This post has nothing to do with current life in New Zealand but I still thought it would be fun to share it with you. While Sean and I were in China, we noticed a certain obsession and fascination that the Chinese have with photography, posing for pictures and finding cool backdrops for taking pictures. We also became aware that one of the most popular topics at English Corner or in the classroom was weddings and getting married. When you combine both loves - wedding and photography - in China, things get out of hand quickly.



Whenever we went down town to the city center in Changzhou, there were always booths set up to lure prospective couples into using their company for their wedding photography. The sample pictures they showed were always extremely elaborate and more like doing photo shoots for models than for a wedding. Sean and I were always interested and entertained by the number of scenes, outfits and poses that the couples chose and joked about doing one ourselves before we got married just for fun.


Our friend and fellow colleague, Jordan, stayed in China to continue teaching English but also because he got engaged to his Chinese girlfriend, April. A few days ago Jordan sent me some of the wedding photographs from his and April's extensive photo shoot. He said that I could share a few on the blog and I couldn't resist because they are awesome! I think it will give you a good idea about how seriously a lot of Chinese take their wedding photography. Thanks for the pictures Jordan!

The Canterbury museum gave us a good introduction to genuine "kiwiana" (all things unique to New Zealand) and it also gave us the motivation to try something that's supposedly world famous here, a soft drink called "L&P" which stands for "Lemon and Paeroa." After walking around all day we stopped at a pop machine and bought a can to see what all the fuss was about.


Truth be told, it tasted like carbonated lemonade but it was refreshing nevertheless. I would compare it to Sprite or Seven-Up with a little extra lemon flavor. L&P is traditionally made by mixing lemon juice with carbonated mineral water from the northern town of Paeroa, thus giving the drink its name. Nowadays, it's manufactured by none other than Coca-Cola. L&P can only be found in NZ so we better take advantage and drink our fill while we're here.

Here's what it says on the back of the L&P can (there's lots of examples of Kiwi slang as well as the habit of attaching the word "as" on to words like in "Kiwi as" or "Sweet as.")

"World famous in New Zealand. There's nothing like L&P, a little Kiwi classic with loads of fresh taste. She's a legend our Lemon and Paeroa . . . and Kiwi as. There's heaps of stories to tell about this favourite fruity drop . . . but the important stuff is where it all started. Take a trip to sunny Paeroa, back in the good old days, where some local blokes found an awesome underground spring. Yup, right under their noses loads of super-fresh water. Fact is, water's water but it ain't L&P. It wasn't until some bright spark had the idea of putting something in it, L&P came to life. C-h-o-i-c-e! With a little bit of lemon and sprinkling of magic (our secret formula), the little kiwi beauty we know and love was born. And L&P today? It's still the original flavour, but now it's even better!"

We spent most of yesterday at the Canterbury Museum and Botanic Gardens on the banks of the Avon River which zigs and zags itself through the city. The huge Canterbury Museum (free!) gave a great representation of New Zealand's history with a focus on the South island or the "Mainland" as everybody here calls it. Most of the displays are dedicated to the original Maori people but there was a lot of information on the colonists' early life after their long 3 month passage from England. Sean's favorite floor was the one about Antarctica which included actual artifacts from famously successful and unsuccessful expeditions to the South Pole (including Ernest Shackelton's Discovery, Nimrod and Endurance voyages).



The Botanic Garden (also free!) was basically a huge park with over 10,000 species of plants as well as fountains, cafes and loads of open green space where people were picnicking, napping and just hanging out. There were many paved and non-paved paths and trails through the park and we were constantly dodging joggers and cyclists during our exploration. One of the most interesting activities available at the Botanic Garden was "punting" on the Avon.

The largest city on the South Island is most definitely Christchurch, the city in which we are currently residing. The abbreviation for the city name that we see everywhere is "Chch". Since Sean and I have had a lot of free time, we have been able to walk around and explore a lot. Sadly, because of the huge earthquake last year in February, most of the city center is completely closed off to the public because it's too dangerous as there are still aftershocks daily.

Christchurch is located about halfway down on the east coast of the island with a population of about 345,000 people. The wider area around the city and including Christchurch is called Canterbury. It's considered to be the most English of New Zealand cities and its symbol is a huge cathedral in the center square. Walking around in the parts of town that are still open, it feels like you are walking around in a little version of Britain.


Because of the earthquakes many local residents have left the city completely. The paper estimated that about 5% have relocated permanently. Many people lost their homes and thus rental and apartment prices have skyrocketed over 50%. The daily tremors, soaring property prices and a less-than-fully-functional city does not bode well for working holidayers like Sean and me and we are thinking that after we get our tax numbers we will look for work in other cities.


The locals that we have talked to about the earthquakes are either in denial and don't like to think or talk about them or are in full support of rebuilding and earthquake relief. There is a new program downtown next to the "Red zone" called ReStart which has painted old shipping crates and used them to make hip new bars, coffee shops, banks and shops. Even with all of the energy and creative innovation in cleaning up this city, the local paper, The Press, estimates that it will take 15-20 years to rebuild.

