Merry Christmas!

Hey all. So we just had Christmas a couple days ago. It was strange to me, as someone who has always lived in the Northern Hemisphere to experience a summer Christmas. The fact that I was at the beach two days before Christmas BLEW my mind. It seemed unnatural. I should have been wearing four layers, gloves, a scarf, drinking hot cocoa, and hoping for snow. I should not have been in a bikini, craving iced tea, and getting sunburnt. As much as I love summer, I think Christmas should belong in the winter.
I mean, New Zealand still plays all the Christmas music about how it's cold outside, snow, and winter wonderlands, but they don't have those things. It seems rather strange to be hearing the opposite of what you're seeing. Since we listen to the radio at work, which I am at for eleven hours straight, I heard a lot of Christmas music over the last few weeks. While my ears were like, "Yes, it must be close to Christmas. Get some holiday cheer," my eyes would tell me that it was summer. It couldn't possibly be Christmastime. The dichotomy of seeing people wearing shorts and tank tops whilst also seeing snowflake decorations on shop fronts is rather jarring.
Even the traditional Christmas meal is better suited for cold weather. In the summer, I don't want to eat heavy roasts or turkey and heaps of potatoes. I want salad. I can understand why more people down here go for the non-traditional Christmas barbecue. I don't blame them. But this is not my Christmas! I want to feast on so much food that I fall asleep and drink eggnog and have mulled wine. I had none of these things. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be staying in the Southern Hemisphere for Christmas again. While I like that it's summer (and my tan looks awesome!) I feel like a large part of my life was missing. And anyway, what is there to look forward to in the winter time here? The best part of winter back home is Christmas and New Years. So you're telling me that winter just sucks, period? Not looking forward to that.

I hope you guys all had good Christmases, whether snowy or not. I still had fun with friends, and watched plenty of Christmas movies. It just didn't feel like Christmas. I'm glad it's over though so I can just think of it as summer and nothing else.

Safe travels!

Weird Kiwi Food

After being here for over two months now, I feel it is finally time for me to discuss the food that is different than what we have back home. Most of it is delicious, some of it is weird, and other stuff is just not anything that we have in the States at all.

Let's start with sweet stuff:

- Feijoas:

Also known as a guavasteen. I've not actually tried one of the fruits (not in season yet), but they have feijoa juice, which is... an acquired taste I think. I'm not fond of it, but I've also been told that the fruit is better than the juice, so I will try it. Maybe.



- Hokey Pokey:

This is a delicious brittle toffee sort of thing. Think of Crunchy bars. They put hokey pokey in chocolate, ice cream, or just eat it. I think there needs to be more hokey pokey in my life, and unlike the feijoa, I am happy about having this around.






- Afghan biscuits:

YUM. I'm bringing this recipe back to the States with me because they are that good. Afghans are a chocolate biscuit with an interesting texture because they have corn flakes in them too? I don't get that, but it's yum as, so that's ok. They come with a chocolate frosting and walnut, and I could probably eat them every day. Good thing that I don't though...




- Pineapple Lumps:

These are supposedly super Kiwi. Upon receiving his NZ citizenship this week, my flatmate also got these from my other flatmate as a gift of reaching full Kiwi-ness. They're made of some weird Laffy Taffy like substance with fake pineapple flavor, covered with chocolate. It's not for everyone, but that's ok. I'll stick with my hokey pokey thanks.







- Boysenberry flavored everything:

Tip Top is the main ice cream brand in NZ. 

Rather than having a lot of raspberry flavored stuff (ice cream/sorbet/muffins/etc), like we do in the States, Kiwis have boysenberry flavored things. I'M SO OK WITH THIS. It's delicious and a nice change from raspberry. I sometimes miss my raspberry, but boysenberry ice cream is hella delicious.








Now for the savory stuff...

- Cranberry-brie Combination:

I have seen cranberry and brie on chicken sandwiches, burgers, and pizza options. I don't understand who came up with this combo, or why. But it's everywhere. I still haven't tried this, but I feel like I should. We make sandwiches at work, so maybe I'll try one. For me, cranberry sauce is a fall/winter thing, but Kiwis apparently eat it year-round. I mean, it is delicious. But with brie??







- Meat Pies:

I understand that these are not a strictly NZ thing. We just don't have meat pies in the States at all, so for the Americans who have not experienced these before, you need to try them (unless you're veg, of course). But yum. Savory pies are one of the things I miss when I'm in the States. I started eating them in the UK when visiting family, so finding that they're all over the place in NZ was a very happy find for me.


