1 Year Since Leaving the US

I can't believe it has been one year since I have arrived in Wellington, New Zealand. This goes to show how fast one year goes by. I left July 14, 2009 saying that Garnett and I would return in a year and, obviously, this is not the case. It took a full 6 months to get over the culture shock and to fully settle into being here, leaving us only being fully present to living the kiwi lifestyle in the last few months.

Over the last year I have no doubt learned a lot about a different culture, government, public transportation, etc. But most importantly I learned more about myself. I did not realize a year ago that I was taking my Type A personality and placing myself in the most laid back culture in the Western World. After almost having a heart attack over not getting answers to questions in a decent time to learning that kiwis only text message and never pick up their phone to nothing ever starting on time, I have learned to soften my attitude a little bit. It has actually done wonders for my stress level. I have also been able to change my definition of "urgent" and what really needs to be done in a day.

I have adjusted to living a much simpler life. I can count on both hands the items of clothing/shoes I have bought in the last year which for me is considered a "wardrobe slump". The funny thing is, I am okay with it. Wellington is a "come as you are society" and that is exactly what I do each day. I just come as I am!

Fitness has been a way of life for me for many years. This makes me fit in quite nicely in such an active city where you can walk anywhere and where I can ride my bike to work. Everywhere you look there are trails to be hiked, roads to be ran, events to be participated in... I am even so lucky as to have the pleasure of having one of the most scenic trails outside my doorstep, Tinakori Hill. I don't know if I would have said this a year ago but it has been liberating not having a car.

A co-worker asked me yesterday, "have you accomplished all that you wanted in this last year?" Great question! On the surface, the answer is YES. Garnett and I wanted to work and live in a different country and that is just what we have done. But under the surface, and unconsciously, I think we both where searching for something, an experience that would challenge us to grow as individuals and bring us together within our marriage. I can only speak for myself but I have definitely noticed little changes within myself that have helped me see that I am overcoming certain fears and judgements that I have had. To live in a "come as you are" society has enabled me to liberate myself and break free from such things. And even though I have not achieved any earth shattering revelations while on this journey, again something my Type A personality was unconsciously hoping for, I have received something far greater. I have been able to gain such a different perspective on life and those I come in contact with. And with each new experience I face, I learn that much more about what myself and others are capable of.

It has been a good year, full of many ups and downs. I like to say that I have cried my tears and I have laughed my laughs. Undoubtedly, I miss my family and friends tremendously and from time to time I do miss the conveniences that America offers. I am still not sure what this means about a return date. I will keep you posted. But until then, thank you for all of your love and support as I am on this journey. I couldn't have done it without you!

Many Hugs and Much Love, Kathy

A Kiwi Christmas

Merry Christmas! This year Christmas has definitely felt different but in some ways it has felt the same. We have been very blessed to have made great friends in New Zealand who have included us in the traditional Kiwi BBQ's and invited us to family Christmas celebrations. So, we have felt like we have been adopted and everyone has made us feel at home. I have also had the benefit of having my mom visit for 2 weeks. It has been so nice having here to show her where I live, work, and walk (and in NZ walking is a must) on a daily basis. It has made such a difference having her here to share this experience with her and to have a close family member and friend to be-bop around with.

Now on one hand Christmas has felt different. Summer has finally arrived so this week I have actually been in shorts and short sleeve shirts. I have been doing more swimming and go to a local lap pool which is outside. As I did my laps this week I was thinking how odd it was that I was outside swimming in the morning in the bright sunshine and warm weather. Also, Kiwi's don't get as commercial and novelty as Americans do at Christmas time. There is no competition of who can have the gaudiest and brightest Christmas lights, no Santa on each corner, and not many Christmas movies on TV and songs on the radio (I know, sad). Overall, it is much more subdued. But have no worries, I have brought much Christmas cheer to this region with my American holiday baking (of course, very rich to the NZ taste buds) and my reindeer ears. Even though the Kiwi's could not provide me with a Christmas on steroids, I can always bring my cheer with me wherever I go.

