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.