- Condiments:

Ketchup does not exist here. They have tomato sauce. But it is NOT ketchup. Fries come with tomato sauce and aioli in restaurants. For the kiwis reading this, there is a BIG difference between ketchup and tomato sauce. I can't explain it, but it's better. I want my ketchup back. Heinz, preferably (Pittsburgh, represent!) More often than not, you can get aioli with your fries, which is fine with me. I prefer aioli over the mayo that Europeans have with their fries. But tomato sauce is not ketchup, and I'm sad. Fish and chip places also don't have vinegar here. Malt vinegar is not a common fish and chips accompaniment. I guess they put tomato sauce on that too... Blasphemy.

And then there's the coffee.

- Flat Whites and Long Blacks:

Flat White

 Flat whites seem like lattes with me. They taste the same, they use the same process, but they are apparently different. Wikipedia says that it uses the micro-foam from the bottom of the steam pot rather than the regular foam from the top or middle of the steam pot. (Sorry for the non-baristas reading that, it probably didn't make much sense). But really, it's still practically a low-foam latte. Long blacks are basically Americanos with less water... Ok. Whatever. Oh, and for Americans reading this, there isn't drip-coffee here. So if you're at a cafe, you will only be able to order espresso-based coffees. It was the same way in the UK, but it is definitely something to get used to. Just order Americanos if you want a coffee. Basically the same concept.

If you are reading this and can think of anything else, leave a comment!! Happy travels all.

Why Kiwis Are Actually Hobbits

Or at least in one way.

It is socially acceptable to not wear shoes sometimes in public. What. Is. This. Shenanigans? I have noticed this too many times to count-- whether in a store or just on the street, you are guaranteed to see people not wearing shoes. Sometimes they have them, and are carrying them, sometimes they don't appear to have shoes at all. And these are not homeless people, or people whose feet are killing them from wearing high heels. They just did not want to wear shoes... I don't get it. I've even seen this in the city center, where you would think "Certainly one must wear shoes here. City streets are gross, but respectable places where shoes are worn all the time," but you would be ever so wrong. Kiwis just don't seem to mind the lack of shoes. There are no signs along the lines of "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service." I don't understand this freedom of the feet. Why the need to go shoeless? Probably to air out their hobbit feet.

Thanksgiving Pt 2

I just thought I'd put up some pictures of our Thanksgiving feast. Enjoy.

The 4 of us who moved from the States together; Kate, myself, Silvana, and Alexa

Someone brought the pavlova- its not a feast in NZ without one. It's basically meringue, whipped cream, fruit, and chocolate. Not bad.

Figuring out how to carve a turkey via internet. Useful.

Successful feasting!

But wait, there's more!

Instead of going around, saying what we're thankful for, there was a board to write on. I thought it was a good idea.

Thanksgiving in a Foreign Land

As this is my first time not having Thanksgiving at home, this is an especially momentous landmark for me.  My family doesn't even do big Thanksgiving, since half of my family's in England, and the other half is all over the States, so it's hard to get everyone together.  For the past few years, it's only been my parents, me, and maybe my great-great-aunt.  So not having a ton of family around isn't even a big deal to me.  It's missing out on the traditions and helping my mom to do every little thing.  I miss being able to go out with my friends to shady bars in Pittsburgh on the night before Thanksgiving.  It's the little things really...  I've also realized that unless I live really close to my family, it'll be hard to get to see them for Thanksgiving every year now.  I now I feel like I've been shoved out into the cruel world to prepare Thanksgiving dinners on my own.  Ok, that might be stretching it a bit, but this is an emotional time right now.

To remedy being in a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving, us Americans are putting on a huge Thanksgiving dinner.  I think we're expecting around 25 people.  We've got two turkeys, thirteen pounds (roughly 6-7 kg) of potatoes to be roasted and mashed, so many pies, and all the other fixings.  I've been lucky enough to get canned pumpkin from my mom in the States, so I don't have to boil and mash my own pumpkins (how do you even do that??) So staying true to American tradition, I'm taking shortcuts in my cooking, and it'll be delicious.  I also have my mom's recipe for stuffing, which is the best soooo I'm excited about that.  I've noticed that they don't really have cornbread here (understandable, but sad).  This means that I actually had to look up a recipe and make cornbread with real ingredients, not just a box of Jiff cornbread. This is NOT American.  It took effort and I had to use so many ingredients.  I don't even think I've ever made non-Jiff cornbread before.  This is a Thanksgiving of firsts for me here.