Lastly, since it is summer, many people and businesses are closed down for the next couple of weeks to go on vacation. Similar to how we do it in June/July, I guess. Except, here they really know how to take a vacation....I mean weeks of vacation. This is something we have not mastered in the states. In the USA we think that our job, co-workers, and daily tasks can not live without us thus we barely take a "true" vacation. Also, we are sometimes not sure if our job is even going to be there when we get back if we stay out that long. So, Kiwi style is out for 2+ weeks without even checking in and not thinking twice about work. I think we can adopt this from the Kiwi's. More vacations and true vacations. As for my first Kiwi vacation, I will be going to the South Island for 2 weeks. More on this later.

In the end there are many differences but the one thing that stays the same is the feeling of Christmas and the reason for the season. You can take love and joy with you everywhere you go and there are blessings all around to be thankful for. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Enjoy this time with family and friends.

Feliz Navidad!

Buying a Car in Another Country

The Mission:

We are in the process of buying a car. Our goal is to have one in 6 days....by the time my mom gets here, which by the way I am very excited about but is another story within itself, family here in Wellington, yesssss! So, is it smart to in a time crunch to get a car in a country that is more laid back than a California surfer? Hmmm. That is still to be determined and I am very hopeful.

Our MOA:

We are using Trade Me which is the Kiwi version of Craig's List with a touch of EBay. So far I am about 3 for 9 on my bids since I moved here. Our TV, DVD Player, and Bike were purchased of Trade Me but this virtual wonder is not as easy as everyone says. I get in bid wars each time and have to stay glued to the computer or have texts sent to my phone in order to make sure I am in on the action at the close of the auction. I digress but the point is we are using this tool yet again (by Kiwi recommendation) to get just any car that will get us point A to point B. It does not have to be fancy. Our budget is $2,o00 so as long as it runs good, I could careless what it looks like. I saw an orange station wagon the other day and thought "what a neat color car to have in another country." If you lived in Wellington, the culture capital, you would probably be considered pretty cool to have such a vibrant car.

My Acting Skills.....Can Someone See Right Through Me?

I am feeling rather guilty buying a car over the internet, so are doing our best to at least go see the car which is actually not easy if you don't have a car yourself to get to theses people's homes. Last weekend we borrowed Garnett's bosses car to look at a few. Can I just say that it was great just having a car for 24 hours! Neither Garnett or I know much about cars so I am sure you can see where this is going. We go to our first test drive and we are about 20 minutes late because we accidentally got on the Motorway and come to find out there are no exits off of it until 15 minutes down the road. Obviously Mc Donald's does not care if they are next to a Motorway and there is not an exit ramp for more business. This is very odd to me but maybe that is just the American consumerism coming out in me. Either way, we get there and I ask "can we check under the hood?" Why on Earth would I ask such a question? I don't know what I am looking for and neither does Garnett. So, this starts our quest of finding a car that just looks "clean" under a hood. This also starts our quest of asking questions such as "how is the transmission, how has the car treated you, is there anything wrong with the car" which coming from a sales background I know that anyone selling a car is going to say...."na, everything is just fine, she runs like a champ!" What can I say? I am just trying to stay in the game and act like I am supposed to be part of the "car team."

The Learning Curve: Driving on the Left Side of the Road:

Our next step is a doozy, test driving and scaring the living crap our of people. You know how you sometimes will drive somewhere and not remember how you got there? This is sad but true. Well, here in another country where you drive on the other side of the road, there is no more of that. You are on constant ALERT mode. Since we do not have a car, we have not had to deal much with driving on the other side of the road. We drove a little when we got here but other than that it has been public transportation. As I am starting to use my bike this has been an experience constantly saying to myself "stay left" which those who pass me or are walking on the street think I am the crazy bike rider who talks to herself. So, as I test drove a wagon last weekend I scared the ever living day lights out of the owner because on every turn I wanted to get in the right hand lane. It got so bad that both the owner and Garnett had to keep yelling at me "STAY LEFT, STAY LEFT." It is truly an automatic instinct to drive on the right hand side of the road. To give you an idea how hard this actually is, the little driving Garnett and I did our first week here we both had to be in the car to remind the other not only to get in on the right side of the car (now the driver side) and to always stay left. And I am sure it is not comforting to the owners of these vehicles that Garnett and I both tend to get in on the wrong side of the car and have to take a moment and say "opps, thought this was the driver's side" and walk to the other side of the vehicle.

