Newbie to Kiwi Culture

It’s probably premature, but the time seems right for my first “Gee, it’s so different here” post. This is gonna be a long one, too, so you’ve been warned. I should start out by saying that it’s actually not all that different here, at least in terms of the most frequent everyday experiences. We’re in Wellington, a city of about 450,000. It’s the capitol of the country, and boasts a busy, bustling port and commercial / cultural district. In many respects, it’s like any other larg(ish) city of its kind.

The streets are hectic, filled with buses, rushing cars and people scurrying about. To imagine the people, you need only to think of most of them wearing black. I’m generalizing a bit here, but black seems a very popular color on Wellingtonians, and it’s not limited to the Goth types. Cell phones (known simply as “mobiles”) hang off everyone’s ears, which is remarkable mainly because they are ungodly expensive here. Lack of competition (2 companies only in NZ), a small population, and an apparent indifference to paying the high prices by the people who are here, seems to be the reason. The next time you complain about your coverage or fees in the States, imagine paying $300-700 for a phone (no free ones, regardless of a contract) and getting only about 20 minutes of call time before they start gauging you at 49 cents a minute. The truth is that although we really need to get a cell phone, Stacey and I simply have not been able to bring ourselves to swallow that very large bitter pill just yet. Eventually, though, we’ll have to.

Some other different things, you wonder? Well, food is always an easy one. Kiwis like good coffee, and they know how to make it. Stacey and I have been devouring great heaping bowls of the stuff (“Flat Whites”) which are incredibly delicious. They take after Hobbits when it comes to breakfasts—not so much in how many they eat, but definitely in terms of portions. The breakfasts are huge, especially if you get eggs, toast, and grilled tomatoes. Lunches seem more controlled, usually consisting of sandwiches and salads. Remember of course that this represents restaurant ordering, and may not be representative of what a Kiwi eats at home! In the afternoon, we have observed that pies and biscuits (usually filled with meat & referred to as savouries) seem popular. They make vegetarian ones, but we have yet to have one since they make fewer of those and usually by the time we think to look they are sold out. At a restaurant, we have determined if the menu is on a blackboard behind the counter then you order and pay right there. If it’s a printed menu, you are seated and they take the order. The check, referred to as the “docket”, is never brought to you without being asked for. You can wait all night if you like, it won’t come. This is both pleasant and annoying, and creates complex emotions that are hard to explain. =)

They seem to love red onions, they can appear in anything and in large quantities. Much to Stacey’s dismay, the also seem to love olives and mushrooms. I have been receiving those off her plate for days (no complaints!). Mexican food is not as rare as expected—there are a couple restaurants about—but there’s not much at the grocery store. Asian, Malaysian, Indian and Turkish restaurants are the most common of the ethnic choices, by far. At the grocery store, food is on average more expensive than in the States. Choices and brands are pretty good at the larger markets, you can usually find most anything you are looking for. Most, but not all, of the food brands we are used to we have been able to find. Organic foods, and “healthier” versions of foods, are sometimes absent. For instance, there was only one whole wheat (referred to as whole meal) pasta on the shelf, and it was a weird soy mix. In an odd twist, however, they seem to have an overabundance of gluten-free products available, much more than we have ever seen (you’d love it, Nancy). (NOTE: Down the road from the large commercial grocery store is a smaller organic foods market, where we found the prices both reasonable and the selections quite good, so it pays to investigate all options). Food labels are still Greek to me…kjs (kilajouls?) instead of calories, sometimes simply referred to as “energy”. Not gonna even touch the metric thing here, other than to curse the U.S. in general for not switching over back when we had the chance. Lite is pretty much the lowest-fat version you are gonna get, whether it’s milk or whatever. Ultra-lite products, such as 75% reduced fat cheeses, are not to be found. Artificial sweeteners are common at the grocery, not so much at the cafes, so bring your own.

Smoking is not permitted in any public building at all. This has created the interesting and annoying phenomena of streets, doorways, hallways and corners filled with smokers and their associated haze. People say “cheers” often, and it appears it can have many meanings: Thanks, goodbye, and just as a general happiness emote. It can appear multiple times in one sentence. They don’t say “G’day” (it’s unconfirmed, but that appears to be strictly Australian) but they do say “Mate” quite a bit. Any time we tell people that we’ve moved here from the States and gave up everything that we own to do it, they say “Good on you for going for it!”. Their expression sometimes says otherwise, though. Hehe—just kidding. Most everyone is quite nice and patient with us, and we have been struck by how enthusiastic Wellingtonians are about their city when they discover you are new here. They offer up all sorts of advice and tips about places to go, things to do, etc., with great zeal.

I don’t understand the weather reports, but we’re on an island, so generally I just think of it as “variable” and subject to rain at any moment and that seems a safe bet. I watch the news, but must be honest and say that New Zealand politics still confuse me as much as the weather reports. They don’t seem to like George Bush, though they do seem to like Americans. They love to gossip about Hollywood movie stars, just like we do, and Jon Benet murder stuff was front-page news.

Clothes sizes are different. I now wear a size 82 jeans. I have no idea what size shoe I wear.

The country is bicultural, yes, but it is my observation that Pakeha (NZ’ers of European descent) are completely clueless when it comes to Maori word pronunciation. I wanted so badly to say the words correctly for Maori place names. To this end I had been listening with intense interest at how Kiwis say those words. However, I finally got around to buying a legitimate book on Maori pronunciation using phonetics, and let’s just say I’ve been wasting my time listening to others. Oh, and yes, technically Stacey and I are Pakeha now. There’s no membership card, though, and it’s unclear as to whether you’d actually want one. After all, some scholars seem to think the origins of the word Pakeha can be traced to words describing “flea”, “pest” or perhaps even “parasite”. All I can say is that I’m going to do my personal best to avoid resembling any of those things while I live here.

Well, that’s more than enough rambling for tonight. It’s a long one, but I had to make up for last night and it may be a few days before I get in here again. Stacey and I are very busy looking for an apartment, and shortly after that will be doing some car shopping. Then, we move on to the really fun one: Getting jobs.

Cheers!

-William