Top 10 Things I miss about NZ

A week into my American holiday, and I am missing NZ. Here is a list of things I miss: 1. Sunshine- Turns out that all the sun and brightness is like a happy lamp that shines on me. Boston with its snow and rain and winter with thick atmosphere is quite dark. Summer vs winter solstice. 2. Foamy tiny lattes with fancy decorations made in the foam. 3. Flowers- NZ has lots of them in every season. 4. Gym- miss my NZ gym, and don't have time or $ or membership to get guest pass to my old MA gym. I have been doing smaller home workouts and squats with a 23 kg (50 lb) son Ben on my back in the meantime. Not quite the same. Looking forward to getting back to triathlon training. 5. Health food- Turns out that America is the land of sugar, carbs, and huge portions. I miss my Burgen toast and yoghurt and leafy salads. They have those healthy things here in USA, but there are so many more convenience foods that are bad for you. It makes it harder to eat well. 6. Safety- living in NZ I always feel safe, and kids run free. 7. NZ friends- missing my gal pals in Canterbury and wishing you happy holidays. It has been great catching up with my American gal pals and their kiddos have grown up so big. 8. Mr. Purrsalot- my cat is being lovingly taken care of by Natasha, so I am sure he is awesome. 9. Relaxed atmosphere- NZ is a bit slower paced with tea times and holidays. Christmas is ramped up stressful mode in US, with crazy shopping and baking. I bet my NZ friends are kicking back and having a BBQ with Santa. 10. My home abroad- I have begun to think of my life in NZ as my home, so my American holiday in some ways feels a bit foreign to me. Not to mention that I say, "aye "and "no worries " a lot. People must think I am Canadian. As a expat, you come back a bit different, so you see your own country and your current home as a bit of both worlds you belong in.

First impressions

As an expat, you see your home country a bit different on return. These are some big differences: 1. Loud and extroverted people- strangers come up to you and tell you their whole life story at blasting volume. This is in comparison to quiet and keeping to themselves NZ folk.

2. Fast paced- if NZ is regular speed, then Americans are in turbo mode. The cashier thought I was taking all day to put away my wallet and leave the coffee counter. 3. Cheap dining- We have eaten out at places this week for $6 a person, which is so affordable! 4. Huge food-A donut the size of a dinner plate? A pancake the size of a platter? Huge food is everywhere. 5. Awesome shopping- Walmart was huge and amazing to go shopping at after 15 months abroad. Thanks to Grandma Portia and John Thompson, the kids and I had some gift cards to spend getting stuff. An Angry birds set was $39 US, but goes for 86 NZ dollars back in Canterbury. Vitamin water was $1, and is $5 in NZ. Socks and undies are cheap too, so we stocked up. Character T-shirts, $6.80 US, back in NZ they are $39 at Farmers department store. Wow!

6. Climate- We froze getting off the plane, and used grandma's 1980 hats and earwarmers for a while until we could get to Walmart for gloves. Snow flurries blanketed ground last night. 7. Family- Great to see everyone! Our parents ( kids' grandparents) are in their golden years. That seems neat to see them as senior citizens out and about. How did we all grow up and get so old? Lol! Obamacare is on everyone's mind. Here Grandpa John reads to the kids.

8. Exercise- hard to get time to do this on the road, so I am sticking to push ups and squats and crunches and some running on the treadmill. Doing my best for triathlon training as designed by Josh Paurini back at Cityfitness. 9. Driving- super scary to go back to driving on the right! I have yet to go on the highway in Ann's Audi, but managed to do some right turns and drive on back roads of 3 A to grandma's house and back to the hotel. 35 mpg seems super fast! The snow and ice don't help road conditions, either. Slow and safe is my motto.

A great trip, even though we are in jet lag limbo. We will see more family and friends soon.

Coming Home after a year abroad!

