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...
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