Kiwi-isms

There are a lot of really nice things about traveling in an English-speaking developed country. The cost of a pint of beer is not one of them. But the Kiwis still have a unique way about their speech and social habits that is clearly unique to them. I'd like to share some of these with you. 

"Sweet As!" - an exclamation used by anyone younger than about 45 years old. Some cooler older folks use it too. Meaning "right on!" 

Jandals - their word for flip flop type sandals. It's a cognate of Japanese+sandals. I think its brilliant. 

Togs - a bathing suit. Um what. It doesn't even come close to making sense. 

The pie. Basically a personal sized pot pie that mostly has shitty meat or cheese inside. Every local you talk to says "oh you've got to get a pie!" Like it's the local delicacy or treat. Pies are terrible. If you come here don't waste your time on pies. 

Espresso - there is literally no drip coffee here.  No french press. Just espresso. And it is fabulous. I haven't had a bad coffee here yet. And also the cafe-style baked goods game is on fire. The scones and muffins here are perfection. 

Heated towel racks - no joke every middle class family has one of these in their bathroom. They dry your towel and make sure it's warm Every. Single. Time. You get out of the shower. Its amazing. Why have we not adapted this in the US yet? 

Automated public toilets/public toilets in general- they are everywhere. Signs directing you to them are everywhere. No one in New Zealand will ever pee their pants. Also some are automated with automatic locks, a song plays while you pee and the flusher, soap, water and lock on the door are all motion detected. And did I mention they play songs while you pee?

American basketball and baseball paraphernalia - they love US sports here. Actually I don't think most of them have a clue what's going on but if you have a Chicago  Bulls jersey or a Red Sox hat then you're totally in with the in crowd. Oddly this phenomenon is more prominent on the North Island. We saw far less NBA and MLB gear in the south. 

Clubs - Kiwis have a club for everything. A skiing club. Bowling club (actually this is just bocce ball but they call it bowling here). Hiking club. Alpine club. Photography club. Guitar club. Anything you name it there is a local community organized chapter of a club where you can meet likeminded souls and plan fun excursions with them. Retirees are especially fond of clubs and they belong to many. Not uncommon to see a group of 15 grandparents - all 65+ on a cycling trip because they're all a member of their local Wanganui Tramping Club and they thought it would be fun to ride bikes for a change! 

Skate Parks - every town has one. Even the smallest town that only has a small pub and gas station to speak of has a skate park. Seems to be just the rational normal part of every city planning committee's basic plan. 

Veterinarians - are in such high demand here. Again, there could be a town of 100 people with hardly amenities for groceries or gas but they will have a local Vet. Unlikely that they will have a clinic for sick humans but 100% they will have a vet. 

Short shorts - undoubtedly this is because of the Rugby fanaticism here but it's like the chicken and the egg - which came first? Really short shorts on lay people or really short shorts on rugby players? Either way there is a lot of male thigh around this country. 

Barefootedness - no shoes? No problem. Barefoot patrons at grocery stores, cafes, and dairies (their word for convenience store), walking down the street. As soon as the work day is over, shoes come off and they don't go back on regardless of what other errands must be run. 

Hiking by time and not distance - consult any map, DOC site or information board and you're likely to get an estimate of your hike in terms of hours. I.e. "Distance from trail head to Avalanche Peak : 3-4 hours".  No where is there a mention of distance. We have hiked single day walks and multi-day backpacking trips and I couldn't tell you how far we walked on any of them. 

Distrust for Chinese and Indians - a general and sometimes verbalized concern for the number of Asian tourists visiting their country. True that most automobile accidents are caused by tourists from Asian countries but overall a general dislike for the presence of "so many Asians."

There are more. Lots more. Maybe I'll remember some more and post another blog. Until then we have 7 days left in Kiwi Country so we're just trying to soak it all in!