I Was In Danger and Didn't Know It

I was at work and was startled by a loud noise. Someone had dropped an instrument tray. I jumped a mile, embarrassed and made the mistake of my life. I made a statement that opened a can of worms...

"Wow! That sounded like a gunshot!"
Silence and stares...
Then the questions started...
"You've heard gunshots?"
"Like not while hunting?"
"Have you seen anyone shot?"
"It must be so dangerous where you grew up!"

I don't know how to respond. I can either a) lie and pretend that I have no idea that America is a semi-violent place or b) tell the truth.
I decided that the truth is the best option and then revealed that I had indeed heard gunshots (not at all associated with hunting, if you include hunting for a deal at the mall...), I had seen someone shot before (just that once) and knew how to shoot a gun (once again, not a hunting rifle, more like the standard 9mm handgun...who doesn't in Arizona!!?). Oh, that made me look terrible!!!

I didn't really think that I had a bad or dangerous upbringing. I grew up in Atlanta and have lived in a string of high population, high-murder rate cities and never gave it a thought. I knew what to do to keep safe (or try). I lock my doors, I don't talk to strangers, I run when I hear gunfire...who doesn't know that?!

However, our lives are so different here!!!
People speak to you for no reason other than just being nice.
People invite you to their homes, not to kill and eat you but to enjoy your company...
People actually like to be around other people!!!

So now, as far as the people at work know, I have been witness to every murder in the US for the past 20 years. I try to explain to them that its not that dangerous, but the more I explain, the worse I sound....

"Its not that bad, you just have to been on guard"
"Do a lot of people get killed where you are?"
"Yes, but not that many"
"How many? 1 a day? More?"
"I dunno, maybe more?"
"More than one a day? No one cares?"
"Oh, of course, people care!"
"So then people get attacked everyday where you live?"
"Yes, but not all of them die!" I say proudly (like that helps) "Some just get shot and live!"

I am sure I will NOT be invited to write travel brochures about the wonders of the United States by the Chamber of Commerce

I should have known that I am NOT at all like my new Kiwi neighbors. My first tip off should have been their description of the "bad neighborhood". I was told, by many people at my job to be sure NOT to rent a house in the "bad neighborhood". According to everyone, the "bad" area is anywhere south of the railroad tracks. Ok. Nowhere over the train tracks. So, Bruce and I decide to drive around the "bad" area.
The "bad" area looks nothing like our "hoods" back home. In fact, the "bad" area here looks curiously like places that we have lived and we didn't think it was so bad! (Of course, with well reinforced burgler bars)
Now that I think about it, their bad neighborhood seems like a pretty safe place. I didn't see any crowds of people loitering, didn't hear one gunshot, no police chases nothing that reminded me that I should be scared.

House I was thinking about renting on the "wrong" side of town...I don't know, looks pretty nice to me!!!

I have seen some bad neighborhoods...I remember one time we were visiting a friend in Puerto Rico and we drove down the wrong street...I have NEVER been so scared in my LIFE!! I just knew we were going to be shot, stabbed, robbed and killed (not necessarily in that order!). Point is, I've seen bad!!! This is NOT in any shape, form or fashion "bad".

So after our foray into the "bad" area of  our city in New Zealand, part of me wants to tell these people that they have it SO good!!!
I looked up the crime statistics from my home before New Zealand, Good ol' Glendale, Arizona.
The city is one of many that make up the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona. Its hard to compare because of the sheer size but here we go:

Population of New Zealand: 4,173,000 people
Population of Phoenix metro area: 4,281,889 (more than the ENTIRE country of New Zealand)

Number of Murders in New Zealand (2008):  12 per million people (about 50 people/year)
Number of Murders in Phoenix (2008): 118 people

Sociologists will point out that murder rates and violent crime rates are directly related to poverty and population density. Here we have the exact opposite issues that are causes of high crime...a well structured social system in which everyone has health care, disability care, elder care and education. Also the population density is so low. No fighting over "elbow room" or precious resources like land or water.

I'm thinking that I'm better off and less likely to die at the hands of a serial axe murderer here. Don't worry mom and dad, I'm not going to let my guard down and start walking down the street in the middle of the night, passing out flowers. I'm still my old, wary self...thinking that the whole world is "out to get you". Thanks to my mom, I will always look in my back seat before getting in the car, walk in large groups and be ready to run at a moments notice. However, I feel that here in New Zealand, I can maybe relax my guard, just a bit. Who knows, maybe i'll convince these people its not that bad back home (if you know how to run from gunfire, check the back seat of your car and learn to shoot a 9mm weapon)...ahhh...home. I'm NOT going to miss it!

