New Zealand is a country of connections... to friends... to family... to tradition... to culture... to the land - and I am having so much fun soaking it all in.
I love the New Zealand accent and we have had a lot of cross cultural fun decoding each others languages and slang. Any of you who know me well will enjoy the fact that it only took one day for me to pull "a Janice." I won't go into detail on this blog, but let's just say that I was proudly sharing one of my recently discovered New Zealand words with Crissi (my USA travel mate) when Kathy (my NZ host) got a shocked look on her face, blushed a bright red, and said, "Oh my... Don't say that again... and definitely don't say it when I take you to my school tomorrow." It turns out that I had exchanged the first letter of a word for another and it was bad enough that when I asked Kathy to explain it to me she had to compose herself and whisper the description in my ear. This has now become the story that our New Zealand friends are sharing with everyone we meet while laughing hysterically. It's a good thing a sense of humor is international.
Here is a list of some of my newly discovered New Zealand words and their American translations... You can use your imagination to figure out the word where I muddled (muddled = messed up) the first letter:
Mate = friend
Serviettes = napkins
Biscuit = cookie
Lolly = candy
Manky = not looking your best
Throwing a wobbly = throwing a tantrum
Chilly Bin = ice chest
Hokey Pokey = a crunchy toffee candy crumble found in many desserts
Hottie = hot water bottle
Iceblock = popsicle
Tea = dinner
Entree = appetizer
Boot = car trunk
Rubbish = trash
Keen = good
Tiki Tour = when you are going to go show someone around
The following words are used as exclamations:
"Cool!"
"Brilliant"
"Stunning"
"Good boy" and "Good girl"... when praising children, where Americans usually say, "Good job"
"Cheers!"... whenever we have drinks
"No Worries"... whenever I say thank you to someone
The first 2 days in this country, I had to listen very carefully to understand my New Zealander friends. I find it fascinating that after 1 week, I can now understand them perfectly most of the time. For the first 2 days, I also kept trying to get into the wrong side of cars (which would be the right side in America) and I had to be careful when crossing streets because I was looking for cars in the wrong direction. I've adjusted now, but you won't see me attempting to drive any time soon.
Living with a family in New Zealand has opened doors to amazing conversations. Being introduced as an educator exchange delegate from America everywhere I go invites people to ask me about Arizona and American culture and issues. As we interact with genuine interest and sensitivity, I can feel our worlds coming closer together and it is inspiring. I have been truly blessed by this opportunity and experience. I love New Zealand!
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