The Result: TBD

So, wish us luck on our quest and pray for safety. It is amazing that Americans can go to almost any country and drive the moment we walk off a plane, especially since we are the only continent that drives on the right side of the road. Why do these other countries trust our driving skills so much? I think the folks who let us text drive their cars are wondering the same thing when I get in the driver's seat. Look out Kiwi's here I come, Beep Beep!

Thanksgiving as a Kiwi

Thanksgiving is among us but not in New Zealand. Many people have asked if New Zealand celebrates Thanksgiving....the answer is no. So, this week actually feels like any other week but I do feel like there is something missing, the feeling of Thanksgiving. There are a few get togethers this week to mark the day but I have realized that Thanksgiving is more than turkey (which you can't really find in NZ), stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Although there is nothing like a good Thanksgiving meal, especially made by my mother, but Thanksgiving is truly a feeling. I don't know if I would have really pieced that together without having the lack of my usual friends and family. Thanksgiving truly is about the feeling of love and support. The feeling of being around your friends and family and you all being thankful for the blessings that have been bestowed upon you throughout the year. Or even if you are having a tough year it is just a day full of love and marks the beginning of the close to another year.

Life has been pretty busy the last couple of weeks for Garnett and I and it wasn't until I saw a Friends episode about Thanksgiving did I stop and really take stock of what all I was going to be missing this week. First of all, Black Friday which I am not a huge fan of anyway because I end up shopping for myself more so than anyone else. In New Zealand Black Friday is Friday the 13th. Odd, isn't it? Secondly, I am a huge fan of the Turkey Trot 8K that takes place the morning of Thanksgiving. It is a great way to start the holiday weekend and especially to see everyone running with their reindeer ears on. Thirdly, my sister burning her classic green bean casserole. How you can burn such a microwavable dish, I will never know. Lastly, the Clemson vs. Carolina game which this year promises to be another "W" in the Clemson column.

Even though I do feel a since of sadness as this week starts I cannot forget to be thankful for all the blessings I have here in New Zealand. Better yet, I am thankful just to have the opportunity to work and live here and take this journey. So, my goal for this Thursday is to go to some sort of "Thanksgiving get together" and be thankful for what I do have and to absorb kiwi love.

To my family and friends....you will all be on my list of things I am thankful for. This experience has truly made me cherish our relationship that much more. Thank you for your love and support as Garnett and I have embarked on this journey.

Rugby is not for sissies!

I went to my first rugby game a couple of weeks ago and what an experience. It was New Zealands equivalent to the Super Bowl. It was the Tri Nations, a series of test matches between Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. The All Blacks (NZ) played the Wallabies (AUS) here in Wellington. The city was buzzing with excitement and was in full support for their team. They even had kangaroo mascots walking around the city all week that you could put these black stickers on them to "Black Out The Wallabies." It was rather cute.

The week of the game the All Blacks team came into the gym I train at to do their workouts. It was interesting because first of all, I didn't even know who they were and they are pretty famous in this country. Although, not coined "famous" like we have in the states. They are still treated like everyone else and there is not such thing as "posse, entourage, or paparazzi." After some of the other trainers let me know who was in the building, I started to notice who was an All Black player because they all pretty much had cauliflower ear. I was amazed to see how different they looked compared to our American football players. Most of our football players have to pack on the pounds and are HUGE! These rugby guys are some of the leanest athletes I have seen who engage in such high speed physical contact with no padding once so ever. You have to literally be a John Deer Tractor to get the ball down the field. This is no sissy sport.

My first rugby experience was a fantastic one. The All Blacks won which means bragging rights for New Zealand over Australia, and I got to see a hakka for myself in real life. This is a sort of pregame dance/cheer that The All Blacks do before each game while facing their opponent who sits there and what I like to say, just takes it. It is truly intimidating and if this does not get you pumped up, I don't know what will. Check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4LNjNXt1yM

Are we speaking the same language?

I have recently felt frustrated communicating with New Zealanders. They all agree and own up to the fact they mumble. You truly cannot hear what they are saying most of the time. I even come from a family of mumblers, my dad being the inventor of the "mumble dialect." So, even with my vast experience of translating mumble to English, I found myself just nodding to people yesterday and saying "hmmm, uh huh, wow!, that's funny," and all of the other great filler words of the English language. I just couldn't bare to ask one more time, "what did you say?" I have never felt like a "loud, obnoxious American" but I am talking a bit louder these days in hopes that Kiwi's will mirror in conversation with a louder tone of voice. No such luck yet. I am now officially loud.

