- "Cheers" seems to be a universal word for hello, goodbye, and thank you.
- Stubbies are the super short rugby shorts that are popular here. We're talking bright and patterned southern frat boy short shorts.
- Rugby is life here
- Gumboots are rain boots
- A NZ bbq consists of sausage on a piece of bread with coleslaw and "tomato sauce" (ketchup)
- Futbol is not football
- A lot of pumpkin is consumed here...but not in things. Just cooked on its own.
- University and college are two completely separate things (college means high school!)
- Biscuits refers to cookies
- Makeup is SO EXPENSIVE. We're talking $40 lipsticks.
- Cheese is crazy expensive, as is milk, as is berries, as is like all food
- Lucky Charms and Poptarts have their honorary places on the International Foods aisle.
- It's perfectly acceptable to walk around barefoot
- Women never style their hair. It's either buns, ponytails, braids, or all natural and down
- Same with makeup, little to no makeup is worn here
- Kinder eggs are legal here
- Pre-loading in New Zealand is the equivalent of pre-gaming in the U.S.
- Drinking age is 18+, and it's about $5-$10 NZ dollars for a drink at the bar (~$3.50-$7.50)
- Everyone is a solid two years behind on music
- And a solid 20 years behind on clothing
- L&P is their primary soft drink. It's lemony goodness and much better than our soda
- There's a lot of Speights pride here (South Island beer)
- "How did you find it?" = "How was it"
- Papers are another word for classes
- Jandals are what all sandals are called
- Shorts and rain boots.
- People here drink from 5:30pm-9pm, get super hammered, and are in bed around midnight
- Landscape is pretty much a perfect mix of Washington and Colorado
- Buildings are pretty much the same you'd see in the States
- BOYS HYGIENE HERE IS HORRIBLE. I can tell who is a native and who's not just based on whether or not they're wearing deodorant.
- Apparently this is like a hole in the ozone or something, but the sun is SO INTENSE HERE
- You can swear/drink/be dumb in front of faculty and it's totally normal (as long as you stay respectful of the school)
- Most NZ cities/hot spots have Maori names and are therefore unpronounceable
- Maori culture in New Zealand is like the Native American reservations back home, but they are more integrated into the society. The whole island is their reservation, not just a small area!
So far I love New Zealand. Their culture isn't so much like a different country, it feels more like a different state. New Orleans was definitely more of a culture shock then New Zealand!
Okay and here are some funny questions I've been asked/get asked a lot:
- "Where are you from?" "Washington state." "No way, have you met the president?!"
- "How old are you guys?" "20 and 21." "Why are you still in university?" (They only go three years, like 18-20 or something like that)
- "We have this really good American store but they are SUPER expensive. Yeah, they sell marshmallow creme. You guys have the best food!"
- "You're American." "Yes..." "Are you from Colorado?" (There's 25 of us here from CSU! People keep running into us I guess...)
- "Can you name the 5 most recent presidents?" (These people know more about U.S. history then I do...)
- "Americans are really into Lorde, right? We don't like Lorde."
- "I'm known as the American hustler. There were these California girls my first year..."
It's pretty funny some of the stuff I hear. For the most part people here are really friendly and a lot like the Americans back home! Can't wait for the next few months <3
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