New Zealand: session 23

New Zealand is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. I went there for one month, and it was spectacular. The sunsets were absolutely exquisite. When you see them set against the Auckland skyline, or the ocean shore, your breath seems to be taken right out of your lungs. The beaches had such a peace about them. And the people, especially the native Maori people, were sweet and welcoming.

For two days I stayed in a Maori temple with the other hundred Americans I’d come with. It was customary, before entering the temple, to stop ten feet before the door and “remember the dead”. It was an interesting custom, but as guests in the temple, we were obligated to comply. The night we stayed in the temple, we also went to a special Maori dinner that was set up for “the Americans”. We were treated to a presentation of the traditional Maori Haka dance.
Both men and women perform this dance. The New Zealand Rugby Team, the All Blacks, also perform this dance before they play. It was traditionally a war dance, but is now performed in lieu of their culture. Women use what’s called a poi during the dance, it is one or two balls attached to string, they have specific ways in which they rotate the balls and swing them around in a rhythmic pattern. I actually bought a set of poi to learn to do the haka myself, but it’s an intricate art and I never mastered it!

Most New Zealanders speak English, it is their official language. However, many also speak their native Maori language. There is also a predominant Samoan culture. One of my favorite things about the people of New Zealand was their accents. It was a mix of British and Australian. It was so unique. Occasionally their accents were so strong it could be hard to decipher what they were saying. They also used a lot of slang. They used the term “rubbish” in reference to garbage, if you needed a napkin, you’d have to ask for a tissue… or else you may receive a feminine hygiene product!

You would never see a yield sign while driving in New Zealand, instead their yields sign say, “Give Way”. They also drive on the left side of the road. An expression I heard a lot was “sweet as”. I inevitably thought they were all saying “sweet ass”, I was like, “What the heck!” I found out though that it is an exclamation, such as us saying, “Cool,” or “awesome.” New Zealanders are also called “Kiwis”. Their country bird is also a Kiwi, and their monetary units are kiwis. Oh, did I mention that their country’s fruit is a kiwi?

There were two particular foods that I fell in love with while I was there: Tim tams and V. Tim tams are a chocolate malt biscuit, with thin layers of chocolate and wafers on the inside. There is a specific way that they eat these, either with hot chocolate or a cup of hot water. You must bite off both ends of the cookie, place an end in the hot water and then suck up the water through the other end. Immediately you place it in your mouth, and the cookie literally dissolves in your mouth. It is so good!

V is an energy drink that is very popular in New Zealand. Unlike America, New Zealand doesn’t have any legal limits on the amount of caffeine in a drink. V would be illegal in the United States for the amount of caffeine it contains. You must know that I don’t normally drink, or even like, energy drinks. But V was different. It was so good! And it made the calmest person go absolutely crazy! It was so funny when everyone on our team would get high on V.


Someday, I’d love to go back to New Zealand. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people.