But in the end, I hope today's feast with friends rather than family will be just as much fun, but I will nonetheless be filled with homesickness.  I'm sure my mom is crying right now too.  Don't worry, Mom, I'll come over next year.

Happy Thanksgiving guys.  Hope you slip into happy food coma dreams.

Oh yeah- one more week until the Hobbit premiere here in Wellington. We're all excited.

The Struggles of International Job Hunting

I have come to the realization that either a) one should have a job lined up before deciding to pick up and randomly move to another country or b) one should study the time period of when best to arrive to find a job swiftly. Rather than just going and then waiting a month to find a job.

Upon arrival in New Zealand, I was certain I would find a job in two, maybe three weeks. I have been here over a month now, and I JUST got a job yesterday. I start on Tuesday. Now, I don't want you guys thinking that I just sat on the couch all day for that whole month and didn't properly look for a job. Most weeks consisted of me looking up jobs that were hiring online before leaving the house, then hiking down to the city library, printing off anywhere between 5-15 CVs, and then walking around the entire city and dropping them off. I also took leads from friends who said their jobs were hiring. On days that I didn't go into the city, I also applied for jobs online. I probably dropped off around 30 CVs, only to be called back by four places, one of which was today, after I already accepted another job.

At first, I looked only at bars and cafes, since my main experience is in cafes. However, the more desperate for a job I became, the more I started branching out. I applied at retail shops, waitressing jobs, even a few hotel jobs (concierge, maid, whatever). After three weeks of hearing nothing back from places, I decided to go to the Temp Centre in Wellington, which offers either shift work or temp positions which last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. However, I've only been offered one shift from them so far. Thankfully I  heard back from a bakery which I've applied to two weeks ago.

From what I can gather, though, since this is the end of term here in NZ, there are a lot of university students who may be planning on staying here for the summer and have snatched up a lot of jobs in the last month, or have gone from part time to full time. My friends who I came to NZ with got jobs within the first two or three weeks that they were here, but because they arrived two weeks before me, it was just enough before the end of term to miss the wave of students looking for jobs. If I had known that this was the end of term, I most likely would have come earlier. As it were, I came at a bad time, and despite all of my searching, it still took a month to find a position.

So let this be a lesson to everyone, if you don't already have a job lined up, it's best to figure out what the market is like when you do plan on going. I'm just pleased that I've found something now. And hopefully there will be plenty of happy posts after this.

Fireworks for Guy Fawkes Day made a very pleasant birthday

Until next time...

Impressions of the Kiwis

I've been here for two weeks now, and I thought I'd write a post about my general thoughts on the Kiwi society/life/attitudes that I've observed.

