Differences Pt 1

One month in and we've seen so many things and very few things all at the same time. When I started this journey, I thought a year was a long time. A whole year away from friends and family, I would fall out of touch with the events and happenings, and I would get used to a whole different lifestyle. A year. A lot can happen. But I'm starting to realize is a year so very very short, much too short, especially when trying to explore a whole country. One month in, and my BF and I have still barely explored a small north eastern part of Auckland. And it's not like we've been sitting around. Almost everyday we head out somewhere new.

Pakiri Beach - long and wide

Beautiful sky

Leigh Harbour walk

Cushion starfish at Matheson Bay

Leigh Harbour

Tawharanui park south coast path

Tawharanui park

Tawharanui park

Goat Island

Bay across from Goat Island

Omaha Beach

Bird Sanctuary at Omaha

I also wanted to mention some interesting little differences I've noticed since being here. I'm sure I'll come up with more as we continue our journey. :)

Differences Pt 1

• Kiwifruit, kiwibird or kiwi - three different things, only say kiwi when referring to New Zealanders
• Beetroot - just like kiwifruit, I don't know if plain beet is anything yet
• Kiwis drive FAST, even on their ridiculously windy single lane roads
• Weird 5 km differences, ex: speed on a straightway - 80km, speed on the curve - 75km
• 90% of all cereals you will find in a grocery store are museli, 5% will be cornflakes and rice "pebbles", 5% any other kind of cereal
• A lot of muselis have yogurt covered raisins in them
• Asian cars will have the signal light changer on the right side of the steering wheel, while non-Asian cars will be on the left side
• It is rare to have central heating. Instead, most homes have one fireplace, usually located in the family/living room
• Most kiwis are very environmentally conscious, ie) signs about water conservation everywhere, no clothes dryers, blow dryers instead of paper towels in bathrooms, more efficient toilets, using rainwater or rivers/waterfalls as a water source, all wall outlets have a switch to completely cut off power
• Raw sugar is just as common as refined sugar
• Following the above, Almond Breeeze, a brand of almond milk, uses raw sugar as their sweetener instead of evaporated sugar cane in North America
• Everything is green, all the time
• Lots of kiwis think Canadians are expert fire builders because we live in such a cold climate and thus, must make fires all the time
• Even teeny tiny towns are often packed with cars and traffic
• The weather is highly variable. In one day, you can literally watch the clouds blow by, bringing periods of rain and sunshine, rain and sunshine, rain and sunshine
• After living in a society that likes things in huge quantities at cheap prices, it is a bit of a shock to go into a grocery store to only find tiny bags of greens for the same price as a giant bag back at home
• Food is generally more expensive here than back at home. A bag of chips can cost up to $5 at a gas station!
• Internet is much more expensive and not really that fast
• Free wifi is usually slow and you are limited either in time or MB
• Beaches are everywhere! But that's probably because we are so far north where the country is "skinnier"
• Hills, hills, and hills. You can get fit fast here
• Gums, aka rainboots or rubberboots, are a must here if you want to bush walk
• Bush walks are equivalent to trail walking
• Bush walking is also called tramping
• Northern Kiwis can't fathom Canadian winters as 0 or below is extremely rare
• Stores close on Sunday and don't stay open late. Probably the only exceptions are large grocery chains
• It seems like every Kiwi knows where everything else is, geographically
• Meat pies are a staple here and constitute a meal. They are sold everywhere, in a huge variety of flavours

Lentil mushroom

Cauliflower, potato, and cheese?

Spinach, feta, and sundried tomatoes

One more thing! There is something called an Honesty Box here in New Zealand. It's where a person packages up extra fruit/produce/herbs and puts them out for sale either on a table or inside a little house. It's a great way to pick up a cheap bag of goodies on your way somewhere. We've already grabbed a few bags of mandarins and persimmons. A huge bag for only $5! But be warned, some of them have security cameras watching you and the owners will go out of their way to shame you if you aren't honest! (Theft from honesty boxes has been growing, causing some owners to put up security measures or just plain stop doing it. It's really sad, as honesty boxes are great! A little bit of income for the growers in exchange for some awesome goodness.) Some people even sell fresh nuts!

Mandarins!

The BF and I will be staying in Leigh for another week before heading up to a cute little cottage called The Acorn for a week or two, and then going all the way north to Cape Reinga to see the meeting point of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean!

And Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! I'm a bit jealous that I'm missing the fireworks, but I guess I'll have to settle for a snowless +15C winter instead. :P