We are super excited to go on holiday for two weeks back to USA. What will it be like returning to the Boston area after 15 months away? Expats living far away all wonder the same thing. How will it feel when you are home? Is your home away from the USA more of a home now than where you used to be? Here are my top 10 things to adjust to in coming back to the USA. 1. Driving NZ driving has roundabouts more than stop signs. Plus, we drive with the left side of the road, so coming back to driving on the right will be hard. Wish me luck! 2. Sizes of food When I moved to NZ, all the food looked gourmet in its appearance and tiny. So will USA food seem huge and super sized and more basic? 3. Weather We are leaving NZ summer in December for a winter wonderland in Boston and Vermont. So hard to pack for a season change that extreme. My kids don't own any snowboots or warm gloves anymore. We will freeze to death in the switchover. 4. Walmart and Target Big box stores that carry everything from groceries, pharmacy, toys, tools, and clothes. Having so many choices for shopping in one place will be awesome, but also weird. I am now used to going to four places to get groceries, tools, clothing, and toys. How strange will it be to be in a superstore? The Warehouse in NZ pales in comparison. 5. Loudness NZ is quiet and filled with gardens and quiet peaceful folk. I am super loud and opinionated for NZ. Will I find Americans too loud and opinionated on return? Or will I blend more into the sea of loud and proud Americans? 6. Food Supermarkets in USA have so many choices. Will it be easy to go back to chicken nuggets and Poptarts? Will I miss NZ cheese and yoghurt ( yogurt) and multigrain Burgen bread? How about chicken flavour ( flavor) chips? Onions in all dishes including quiche and macaroni salad? 7. Exercise My gym in NZ ( Cityfitness) has become a regular part of my day in NZ. Will Plymouth Fitness seem strange now that I am returning on holiday, with its dark spin room, smoothie bar, and Espresso video game bikes? Or will it be awesome? 8. Family Being away from loved ones is hard. However, it can also be a readjustment to family time mode if you are used to doing your own independent thing. It will be great to see everyone again and give them a proper hug, not just a Skype one. 9. Friends Reconnecting with old friends is great. Will they have changed since I have been away? Will their kids seem super tall and smarter now that they are older? Catching up will hopefully be like old times. 10. Atmosphere- Ozone Will it be strange going back to where the ozone layer is thick? I wear 50 SPF sunblock daily in NZ to avoid getting burned. Will it be cool to walk outside and not be radiated by the sun? Will I miss the brightness of NZ? Will it seem normal or strange? Check out this super bright sunny day at our afternoon Christmas concert. Bright light! Excited to return for a visit to the USA after all this time. I will post some impressions of life in US now that I am an expat.

Clean enough for the Queen

My housing re inspection went off well on Monday. My landlord was impressed with our Hanukkah cookie house and our hedged lawn and the steam cleaned carpet. She exclaimed that my shower "was now even cleaner than hers at home." She liked that all the kids toys were tidy and put into bins in the corner of each room.

She did manage to find a small back corner of the garden with a few weeds that were still there, but she passed the house as tidy and well kept.

"Good on ya. Keep up the good work!" Stamp of approval- the Queen herself could have come over for afternoon tea that day.

Now it is back to normal- dishes in the sink, laundry pile to fold, and scattered toys about. Relaxing that we don't have to move again.

Hanmer Springs Retreat

Saturday morning we loaded up the red Sudan of Vicky's and headed off to Hanmer Springs around 10:30 am. We were headed there for a girls' weekend out. Hanmer Springs is a tourist destination for both locals and international travelers. Best known for its hot springs, it also has cute boutique shops and cafes in the center of town amidst the mountain scenery. One hr later, we checked in to a 3 bedroom house rental and then went off for lunch. The gals ordered beer, and I ordered a diet coke. Anna wasn't keen to go to the hot springs, so she went off to play slot machines ( pokies) and she won $120! Vicky, Marie and I went swimming and relaxed in the thermal hot spa. I used my intertube pass and went sliding in this awesome funnel shaped slide ride. Then, I did laps in the swimming pool until my legs were sore. Good triathlon training! Vicky, Marie, and I went in the "lazy river" section of the pool for a bit, where you ride a frog shaped floatie and the current pulls you around in a circle even without any swim effort from you. When we were done with swimming, we met Anna and made margaritas and did pedicures back at the rental house. Then, it was off to Thai dinner- I had Penang curry with tofu. Yum! We hung out at the house and I learned to play 5 Crowns, a card game. I won both rounds of the game, and the gals started to realize how competitive I am. A few snacks and drinks and games later, we were a bit tired and headed to bed. Vicky was my roommate, so we chatted about her upcoming wedding for a bit, and then fell asleep. In the morning, I woke up at 7 am and made toast with hummus and tomato and some coffee that Marie said I could share. Around 9:20 am, Vicky was up and keen to go on a walk around the area with me, so we headed out while Marie and Anna dozed. It is cool getting to know Vicky a bit better. We went on a nice river trail walk, and the weather was sunny, but not too hot. When we came back, it was tidy time, and I helped dry cleaned dishes and bring stuff back out to the car. We went to return keys and then did some holiday shopping for the family. I found a wooden Hanukkah train for Zack, which was a lucky find. We finished off the trip with salads and a club sandwich at a cafe, and then headed home. It was a relaxing way to hang out with my scouting kiwi gal pals before the holidays.