Another questions I quite often ask is "how do you spell that?" There some slang terms here that the Kiwi's use that are a bit different and with their accent sounds like cuss words. But as I have learned, Kiwi's are not only layed back in their way of life but also in their slang. For example, I have referred to the term "sweet as" in a previous blog. I even named my blog after it. When I first heard it, I thought people where saying "sweet *ss." My initial reaction was "thank you." Ha ha, just kidding. But I did think "who has a sweet *ss and wow, they sure are bold Kiwi's to just put that out there." Needless to say, thanks to help of a 14 year old local, I found out they were saying "sweet as."

So, here I am still wondering, sweet as what???? Sweet as pie? Sweet as candy? Sweet as the fruit mentos I eat on a daily basis? This is where the kiwi life style crosses over into language. I am learning that there are other slang terms that end with "as", such as "cool as" and "easy as." Again, what follows this "as". It's not a complete sentence!!! And even more terms are shortened, a term like, Cheers! It is shortened to, Chur! And the word "whatever" is now "whatevs" (I must say that is my favorite one and I choose to adopt it into my daily language). They even add random "ies'" to words such as cool, which is now "coolies."

I am left wondering on certain days, "are we even speaking the same language?" I am still pondering...., what is cool as.....? What is easy as....? And what is sweet as....? I guess that is what I get for my mom being an English teacher. But as long as I live here and try to learn from the locals, some things will stick and some will not. Until next time, as I ponder, think about the following comparisons I have come up with.....

Sweet as Clemson Football

Cool as Duke Basketball

Easy as listening to Bon Jovi

Sweet as cupcakes from Cupcake in Charleston, SC

Easy as looking at Johnny Depp

Any thoughts?

Cheers or Chur! Whichevs you like.....

9/11 in Another Country

My Friday started out like any other day. Sometimes on Fridays I will go to the Film Archive for the Friday Soup and a Seat. For $8 you get soup, which I love, and a viewing of a New Zealand documentary. I have learned that Wellington is also referred to as Welly-Wood and is the hub for the New Zealand film industry. Thus, they created the Film Archive which houses every film ever produced by a New Zealander or in New Zealand itself. It is a great place. Yesterday, the featured lunch time film was Flight of the Concords, A Texan Odyssey. This was my first encounter with FLOC, as they call it. Flight of the Concords are 2 guys, Brett McKenzie and Jemaine Clement from New Zealand who are considered "New Zealand's 4th Most Popular Fold Parody Duo." They are absolutely hilarious. I knew they had a series on HBO but I never watched it. I won't go too much further into this show but I do recommend you either watch the series on HBO or rent the DVD's. I have season one for this weekend.

As I was on a FLOC high with tears in my eyes from all the laughter, I noticed the date, 9/11. I just stopped for second and couldn't believe it was 1:00 in the afternoon and I didn't realize what day it was. My mood completely shifted. I hadn't seen any reminders of that day, no yellow ribbons, no American flags, and no moments of silence. It was odd to me because if I were in America, I would be completely immersed in reliving that day via TV, Internet, and Radio. I was even talking to someone about America and the war on terror earlier in the day and neither of us noticed. Now, I am not saying that they do not recognize what day it is. Garnett heard some stuff on the radio and the movie Flight 93 played at some point this week. But being in another country on this day was different. There wasn't something reminding me everywhere I turned.

So, I did some conversational investigation. I went back to work and began to ask how Kiwi's viewed 9/11. I was amazed to see how much it impacted the world. I knew where I was on that day but didn't realized that people in other parts of the world would look at it the same way. Each person I talked to remembered exactly where they were and commented on how frightened they were to fly post 9/11. And this was not just Kiwi's but people from the UK and other parts of the world. It opened my eyes to see for myself the global impact that day actually had on people. Even though that day happened in America it was still felt all across the globe. This is something you can't get from watching CNN or Fox News.

On this day, let us reflect on those whose lives were touched in some way by that day. And no matter what differences America has let us be thankful that we are Americans and for all the blessings and opportunities that brings.