Time for some cultural points

Today is Monday, January 17 and we’re in Taupo, which I'll tell you about another day! (oh, the suspense, the anticipation.......) Kevin has a cold and is napping, and so rather than give you another travelogue (hooray!) I’m going to give you a taste of life in NZ, at least from our eyes.
First, a language lesson. While we keep reminding ourselves and others :) that we do speak the same language, it’s fun to note some differences. Of course, the accent is the foremost barrier to our quick understanding of what someone has said to us. We hopefully have been polite and not too demanding when we’ve had to ask someone to repeat themselves, it happens not infrequently! Beyond that, a list of translated words, and I say translated as that is what it feels like!
Metal road = gravel road (and roads are sealed vs unsealed)
Manchester = linen, seen in stores to refer to the linen department
Jandals = sandals
Chook = chicken
Jersey=sweater
Bach - second home
Queue - line, as in to queue up, stand in a queue, queue ahead
Holiday - vacation (“they’re on holiday”)
Plunger - a type of ground coffee (I think plunger refers to the French press)
Chillie bin = cooler, as for a picnic
Long lunch = potluck, and I’m not sure if this refers to the long table, or the length of time it covers, or both! When they refer to potluck, it means you’re bringing a dish to a host’s home (for a smaller gathering, I presume)
Crook - sick
Grizzly - really sick!
Nappies - diapers (haven’t purchased any, in any size)
Bugger - oh shit
Sweet as - good, in agreement
Warranty - as for the car, licensed or insured, we’re not sure which
Box of birds - feeling great, happy
Dunger - dumpy place
Buffet - pronounced BUFF et (like it’s spelled, not so French as we do!)
Filet - “ FILL et ( “ ) Did you filet the fish?
yes - is said like “yeece”

There is a longer list at the back of our Lonely Planet guidebook, but the words above are some that we’ve personally experienced....and felt like furreners when we've heard 'em.
As to life in general, I’m going to rattle off some observations, many unrelated to each other you’ll think…..Homes are generally one story, though it looks as if recently homes have become larger and more of those are two story. Roofs might be rounded clay (or metal?) tiles, or metal similar to those showing up lately in the US (midwest, anyway!). There are no screens on the windows, and windows are often open, as they are in shops and restaurants. Insects do not seem to bother, maybe due to breezes?!? Anyway, it’s delightful! Lots of flowers everywhere…..hmm, well it’s summer. But it seems to me they are more plentiful. And roundabouts! They are definitely everywhere...with the effect that you stop and start less, I’m sure it’s better on gas mileage (oh, and gas is called petrol!) Another factor that helps is that, on less busy streets where there is not a roundabout, more often than stop signs, you see “GIVE WAY” painted in your lane as you approach an intersection, and most often on only one of the two intersecting streets. So you are not obligated to stop if no one is on the other road. (But remember, you also give way to someone on your right, which can be confusing if they are turning in front of you??? What???) There are lots of Toyotas especially, most often models unheard of by Kevin and me. Some Subarus and Hondas, and some other foreign cars too, but those seem to be the Big Three. If we see an American car, it’s a Ford. We see few minivans or SUVs, but this time of year there are a lot of what they call campervans (self-contained small by US standards RVs, often what looks like a large van modified for camping) or caravans (camping trailers) Kiwis love their camping, or their baches! No fifth wheels or large RVs. There are 4 Squares, which basically are better supplied convenience stores than we have, and they do NOT also sell gasoline. (Never have liked mixing my food and gas!) They are in every little town along the highway, well almost every one. The 4 Square in Waitarere Beach, our little “suburb” of Levin, has WONDERFUL meat pies that are made right there, with the flakiest crust we’ve ever beheld; great convenience food! And, the local mail comes through there, so when we needed to leave our “home” this week, I just went in and gave them our name and address to have our mail held until we get back into our house. Kind of like the old general store, I think. As far as grocery shopping, there is of course, great fresh fish and seafood, with bargains to be had as the “expiry date” nears. Now in summer and on the north island, we find lots of roadside produce stands and farmer’s markets. Kevin has been frustrated by the lack of “real” peanut butter, meaning peanuts only as the ingredients and they have not replaced the peanut oil with cheaper unspecified vegetable oil. Of course, the Vegemite or Marmite UGH sits right next to the PB, and alongside lots of Nutella or an alternative brand. And, we can find good bread in the grocery store, and even the 4 Square! What a gift! Coffee in homes is often not perked, everyone has their large electric hot pot (about the size and shape of an old 10-12 cup coffee percolator) which heats water for coffee or tea VERY quickly. So if you are asked in for a cuppa, they will ask if you want coffee (and many Kiwis I think prefer it) or tea, but it might very well be instant. There is a brand of instant (meaning freeze-dried) coffee that is better, and I’ve come to be fine with it especially if I add some milk and maybe sugar! They also might serve Milo, which is maybe akin to Ovaltine? We’ve come to really like Chris Hull’s method of making Milo (with milk rather than water, with frothy milk on top of that, frothed with her coffee plunger, and sprinkled with something mocha-y and crunchy on top) For meals, Kiwis have breakfast and lunch, but in the evening it’s called tea, but it’s really an evening meal like our supper or dinner. It seems that there are lots of non-native Kiwis around, many originally from other formerly British or currently UK countries, like Australia, Canada. Met one woman in Waitarere Beach who came here 47 years ago from California. And a lot of people from the Islands, as they are referred to here - might be the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga. Tourists it seems are more likely Aussies, Asian, German, Dutch, or British or Canadian. I read that they get half the NZ tourism dollars from Australia. Music played publicly is often American oldies (I like that!) but entertainment magazines are NZ or Aussie, and while they might have some headlines on the cover about US celebs, it seems that their own peeps are front and center, good on ya! When we pick up the NZ paper, it’s got US news in with all the other international news. However, recently, the Aussie flooding has gotten a lot of press, and so has the Tucson tragedy. More later on our impressions of Taupo, where we have been this weekend!