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!