Learning our little town

So we have been here in Blenheim for about 1 year now. It is an awesome little spot.

Lots of cafes, lots of sunshine and LOTS of wine about....My kind of place!!



We are learning a lot about our little town...Weird things...but interesting...

1) Blenheim is the sunniest place in New Zealand. That is great, right? But New Zealand happens to be in the Southern Hemisphere very close to the wonderful hole we have burned in our ozone layer that lets all the bad sunshine rays in...That means everyone is at risk of sun damage. You laugh but we have burned here...twice now. Bruce was out walking around downtown and later that evening we could have fried an egg on his head it was so hot and red. We now have several tubes of SPF 50-100 right next to the front door as a reminder before you go out to get baked

2) Blenheim is the Honeycomb Hideout for people with lots of cash
We lived in New Zealand almost two years before. I can count on my fingertips the number of "high end" cars like BMW and Mercedes that I saw in that two years. I have been here a year and I have seen a Maserati, a Jaguar and several Porsches a Ferrari and even a Rolls!....I was told that most of the money around here comes from the wineries directly...it is very obvious. Lots of nice houses and many nice cars...






3) There are a lot of people here from random Pacific Islands
Mostly Vanuatu. Vanuatu is a chain of islands in the South Pacific. The people of Vanuatu are Melanesian which means they are very brown. So as you can imagine, when they saw us they were shocked as we were to see them.

boys on the beach in Vanuatu

When Bruce told them we were from the USA they didn't believe us. They thought that the USA only had rich Caucasian people  and we were making up stories.
They still seemed very amused by us. After chatting with them for several minutes we parted ways but they still had not decided where we were really from. It was clear they didn't think we were Americans...
There are also a host of people from random little islands that I have NEVER heard of. Kiribati, Niue, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Nauru, Solomon Islands and the list goes on. All I can tell you is that most of them look like THIS:

4) Nelson is the big "sister" city

Nelson is the town over the hill. Nelson is touted as the big city, where everyone goes to shop and do business. It is about 1.5 hours through a windy, mountains road. We traveled to Nelson several times and we were a little confused about the title of a "big" city. To us, Nelson seemed only a tad bigger than Blenheim. They have a couple more shops and a slightly bigger airport but that was about it...Not sure who decided that it was a bigger or better city. It is beautiful, right on the water and very close to some of the best beaches on the South Island. I guess that is where we go when we need a taste of a big city..but alas, its not really a "city". It's more like a slightly bigger Blenheim with more shops.

The true city near us is our beautiful capital city of Wellington. Many of you don't know this but Wellington, not Auckland, is the capital of New Zealand.  Almost ALL international flights terminate in Auckland, it is bigger, more populous and more popular that lil ol' Wellington. Kinda like Sacramento and Los Angeles….(no one realizes LA is only the capital of weirdness and avocado lovers :)

Anyway, we LOVE Wellington. It is a walkable, hip, urban, cool, awesome city. Great people, great restaurants and a really great vibe. Its known as "Windy Welly" because its usually got horrific weather but every time we've been there we are blessed with sunshine and calm skies.

Unlike our last little town of Invercargill, Blenheim is definitely got the ease of travel. We can get to Wellington on a quick 20 min flight on a puddle jumper or we can even take the ferry across the Cook Strait! We have been to Wellington bunches of times and it hasn't gotten old!

We are looking forward to exploring the beauty of the top of the sunny South Island!

Will keep you posted!



LG...Life's Good

"Sweet Jesus, they have hot sauce!!"

That was me, yelling down the aisle at Bruce in our neighborhood grocery store. It may seem ridiculous to you but that is a very BIG deal here. When we lived in Invercargill in 2010, I would have sold non essential body parts for a swig of Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce. Its amazing what you miss when you move overseas. People seem to think about big things: I'll miss my car, Ill miss my favorite coffee shop but lets be real, those things can be replaced. You can get  another car and you can find a new coffee hangout. What you don't realize is the little parts of your every day. Like Cottonelle Flushable Toilet wipes or Butterfingers candy bars. (Random, I know)

Being away from your home culture really magnifies those things you took for granted that are not even important. I credit our move to New Zealand with making me a better, more inventive cook.
Why? Cause we don't have all of the pre-packaged, processed convenience foods like we do back home. At least we didn't back in 2010. It is amazing how small the world has gotten in just 3 years. Strolling down the aisles of the grocery store in 2010 is VERY different from now. I swear the selection of goods has tripled! I have found all sorts of goodies that I KNOW we didn't have when we lived here before. Hot sauces, condiments, convenience foods, etc are all easy to find. Our local grocery store even has a little corner on the back of one aisle dedicated to "American foods".
My defining moment was when I stumbled upon a store in Auckland that imports food from the USA. I immediately notified the expat community of my find. It was like calling people to tell them they won the Publishers Clearinghouse Lottery.

Me: "OMG I have found Cheetos"
Rachel: "Shut UP!"
Me: "No seriously and they have ChipsAhoy, Ho-ho's and I'm pretty sure I saw some Texas Pete's."
Rachel: "I'm so excited!! Do you think they have barbecue sauce?"
Me: "At least 10 brands"
Rachel: "My LORD"
Me: "Go forth and buy and pass this website on to our people"

Yeah, it was that important.

Yes, I feel silly and shallow but I totally MISS certain things.
Like what? I can't really say. Its the thingie you need when you are cooking something that you can't find here. Or the normal junkie goodies that you have during Superbowl. Little, silly things.

I have learned to be creative and more of a true cook. Like I make my cornbread from SCRATCH now. Not Jiffy cornbread mix but real cornbread! Bruce can whip up the best condiments I've ever tasted. We are learning how to be Kiwi and enjoying more of the foods around us.

I figure in another year or so I won't even need the services of USAFoods.com….just as long as they sell hot sauce at my grocery store.