That Don't Taste Right...

"This doesn't taste right", was a common complaint I heard from Bruce the first few days after his arrival. I was so excited about having my honey back home! I spent the week making sure that Bruce had all of his favorites meals from home. I've made a couple of his favorite dishes but of course, in my true Southern nature, all of the first couple of meals were very fatty and very much like "back home".

The true test was the first week here. I noticed it too when I got here. The food tastes...different. Not bad but different. It was hard to put my finger on it at first. It took the scientific side of my head to figure it out. I bought a loaf of bread from the supermarket and within 4 days it was molded and bad! I thought I got a "bad batch" of bread so I went and bought another...same thing...the bread went bad within 4-5 days. I finally realized that IT DOESNT HAVE PRESERVATIVES IN IT!!! Its an amazing thought! Eating food without preservatives or hormones in it. Want organic produce here? Go to the produce section, close your eyes and pick up something, anything! Most farmers in the Southland do not use pesticides or fertilizers and mostly use rain water instead of irrigation. Its sad to say after spending a lifetime in America eating things that have been laden in MSG, food dyes and preservatives galore, your system doesn't understand fresh, natural food. I highly recommend you find an organic food co-op near you, and taste the difference for yourself:)

Fresh produce at the local Farmers Market today.

Bruce was also skeptical of my love affair with lamb. I've always loved lamb. Anytime we had a "nice" dinner out I would order the lamb chops. Bruce didn't even have to ask what I wanted. It was always the lamb. He never really got into it...said it was usually too "greasy". Whatever way you want to describe it, I think its TASTY! So as you can imagine, I'm in "hog heaven" in a country where sheep outnumber people 14:1!!! Lamb is cheaper than chicken and beef! Its amazing to go to the supermarket and see rows and rows dedicated to every type of lamb product and cut available. NZ also has lots of pork (whoo-hoo!) and beef although I have to admit, the cows in the US are tastier (with all the delicious hormones!). The only disappointing thing was the missing turkey. We had been relying on turkey as a low fat alternative to other meats in our diet and it looks like that that is a problem of the past. Turkey is very difficult to find in NZ:(

The most awesome thing? The fruits and veggies are the most amazingly tasty things I've ever had. It like you are tasting something for the first time. I have never been a huge fruit or veggie lover...of course, you have your favorites...but its not like I actually ate "an apple a day". I decided to pick up a couple of pears, apples and kiwis at the market. I actually ate 2 pears and 1 apples at one sitting because they were so insanely good!!! Who knew that lack of pesticides and nuclear waste could make vegetables taste so damn good?

How in God's Green Earth can a carrot grow this big without chemicals? Could it be just rain and sunshine? Gasp?!

Ok...these lemons look more like Grapefruit...just so you know, 1 kg is about 2.2 pounds!!!

The other awesome side effect of living here? Weight loss! I have been in a violent battle against mother nature for the last 5 years. She successfully added about 50 pounds to my frame and I fought tooth and nail to get it off. I have been literally "running my ass off" since. I thought that I would have to continue running my usual 20 miles a week just to keep her at bay...Somehow, magically, this country makes you skinny!!! I think it may be a combination between the water, the fruit and veggies that I actually EAT and the fact that walking is a totally normal way to get around that has helped. I have spent hours walking around. Nothing more disconcerting than to go our for "just a walk" end up an hour away from home and realizing that you have to WALK back! Who woulda known that walking could be such a good form of exercise? :)

A completely delirious smile after walking (mostly uphill) for a hour when I see this sign...

The Kiwis have a completely different sense of flavor combinations from Americans. I was in the grocery store and noticed the ice cream section. All I can say is WTF?! Some things I just don't think I will be able to adjust to; like their choices in ice cream flavors....

 Orange Chocolate Chip?! Where's the Mint Chocolate Chip?

 And the potato chips? OMG! All I have to say is that this is the easiest way to lose weight. Take one look at the flavors of chips and you too will be skinny!

Roast Lamb and Mint chips? I'll stick to my carrots!!!

Kiwis love their meat!!! Chicken flavored chips?

More meat flavor!!!

And God love the Kiwi person who came up with the bacon drippins (leftover bacon grease for all of you Non Southern American speakers) that you can buy at the store! Even though I'm thousands of miles away, I feel like i'm at home in Georgia! Gotta love the Southland, NZ!