Let's start with the way that New Zealand differs from the States in terms of wealth and the distribution of it. Obviously New Zealand isn't that abundant in resources, so it relies a lot on agriculture and trade for revenue. NZ is well known for being a sheep land, much like the UK (which is good for my crocheting needs!). One of my flatmates also informed me that a lot of wood is exported from here, especially to San Francisco, which strikes me as bizarre, as California has a lot of its own wood. But you know, if it's cheaper to get wood from NZ, the Americans will probably do it. Tourism is another big bringer of wealth for Kiwis. I've noticed a lot of northern Europeans, Canadians, and Brits here, especially in the Botanic Gardens which is a key tourist spot in Wellington. So clearly there's not a lot of crazy wealth going on here. However, minimum wage is $13.50/hour (roughly $11/hour in US dollars). Compared to the $7.25/hour national minimum wage in the States. Now, it is lower for people under 18, but they don't have to pay rent and stuff, so I suppose that's fair. And by lower, I mean it's $10/hour. Like come on. This means that, if you're working, you're doing fairly well. Even farmers get paid that well. Everyone. This just means that there aren't crazy poor people here, and you know what- there doesn't seem to be crazy rich people here either. Politicians don't need to be crazy rich to be successful because "there's not the corruption of the American system," as my flatmate pointed out. Fancy that.
So everyone is on a more even footing, financially. I'm not saying there aren't people who are struggling. But they aren't homeless, and you know why? Because the government (gasp) gives them housing (double gasp). I have not seen one homeless person since I've been here. I think the only place I've been before and had the same realization was Amsterdam, where the government also gives housing to those who can't afford it. And, you realize that this helps people because if you can't shower, if you have been sleeping on a bench all night, if you don't have an address to call home on a job application, people WILL NOT hire you. It is so difficult many times to get out of homelessness, not because people aren't trying, but because these many factors, and more. By reducing the factors that prevent people from being successful, it will be less likely for them to be stuck in that situation. It's not a handout, it's aiding the people that build your country.
I've also had a sense that Kiwis are very relaxed about many things. I mean, of course people still stress about work and school and bills, but I mean in general, there's not a whole lot to worry about. First off, there are not millions of ways to die, as there are in Australia (and they're the ones who say "no worries". Crazy people over there). There are no snakes. There is only one poisonous spider, that's so rare that it's actually considered good luck if you see it. No sharks, no dingos, no crocs, none of that. Sure, there are earthquakes, but the majority of houses are built out of wood, which is much more flexible than stone/brick. All of the tall buildings have A+ seismic ratings. The regulations are intense for a lot of things here, but they need to be to guarantee safety. You can rest easier now, Mom. This is why NZ doesn't have crazy disasters like the developing countries who are prone to earthquakes. They make sure everything is built to code. That's the smart thing to do when the entire country is on a fault line, I think. Call me crazy. Similar levels of regulations are effective in most aspects of life here, and instead of freaking out that the government is having too much control over things, they realize that it's a good thing because it means that the people are taken care of. Did I mention that it's super clean here? It's one of the cleanest cities I've ever been to. Now, it's not that people are always thinking about the government's role in their security, but it's something I've noticed as an outsider.
So far, I really like NZ. The landscapes never cease to leave me in awe, and the people have been so friendly. Everyone I meet seems really thrilled at the idea that I've come to their country. The only bad thing I've come across is that they tax alcohol like crazy, so it's super expensive everywhere. I mean, $8  (around US$6.50) for a pint of beer, is pretty standard here. It's something to get used to, but I think there are worse things.
Til next time,
May the road rise up to meet you!

Don't want to leave you without a picture. From up the hill from my flat.

Day Outing 1: Botanic Gardens

Since the majority of the time I've been here, it's been cloudy/rainy/extremely windy, I decided to take full advantage of the sunny weather today. It was still only about 55F/12C, but the sun makes it feel a lot warmer. So I grabbed my book and my camera, and was a very happy camper for a couple hours

The neighborhood- Kelburn

Another hill in Kelburn

Wellington Harbor

Interactive sundial- you stand on the bit in the middle and your shadow tells you the time

After 32 hours of traveling, I am finally here.

Hey all

I have finally made it to Wellington. My journey started on the 4th of October in Chicago, where I took a five hour flight to LAX, which wasn't so bad. I flew Virgin America which has really comfortable planes with pretty interior lights (it's the little things that amuse me). The flight was fine, but LAX must be one of the most confusing airports I've ever been to. There are no signs telling you where to go, and people aren't too willing to help you out. I only had 2 hours between when I landed and when I started to board, but needed to check in to my flight to Fiji before I could go to my gate, where EVERYONE ELSE ON MY PLANE was checking in. It was a very long and slow process, but luckily since everyone on my flight was in that line, they wouldn't leave without us, right?
Oh and did I mention that I had a really bad cold for this whole trip? Yeah not fun. Try traveling when you're coughing and blowing your nose every ten minutes. I'm pretty sure everyone on my flights all thought I had the plague. So upon arriving at my gate in LAX, I took all the cold medicine I could and prepared myself for the ten hour flight to Fiji. I was unlucky and got an aisle seat, so about 3/4 of my flight consisted of me trying to comfortably sleep in various contortions and trying to avoid being used as a cushion by the old Indian man next to me. Air Pacific isn't too bad, and they give you dinner (I opted sleep over food at midnight) and an OK breakfast, but their coffee is actually reallllly good. Just for other people's information.
Fiji itself was really pretty, but it was a cloudy day. But still. Fiji. I mean... Come on.

Food court in Fiji airport with anything from hot dogs to samosas and more

They actually have Fiji water here. I had to buy some. 

