During our time here in New Zealand, we've been introduced to a lot of great Kiwi culture, most recently around the dinner table with our woof family. We give a huge shout out to Flynn and Matilda for teaching us "kiwi" style. Here is what we've learned do far.
New Zealand Vocabulary
Kiwi: the fruit, the National bird, a New Zealander (in no particular order)
How ya going? A regular greeting, much like "how are you doing?"
Mate: friend
Cabinet food: food like donuts, sandwiches, pies behind glass in cafés, variety stores (delicious, but not so nutritionius)
All over the shop: scattered
Pies: yummy pastry pie filled with meat (beef, chicken, lamb)
Mince: ground beef
Toasties: Grilled cheese
Bitumen: a paved roads
Maccas: McDonald's
Quad bike: four-wheeler
Ute: pickup truck
Lorry: truck the size of a dump truck
Petrol: gasoline
Toilet or loo: washroom
Bach: cottage
Lolly: candy
Slices: dessert squares
Tradies: trades people
Truckies: truck drivers
Sparkies: electricians
Domain: main city park
Reserve: conservation area or park
Tramp: hike
Track: walking path
Carpark: parking lot
Observations
There are no screens on windows
There are way fewer types of cereal
Milk is not labeled by % fat, but rather thin, lite, regular
You can ride bicycles on freeways (but we never saw anyone doing this as it would be extremely dangerous)
There is a rail system, but it doesn't seem widely used (we've seen 2 trains, each with a whopping 3 cars)
Most transport trucks have two smaller trailers, rather than 1, and few have sleeping units
Gasoline costs about $2.40/L ($2.10/L Canadian)
Most food is more expensive in NZ ($9 for a L of ketchup, $20 for 1 kg block of cheese)
There is a shortage of eggs because farmers were pressured to do away with certain sized cages
There is a shortage of bananas because of poor weather in the Philippines and Equador
There are SO MANY cows and sheep
And about every 5th transport truck on the road is hauling animals - go figure
Most small towns have at least 1 tractor dealership (most often Case IH for our farm mates)
Virtually all towns have free public toilets
When you see a sign for Fish & Chips, they are a Chinese food restaurant in disguise
The Accent
With all of this new, we like to think we're blending in like locals. That is, until we speak, or until someone talks about bears, or beers! You see, Kiwi's have a very distinctive way of pronouncing 'ea'. We first experienced this at our second woofa site, when we were asked if we'd like a couple of bears with supper. I'm sure we both had dazed looks on our faces that said, "what the heck are bears?, or "why would we want bears with supper?" We soon figured out Donna was asking if we'd like a couple of beers. Of course that's what she was asking! We both promised ourselves that we'd be vigilant, and listen closely for this vowel combo. Well, you know where this is going now don't you.
Tonight, after 34 days in NZ, we were cooking dinner in a communal kitchen at the Gore Motor Camp, and Gayle started chatting with a young Kiwi guy. He asked where we were from, and upon finding out our Canadian status, he asked what Gayle thought was "Have you seen many beers?" Strange, but whatever. A lot of people like to talk about beer these days, right? So I launched into a spiel about the popularity of micro breweries at home, until Paul kindly let me know he was asking if we'd seen many BEARS. Oops. Next time I'll catch the accent!
Speed Limits-
On open roads the speed limit is typically 100 km/h. This, however, is often extremely unsafe. Here’s a speed limit sign about 20 metres from a stop sign.
