I have been asked by multiple people to write a blog about all of the things that are different in New Zealand when compared to the States. Honestly it would be easier to write about what was similar as it would be a much shorter list. Obviously this list is not comprehensive but I have tried to pick some of the things that have stood out to us. I am not complaining about anything on this list. I think that they all contribute to what makes New Zealand so fabulous and makes it feel foreign, despite the shared language.
Moon and stars
Having grown up in the northern hemisphere, the moon is upside down in New Zealand and it appears to cycle backwards. In the northern hemisphere, a waxing moon (growing) has the light on the right side and the dark on the left. In the southern hemisphere the opposite is true for a waxing moon. The few constellations that can be seen in both hemispheres appear to be upside down compared to how they appear in the northern hemisphere. Orion is standing on his head in New Zealand.
Driving
Given that New Zealand is a (recent) former British colony, they drive on the left side of the road. When we first got here, we had a rental car so that we could go look at flats and get whatever large, bulky items we might need. It was the first time that either of us had ever driven on the left side of the road, rather than just being a passenger. We didn't get into any accidents but it was an interesting experience. Of course as soon as we were getting comfortable, we returned our rental car and haven't driven since.
Seasons
Being in the Southern Hemisphere the seasons are reverse what they are in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that when Ross and I arrived in mid-June, we got to New Zealand just before winter solstice. Right now (August) is winter and spring traditionally arrives in September. This has been a very mild winter (we've been told), so the spring flowers are starting to bloom. There is something very surreal about seeing daffodils and crocus popping out all over in August instead of April.
Time difference between the States and New Zealand
There is currently an 18-hour time difference between Wellington and Colorado (MST). We are also a day ahead of Colorado. I tend to add the smaller difference, so I think of it as New Zealand being 6 hours behind Colorado, and a day ahead. I find it easier to add 6 hours to our time rather than subtracting 18. For example - if it is 1 pm on Monday here, it will be 7 pm on Sunday in Colorado.
It starts to get weird though when you factor in daylight savings time and summer time. New Zealand goes onto summer time on the last Sunday in September. At that point, Colorado will be 5 hours ahead of New Zealand. When the States go off of daylight savings time in early November, Colorado will only be 4 hours ahead of New Zealand. This process reverses itself in the spring/fall.
Zebra crossings/being a pedestrian
Being a pedestrian in New Zealand can be hazardous for your health as the general rule seems to be that cars have the right of way, rather than pedestrians. Unless there is a zebra crossing (think cross walk but with black and white striped poles on either side), you do not have the right of way if you are on foot. You also want to look right rather than left before crossing the road.
Units
The metric system rules in New Zealand. This means that when you go shopping, you buy a half kilo of butter or 950g of yogurt (over 2 lbs!). It also means that when you are looking at prices, it's helpful if you remember that 1 kg = 2.2 lbs. When we first got to New Zealand, we didn't really buy any meat because it seemed so expensive to look at the per kilo price. At some point it occurred to us that we didn't need 2.2 lbs of fish for just the two of us and so the prices became much more reasonable.
As a side note, if you go to a grocery store the prices at the bulk food section are going to look amazingly cheap. Please note that those prices are per 100g, not per kilo. 100g of muesli is not very much.
Paying rent by the week
When you are looking at rent prices, they are listed by the week rather than by the month. This was tricky when we first were looking for housing because we kept thinking that we had found a fantastic deal...and then we multiplied it by four and were often sad and shocked. Given that Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, housing is rather pricey. We currently live in a one-bedroom flat (not a studio, but it legitimately has multiple rooms) that is $320/week and was furnished. I had thought that this was really pricy until we were getting a new oven installed and the delivery guys couldn't believe what a good deal we were getting. Live and learn, I guess.
Another odd thing regarding rent - our landlady gave us her bank account number so that we could set up an automatic payment from our bank. In the States I have never had anyone, especially someone that I had just met, email me their bank account number.
Lack of insulation and/or central heating
I mentioned this topic in an earlier blog. Until 1978 there was no building code requiring new buildings to have insulation. Most places don't have central heating either. Given that much of New Zealand is cold and damp for a good part of the year, this has always struck me as a little peculiar.
Single glazed windows
It seems like most windows in residences are single glazed (paned). Because there is no central heating, this tends to result in the inside of your windows being covered in condensation every morning. We ended up getting a squeegee to wipe down the windows. I like to think of it as the daily window cleaning rather than a necessity to keep the flat from molding.
Bananas + Chocolate
Ice cream flavor, croissant filling, crepe filling, etc. It's a good combination but I've never seen it as much as I do here. You can also find just straight banana flavoring, which I find a little weird.
Beets
Kiwis love their beets or beetroot, as they call it. It's actually kind of nice because in the States, Ross and I often felt a little odd for how much we liked beets when it didn't really seem like anyone else did. Beet and cashew hummus = delicious. Beets on hamburgers = kind of odd.
Eggs
Eggs are everywhere and they aren't refrigerated. By everywhere, I mean that it is challenging to find a hamburger that doesn't have a fried egg on it. If an egg hasn't been refrigerated, it doesn't need to be but it is still a little odd to me to walk into the grocery store and see the cartons of eggs, hanging out at room temperature, in a shelving unit next to the sliced bread.
Mexican Food
It doesn't really exist here. There is one brand of corn tortilla chip and one brand of salsa at the grocery store. Also for some reason, black beans in the "international cuisine" aisle are NZ$4.50/can but in the organic food aisle they are only NZ$1.90.
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