Thanksgivanukah

It is the holiday time of year! This week it was Mike's 35 th day on Monday. The first night of Hanukkah was last night, and the kids were super excited. Tonight is our Thanksgiving, and second night of Hanukkah. We have been cleaning a ton, because our housing inspection is on Monday morning. So, I expect 13 guests for dinner tonight at 6:15. Should be awesome! I made a roast chicken ( size 30), and three pumpkin pies. Making pie in NZ takes a while, since you need to roast the pumpkins first. In America, there is canned pumpkin. In NZ, you get to scoop out seeds and cook your own pumpkin. The American Club of Christchurch called me this week to ask me to cook their super expensive 9 kg (20 lb) turkey for the Sat luncheon party. Sure! So now my plan is to cook that turkey all day Friday - 9 hours. Hopefully, I won't get called in to be a reliever Friday. Otherwise, I will have to cook it after school til midnight. Super beast of a bird! I am also excited to be going to Hamner Springs this weekend with Marie, Vicky, and Anna for a girls' spa weekend. Fun times at the Fried household.

My Thanksgiving Chicken

Last year, I missed MA terribly, so I went all out to search for a NZ turkey for Thanksgiving. I was successful, but at a cost of $85 for a 12 lb bird. Here it is! This year, my Thanksgiving will feature a local NZ raised chicken, size 20 or 30, for dinner to share with friends. I have seen these on sale for 17-20 dollars. However, I did go to the international grocer in the Restart mall and get 3 boxes of stuffing mix. Traditional box mix is the way to go. No chance for cranberry sauce, alas. My MA friends back in the states will have to eat an extra gelping for those of us that live far from the cranberry bogs of the east coast.

Rental House Inspection Woes

We have been living in our rental house for three months, so yesterday the property manager came by to inspect the property. She emailed me 3 days prior, so I vacuumed, mowed the lawn, did some dishes, and pulled a few weeds. This is howI would get ready for guests to come to the house to visit.Passable, I thought. Wrong! I failed my house inspection. My yard and house have been declared too untidy, so I now have 2 weeks to bring in a crew to hedge the lawns, steam clean the carpet, and deep clean the house. "I don't need it to be immaculate like the Queen is visiting, but I expect it to be way more tidy than this. I am not impressed." This was the follow up call from the rental manager. Sigh... Things like this make me frustrated. I have seen many houses before that would also qualify as "Untidy"to this high standard. Hopefully the incoming lawn and home cleaners can bring it up to Kiwi standards of sparkling clean and tidy. I need some professional lawn care and home care people to help me in this domestic department. Kiwis are just a bit better domestically than I am. I have hit my limit of cleaning and lawn care. This American living in NZ needs to call in the pros to get it sparkling clean. Clean enough for the Queen to visit. Otherwise, we will have to go to the Tenancy Tribunal. Yikes! I simply cannot move another time this year. I am all burned out from moving.

Halloween is NOT a bday!

I cannot begin to describe the puzzled looks on Kiwi parents when they get a Halloween invitation.
This will be my second Halloween in NZ. In Palmerston North, there was an anti Halloween movement for Light Parties, run by church groups.  I have only seen one ad for a Light Party in Christchurch, and that one is a carnival theme where you can wear a non spooky Book character costume. Bizarre compromise!

Now that I live in the big city of Christchurch, I get that Halloween is still a new holiday trend, and a few people do like the idea of wearing costumes.
However....
They always ask me what bday presents my kids want for the Halloween party.Hmm. None? They have bdays in Feb!
This is a party to just have a party!

In NZ, I have been to a few parties, and they have mostly been bdays. So, I guess I can see people's confusion on this.

Let me be clear.
Halloween is a nationally celebrated costume party in the US.
No bdays to celebrate! We Americans just live to party, even in costumes or "fancy dress" as they call it in NZ.

