ice cream is the best ice cream I've ever had, its as simple as that.
Today, I woke up and made toast again, but then went to work on my Media Studies feature article outline - which I am starting to freak out about a little bit, not going to lie. I'll turn out ok though, I still have a week or two to perfect it. After that I skyped Dad (Cayley and Mom were skiing). We had a nice lunch of yummy meat-stick-things and some delicious smoked trout, amidst a heated political discussion. This afternoon we drove over to Picton and Kasia and I got to ride in my host dad's Porsche on the way over!! So much fun!! Picton is a nice little town, we went into some shops and looked at some cool souvenier things, but then went down by the water. We walked down over the "coat hanger bridge" and to the marina where all the nice yachts are, and we saw what must have been the biggest privately-owned boat I have ever seen. It was 120ft long (or something like that) and had a HUGE mast. Anyway we looked at the boats for a bit, then walked back and went for a swim which was wonderful. For dinner we got fish and chips. I am in LOVE with NZ fish and chips. They are the best I've ever eaten. Served in newspaper and all warm and crunchy... mmmm yummy. So we ate all our delicious fish but then the sand flies started biting so we packed up rather quickly.
After a quick drive home and a short stop in the grocery store, we came home, showered, and ended up watching "10 things I hate about you" with Heath Ledger in it. Overall an excellent day! Sometime soon I'll write about all the differences between the US and NZ, when I have time and actually get around to it. But I have a busy day tomorrow (school) so I'll sign off and get to bed. Hope everything is well back in the States, xoxo.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Day
"Hello blog, 'tis been awhile now. But I thought I should catch up. TODAY HAS BEEN A GOOD DAY. I had physics. Mr. Swan is special. He sits in class and watches the video by himself and I learn a lot. Physics is fun. I had a deep and meaningful physics talk with my host father. Um.
Well, my host sister returned today from a far, far away land. Called um um aaaaah JAPAN! Um, she came with lollies. That were yummy and winnie the pooh themed chopsticks. Oooh and Sonia's friend, Alice, has returned also today from Florida. She is happy. Also today I had an apricot and an apple in my lunch box. Um, it rained. Um uuuuuh, Sonia is cool. It was ery hot yesterday and it was even 36 degrees. Which is a bit hotter than Bozeman :) It was so hot I went for a swim which was novel. I like the orange choc chip icecream that sonia rolled into a cone. it tastes like orange :) So yeah, NZ is pretty rad and I feel happy here in this beautiful town.
Ex-Oh-Ex-Oh..... Gossip Girl"
Ok so now that you've heard my life according to Sonia, here's my take:
Actually, she basically covered everything. Despite a mild obsession with Physics, I think most of what I've done was taken care of. I DID have 2 pieces of fruit today, which was novel. Epic win! Yes I am good at typing Sonia. Except I just messed up. Woo hoo. Apparently the Packers won the superbowl, as I was informed by about 100 facebook posts about the game. Cool. Didn't even know the game was on. Just goes to show what a good American I am. Basically my life has actually been quite uneventful. I... went to school... and.... came home from school... and yeah.
Actually we went to Nelson this weekend for an AFS orientation, and went to the International Kai (food) festival there. Which was yummy and novel. I had hangi (food cooked underground) watched a haka, and had a real fruit ice cream. Plus I got to try orange chocolate chip ice cream, especially for dad. You were right, its awesome! I have yet to try jelly tip though, and my expectations are high because Sonia loves it. I watched Phantom of the Opera for the first time too, and we wanted to see the end so we didn't get to bed until 1:30 - it was too hot to sleep anyways, especially when Gerard Butler came onscreen :) ha. haha. I think I'm forgetting something, but until I think of it we'll leave it at that! Oh, and it is raining today. Bye! :)
Well, my host sister returned today from a far, far away land. Called um um aaaaah JAPAN! Um, she came with lollies. That were yummy and winnie the pooh themed chopsticks. Oooh and Sonia's friend, Alice, has returned also today from Florida. She is happy. Also today I had an apricot and an apple in my lunch box. Um, it rained. Um uuuuuh, Sonia is cool. It was ery hot yesterday and it was even 36 degrees. Which is a bit hotter than Bozeman :) It was so hot I went for a swim which was novel. I like the orange choc chip icecream that sonia rolled into a cone. it tastes like orange :) So yeah, NZ is pretty rad and I feel happy here in this beautiful town.
Ex-Oh-Ex-Oh..... Gossip Girl"
Ok so now that you've heard my life according to Sonia, here's my take:
Actually, she basically covered everything. Despite a mild obsession with Physics, I think most of what I've done was taken care of. I DID have 2 pieces of fruit today, which was novel. Epic win! Yes I am good at typing Sonia. Except I just messed up. Woo hoo. Apparently the Packers won the superbowl, as I was informed by about 100 facebook posts about the game. Cool. Didn't even know the game was on. Just goes to show what a good American I am. Basically my life has actually been quite uneventful. I... went to school... and.... came home from school... and yeah.
