Kiwi Fun Facts

I dare you not to fall in love with New Zealand. For the amount of physical space it occupies, there must be some sort of record for number of gorgeous sights in such a concentrated area. Not only is the country absolutely beautiful, but the people are fantastic. Their dollars are more colorful, their slang is quirky and they have a serious obsession with competitive cooking TV shows; its easy to feel at home here.

If you're "keen" on learning a little bit more about the "cheeky" ways of Kiwis, keep reading.

All (so far, least) of the public bathrooms are clean. Its the strangest thing. They're mysteriously stocked with plenty of toilet paper and the seat is so clean that there's no need to squat and hover. Even high traffic public bathrooms at beaches are more pleasant than disturbing. Strange thing to get used to after many months of miserable Southeast Asian toilets.

Kiwis are not very well traveled. Considering the fact that their closest neighboring country is at least a 3 hour flight away, it kind of adds up- literally. Flying to USA translates to at least 24 hours in flight. Its shocking for me to meet Kiwis who haven't made it past Australia, but most of my generation ends up taking a path that leads to an "OE" in their mid to late 20's. After college, your average twentysomething Kiwi will spend a few years establishing a career while saving money and then do an "Overseas Experience" and try to check most of the boxes with one big trip. Although this is a new trend and only becoming more of the norm with GenY, when you compare NZ to places like Germany, UK and Australian, New Zealand looks like they lack the travel bug.

Every single inch of New Zealand is gorgeous. I recently spent close to 40 hours driving through the North Island over the course of a week and enjoyed every single minute of it. Lush green pastures dotted with sheep and deer; seemingly never-ending stretches of pine trees; breathtakingly beautiful sea shores with white sand and turquoise water. Kiwis tend to live a very clean and green life- they spend a lot of their time enjoying the outdoors and appreciating their land and resources. Maybe Mother Nature is glowing over here because of all the love.

Drip coffee doesn't exist in New Zealand. Even at American chains such as Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, your choices are limited to flat whites (espresso with steamed milk- see above), cappuccinos, lattes and mochas. I once asked a Kiwi if she knew of any places that sold drip coffee in town. After insisting that drip is not "real coffee", I was told I might be able to find some in a hospital waiting room. Ouch. Lucky for me, the kitchen in my flat comes equipped with a coffee plunger and the main grocery store in town has half an aisle dedicated to beans. Kiwis take their coffee seriously, but they sure don't take it black.



Any time a Kiwi impersonates an American, they do it in that terrible George Bush voice. Even if they're reenacting a scene from The OC, they apparently think that every last one of us has a southern drawl. That slow, dumb, enunciated and simple sounding country twang is used when giving an impression of anyone from the States, no matter which state they're actually from. Its unfortunate and inaccurate, but its way more entertaining than insulting. Besides, I don't have an accent- you have an accent.

Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Coming from a big city where walkers and bikers rule the road, New Zealand traffic is alarmingly different. Get this- when you're crossing the street outside of the crosswalk lines, you will often see a car speed up and show no sign of swerving to avoid you. Road rage, much? While at home, you can assume that a driver will slow down if they spot you in their way; in New Zealand, I would never even dare cross on a red.

Wellingtonians dress in costume for anything. In fact, they often dress up for nothing. Why wouldn't a Saturday afternoon with friends require a costume? From the simple Cowboy look of jeans & a plaid shirt to a full body cow suit with udders, nothing is off limits and absolutely nothing is even remotely considered "too much". At the bar where I work, its completely common for Wonder Woman to order a round of tequila shots for herself, Mr. T and Cruella Deville. February 4th is NZI Sevens, which is a national rugby tournament that takes place in Wellington; it basically becomes a citywide excuse to throw on a costume and spend the day drinking in sunny Westpac stadium with friends. Its Wellington's version of Bay to Breakers. And yes, I'll be taking part this year. 'Excited' is an understatement.