Fiji from the plane

I hung out in Nadi for five hours before my flight to Auckland on Air Pacific again. Being from the States, I'm not really used to flights under four hours giving you food and drinks for free, so when they came around with lunch for us FOR FREE, I was very pleased. Unfortunately, I had a child on some sort of crazy sugar/caffeine combination in the window seat, while I was in the aisle. He refused to keep the window open, bounced around and screamed a lot, and got up to use the toilet every ten minutes. I wish I was exaggerating. I'm not. His dad was just really apologetic, but I was already sinking into the "I'm way too tired for this s**t" grumpiness which we all know so well. I stayed calm, ordered a glass of wine, and tried to watch Spiderman.
By this time I had been traveling for around 22 hours, and still had quite some time to go. I'll skip through my struggles at the Auckland airport, which ended with my flight getting to Wellington an hour late. I arrived at my flat around 8 pm Wellington time on Saturday Oct 6, met my flatmates, showered, and passed out for a very long time.
My first impressions of Wellington are that all of the houses look like they are dangerously situated on all of the hills here, it's gorgeous, there is a strange mixture of architecture everywhere, and it's very chilly. Today is actually pretty lovely (60F/15C and sunny). Of course, it is windy here, but I've given into having 24/7 windswept hairstyles. I feel like it's a sort of UK-light. There are a lot of very British things about NZ, but at the same time, I feel like it is very different. The weather so far is much milder, there are palm trees everywhere, and it just overall seems much beachier. I'll try to take some pictures today to post later this week. But just a very wordy update for interested parties.
Until next time-
Safe travels everyone!

Problems with Packing

How do you pack for a whole year of your life? When I went to Scotland for a semester, it wasn't so bad, and I actually had two cases because I had one of my parents who could claim the other case as theirs when we went to and from. But now it's just me, taking enough stuff to last me a year in a case that can't weigh more than 50 lbs. HOW? I've also got a small carry-on, and my bookbag, but that's not enough! I've got a full case already, and I still have more things I want to put in! Not just clothes, but what about all my toiletries?? And I can't find my favorite sweater! I don't even know what to do right now. I have to repack it in the next week before I go to Chicago, but at least I have an idea of what I have at least. I may have to leave some of my scarves behind... I guess I'll manage.

Pre-departure Nerves

Hey all,

Just want to say thanks for following. I'll try my hardest to stay in touch over the next year with my adventures and all. Right now, I have checked all off my list of things to do (call the credit cards, get dr's appointments out of the way, get spare glasses, get all my plane tickets/visas, etc), and I am just sitting, waiting, fidgeting until I can go. I've got two more weeks until I fly off to Chicago for ten days to spend time with the extended family before I fly out of O'Hare. I managed to score a one-way flight for $690 dollars to Auckland, with a $40 flight to Wellington from there. That's pretty frickin cheap for mid-spring, I think.

Now to fill you all in on why I am going to New Zealand, and what it's expected to be like. My reasoning is simple: I couldn't find a job I could be happy with, and saw that as an opportunity, in my post-graduate life, to explore the world I have so desperately been trying to see. I have been so confined until the last two or three years to travel to just Europe and within the US/Canada. Nearly three years ago, I traveled way outside of my comfort zone to Mexico City, which was lovely. Now, I want to go somewhere unexpected and rare. I know I am lucky to have traveled out of the US at all, but once you go places, you want more. Or at least I do. I want to experience things. That's what makes me feel whole- when I am pushing my boundaries and trying new things. Also, New Zealand had a free work visa for a year, which only took me about four days to hear back about. That helped. Understandably, I wanted to go back to Scotland, but dealing with visas for the UK is long and expensive. So that's why New Zealand.

Now, don't worry. I won't be all alone. I've got friends that I'm going with. Kate, Alexa, and Silvana are all friends of mine from AU, so I won't be in a city on the other side of the world by myself. Now about Wellington. It's on the southern tip of the North Island, and it's the capital of New Zealand. They use New Zealand dollars there, which are about $1.23:$1, NZ to US. So yay for us! The climate is between 68F (high) in summer to like 54F (high) in winter. So obviously not much change in temperatures. It will be quite windy, from what I hear, so that will be the main problem weather wise. It does rain a bit, but nothing I'm not used to from Edinburgh, right? I'll be living in a flat with other Kiwis, and working with other Kiwis, so I'll get right into the native population, which is exactly the kind of thing I like to do. I also plan on exploring the beautiful scenery, made famous by Lord of the Rings! Expect pictures soon, but so you know, this is what Wellington is like.