My First Week by BBrown

My first week was a very busy one.  A lot of administrative things to get done, which I really despise. Carmen would get me up early and have me sign this paper and that, then we would run it over to the bank or the post office or the tax office.  I usually decompensate by noon, so she takes me to get a burger and a beer before I start grumbling and cursing!  The bartender was a funny guy, who couldn't believe our story. "Let me get this straight... you gave up the glitz and the glamour of America for this little town of 50,000? Well, good on ya!"  Another saying under my belt, "Good on Ya:)" You can't help but smile when someone says this to you or you say it to someone else. Try it, you'll see!  He invited us to the rugby game, and even told us where we could get free tickets (from one of the surgeons at the hospital).  I love hamburgers, and I was a bit leery about eating a burger here because Kiwis are more partial to lamb rather than beef.  Well, the burger turned out to be pretty good, at least better than McDonalds and the beer was even better (a local brew).  This brings me to my first complaint.  The alcohol is expensive!  My cheapness may save my liver.  A case of Heineken goes for about $25! A liter of Hennessy about $80! Ouch! It is taxed heavily in our jurisdiction because it goes to fund education and public parks.  Go figure, educating our young people more important than cheap drinks.  We were told that every child goes to a "semi-private" school for free in this town! Cheers... it's for a good cause! 

Traffic Jam Southland style!

As I look back on the administrative stuff, it wasn't really that bad.  Getting put on the bank account and getting an ATM and credit card took about thirty minutes.  Half of that was meeting everyone in the bank who all knew Carmen on a first name basis.  The tax office took about 10 minutes, they just needed my passport, driver's license, and my signed IRD form (like a W2).  The two ladies were full of smiles and greetings, nothing like the IRS (shiver, shiver, shake, shake).  The motor vehicle department looked like a small converted house and the line consisted of two people ahead of us, and everyone was smiling.  I didn't have that scared feeling like I do at the motor vehicle department back home; you know the feeling... which one of these people is gonna lose it and start shooting up the place?!  I would always take my number, then stand by the door! Who can blame them? Raise your hand if you've stood in line for an hour, only to get to the front and some evil lady tells you that you waited in the wrong line, go get in that one over there that has 4,000 people standing in it!  Total time getting my license = 15 minutes!  I can't believe they unleashed Carmen on NZ streets without taking a test or anything!  You should have heard her screaming when we rented a car on the North Island on our first visit.  She just couldn't get it, she kept thinking I was heading in the wrong direction.  She would scream so loud that I would turn the car off the road out of sheer terror!  When people asked me if I felt ok about sending her to a strange country alone, I didn't fear for her safety; I feared for the Kiwis' safety, "I hope she doesn't kill anyone on the road before I arrive, that would not look good on our permanent residency application!"  You'll be happy to know, she is really good and I'm glad I missed those first couple of weeks:)  Now I am the one screaming like a young girl in the passenger seat, especialy when she zooms around those turnabouts!

This is how we do it! That's right you can drink the water:)

If you know my baby, she is a bundle of energy and had to show me everything she discovered as quickly as possible.  So my jet lagged, pain riddled body was dragged all over our new hometown while I tried to take in the beauty.  Thank goodness for ibuprofen, the breakfast of champions!!!

Me on a stretch of empty beach, Heaven..

Second complaint: the food.  The food is fresh and without preservatives.  It takes some getting used to.  Your american digestive system is so used to fighting the preservatives and chemicals, that it tries to reject the non pesticide, non preserved food!  This organic stuff is running through me like an olympic sprinter!  And I get hungry after about 3 hours because of the lack of saturated fat.  Seriously though, we are going to have to introduce the Kiwis to "Soul Food" (smothered chicken, corn bread, dumplings, collards, macaroni and cheese), Hispanic food (Tacos, Burritos, Enchiladas), Carribean (Jerk Fish, Rice and Beans mon), and my specialty - Barbecue!  I've already got my spot picked out on the beach where I'm gonna set up my grill.  The Kiwis lack the super spicy foods that we love.  That's something I will miss about America... Food has a way of bringing people together, it's that Thanksgiving tradition.  That's ok, we look forward to filling the gap and our new Kiwi brethren's bellys!! The Browns believe in good eats!

