Kiwi Slang

Here is a list of some of the Kiwi slang I am learning:

The most striking and most commonly heard phrase here in New Zealand is “sweet as”, or simply any incomplete comparison (fast as, cheap as, kiwi as, fresh as, ____ as). Sweet as basically means, “all good,” or “right on,” – like “sweet as sugar”, only the “sugar” is silent. Striking, because (kiwi accent or not) it sounds remarkably like sweet ass, but I have been assured by many people that there is, in fact, no correlation. I have also been told that all adjectives are acceptable to use in an incomplete comparison, but nouns, however, are not. So for all those out there saying, “we are going to party as” or “shoes as,” that does not work.

“Good on ya” is another commonly used phrase, meaning well done, or good for you.

Dodgy – the New Zealand equivalent for sketchy. We went to a dodgy house party on Wednesday (don’t worry mom, we didn’t stay very long).

Heaps – means a lot. I got heaps of free pens at tent city this week.

Togs and Jandals – swim suit and flip-flops. I got a free pair of jandals (literally a contraction of Japanese sandals) at tent city for filling out a survey for a Christian student group at tent city.

Freshers – Kiwi term for freshman. Heaps of freshers at the O-Week events.

Orientation (again...)

On Monday, the University of Otago started O-Week: an entire week of events, special deal (at restaurants and local businesses) and parties – all designed to help over 500 international students and some thousands of freshman get oriented in Dunedin. The week started with an entire day of course approval. We stood in line to speak with members of the academic departments in order to get our classes straightened out. My finalized schedule looks like this:

I am really excited about geography and marine ecology because both of these courses involve several field trips -- a great way to see some of the country.

The other big event that was held was the Taieri Gorge Train ride for all international students, followed by a BBQ. Although the weather was pretty gray and rainy, we got to see some of Central Otago’s beautiful scenery from the window of the New Zealand equivalent of the Hogwarts Express.

The rest of the week was filled with a lot of walking around the city, visits to tent city and meeting a lot of other international students. We walked through the botanical gardens, and down to the octagon, which is the center of all the downtown shops and restaurant. Tent city is in this quad near the university where all of the local businesses have tents set up and are luring students in with free giveaways. I won 2 candy bars, a mug, and a sim-card at the Flybuys prize van over the course of several visits.

The University of Otago is a popular place for Americans to study (over half of the 500 international students), but there are also many people from around the world. In my flat and the neighboring units, we represent Mexico, China, France, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Canada, New Zealand (each flat has a Kiwi Host living in it) and I’m sure there are several others. It is certainly a great place to meet really interesting people and I’m looking forward to meeting more Kiwis when classes begin next week!

O-week has also been a popular time for drinking. Day of the week seems irrelevant because classes haven’t started yet. Earlier this week we visited a bar where there was a pie eating contest. In New Zealand, small meat pies are a common lunch food, but I was content to only be a spectator for this particular event. On Wednesday we taught some other international students how to play Slap Cup (shout out to my Brown friends) which was a total riot. Thursday night, after a potluck dinner with our neighbors, we went to one of the big O-Week concerts held down at the stadium. The crowd put all Williams College social events to shame and we had a really good time.

Today, my flat-mate and I went for a walk up Signal Hill, a massive 5km climb up to a spectacular lookout over the city, harbor and peninsula. Just as we got to the top a huge raincloud blew in off the ocean and made all my photos come out really dark (touched them up a little, didn’t really help – but this is definitely a place I will revisit, so I might get some better photos in the future). Fortunately, the wind was strong enough that it moved the cloud past fairly quickly, so we had a pleasant walk back down.

I still need to work on using the panoramic setting on my camera.

I certainly had a good time exploring Dunedin, a really fun and beautiful college town. There are still plenty of things I want to do, like take a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and the Speights Factory and I’m looking forward to using some of the upcoming weekends to get out of the city and explore the rest of the South Island!

Move in Day - Dunedin!

I just wanted to upload a few pictures of my adorable flat in Dunedin. There are 6 of us living in this apartment which is 3 stories and sort of like a town house. There are other units attached to ours with other international students as well.

And here is a picture of my bedroom (lovely double bed)....

… and our living area

I was the fourth person to arrive; I am totally unpacked but I still have a bit of shopping to do. I need a mirror for my room and we need some house supplies like garbage bags, etc., but it looks like it’s going to be great living this semester!

Uni Flats: 1 – Williams College Housing: 0.

Orientation

Tuesday morning I awoke expecting to find 46 new, excited faces in the hotel lobby, ready to begin the Arcadia program orientation. Instead I discovered the group flight (40 of the participants) had been delayed 14 hours due to engine problems and would not be arriving until 11:30pm. For once, I was glad that I had flown alone! So, I joined 6 others who had arrived early had a nice breakfast and Jane and Kate, our program staff, planned a modified day for us. No need for a coach bus, we piled into cars and went straight to the beach to take advantage of the morning sunshine.

We walked around the north shore of Auckland where we saw an old army fort and got a great view of the city and then went for a lovely swim in the Pacific Ocean!

View of Auckland from the fort.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel for some free time and I went with Jane, the program director, of a short guided tour of the downtown. We revisited many of the places I had seen on my own, but with the added benefit of Jane’s commentary and true Kiwi perspective. Here is a picture of me standing outside of one of the Art Galleries in the downtown.

Day 2 of orientation was much busier, with the entire group finally here, we piled onto a coach bus and set out for the town of Matamata, also known as:

It was pouring rain, but we had a nice little lunch break and then went back on the bus to go to the Agrodome farm show where we saw a sheep shearing and some adorable baby lambs! After the farm show we went to Rainbow Springs for the kiwi experience! We saw many native animals including actual kiwi birds in the nocturnal rehabilitation part of the park. We finally reached Rotorura, a touristy town full of thermal activity and a horrible sulfur smell. We went to a spa in the evening with natural hot spring pools and had a good long soak under the stars.

