The Little Differences

After six weeks of observation, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect upon small differences that I've noticed here in language, culture, and everyday life in the last six weeks. The overall way of life and social norms are basically the same as the United States, but small differences in "lingo" often throw me off. I think I've done alright adjusting to this, and I've already begun to find myself taking a few of these terms on in my everyday life.

- Where we would say "tons", they say "heaps". I haven't adapted this one yet, but I've seen some really funny New Zealand tee-shirts that just say HEEPZ in capital letters. 

- As I've already mentioned, they call restrooms/bathrooms "toilets". This actually makes a lot more sense.

- There is a tendency, some showing it more frequently than others, to add the syllable "ay" to the end of a sentence when stating a fact that the other person should rhetorically agree upon. They don't really raise the end of the sentence in a question mark way (this is more of a canadian thing), but rather utter it as another normal word at the end of a statement.

- As the Kiwi accent is basically a hybrid mix of English and Australian, a lot of Aussie lingo creeps over here. The word "reckon" is used frequently. 

- Probably the coolest and most recognizable/easy to adapt term here is "cheers". Cheers can be used in a wide cornicopia of different circumstances, but it's most commonly uttered in place of "thanks". I've personally began to train myself to say "cheers", but am not yet comfortable enough to feel like I've sufficiently thanked the person. Because of this, I am at a sort of compromising crossroads where I now say something like "Cheers. Thank you." This way I've adapted the awesome lingo AND feel like I've actually thanked the person. Cheers alone doesn't feel comfortable enough yet.

- Kindergardens are called "creches". I know this because there's one down the street on my way to school. Is this french or something? I'm not sure. 

- Kiwis aren't really sure how to make the following things: Ketchup (it's called tomato sauce and has a slight barbaque aftertaste with an overly runny texture), Peanut Butter (it's rather sweet and less dense), Ranch Dressing (they just don't make this), Root Beer/Cream Soda (bloody shame), and I have yet to find a simple bag of frozen meatballs. 

- Credits cards are replaced by EFTPOS cards, basically the same concept, just a harder acronym to say.

- I also periodically hear such australian sounding terms as "She'll be right" (it's alright), and "good on ya" (good for you).

- McDonalds has a "KiwiBurger", which is a regular hamburger (you're on board so far, I know) with an egg on top (Blasphemy).

- Fast food in general (Burger King and McDonalds) is much classier here, and I often find that the inside aesthetics look something like a Johnny Rockets. I think that this is their idea of the "American Ideal": the shiny, everybody smiling look of the '50s. 

- Being a small, isolated country, everything is a commodity here. I went to a fish shop yesterday where you have to pay 90 cents for every small packet of ketchup you used. They charge your internet by the space you use, not the speed you get. Things just aren't as plentiful here. It's far from being impoverished or lacking, but things just cost a bit more.

- Speaking of which, a coke costs four dollars. I'm not lying.

- I've already spoken about this but the money is just downright exciting. It's colorful and multisized. I don't carry cash around much though, which is a shame.

- People generally like Americans here, especially after Obama came into office. They still love to have a go at Bush, which none of us really mind.

- "Have a go", there's another one that I've sort of adapted.

- Outlets are indeed frowny shaped, and there is a little switch next to all outlets that turn them on or off. I suppose this saves energy. Also, there are no toilet handles or lightswitches, but different little tabs that you click up or down. 

- Central heating isn't big here, and people are usually fond of space heaters (I rock one of those) or just wearing a bunch of sweaters. To each his own.

- "Classes" are called "Papers"

- All the taxes are included in all of your purchases. Not having to mentally add 7 percent to everything is fantastic.

- Nobody tips here. It's not rude, it's just not socially required or even expected. Kiwis gape when I tell them of how much money I make delivering pizzas off of tips. Interesting.

- I'm not sure what term they use to replace it, but the concept of learning through "grades" (i.e. 1st grade, 2nd grade) is unknown here, and I often get confused faces when I mention a grade I was in at a certain time. I then have to translate to how old I was instead.

- Obviously Celsius is used here, but I've gotten quite good at doing the conversion in my head. It's actually very easy once you get used to it.

That's all I can think of for now, but this list will be ongoing and probably limitless. 

Bill