Different

A few things that are different than the states:


*No central heating -gets in the 30s at night and we see our breath in the house by morning – SO COLD!
*Toilet truly is a water closet. Free standing at back of house completely open to outside air- SO COLD!
*Hot and cold water in sink is separate. You can never wash your hands in warm water, just hot or cold.
*No screens on windows
*Small kitchen/counter space
*Door knobs way up high – good and bad for kids
*No dryers – on any given morning you can see neighbors hanging clothes on their lines.
*Everything is EXPENSIVE!!!! Mascara-$20 Milk-$5 Cake mix-$6 Rotisserie chicken $17 Gas-$8/gal
*Most measurements need to be converted (thank goodness for our I-pod touch with conversions app)
*Currency, of course (at least it’s an easy .8 rate)
*Terminology (nappies=diapers, cot=crib, tea=dinner, etc.)
*Accent – it’s distinctly different than Australian accent, then there’s the Maori language- very different
*18 hour time difference form Colorado – kids are already adjusted! Yippee!!!!!
*Internet usage is pre-paid data usage, not unlimited use per month
*The smell of burning coal at night/in the morning (smells like burning plastic- chemical)
*Kids in grocery stores barefoot or in just socks (the south island is totally laid back)
*Rugby is really the only organized sport you see being played or televised (NZ official sport)

It’s just great to live the simple life. Gardening, hanging clothes to dry, making homemade breads, porridge for breakfast, heating the home (not very effectively) with wood-burning fireplace, counting our coins to see if we have enough for meat that day, etc. makes me feel like we live in England during the industrial revolution. I love it! Although, it sure would be nice to have warm toes outside of the bed or shower.

All-in-all we love New Zealand!!!!!!!! It’s a good thing Jonathan has a contract signed for April or we might never leave. We can’t wait to see what lies in our future and to have a car so we can tour this beautiful country and take lots of pics.