Actually we went to Nelson this weekend for an AFS orientation, and went to the International Kai (food) festival there. Which was yummy and novel. I had hangi (food cooked underground) watched a haka, and had a real fruit ice cream. Plus I got to try orange chocolate chip ice cream, especially for dad. You were right, its awesome! I have yet to try jelly tip though, and my expectations are high because Sonia loves it. I watched Phantom of the Opera for the first time too, and we wanted to see the end so we didn't get to bed until 1:30 - it was too hot to sleep anyways, especially when Gerard Butler came onscreen :) ha. haha. I think I'm forgetting something, but until I think of it we'll leave it at that! Oh, and it is raining today. Bye! :)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
First Day of School!
As the title implies, today was my first real day of school at Marlborough Girls' College. After donning the required uniform that I have previously described, Sonia and I walked to school - which is about a mile or two away. There were tons of girls there, but we went and met up with Sonia's friends, all of whom were very nice and incredibly welcoming. The first thing we had to do when school started was go to the gym for a meeting, where we were then sorted into our form classes (essentilly advisory class in the US). My form teacher seems nice, while he made me introduce myself to the class he also made an effort to make me welcome, which was greatly appreciated. Basically all we did all morning was sit in our form classes and not really do anything. We had interval (recess), more form class, and then lunch. We (me and Sonia and her friends, who were nice enough to invite me along) went off campus to a nice park with a little creek and ate lunch there, which was nice because it was about 90 degrees out and very humid. After lunch we had a house meeting, then more form class, then school pictures.
That essentially concludes the school day from what I remember, so we walked back home and changed out of our hot, sticky uniforms. I discovered that, as expected, my new shoes gave me blisters - funny thing is though I got them on the bottom of my feet as well. Oh well, they will callous over and all will be well again. When we got home we spent some time cooling off and just relaxing. Basically all we (Sonia and I) did later was draw cool pictures and have a good time lauging at them. Tomorrow we start real classes for the first time, so that should be another adventure... And thus concludes another day of my exchange to the land of the Kiwis!
That essentially concludes the school day from what I remember, so we walked back home and changed out of our hot, sticky uniforms. I discovered that, as expected, my new shoes gave me blisters - funny thing is though I got them on the bottom of my feet as well. Oh well, they will callous over and all will be well again. When we got home we spent some time cooling off and just relaxing. Basically all we (Sonia and I) did later was draw cool pictures and have a good time lauging at them. Tomorrow we start real classes for the first time, so that should be another adventure... And thus concludes another day of my exchange to the land of the Kiwis!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
School and all types of fun
This morning was the meeting for the new students at Marlborough Girls College, my soon to be school for 6 months. I got to wake up bright and early at 8 and put on my uniform, which consists of a blue and plaid skirt, a white blouse, and white socks under black strapped shoes. Its pretty hot. In all seriousness though its quite nice to know what you're going to wear to school and not have to worry about being judged by your clothes. Anyways, my host sister (Sonia) and I walked over to the school and met with the other new students who came - 4 of us in all. We went to the school's welcome meeting (much of which was is Maori) and then had a tour of the school and got our schedules etc. Everyone was really nice so far. Then Sonia was nice enough to show me where my classes are, so hopefully I don't get TOO lost tomorrow...
After we got home we went downtown to buy "stationary," or school supplies. There are all these cool pre-made notebooks that they use down here for homework and classwork that have certain sizes and paper inside, which I thought were pretty cool. I realize typing that that it basically sounds exactly like our notebooks in the US, but they were all made by the same company and they looked more scholarly I guess you could say.
Later we went to the theater and saw "The hopes and dreams of Gazza Snell," a Kiwi film about a man in Auckland who wants his son to race go-carts but then his youngest son gets hurt (is in a coma!) and theres all this self realization and cool metaphors. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say I found it enjoyable. Tonight we spent time covering our new school books, but then became sidetracked by trashy tabloid magazines and the faces all too ready for someone to draw on them (including Angelina Jolie and Taylor Swift). Basically I thought it was a good use of time.
The first real day of school is tomorrow, and I'm excited but also really nervous because I've never been a new student before. Hopefully all goes well, wish me luck!
After we got home we went downtown to buy "stationary," or school supplies. There are all these cool pre-made notebooks that they use down here for homework and classwork that have certain sizes and paper inside, which I thought were pretty cool. I realize typing that that it basically sounds exactly like our notebooks in the US, but they were all made by the same company and they looked more scholarly I guess you could say.
Later we went to the theater and saw "The hopes and dreams of Gazza Snell," a Kiwi film about a man in Auckland who wants his son to race go-carts but then his youngest son gets hurt (is in a coma!) and theres all this self realization and cool metaphors. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say I found it enjoyable. Tonight we spent time covering our new school books, but then became sidetracked by trashy tabloid magazines and the faces all too ready for someone to draw on them (including Angelina Jolie and Taylor Swift). Basically I thought it was a good use of time.
The first real day of school is tomorrow, and I'm excited but also really nervous because I've never been a new student before. Hopefully all goes well, wish me luck!
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