The next day we went to Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland and saw the Lady Knox Geyser erupt and this lurid green pool:

The view of the steaming lake seen from our hotel.

Then, in the afternoon we went Zorbing! This was an absolute highlight of the trip so far. You have to see it to believe it so I suggest giving it a Google, or maybe Youtube. (Pictures of our Zorbing adventure soon!)

The evening was filled with a night at the Tamaki Maori Village which included tribal rituals, games, songs, dance, amazing food, and of course, the Haka. The Maori bus driver who took us to and from the village was absolutely hilarious. He had an amazing talent for language and impersonating different accents. He also had us singing on the way back and laughing hysterically when he drove round and round a small rotary over and over again and blasting his horn. A great night and a great orientation all together, but part of me was so relieved that this was the last day of moving around the country, living out of suitcases and being herded around in a group of 47. The next post will be move in day in Dunedin!

On My Own in Auckland

I arrived in Auckland at 6am on Sunday morning, to find most of the city still asleep. By the time I dropped my bags off at the hotel and found my way to a coffee shop, there were still very few people on the streets. The group from the Arcadia program did not arrive until Tuesday, so I passed the time by exploring the city on my own. I could not check into the hotel until 2pm, so, even though I was exhausted, I managed to wander through the downtown, the harbor, the university, and several parks. Eventually, I made my way up the hill to the Auckland Museum: a great way to spend the better part of the day. The museum had air conditioning, great facilities, and I could rest my weary self while watching videos on volcanoes and Maori wars. After the museum, I also checked out the Wintergardens, a garden complex with two amazing greenhouses, and I also watched some pickup cricket in the park.

Finally, I made it back to the hotel to check in and nap! But I only took a short powernap because I went on a quest to connect to the internet (a not so trivial activity in NZ) and contact my parents/other friends who might have been worrying (or not) about my safe arrival. The public library (three blocks from my hotel) ended up being the best place to find free internet, but, the library was closing just as I arrived. So, I simply joined dozens of others sitting on the library’s front steps, connecting to Wi-Fi on their laptops and i-phones. (Hey, it’s summer here, why not enjoy the internet outside?!)

After the library, I grabbed a delicious dinner of curried vegetable soup with rice at a place called “The Vegan Restaurant” near the sky tower where thrill seekers (strapped to a cable) leap down to the city street below.

On day two in Auckland I spend the morning wandering around K. Rd, a commercial district “characterized by ethnic restaurants, cute shops, and tattoo parlors,” according to my guide book – a description which manifests itself in a near perfect repetition. I then went back to the library to check my e-mail and get a cup of coffee, and then I bought some food at a supermarket for a picnic lunch, and joined dozens of others enjoying the sunshine at Albert Park.

After lunch I went back to the hotel and met up with Scott, another student in the program who arrived early. We wandered around the city together. I had some delicious street food for dinner-- a savory pancake with vegetables and cheese-- and then we went back to the hotel for another early night in anticipation of the big day ahead.

A Flight to Remember

The flight from Honolulu to Auckland was bizarre in many ways. First of all, the time difference is 23 hours. Which basically feels like 1 hour except where did February 11^th go? Where is it? I didn’t have one. Air New Zealand is also a really great airline. They were funny, like Southwest a bit, but with New Zealand accents, so much better.

We boarded for a 9:45pm departure, but we taxied for about 25 minutes, I am not really sure where we were going because it was dark out, but it felt like we were going to a runway in a different state. So we took off late, but somehow we still arrived in New Zealand 25 minutes early. The most hilarious thing that Air New Zealand did was their safety video. You have to see it to believe it, but this photo might give you the gist…

The flight attendants were very friendly and chipper. There was about an even mix of male and female flight attendants, which would be atypical for an American airline. They served us dinner at around 10:30, which came with a glass of wine – in the regular economy class! Then at about 4 in the morning they served breakfast. Not a great night of sleep, but a good amount of airline food made this a great flight. Then, before customs, there was an enormous duty free liquor store, I mean huge. By 7 am I was on a bus to the city and dropping my bags at the hotel for a full day of exploring Auckland!

First Stop: Hawaii!

Hawaii makes a perfect rest stop on the way to New Zealand. Because the New Zealand semester does not start until mid-February, my family and I took advantage of the extra time by spending a week on Kauai. I’m all packed and ready for my semester abroad, but why not enjoy a little R and R in this island paradise:

This photo was taken on the hike we went on during our first full day on in Hawaii. We spent most of the time there trying to see all of the different parts of this small island, from the rainy north shore to Waimea canyon, where we also, unfortunately, experienced rain. We also spent some good quality time at the various beaches in Poipu, the area where we stayed. We saw humpback whales, spinner dolphins, and monk seals all from the shore. On land, the creature we encountered most often was the chicken. Wild chickens (blown from their coops during a hurricane) have overrun the island. And as our tour guide said “they have no natural predators on the island, not even humans. We get our chicken from Cosco!”

In addition to fresh fish, we ate a lot of tropical fruits, including coconut, pineapple, star fruit, papaya, rambutan, banana, passion fruit, guava, and dragons eye.

Of the many things we did, the highlights include a morning bike ride all around the Poipu area and Koloa town, which included a delicious break for shaved ice. Another highlight was the guided trip we took to “secret falls”. In a group, we kayaked up the Wailua River about 2.5 miles and then hiked in another mile to a waterfall and swimming hole. The water was COLD but it was a journey well worth the view at the end.