It is high time I post. So here is a smattering of thoughts I complied for you.
Thought 1:
It still sends my head spinning to remember I am the one with an accent. Every now and then when Guy and I are at the grocery store shopping I see people looking over their shoulders to me, and I realize I am the foreigner. I am the thing that doesn’t belong when you play the game “One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other.” I have talked to Guy so much over the last year I don’t even notice his accent anymore, unless he says some silly phrase that makes no sense to my American mind. Which takes me into my next thought,
Thought 2:
My co-workers, two kiwi and one UK, had never heard of the word “Ta-Ta’s” to describe boobs. Is it me? Am I the odd one out? I have just thought that calling boobs ta-ta’s is a fun childish way of talking about what is on chest of so many of us.
Thought 3:
There is no ground turkey here. Well if it is here, I have not found it yet. The other day I suggested to Guy that we used ground turkey meat in our spaghetti sauce instead of beef mince for a healthier option. He looked dumbfounded. So when I went searching for it at the store I came up empty handed. My theory is that were Americans have a Turkey section in the meat department and New Zealanders have a Lamb section. Yes, America may have lamb section as well but I can guarantee it is not as big as the one here.
Thought 4:
Kiwi fruit is great! I love my gold kiwis. They are sweeter than the green kiwi everybody knows back in the States. The outsides of the fruit aren’t weird fuzzy and you can eat the whole thing whole if you like! The skin doesn’t fuss up my tummy too much. At the supermarket when you buy pre-packaged boxes of kiwifruit they include a kiwi spoon/knife! One end is a knife to slice the fruit in half and the other end is a spoon to eat your fruit. I have never seen anything like it. The perfect tool for the job. Especially if that job is to munch on five fruits in a row. I am not ashamed to say that I have been hoarding the spoon/knifes, I use them to eat my yogurt, and get sad when one breaks in half.
Thought 5:
Wind. Everything is about wind when it comes to weather. Everyone comments about the wind. Which wind it is and where it is coming from and where it is going. Some of the weather predictions that crop up on my forecasts: Northeasterlies, Southeasterly breezes, the Nor'West, ESE high winds, Easterly winds, Rain. That’s basically everything. And with each of those various types of wind the common New Zealander know exactly what kind of weather to expect. But I am not at the point yet! The weather is wacky. One day we will have dry warm sun which we hang the wash out to dry, open all the windows looking for a breeze, drink ice water to cool down. 18 hours later I am wiping rain off my glasses as I bike to work in my cute skirt and heels. Then at the end of the work day the bright blue sky is out and I am needing my reserve scarf and gloves I keep in my bag to warm up my numb fingers. Ugh. At least you get to wear that cute raincoat almost all year-round.
Thought 6:
Roll-on deodorant. It is basically your only choice here. There are a few options for stick deodorant but those are the cheap brands with terrible smells. I finally gave in a bought a roll-on. With summer approaching it is the best choice for everybody.
Thought 7:
This is unrelated to my move to NZ, but, I just became an Aunt for the first time! What should Baby Pattison call me? Aunt Ann? Auntie Ann? Auntie Annie? Aunt Annie? Nothing seems to sound right. Welcome to the world Alexander Carrig Pattison!
Thought 8:
Guy and I are planning a tour of the South Island for 10 days! Ness goes into a cattery, which she’ll hate/love, we go into a campervan and have the best time ever. I cannot wait! I guess I need to learn to drive on the other side of the road. I did promise Guy that. Perhaps I will practice on empty roads somewhere out in the countryside.
Thought 9:
I have met a handful of people who type in the oddest way: they use the caps lock key to make capitol letters. For example, if they are typing a sentence about how awesome I am, in the middle of their hunt’n’peck typing they click on the caps lock key to capitalize my name, Ann, instead of using the shift button. Has anyone else seen this? Is it a learned trait? Is it a coping mechanism that somebody figured out to make capitals because they thought using two keys at once was hard? This baffles me.
Thought 10:
Here you can buy fireworks, four days out of the year from November 2nd to November 5th for Guy Fawkes Day. We went up the hill to watch the fireworks that the city puts on and were happily entertained by the small bursts of light from all the houses below across the city. I am just amazed that no large fires happened. The downside is that people buy fireworks during that time but then keep them around for longer so you randomly hear fireworks during the November and Decembers months.
Thought 11:
I love my boyfriend. I love my cat. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my work friends. I feel like I am in an isolated bubble with the knowledge that there is a bubble very far away whose life is going on without my bubble. Once it was such a large bubble. I thought it would be easy to keep in touch. Write emails all the time. Skype. Send photos. I vaguely know what is going on back in the States but my life seems to be moving so quickly here that I don’t have much time to reflect which is why this blog post has taken so long to write. It is hard to express the feelings I have for everybody back home because if I think about them too much my heart grows sad and I feel lost. It has been easier to keep everybody at a distance. The time/day difference helps too. Thankfully Guy is a great rock to my wandering sad heart, reminding me of my adventure and how brave I am to try something completely new. My life here is blessed but even when hard times approach and pass you are once again reminded how wonderful so much of your life is.
Thought 12:
I cut my hair off. It feels AMAZING.
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