7/02/2009

My July 4th disappeared!

In 2006, I boarded a plane at the Kansas City airport about 3pm on July 3rd.When we touched down at Auckland airport, it was about 5am on July 5th. By my calculations, it was about 21 hours later, but that pesky international date line stole one of my days. I may need it back at some later point, but I don't know where the proverbial 'they' are holding it.

So, even though I have left the US, Hubby and I still celebrate the 4th of July. This will be the beginning of my third year here and I'm still comparing things...

Like debit cards. NZ is finally getting around to giving debit cards with checking accounts. Yes, there have been EFTPOS cards [that's 'electronic funds transfer, point of sale, I think] all along, but then maybe the English were always slow to be flexible.

I think the reporting has not improved since the early days, either. Lack of important details in an interesting story is still infuriating. (Although, I must admit that the first paragraph of a report of a gay bashing that ended with a banjo handl being shoved halfway down the dead guy's throat was amazingly full of facts )

The US is the place to be for movies because the 'recent releases' in the video store here are movies I rented before I got here.

They do have a few things, that I had not tried before, like schnitzel. And lamb was never anything available to try in the States. Score two points for the English.

In the US, the customer always gets a receipt for every bank transaction. Maybe I am not very trusting of corporations, but I feel like I am going to regret not asking for one some day.

Needing dehumidifiers -- which work marvelously, btw -- probably meant that everything English was waterlogged, which is a winter equivalent of summer humidity, which is a bad thing, no matter what the season.


Hmmm...maybe I have discovered some of the things lead to the colonies winning their independence.


8 comments:

Lorac said...

Seriously? You couldn't get lamb in the States? It's a big seller here. We even get New Zealand lamb here and of course have home grown Canadian lamb. So, Happy Fourth of July in advance!

Marja said...

Schnitzel is actually German but widely eaten in Western Europe.
We are used eating it covered in breadcrumbs in holland
Yes lamb is a common dish here but very expensive The NZ lamb is actually cheaper in Holland Strange isn't it.
I agree with movies and many other things they are behind
With EFtPost they were ahead because they used NZ as a pilot place

betty-NZ said...

Lorac - You can get lamb in the US if you know where to find it, but it's not sold alongside beef and chicken on the shelves.

Anonymous said...

I used to buy NZ lamb at Sams Club - I wonder if they still carry it - it was a perfect size for a perfect prize.

Margaret's Ramblings said...

You mention the English alot in this post. I'm a bit confused. Are you in the UK?

I'm in the UK and the things that I as a Kiwi miss from home are hokey pokey ice cream, big ben pies and I used to miss Kumera so much but Sainsburys are now stocking thank goodness. It's always the little things isn't it.

Take care

Margaret

betty-NZ said...

Margaret - I am American and I find NZ things very British. Since my Hubby is English, we are always teasing the other about our national origins.

The English references in this post are because of July 4th being the US Independence Day from Britain.

Ruahines said...

Kia ora Betty,
Congrats on three years - I reckon each winter spent here equals two back home in the USA! Kia kaha.
Cheers,
Robb

PeeJay said...

Seems New Zealand is waaaaay behind the English/British with debit cards, even if 12 hours ahead of us in time - LOL! Here, in the UK, even cheques are becoming obsolete. Most of the major stores no longer accept them so payment is now made by debit or credit card or good ol' cash. I can't remember the last time I wrote a cheque, with my previous cheque book lasting me over 3 years and ... it only had 30 cheques in it - lol! I think you're getting the English/British confused with New Zealanders who are the other side of the world to us and actually closer, in mileage to the US than the UK. New Zealand has a much slower pace of life than us in the UK and is a favoured place for emigration because of the slower and less stressful lifestyle - and, it is said, better quality of life all round. I've heard that it's like the UK was 30 years ago but I can't confirm that, never having been.
I've been enjoying reading your blog since I found it earlier today. Still a lot to read but it's fascinating.