A pristine waterfall in the middle of an Ancient Rainforest a short drive and hike from home.  The water was delicious!  Nature at its best:)

The rest of my first week culminated in two weekend hikes.  Carmen took me to the Catlins which consisted of a drive up the southern coast through beautiful farmland that reminded me of the rolling hills of Kentucky.  We hiked about 5 different tracks that consisted of rainforest, farmland, beach, rolling hills, and rocky hilltops all within a 2 hour drive! Absolutely incredible.  The next day we drove down to the "Bottom", otherwise known as the world famous fishing town of Bluff, where they are really known for their oysters.  We missed oyster season, but we'll be ready for the Oyster Festival in May!  That hike was really challenging.  It was 6 miles long and two of it was uphill.  We didn't finish to the end, I wasn't mentally prepared for that one, and had to cut it short.  My mind was on the fish and chips I kept smelling during the hike!  If you want to see all the hiking pics from the Catlins and Bluff, click here

He's Here!!!!

Sorry to be redundant but I had to say "HE'S HERE!!! HE'S FINALLY HERE!!!"

After almost 2 months of being apart, almost $1000 in phone bills and hours of time on Skype, my husband, my best friend, dive buddy and hiking partner extrodinare is finally home with me in New Zealand! It has been a long 8 weeks. I have to say I appreciate all of the poor people that I work with for putting up with my constant moaning about how long we'd been apart. I couldn't even answer questions like a normal person:

"Good morning, how are you?"
"I'm fine, I have 10 days, 8 hours left"
"Uh...ok"

I'm sure everyone now is relieved that I can stop "counting down" and start enjoying our lives together in our new home.

I have to admit, I was so excited the day Bruce came home. I cleaned the house til it shined, I spent hours cooking everything that I knew he loved and missed. I even headed for a big splurge...a chicken!!! A whole chicken! For those of you who don't know, chicken is just a tad cheaper than platinum. Actually, its not that bad but it is hilarious to see that pork, lamb and beef is cheaper than chicken. And turkey? I haven't seen one!!!! Anyway, I broke the bank and bought a whole chicken to fry and smother in gravy for my hubby!
Also on the menu: macaroni and cheese and a home made peach cobbler with fresh peaches. Nothing says "Welcome home" like a heart attack and a diabetic coma!!!

I got to the airport an entire 30 minutes before his plane was due to land and spent the time amusing myself with finding the perfect parking spot. Since I was one of 5 cars in the parking lot, I settled on one embarassingly close to the baggage claim doors. I do NOT miss American airports right now!
After checking my watch every five minutes over the next 25 minutes, I finally saw the Air New Zealand plane come in carrying my precious cargo!

Touchdown!!!

Exhausted but happy!

After a mini scene at the airport, worthy of a Hollywood movie, complete with the slow motion running into each other's arms we headed home with me blabbering on about places that we passed. Correction, I was blabbering, poor Bruce was trying his best to stay awake with me blabbering....

It was a great day and the beginning of our new lifes in Aotearoa together! FINALLY!!!

Let the Party begin!!!

Unplugging From the Matrix by Bruce Brown

As I sat on the tarmac at LAX, I was feeling tremendous relief that I would finally be reunited with the love of my life. You see, I have been following Carmen's blog entries for the last two months just like all of you. While it has been tremendously exciting, it has also been tremendously painful!  I was relegated to closing down the remainder of our American lives. We have been seperated several times in the past because of career moves, but never this long. Time seemed to be standing still, and everyday life was becoming more and more stressful.  I want to send a special "shout out" to my aces Troy and Tarem.  They listened to me vent all the way to the end...

Flying over the Southern Alps

That brings me to my first point.  I read Carmen's entry ("I Digress") attempting to explain why we were leaving our birth country and moving to our new home country, and I totally agree with everything she wrote. The greatness of America has nothing to do with it's wealth, or it's military might; it has everything to do with it's stated ideals:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The pursuit of happiness does NOT equal the pursuit of material wealth, and the pillaging of our natural environment. Somehow all of us have gotten it twisted.  Carmen is totally right when she says, "we were drinking the kool aid".  I wish I could trade all of the crap we bought and the hours we worked to spend more time with our loved ones. It has been my privelege to spend many a night with patients in the ICU who have had terminal illnesses. It's a shame that most people do not gain clarity about life until they are close to death.  Out of hundreds of patients that I conversated with in the middle of those lonely nights; not one mentioned they wished they bought another fancy car, or had a bigger house, or spent more time at work.  What do you think your regrets would be? What do you think you would wish you could do with a year, a month, a week, or a day left? That's why we took our "Round the World" trip; not because we were having a mid life crisis, or because we are flaky gypsies, or because we wanted something to brag about.  We did it to reclaim our lives, to find our place in the world, and to pursue our happiness.  Thank God we did. We met people on our journeys that we will be friends with for the rest of our lives. We found we had more in common with our new friends than we do with our neighbors or even people we've known for 20 years! We learned things about ourselves that we never would have back home.  If you choose to believe that 95% (America only contains 5%) of the world's 6 billion people have nothing to offer your soul, then I am sad for you.