Right now we are sharing a house of a Kiwi man and his wife and three other couples from Germany, Czech Republic and France. Some are just starting their adventures here and others are finishing up. It has been really fun to hear of their stories and experiences and everyone is very happy to share advice and tips about where to go to get jobs and how to travel on the cheap.



It has been especially interesting to share a kitchen as at one time there are four different styles of food being cooked and four different languages being spoken simultaneously. Fortunately, like usual, English is the common language that everyone uses when we are all hanging out together. I have been told many times by Europeans that I am lucky to speak fluent English and that it's my greatest asset to getting a job here. Just like in China, it seems that this "skill" of speaking my native language and being lucky enough to be born in the states gives me a huge advantage over everyone else. It's not fair at all, but I'll take it.

After a long day of traveling Sean and I arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand. The way the time and flights worked, we ended up skipping January 12 entirely - we left on the 11th and got here on the 13th. We are currently staying in the house of a Kiwi man who owns a hostel. His hostel, the "Kiwihouse", contains only single dorm beds but he has two rooms in his own house that he lets couples stay in. There is a communal kitchen, bathroom, common room and garden. An additional resident is an orange cat named Mishka who is (much to Sean's dismay) quite affectionate.

Since nothing official was open on the weekend, Sean and I took the opportunity to explore the city on foot. We also did a lot of sleeping to deal with the jet lag. I would have posted sooner, but one of the more frustrating things about NZ is that it's next to impossible to find free internet - using wifi anywhere is ridiculously expensive and requires you to purchase vouchers or online codes. Fortunately, we have found a public library and after applying for a library card we are happily enjoying the use of the wireless internet completely gratis.

Today is Monday, January 16 and we are checking as many things as we can off of our to-do list such as: getting NZ SIM cards for our Chinese phones, applying for a NZ tax IRD number (needed before you can get a job), opening a free bank account and going grocery shopping. It takes about 8-10 days for the IRD number to come in the mail so now all we do is hurry up and wait. Fortunately, there's lots to do and learn in the meantime.

Some initial observations:

Weather: 70's, sunny, breezy and dry. It feels like we are in San Diego as Christchurch is at the height of their summer.

People: Everybody seems to be popping chill pills and is overly relaxed, laid back and friendly. We have had literally hour-long conversations with librarians, bank workers and locals - everyone is helpful and happy to see visitors.

North vs. South: There is a certain loyalty to the island on which you live here. We've even had locals say things like "I don't like the North island" or "I'm so glad you chose to come to the South island - it's much better" etc.

No comparisons: People don't appreciate being compared to Australia - Kiwis consider themselves to be completely separate and different.

Accent: Wowza - although I speak English, Kiwi English (or "New Zildish" as I've heard it called) is another dialect entirely. There have been several times I haven't been understood and/or couldn't understand someone else. It's both entertaining and surprising.

Earthquakes: They are terrifying. Last night we were shaken from our beds in the strongest earthquake I have ever felt in my life - 5.0. This morning there was another 3.0. I've never experienced a feeling like that - they are noisy, long and very powerful. Nobody else pays any attention to them and the tremors or "shakes" as they are called here, are felt every day.

Sports: Rugby and Cricket are everywhere and everyone is all hyped up about some team called the All Blacks.

Lingo: There are two official languages: English and Maori (the indigenous culture here). Many signs are also written in Maori and a lot of words have been included in the local vernacular here such as "Kia ora" which is "Hello" in Maori. Another thing everybody says here is "Good on'ya mate" which means something like "great/sweet/thanks man/cool" etc.

Population: There's nobody here. Seriously. Apparently everyone lives on the North Island. We are in the biggest city on the South Island and my hometown of Holland, Michigan seems busier than this place. It's a HUGE switch from China.

Driving: It has been very very hard to get used to the traffic going the other way - and we haven't even started driving yet! Even just walking around it's hard to remember to look in a different way while crossing the street.

That's all for now. Next on the agenda? Employment.

Christmas and New Years were busy and fun and went by in a blur. Now that Sean's parents are gone on a cruise we are enjoying the peace and quiet of having the whole house to ourselves. We were able to spend time with our families, both nuclear and extended and also saw Marion's (Sean's dad's new wife) family along with my birth family. That's a lot of families to visit with! Some other memorable events were hosting a surprise birthday/welcome home party for John and his wife Beth who recently returned home from doing the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. This weekend we had people over for New Years Eve and had fun playing games and watching the ball drop. My sister flew back to Pennsylvania today and we are planning on using our remaining days in Holland to get ready for our trip as well as to the enjoy all of the freshly fallen snow.

Here's some pictures from Christmas:


Something else that my sister and I did while she was home was re-create a silly old picture of us when we were three and four. We still had the glasses and dug around for some shirts that would work and hen practiced our poses. It turned out pretty funny and strangely accurate even 25 years later! Maybe we'll have to do it again in another 25.


In the original picture I think I was making my sister play "restaurant" in which I was the waitress and seemed quite pleased with myself. Unfortunately, Susie did not appear to share the same enthusiasm for the game (also, gotta love that bowl haircut!). Happy New Year and may 2012 bring many new adventures and joys!