A giant swirling storm that has lasted, what seems to be three hundred years. Maybe more………., but in actuality, probably less. Either way I don’t think I have been actually warm for about 4 months now. They build houses here like they were in Hawaii. Well I can assure you Wellington in anything but balmy. I can’t wait for summer here so we have the chance to gloat to everyone telling us how warm it is in the Northern Hemisphere.

If you buy the type of bread that is rectangular, sliced and in a plastic bag, you have two choices in New Zealand. One type is labeled sandwich, the other is labeled toast and they look identical.

So, we did some pondering and then some investigating. As it turns out, toast bread is sightly thicker for toasters. And sandwich bread is a little thinner than toast bread for an unknown reason.

Naturally, we asked the question: “What if you want a toasted sandwich?” Supposedly, you would then use toast bread for your sandwich.

This lead us to conclude that sandwich bread and toast bread is one of the world’s great marketing scams. People all throughout New Zealand are tricked into buying two loafs of bread, when one would suffice.

We’re glad that we eat traditional european bread. It’s not rectangular, sliced or in a plastic bag. And, since it isn’t labeled we are free to do what ever we want with it. So, I can even dip my slice of bread in soup.

Here is an update on our likes and dislikes so far.

Likes:

• We don’t have kids, but I like to see really cool playground equipment kids can get hurt on.
• Drinking allowed in the streets.
• Not many lawsuits.
• Biking by the ocean.
• Kaffee Eis gelato.
• Delicious grass fed cows.
• People watching on Cuba Street.
• Having the beach five minutes away.

Dislikes:

• Parking enforcement.
• I think New Zealanders are used to having a lot of space so they walk down the sidewalk in widely spread out groups so you can’t get by. Then they just stop to have a chat and you can’t get by. It’s like being in Times Square with tourists in NYC.
• The word, “choice”. It’s not actually that we don’t like the word. It’s just funny to hear.
• The NZ symphony playing eighties music.
• Genre fashion on Cuba street, again eighties.
• Lack of insulation in housing.
• I took my shoes to get repaired. In NYC probably a $10.00 fix. Here $80.00.

We live in the Las Olas de Cuba apartments which translates to “the waves of the Cuba.” When received our quarterly gas bill from body corporate, El Che was on it. This piqued our attention for several reasons:

• It is the world’s most famous photograph and it is next to incredibly bad clip art
• Che is the most infamous Marxist revolutionary of our time
• And, it’s on a utility bill, from body corporate, regarding our middle-class home

Have we discovered the biggest and most obvious conceptual oxymoron in the history of oxymorons? Apparently so. Because in 1840 a survey party, traveling on a boat called the Cuba, landed near Wellington, with the task of surveying. So, that’s why there is Cuba street. And without any trace of profound thought, Che and Fidel’s photos and names popped up about 15 years ago to help market the trendy cafes which were on Cuba street, a street with absolutely no connection to the country, culture or politics.

We can only assume that if he knew, he would be upset and therefore haunt our body corporate.

Also, the word cuba comes from a Taino word meaning “where fertile land is abundant” or “great place.”

We think we have been able to gain some further insight into the New Zealander.  There does seem to be less confidence in people here than in America, which has somewhat hindered innovation, but has also allowed the New Zealander to create a much more stable society.  The people here do lack encouragement to push further, but there is a general competence it seems with everyone we meet.  In America you run into so many people where you can’t help but thinking,  ”I can’t believe you remember to breathe”.   This competence has lead to a very pragmatic people, that have sense enough to think things through without blind ego leading the way.

The strong pressure to conform here seems to come from their English heritage.  In English literature the protagonist becomes part of society in the end where the American is the lone rebel.  It’s funny. We live at the top of Cuba Street, which is a little similar to Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.  Every time we tell someone where we live they refer to it as the alternative area with a slightly negative tone of voice.  It is the place where kids play dress up while finding themselves playing Bob Dylan, Radiohead and Ramones songs on acoustic guitars, talking about communism and anarchy, while wearing skinny jeans, ponchos and leather, with dread locks, mohawks, and expensive hipster haircuts.  Which from our perspective, there is nothing that alternative about. It is just another street where ideas along with cd’s and t-shirts are sold, but although their rebellion may be recycled, the general notion on Cuba Street says the corporate capitalist doesn’t have a monopoly yet in New Zealand.  Which may be true, in that most of what is sold on Cuba Street is made here, and the New Zealander still maintains a relationship with his fellow man and doesn’t seem to harbor the loneliness of the American individual.

Show on map

The feeling that we have been on vacation is starting to wear off and the feeling that we have just torn apart our whole lives and moved to a speck on the globe out in BFE is starting to set in. New Zealand and its people are not like America or Americans in any way shape or form. As it has only been three weeks we have only been able to come up with observations but no conclusions yet. That is not to say that the culture shock we are experiencing is not fascinating or disconcerting to our immediate state of well being. The following is a short list of things that we will either like, learn to tolerate or will eventually make us leave.

• Nature is awesome.
• The status quo is very important here. Individuality and excellence not encouraged and almost frowned upon.
• If you can’t say anything nice, say something nice. Imagine me in a place where you can’t say boo to someone. Ha!
• Government agencies here are awesome. There is usually one or two people in line, even at the DMV. When you get to the counter the person is smiling and has you on your way in a matter of minutes. I had to throw in a value judgement on that one.
• New Zealanders like to talk about the weather.
• Cost of living is high in city centers. Our rent is more than NYC, and the cost of goods is astronomical.
• The New Zealand businesses that we have encountered aren’t as savvy and organized as their American counterparts, for better or worse.
• We went to see a free concert put on by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. They played “The Final Countdown”. Enough said on that.
• New Zealanders can’t operate a parade in the proper way, but they can organize a great street party.

These are just some initial observations, and they seem to be mostly negative, but we might just be a little homesick. I am sure over the next coming months we will be able to elaborate more and have a better understanding of the nature of New Zealand and the New Zealander.