First Glimpse of my new hometown!

The moment my new life begins!

The more appropriate question is not why we are leaving America; but why New Zealand?  It's so far away.  Exactly.. too far away for the small minded and bigoted; too far away from the unadventurous and the fearful.  New Zealand is inhabited and visited by the most beautiful people in the "first world".  People who care about nature and mother earth.  People who care more about the beach than the 5 star hotel sitting on it.  People who don't necessarily want to conquer the land, but exist in balance with it.  People who care about each other.  When Kiwis ask you how are you doing? They actually wait for your response!  When Carmen and I visited in December we almost had to hide from people to get some private time.  We were barraged with invitations to join strangers for dinner or drinks or wine tasting excursions.  The invitations came from every socioeconomic class and every Kiwi ethnic group.  We were treated like movie stars in Southeast Asia; we were treated like family in New Zealand.  Let me not get to carried away with emotion, after all I am medical scientist and engineer.  Let me give you the numbers, because they do not lie as people do:

*Amongst the lowest population density on earth, 16 people/km (USA=30, UK=252, Japan=335); The South Island has 20 sheep to 1 person :)
*25% of the land is protected forever, 30% is forested
*35% of NZ energy usage is renewable; Government mandates state 90% will be renewable by 2025.  Almost no oil,gas, or coal usage for electricity!
*New Zealand is a Nuclear Free Zone, the reason the USA has suspended treaties with NZ. Kiwis will not allow U.S. nuclear subs or ships in their waters, even though the two countries have been staunch allies since WWI. Protection of mother earth over allies.
*Lowest Military spending in the first world = 1.1% of GDP.  NZ spends roughly what Bangledesh spends on its defense, and Bangledesh is one of the poorest countries in the world! NZ is ranked #1 rank on the Global Peace Index put out by the U.N.  Peace unto you my brother and sister!
*#1 rank seven years in a row on Global Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International (U.S. ranks 17)
*Low crime rate. 48 murders in the entire country in 2009. You should see the news. The lead story today was what to do about the birds at the Dunedin airport.  They are endangering the airplanes because they get caught in the engines. Are you kidding? Where is all the mayem? I really don't need a gun anymore?
*#1 rank on Global Education Index (for all you parents who think your kid wouldn't be educated well); One of the other expat doctor's children (ages 11 and 14) told us that school was much better in NZ than back home. They have the opportunity to learn German, Japanese, Spanish, and even Mandarin in middle school?! Their teachers and classmates come from all over the world. No bullying, no metal detectors (like I endured), and no "keeping up with the Jones' ".
*#1 rank on Global Social Capital Index. Family comes first in NZ. Pregnant women are not allowed to work night shifts after 28 weeks gestation, no 10 hour days after 32 weeks, and absolutely no days longer than 16 hours! Most employers don't need these rules, but they are there anyway. Maternity leave is 1 year, paternity is 6 months and those 18 months combined can be divided between parents either way. So they each can be off for 9 months with pay and all scheduled raises. There is discussion about lengthening leave. Everyone takes at least 6 weeks vacation, most take a month off in a row so they can immerse their kids in another culture without rushing or cramming everything into a 5 day vacation! Best of all? People don't try to shame you for taking vacation (like our coworkers attempt to do to us); they actually shame you if you do not take them!!!!
*#4 rank on Global Economic Freedom Index (U.S. ranks #8). Just because it's socialized, doesn't mean you can't start a business or have access to economic opportunities. NZ's system just tries to control for greed and exploitation of people and the environment.
*Taxes are fair and everyone pays because there are no exemptions.  Foreigners and non-residents pay also if they working in NZ.  Taxes are taken out with each paycheck so there is no IRS equivalent and no need for large scale audits.  Everyone pays their share for shared benefits!
*Maori Culture (indigenous) is very strong, and is a very big part of everyday life in NZ. I've counted 3 Maori language television stations so far... (have you ever seen a Native American language station?). Carmen and I both are required as physicians to take Maori cultural classes. Love it! I want a face tatoo:)

