New Zealand is a great place. Really it is. It's just rather limited in every possible thing, except maybe cows, sheep and cheese.
There are a few things that I would consider bargaining for, though.
1) Lysol. There are a few air fresheners available, even Glade. But nothing I can find that is an actual spray disinfectant.
2) Hostess Suzy Q's. Most stores have fresh baked goodies. There are even bakeries that have wonderful local snacks. But none of them even remotely resemble or satisfy the taste for a Suzy Q or Twinkie.
3) Screen doors. What were they thinking when they set the standard for home building? There are places named after flying annoyances, for pity sake, so it's not like they aren't plentiful. Screens on the windows and doors would certainly cut down on the flies leaving gifts on the ceiling!! Yes, I'm talking about fly poo. It's disgusting, but apparently it's just part of life here. ICK!
4) Italian sausage. I would be willing to give up something serious for a supply of Italian sausage. They think bacon (ham, in the rest of the civilized world) is the great thing for pizza topping. It's fine, but it's not Italian sausage. And, for the record, barbeque sauce instead of tomato sauce should never be an option for pizza.
Digression on NZ food ----> Most foods here--including baked cheese snacks that resemble cheetos--have a sweetness to them. It's just wrong. They are not suppose to be sweet--you're suppose to be able to taste the food, not the sugar. Sugar is for things like peanut butter, but do you think they'd put it in NZ peanut butter? Noooooo.
5) Central heat and air. TV ads are abundant for heat pumps here, but I never hear mention of central heat/air. It can't possible be that much more expensive than having enough heat pump units to heat the whole house. Central heating would definitely omit the need for doors on every stinking doorway in the house.
I shall update this list occasionally, as I find things I should not have to live without [but, I do, so I complain about it] .
4/13/2008
4/09/2008
They'll sell anything here!
Last January we took a holiday down to the South Island, stopping at various places along the way, including Wellington. We stayed there for two nights at the Sharella aka Quality Hotel on Thorndon. Don't let the name fool you. Quality is not how I would describe it.
For starters, they could have at least sprayed the mold and mildew that collected over the shower with bleach or something before they painted over it!
But the best part was that there was a concert each of the two nights directly across the street in the Botanical Gardens. The music wasn't really all that bad--even when you're trying to chill out and watch tv in your room and you could look out the window and see the gathered crowd.
The classiest moment was when we came back late in the evening each of the two nights. The first night, a guy from the Lions Club started to approach us as we pulled into the parking lot. We ignored him and when we got out of the car asked what was going on. They were taking money for parking for the concert. [OK, I can understand trying to make a few bucks for a non-profit outfit.]
The second night, we apparently were a bit later to ge to the parking lot.
THEY HAD SOLD OUR PARKING SPACE ALONG WITH THAT OF ANY OTHER GUESTS WHO WEREN'T ALREADY PARKED!!!
You can imagine how we, and the other guests gathered at the desk for the same reason, felt. The Sharella sucks. Do not go there. They might just sell your car if you don't keep an eye on it!
For starters, they could have at least sprayed the mold and mildew that collected over the shower with bleach or something before they painted over it!
But the best part was that there was a concert each of the two nights directly across the street in the Botanical Gardens. The music wasn't really all that bad--even when you're trying to chill out and watch tv in your room and you could look out the window and see the gathered crowd.
The classiest moment was when we came back late in the evening each of the two nights. The first night, a guy from the Lions Club started to approach us as we pulled into the parking lot. We ignored him and when we got out of the car asked what was going on. They were taking money for parking for the concert. [OK, I can understand trying to make a few bucks for a non-profit outfit.]
The second night, we apparently were a bit later to ge to the parking lot.
THEY HAD SOLD OUR PARKING SPACE ALONG WITH THAT OF ANY OTHER GUESTS WHO WEREN'T ALREADY PARKED!!!
You can imagine how we, and the other guests gathered at the desk for the same reason, felt. The Sharella sucks. Do not go there. They might just sell your car if you don't keep an eye on it!
3/21/2008
NZ holiday television
Today is Good Friday. Holidays here are like the '60's and '70's when there was respect for religious holidays. The stores are closed, except of course, for the petrol stations. But then most of the stores in our town are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. You can get take-aways every day and I think the garden centers [ok, hardware stores that sell flowers] are open on Saturdays, but even they close up on Sundays.