Come on over and have some chocolate and pizza at our house party with your kids.
Please leave the bday presents for another party.

:) Here are some pics from last year's party in Palmerston North.

Anniversary Roast Beast

Wendy and John invited us to their 7th anniversary party at their house in Christchurch. Wendy is a longtime friend of my buddy Analyn, and they have a commonality of being from the Phillipines. John, a captain of an ice breaking ship, was a super cool American expat with the task of traveling out to Antarctica and Chile with research scientists for 3 month long research treks. Neat stories! I learned that fresh water ice is super strong and can break ships in two like the Titanic, whereas saltwater ice is softer and can be broken up by the ship's metal hull. Wendy and John bought a full roast pig to the party, a common Phillipino party food. My son Zack was troubled, and kept asking how the pig died and why they killed it and if its family of piggies missed it. He almost cried and buried his head in my arms. Maybe he will grow up to be a vegetarian like Aunt Rebecca? We had a blast and had a great time mixing with Analyn's crew and trying new foods. Mike, even though he is Jewish, had some delicious roast beast. A very cool party!

Assimilation signs

We have lived in NZ for almost a year. ben and Zack have become quite used to NZ ways. Below are some signs that my kids are becoming Kiwis. 1. They run around barefoot. No shoes needed- it's NZ! 2. Ending most sentences with "aye?" 3. Asking for marmite and butter sandwiches. Grosses me out. 4. Being embarrassed by their peanut and butter sandwiches. Too weird. They are much happier with Nutella. 5. Asking to "tidy up" their toys, not clean up. 6. Doing the haka dance at school and going to a marae. 7. Asking for biscuits with Milo for morning tea. 8. Singing the NZ national anthem. 9. Owning a foam cricket bat. 10. Making wooden sculptures with nails and a hammer during discovery time at school. 11. Petting sheep is commonplace, like petting a cat. 12. Razor scootering, rick climbing, and zip lining on a flying fox are normal kid stuff. 13. Injuries are fixed with " plasters" , not Bandaids. 14. Playing with old cabbage tree leaves in a mock Star Wars battle is a daily occurrence. 15. Ben and Zack have learned to enjoy hot chips and chicken takeaways with tomato sauce. The kids are doing great, and are becoming more Kiwi everyday. They are still super proud of being Americans, and Zack loves parading around with our flag. Funny! Time sure flies. We moved to BZ on 2 October last year!

Kiwi House Rules

There are some things you need to know about renting in NZ: 1. Cello tape ( clear tape) is not permitted at any time on any surface. 2. If you want to hang up pictures, think again! Only those no mark 3M hangers will work. Picture hook nails will cost you most of your deposit to repair. 3. The house is always cold. Single pane glass and no central heating means it always feels like camping indoors. Wear a sweater and a blanket for breakfast. 4. Weeds grow like crazy in the NZ climate. Be prepared to learn how to garden, or else the backyard will become an overrun jungle. 5. Your house needs to be sparkling clean when you move out. Carpets must be steam cleaned and 10 hours of professional scrubbing must occur to restore the floors to a spotless gleaming state. 6. Kids and cats will damage stuff that you will end up paying for. The classic operation "De-wallpaper" the rental house cost me 800 in Palmerston North to repair. 7. Moving islands costs like crazy, so you should choose north or South Island and remain there in NZ. Alternatively, you can sell off everything on Trademe and just take the $300 ferry ride inter islander. 8. Toilets and bathrooms are not the same. A toilet will just be like a closet with a toilet in it, and a bathroom will have sink, shower, and bath, but no toilet. Puzzling.... 9. Houses lack screen doors on windows, and this is OK. Very few biting insects can fly in NZ. 10. Kiss your deposit goodbye- in the last 3 moves in NZ, I have yet to only receive $400 total back from my thousands of dollars of deposits. Sigh. They inspect for damages and cello tape infractions every 3 months, so be prepared to do a deep scrubbing every 12 weeks. In NZ, the landlord rules over you. Best just to accept this and move on.

Top 10 Things to do in Canterbury!

Uncle Mike Thompson has been visiting Chistchurch, in Canterbury for all of August. So, best to compile a top ten things to do in Canterbury list to make the most of his stay in New Zealand.

10. Try a fluffy and a mini muffin or macaron, since the food is tiny, just like it was when we were 7 years old and had tea parties on a blanket in mom's garden.