Learning Maori Culture

*23% of NZ population was born outside of NZ (12% for U.S). Sheep herders and farmers are very important in NZ, but it is also a very diverse population with a mature, diverse economy (technology) that exports far more than it consumes.  Translation=NZ will be more than prepared to meet the challenges of the coming years because of it's genetic diversity and wise, economic planning and resource management.
*NZ has a couple of free tuition higher education colleges. Giving people from low socioeconomic backgrounds a "true" opportunity to better themselves.  Not just the opportunity to go into academic debt so you can become a "slave" to that debt.
*Universal Healthcare and a solvent social security system.  Kiwis understand that healthcare is a resource that must be paid for and must be appreciated. they understand they can't have an MRI everytime they have a headache! They understand that they may have to wait to get that surgery, but it won't bankrupt them or make them loose their home. They understand that people are not fodder for insurance companies and pharmaceuticals to make billions exploiting. They understand that they are more responsible for their own health than the doctor or the healthcare system. They understand doctors are human beings that make mistakes and have families they want to spend time with just as they do (100 hour work weeks are unheard of in NZ). Healthcare professionals or any other individuals can not be sued.  The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) provides comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all New Zealand residents and visitors to New Zealand. No more $50K invoices from Malpractice Insurance companies and no more $400/ hour lawyers to watch our backs, and no more threat of losing our home due to someone looking to hit the lotto! No countless hours trying to comply with Insurance companies and Medicare. We can finally be what we dreamed of and what we sacrificed so much to become... healers, pure and simple.

Enjoying Wifey's homecooking:) I can cook, but not like this!

Daddy's finally Home!

To our families: thank you for your love, support, and attempts at understanding us:)  To the friends we have lost because of our 'lifechange': may your heart be filled with love and your soul with contentment; we will think of you on every mountain top, every jungle trail, and every coral reef!!! God Bless (whether he be Jesus, Allah, or Buddah:)

It's Official! I'm Licenced and Dangerous!

God Bless the Kiwis for thinking that I deserved a driver's licence. Its an amazing thing, you just fill out an application, show your US driver's licence and another form of ID and viola! You can drive all you want on the wrong side of the road!!!

I'm now an official Moving Violation!!!

Its very interesting because you would think that I should have taken a practical test or something but this is what NZ Transport Agency has to say:

"You must also pass the appropriate NZ practical driving test unless you have held for at least 2 years a driver licence issued in: Australia, Austria,......Japan, Portugal, South Africa...the United Kingdom or the United States of America"

I honestly think that we shouldn't even be in that sentence! We drive on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road!!!! It definitely took some getting used to!!!!
Like the book worm I am, I still studyed the Driver's Book and took several of the online drivers test...just for fun! Passed them all! Think you're NZ road worthy? Take some of these practice questions and see how you do! Practice Driving Test

Other reasons why its hard to drive in NZ:

The dreaded "Give Way Rules"
Many people including Kiwi's have tried to explain this to me...apparently, the Kiwi's have created their own "give way" or yielding rules which is different from anywhere else on the planet! It is difficult to figure out but a friend just told me a quick and dirty way to remember it: if you are planning on making a turn and you would hit the drivers side of an oncoming vehicle, you were supposed to give way..if you are planning on making a turn and the other car would hit you on the driver's side then they were supposed to give way....ahhhh...that totally helps...(NOT!)..Oh and you gotta remember that the DRIVER side is on the passenger side of the car (for us North Americans!)

This is what the NZ road code says:

What are the Give Way rules?


If you are turning at an intersection, give way to all vehicles not turning.


If you are turning left at an intersection, give way to vehicles coming towards you that are turning right.


In all other situations, give way to all vehicles coming from your right.


If you are leaving the path of a marked centre line, you are deemed to be turning and must give way to vehicles that are following the centre lineRoundabouts:

huh?

Be careful at roundabouts - in New Zealand they may be different from roundabouts in your home country. For example, if you usually drive on the right-hand side of the road and drive around roundabouts in an anticlockwise direction, in New Zealand you will be driving in the opposite direction from the one you are used to! Remember, drive on the left-hand side of the road and drive around roundabouts in a clockwise direction.

Imagine this full with cars coming in every direction!!!

