Kiwi as

Throughout my time here in NZ, I've come across a few things that are undeniably Kiwi. So kiwi, that I just can't help thinking, or even saying, "that is Kiwi as."

The music video for Wandering Eye by Fat Freddy's Drop. It features the band working in a fish and chips shop. Fish and chips may be an English tradition, but the people of NZ have whole heartedly embraced this delicious meal.

On the subject of food, there's also Pavlova. It may be named after a Russian Ballerina, but I can assure you, it is Kiwi as. No dessert spread is complete without Pavlova. Meringue-y, whipped creamy deliciousness topped with fruit (usually kiwifruit and strawberries), this is the dish no one can avoid in New Zealand!

Well, since I love food so much we'll just keep going (hope y'all aren't hungry). So, pineapple lumps and L&P (Lemon and Peroa). While I have had pineapple lumps, I have yet to try L&P. I've been told by a Kiwi girl that "eating pineapple lumps and drinking L&P is Kiwi as. You have to do it before you leave!" Oh, I will do this, don't any of y'all worry. Gotta be kiwi as while I'm in NZ, right?!


Pineapple on pizza. And not just on Hawaiian pizza, but virtually any pizza. I don't really understand it to be honest. I mean I love pizza, and I love pineapple, and I enjoy a good Hawaiian pizza every now and then, but pineapple on all my pizzas? Too much for me, but Kiwi as!

Raspberry cola. Raspberry cordial with cola basically. It's real popular here. Which seems random to me, but hey, it's good!


Well I've kind of switched to drinks now...but let's just keep on!

Cider. It's like sparkling grape juice, but better! "That's not possible!" you may say. But let me tell you, it is. How? It's alcoholic. Side note, I swear I'm not an alcoholic, I'm just in New Zealand! Anyways, it's the perfect drink for a day at the beach, hanging with friends on those warm summer nights, or anytime you're in New Zealand!

Speights, Macs, SoGo and Monteiths. These are the kiwi versions of Miller, Coors, Busch, and PBR. But possibly better...



Being called a bro when you are most definitely not a bro. But it's cool. Like I and many other Americans say "dude," saying "bro" is the kiwi version of that.

Going to the beach on christmas (or anytime in December, January and February). It's warm, so why not?! Granted, this may not be not be solely a kiwi thing so much as a southern hemisphere/equatorial region tradition, but in NZ, you can't have Christmas without the sun, and the best place for sun is at the beach of course! Which is where I plan on going tomorrow!

Having an honest conversation with a boy about his rattail. As I've mentioned before, rattails are HUGE here. Every self-respecting bro seems to have one. I however, think they are gross. But anyways, they're Kiwi as, and I finally managed to ask a Kiwi boy with one why on earth he thought it was a good idea. He actually had a good reason, but couldn't answer for the rest of his bros. It may not have been a conclusive conversation, but it strikes me as the type of conversation I would only ever have in New Zealand.

Public Service Announcements. I don't know why, but they're all over the place here. There's the classic "Don't drink and Fry" encouraging drunks to go to a restaurant or fast food joint instead of trying to cook at home. The slightly disturbing "Is your child setting fires? We can help." The scare the *%^& out of you "drink" (aka drunk) driving and "don't drive distracted" ones. And many, many more, that often seem more bewildering than helpful. Buy maybe that's just because I'm not from here?

Then of course, there are the phrases. "Whatya reckon?" "Good on ya!" "Chur." "Ta." "Cheers." Any word (it seems) followed by as. I'm not gonna lie, I don't entirely understand all the phrases, and generally feel quite silly whenever I try to use them. But sometimes I like to think I pull them off quite nicely!


Saying zed not zee. As in when you see the letter "Z." I actually like saying it the Kiwi way better!


Sunburn. You don't understand the concept of getting a sunburn until you've done it in New Zealand. That hole in the ozone layer can really do a number!

Kiwifruit. Kiwi bird. Kiwis. When you say "Kiwi," it means the person or as relating to New Zealand culture. So if you say "I want to eat a Kiwi," you're probably a cannibal. What I'm trying to say is, you need to say Kiwifruit, unless of course you really are a cannibal... And I haven't quite figured out how to refer to the bird...I think people maybe just pick up on it depending on the context? Or I've been saying it wrong and I really should be saying Kiwi Bird...woops!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Mapua!! aka food heaven (and a few other updates)

Well a lot has happened in the last few weeks, but I've been too lazy to share it all with you...until now! So I suppose I'll start at the beginning.

After my last final (geology, gross), we took a trip to Stewart Island! We spent a little over a week there, and it was super fun! Though I can very definitely say I never want to go that long without showering again. Or tramp through that much mud ever again.

When I still thought the mud was amusing enough to take a picture

There was a lot of mud. It got everywhere. And was partly responsible for a minor meltdown on the trail our second day tramping. That and having to tramp down a stream bed and falling and getting a gross bruise. But I persevered! And when we came back to that same stretch I finished it faster and I wasn't the last person finished in our group and the conditions were even worse!! So all in all a good tramp!

And I almost forgot, I saw three different kiwis! The birds, not the people. They are so adorable! And kind of blind and stupid. One literally almost ran into me, I thought I was gonna get stabbed by a kiwi beak! Thankfully I didn't. 

So after Stewart Island, we got back and had our big Thanksgiving celebration! It featured chicken (turkey was too expensive), gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes (with marshmallows!), mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, rosemary focaccia, custard pie and apple pie. Since there were only three Americans around (me, Sara, and Michele), we invited some international friends! Two Brits, two Aussies, two Germans, and a Kiwi (the person type this time) all got to have their first Thanksgiving!

full plate club

So after all that excitement, I took it pretty easy for awhile. Then Sara left, so I cried a lot. Then I packed everything up, did a ton of cleaning, and got on a bus!

A big coach bus going to Christchurch to be exact! Why you might ask? Because I had to go to Mapua for my summer work exchange I might answer!

I got a work exchange job at the Playhouse Cafe, in Mapua! Basically, I get a place to sleep and three meals a day in exchange for working about 5 hours everyday. The best part is that the three meals I get are all amazing top notch quality. I'd say it's like eating at a fancy restaurant for every meal, but it's not "like" it "is". If that makes sense? 

So yeah, gourmet meals three times a day. AWESOME. I love my life. So much right now. 

But back to getting here. It was a two day journey! So as I mentioned, I went to Christchurch first. Then I stayed overnight at Around the World Hostel, and I'm telling you the name because if you're ever in Christchurch, that's where you should stay! Everyone was super chill and nice, and it was a really nice place! So then the next I woke up waaaayyyy early (5am), got ready, had some breakfast, and went to the bus stop to catch my bus to Nelson! So I sat on that bus for awhile, until we got to Blenheim, where I switched buses. Which involved waiting outside in the cold and thinking "*&%* I should have worn pants, I thought it was supposed to be warm in the northern area!" But no worries, after I got on that bus and we drove over some mountains it warmed right up and got ridiculously sunny. The Nelson area is actually the sunniest in New Zealand! 

So once in Nelson, I caught another bus that took me to Mapua! There two of my co-workers met me, and we went to the Playhouse! I'll be mostly doing waitressing and behind the bar stuff, and it's been going pretty well so far! No broken glasses yet!

But by far the most stressful part of working here so far was when we ran out of wine. And I got sent to Richmond to pick up some more. What I'm trying to say is, I drove in New Zealand! It was terrifying!! I've never said the word "left!" so many times to myself in my life before! But I made it without any accidents, and only a minor getting lost incident on the way back, and plenty of wine!

And then I did some stress eating since it was dinner time. SUCH GOOD FOOD!