9. Visit Willowbank to see rare NZ birds such as the buff weka and kiwi.

8. Ride on the gondola up to the top of the Port Hills for a view of sheep, and some mountains. The shop at the top has some great cheap deals on souvenirs!

7. Visit the Ferrymeade Heritage Park on steam train day and enjoy your first sausage sizzle there.

6. Take a roadie to Hanmer Springs to enjoy a hydrothermal spa and hot pool for a day. The upside to all the geologic activity is that the earth actually heats the springs to a simmering 35 C. A built in sauna on the mountainside!

5. Go camping with the Scouts at Blue Skies in Kaipoi overnight. Being outdoors is good for you, even if it is still winter here.

4. Go biking down to Hagley Park for an afternoon. On a sunny day, this is both great exercise and very relaxing.

3. Visit the Quake City museum in the RE Start container mall on Cashel St. Learn how the town crumbled into rubble two years ago, and how they have been cleverly building new earthquake resistant buildings.

2. Visit the Canterbury Museum and see the cool bug collection in the discovery zone for kids.

1. Visit Fish and Chip shops and bring your own ketchup ( tomato sauce). Kiwis wrap their food in grey paper and a scoop of hot chips (fries) and some chicken nuggets can make a meal for $5! Tasty as!

Curry and Wet Dog: House hunting AGAIN

Last week was our quarterly inspection for the landlord, meaning we have almost been in our place for 6 months! I cleaned and weeded like a nice tenant.
On Wed afternoon, I get a call from the real estate management company. I call them back, thinking that maybe they will tell me that the garden needs more weeds pulled.

Nope, the inspection went fine.

They call me instead to tell me that the owner has decided to sell the house I live in and our "rolling contract" means we have to move 42 days after they sell it or 21 days notice when we find a new place to rent.

My jaw drops! A fourth move in a year? Surely this cannot be true?

Sadly, it is. Rotten luck.

Off I go to look at new houses to rent. In a city filled with people getting earthquake repairs, everyone on the planet seems to be out looking for a new flat as well.you get to visit a house during a 15 minute interval and look at your competition for renters while they also examine the house and grab an application from the rental company. Steel cage match type competition.

Some houses are nice- I have put I two applications so far. Some have a strong odor, of wet dog, curry and ramen noodles, cigarette smoke, or mold.

Not appealing for a new renter.

I have a lead on a new house in Burnside from a scouting friend, and we may get it before they actually list it on the real estate website, which would be awesome for us. They are looking for long term tenants, which is what we would be with Mike's 3 yr visa and permanent job at Telogis.

Meanwhile, still house hunting with Zack in the afternoons after preschool. Wish me luck!

Snack attack

Ever miss American stuff? More importantly, American junk food? We have!

To help out, I set up a snack exchange program. My friends mail me American snacks, and we mail them back NZ snacks.

Awesome!

Unfortunately for me, this care package from Meghan Enos came at the end of my 20 week fitness challenge and the start of my Personal Trainer Mark's Hunter-Gatherer diet, so I can't have any of it, except for the Body Builder Protein Bars. It seems my body is stuck at its current weight, so I have to do the dreaded clean eating, cut calories plan. No fun!

Kids were happy to have Reese's and Poptarts though. :)

Triathalon season of spring and summer is approaching. I got a used mountain bike off Trademe for$75, so I could actually have the equipment to enter a triathalon. I haven't owned a bike since I was 13.

Mike has boarded his Boston plane headed ultimately for Christchurch again. 30 hrs of travel for my husband? No good. I am glad that he went to his sister's wedding in USA.

Flying Fox

Kiwi parks are made for fun, and this was clear when we moved to NZ. Now that it is10 months later, I can re-experience the wonder through my American brother Mike Thompson's eyes. He was amazed at the size of the super slides, the height of the rock climbing wall. Lastly, I challenged him to try the Flying Fox, our zip line at the local Bishopdale Elephant Park.

Challenge accepted! He loved it so much that he was all smiles and went on three times. He even made me try it too.

Scary at first,but fun. I did scream a bit initially.

We also helped Harry and Ben scale the rock wall. They were scared to come down, but I helped hold their feet and lifted them back to safety. See, my weightlifting at the gym is paying off.

Nice warm afternoon, and you can sense spring is just around the bend. Flowers are blooming, baby ducks are hatching. The gardens are growing a bit.