Don't let me start about the six chamber stop lights....

This stoplight requires an advance degree in physics to understand...

or in psychology...what is the other driver going to do?...hmm

My favorite Kiwi signs:

Yes, this needs to be a sign...somewhere close to me, cows and sheep are a major road hazard...

this kind makes my palms sweat...a dreaded Roundabout!!!!

If all else fails, I'm going to get an "American" style car!!! PIMP my Ride!!!

Now that I'm official, I'll be driving all over the country!!! Watch out Kiwi's!!!!

Say What?-Kiwi Speak 101

So I am learning my Kiwi terms and sayings...it is a very slow learning curve. First of all, I'm an idiot when it comes to figuring out the accent. I honestly can't tell a Kiwi accent from an Aussie accent from a British accent. (Sorry! I'm trying!) I can tell minor differences but right now i'm in the learning stages. What I have stopped doing is guessing. I didn't know it was an insult to ask a Kiwi if they are from Australia (Perish the thought!!!). The only thing I have gotten a small taste of is the Scottish brouge...Invercargill and Dunedin have very large Scottish populations. Every now and then we will get some immigrants from Scotland here in our city. It is so VERY easy to tell that accent. I don't know what it is but it makes me smile...its very rhythmic but edgy...I don't know why but it tickles my ears and I love listening to them speak. Now I'm sure I look like an idiot when i'm standing there, grinning ear to ear when someone asks me "Cahn ya tell mae whar ta baathram tis?" Call me silly, but it sounds cute to me!

My newest problem in not appearing to be stupid is trying to figure out some of the Kiwi sayings...Seems to me that they do something similar to what we do in the Southern United States...we shorten and condense everything:

"Ya'll".....you all
"All Ya'lls"....all of you
"Fixin to"...I was about to...
"I Swear fo God"...I promise you, if you continue with this current course of action there will be reprecussions!

In Kiwi-speak they drop the last part of the sentence..its up to you to figure out the rest...
"Sweet As"...you can finish up the sentence with whatever but they don't...
You can acually put any adjective in front of "as" and it becomes a statement or a comment, usually denoting contentment with something or describing something...
examples:
"Its rainy out tonight with no clouds"
"Ya, dark as"
Or:
"I think I got an good grade on my test"
"Sweet as"
Or:
"I had the heater on all night just to stay warm!"
"ya, its cold as"

Another thing I need to get good at is thinking on my feet. Today, at work a lady asked me if I wanted to get a drink...Here is the conversation and why I probably seem a bit slow to some people here:

Lady: Looks like we have a wee break...wouldya like a cuppa?
Me: waiting for her to say a cup of what....silence...
she's just looking at me...
Me: a cup of what?
Lady: a cuppa? Would ya like?
Me: what are you going to get?
Lady: a cuppa..
Me: Sure- I'll take a coffee
Lady (exasperated): ya, what I said, 'a cuppa'

So now I learned that 'a cuppa' is coffee (or maybe tea)...i'm not quite sure but you should just say yes.

The other thing you shouldn't do is argue with people on pronunciation..its their country, let it go...
Last week I got a little lost heading to the phone store. The directions were simple enough, it was across the street from the ANZ bank. Now, for most of us, we would say A-N-Z bank...very simple, all three of the letters, right? Not right in Kiwi speak. This is before I knew that Z was pronounced "zed". I was turned around and asked a man where the place was:

Me: Excuse me, where is the phone store?
Man: next to Ann-zed
Me: Oh, I think i'm lost, where is Ann-zed?
Man: down the street right there
Me: Is there a landmark I should look for?
Man: yep, Ann-zed bank, right across the street. Big sign in front.
Me: Oh, thank you...some one else told me it was across from A-N-Z
Man: Same thing, you could say it that way if you want

What was hilarious is the way they guy made it sound like I could say it A-N-Z if I really wanted to but it was wrong! So now I have to remember that "i" is prounounced as  "uh", "z" is "zed" and when someone says "Sweet As" they are not talking about your butt!

So now you know...I live in a place that is 'Sweet As', 'Pretty As' and 'Far As' that is mighty dear to get to but if you do you'll be 'good as gold'!

This concludes Kiwi-Speak 101

Ok...so for those of you who want to know and learn how to speak Kiwi, here you go:

I Think I Saw A Dinosaur!!!!