But the strangest thing is that there are no adverts on tv on holidays. I suppose there would be some fun in trying to track down the reasoning behind it, since NZ is not particularly politically vocal about being Christian. I mean, I bet Jesus wouldn't care if there were ads on tv. And, it really screws up the scheduling, that's for sure.
And, of course, the kids are out of school and working folks have a long weekend, so there are lots of family movies on, which I wouldn't mind, except that they are not exactly the newest movies available. I do try to keep in mind that this is a very small country with a very small budget for tv entertainment. The government runs two of the four basic free channels, I believe Australia owns the third and I'm pretty sure Canada owns the fourth one.
Heck, speaking of movies--we have gone through the whole video store [yes, the one in Stratford]. The movies considered 'New Releases' and 'Recent Releases' are pathetically dated, withe the 'Recent' ones mostly movies that I rented for a buck before I got here.
And, then there's cable--which doesn't seem particularly worth the money. That's why I stopped watching tv all together for a couple of years before I left here. I had cable at one point, but out of over 50 channels, there wasn't much on to my liking when I wanted to watch.
Maybe I'm just spoiled, having come from America. *sigh*
But the strangest thing is that there are no adverts on tv on holidays. I suppose there would be some fun in trying to track down the reasoning behind it, since NZ is not particularly politically vocal about being Christian. I mean, I bet Jesus wouldn't care if there were ads on tv. And, it really screws up the scheduling, that's for sure.
And, of course, the kids are out of school and working folks have a long weekend, so there are lots of family movies on, which I wouldn't mind, except that they are not exactly the newest movies available. I do try to keep in mind that this is a very small country with a very small budget for tv entertainment. The government runs two of the four basic free channels, I believe Australia owns the third and I'm pretty sure Canada owns the fourth one.
Heck, speaking of movies--we have gone through the whole video store [yes, the one in Stratford]. The movies considered 'New Releases' and 'Recent Releases' are pathetically dated, withe the 'Recent' ones mostly movies that I rented for a buck before I got here.
And, then there's cable--which doesn't seem particularly worth the money. That's why I stopped watching tv all together for a couple of years before I left here. I had cable at one point, but out of over 50 channels, there wasn't much on to my liking when I wanted to watch.
Maybe I'm just spoiled, having come from America. *sigh*
3/12/2008
Where are the Kiwis?
I'm continually befuddled by the lack of Kiwi spirit in New Zealand. Let me give you an example. Our 11 year old son is in the Boy Scouts that just started a branch in Stratford last year. It was all formal with the 'parent meeting'--appointing people for important sounding stuff and all that.
Of all the parents and leaders who had any gumption to participate, there were :
A Canadian
Two Brits
An American
One Kiwi
The other 3 Kiwi parents had little interest at all in the proceedings. Makes a preson go "Hmmmm".
It put me in mind of a bit earlier when I volunteered to clean the building where the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts and various other groups held their meetings. I volunteered to have something to give back to the community and it was a relief to the person in charge because having a list of parents to clean ONE DAY A SCHOOL TERM was apparently more than some could handle and the building didn't get much attention. Besides all that, no one bothered to do any more than absolutely necessary, hence there were cobwebs covering the ceiling beams and windows. Anyway, those present when I volunteered were dumbfounded that I would want to do that. "You don't get paid for it," was the first thing said after a pregnant silence. Once again proving that Kiwi spirit is comatose. And yet the news and most personal attitudes is very anti-American. Maybe they're jealous that Americans rally together when something needs to be done.
Of all the parents and leaders who had any gumption to participate, there were :
A Canadian
Two Brits
An American
One Kiwi
The other 3 Kiwi parents had little interest at all in the proceedings. Makes a preson go "Hmmmm".
It put me in mind of a bit earlier when I volunteered to clean the building where the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts and various other groups held their meetings. I volunteered to have something to give back to the community and it was a relief to the person in charge because having a list of parents to clean ONE DAY A SCHOOL TERM was apparently more than some could handle and the building didn't get much attention. Besides all that, no one bothered to do any more than absolutely necessary, hence there were cobwebs covering the ceiling beams and windows. Anyway, those present when I volunteered were dumbfounded that I would want to do that. "You don't get paid for it," was the first thing said after a pregnant silence. Once again proving that Kiwi spirit is comatose. And yet the news and most personal attitudes is very anti-American. Maybe they're jealous that Americans rally together when something needs to be done.
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