Another weekend means another day trip. Today I woke up and decided at the last minute that I wanted to see the multiple beautiful waterfalls located in the Catlins. The Catlins is an area east of Invercargill which includes beautiful vistas of rural farmland, podocarp forest, hidden lakes and beautiful waterfalls. It is only about a 1-1/2 hour from home so this morning, I grabbed my map, my hiking bag and set off!

Driving to the Catlins was amazing like every other drive I've done in New Zealand so far. The drive is on the Southern Scenic Route which takes you through quaint rural towns and past beautiful farmlands and down the coastline.
My goal for this day trip was to see two waterfalls that I had seen pictures of in books. I also wanted to see Curio Bay which is an amazing place geologically. It is the site of an ancient Jurassic era rainforest. It somehow got flooded during the last ice age and is now perfectly petrified for all to see. During low tide you can walk around and acutally see little fossilised plants and animals from 180 million years ago!!! It is truly amazing!

How a Jurassic Forest became a petrified forest.

Curio Bay

These aren't rocks, they are actually petrified trees from 180 million years ago!!!

My next stop was McLean Falls. Most of the waterfalls in the area are deep within podocarp forests...that is a fancy way of saying a Jurassic Park like jungle. I know that we only associate jungles with the hot tropics but after the trees and stuff that I saw, I say its a jungle! Anytime you can't see the sky because the trees are so thick...its a jungle! And it was thick!!! You couldn't see ground on either side of the trail there were so many plants and ferns there! I swear some of the plants and trees I saw are identical to ones i've seen in the jungles of Costa Rica or Thailand!!!!

Seriously Jurassic Park looking

This looks like jungle to me....this is the kind of trail you walk down just before the T-Rex jumps out and eats you...

Of course, it wasn't hot...i had my awesome layering on today...two shirts, fleece coat and raincoat but it was still so amazing to see a forest that resembled so closely a tropical place!!!
Even scarier, I kept telling myself I saw something moving deep in the jungle of trees...Any time I heard a sound I just KNEW a velocor raptor was going to come running out of the jungle at me! I think at one time I convinced myself I saw a tail of a dinosaur..it was actually a tree branch but you see the pictures!!! Seeing a dinosaur doesn't seem that improbable!!!! I'm a smart person but I have a robust imagination! All I was thinking was that I just saw one of the best preserved Jurassic era rainforests in the WORLD right down the road...who's to say that some of the Jurassic era stuff isn't so petrified?! :)

I still think there may be dinosaurs roaming around!

This looks like the set of Jurassic Park!!!

I'm expecting to see monkeys swinging between branches....

or tigers drinking from the stream...

Seriously, one  of the reasons why I LOVE hiking in New Zealand is because aside from the rare psycho there is nothing in the forests that will kill you!!! No snakes, no spiders, no scary big bugs...NOTHING creepy crawly...sure they have the routine bugs but when you see jungle like this, you expect to see some 12 inch hairy spiders and 30 foot long boa constrictors!!! They don't have any of that!!!! Lack of big, hairy, creepy spiders is reason enough to move to New Zealand for me!!!

THIS IS NOT IN NEW ZEALAND!!!

this was in Thailand on our jungle walk...i find it totally inappropriate for a spider to be this big...i almost fainted...

Yet another inappropriate animal...a tree snake, in Thailand...

After a brief 20 minute hike, you come to deeper forest and a beautiful little waterfall. Its no Niagra Falls but it was still beautiful!!!

McLean Falls

I continued to drive east, heading towards the "big" famous waterfall of Purakaunui Falls. On the way, the drive takes you past coastal lowlands then up into the Catlins Coastal Rainforest. The name is perfect for this area. It truly looks like a rainforest! So lush and so pristine.
On the way, I stopped on a lookout to see Tautuku Beach...I didnt know the name of it when I drove by it at first so I decided that it would be my beach!!

We're planning on coming back here in the summer! I'm gonna call it Brown's Sugar Beach!

It's mine!!!

After passing my beach, I turned off down a dirt road to get to Purakaunui Falls. The hike to Purakaunui Falls was similar to the first one, a short 30 minute hike and you start to hear water roaring. Then you get glimpses of water through the trees and then see this....

me at Purakaunaui Falls!!

After my two short hikes and about 3 hours of driving round trip, I came back home and decided to treat myself to Reason #168 of Why I Love New Zealand...

Awesome fish and chips!

Note the lovely grease stains on the paper!

Its served wrapped up in a nice little newspaper bundle and you get to unwrap it like a Christmas present!!! Whoo-hoo!