Naysayers & Song Lyrics

"Heavy footsteps to the dark unknown. This is a mystery, no security of home... Walk it alone, I'm not afraid. I have my wings to fly away."
-The Sun Song, Michael TolcherI once dated a guy who tried to convince me that this trip would be impossible. "Its an unrealistic fantasy", he would say. "You can't just quit your job and leave the country for a year with no real plan. Maura, you're 25 years old and you don't have enough savings to do that. Be realistic."

You be realistic and I'll be optimistic.

And he's not the only one. Plenty of people tried to steer me clear of this trip. I won't name names, but there was a crowd of naysayers. But you have a good job! The economy is hopeless and jobs are hard to come by! Some of the places you're going are unsafe! What if you run out of money? You'll get homesick. What if something terrible happens while you're in a foreign city?

Those are all valid concerns. But to me, the scariest "what if" would have been: what if I never tried it and never knew if I could have done it and what it would have been like? As Leona Lewis sings in "Happy", "I can't stand by the side and watch this life pass me by. So unhappy. But safe as could be. So what if it hurts me? So what if I break down? So what if this world just throws me off the edge, my feet run out of ground?" When that song came out in early 2009, I adopted it as my anthem and played it on full blast on my iPod any time I got overwhelmed with the fears of what could go wrong on this adventure. So what if something bad happens? I could always come home. I had to at least give it a shot.

Sure, I've been on a pretty tight budget this whole time and had to borrow a substantial amount of money to make it through the Australian leg of my trip. But that was after eight months of travel. And yes, it could be hard to find employment when I get home. But how can this year have made me anything but more employable, right? Plus, now I have bartending experience. ;)

Maybe there's something that we all feel like we HAVE to do. For one of my friends, its dying her hair pink. She's been talking about doing it since college but always gets talked out of it. For another, its picking up and randomly moving to a new city on the East Coast. Intimidating idea, but she's been toying with it for years. Maybe for some of those who enjoy more of an intellectual challenge, its going back to school or learning Japanese. Or becoming a chef. Or biking all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The idea of a "soul mate" is universal and something everyone is constantly looking for, but I'm proposing we all pay a little more attention to our "soul journey". Not the one person you want to spend your life with, but instead the one challenge or adventure you want to give your life.

I could have listened to my ex and stayed in a job and routine that would have led to 2010 being predictable and safe. But as the Rascal Flatts song goes, "there comes a time in everyone's life when all they can see are the years passing by. And I have made up my mind that those days are gone." Amen.

For any of you who are reading this and thinking, geez-so what? She visited a few countries and managed to avoid coming home for a year. Its not that big of a deal. To those of you I say, good for you. Clearly, you know the payoff of a trip like this outweighs the fears and cost. I could have used more opinions like those when I first started planning this trip!

My new year's resolution is simple. To keep living this way. Following my gut. Challenging myself with the joy of adventure. Taking road trips with no destination. Spending an entire Saturday afternoon at the beach with a bottle of wine, a deck of cards and a good friend. Attending music festivals, even if the ticket prices are outrageous. Taking naps and reading novels in the sun. In 2011, I want to continue to take a little time to enjoy the view. Its a beautiful thing. And this trip has been the most beautiful adventure of my life.

December 26, 2010 - January 2, 2011

December 26th, Liora and I embarked on a seven day tour around the North Island. Starting here in Wellington, we drove a relocation car (free 24 hour rental, as long as you take it one way to a specific city) the eight hours up to Auckland. On the way, we stopped for a break at the stunning Lake Taupo and had a nice little stop in Rotorua. See pics below. From Auckland, we took our second rental car and drove all over the northeast portion of New Zealand's North Island. Piha, Mangawhai, Whangarei, Te Puke, Tauranga, Whangamata, Coromandel and then back down to Auckland to catch a ride back to Wellington with our neighbors.



During the seven days, we slept in our car, pitched our tent at the epic CoroGold New Year's Eve music festival, rented a room at a sketchy airport motel, slept in a 10 person backpacker dorm & stayed at the childhood home of one of Liora's Kiwi friends. Along the way, we stopped at McDonald's for free wifi & directions, InfoCenters to inquire about the "must see"s of each town and generally got out of the car at any point where the view was spectacular or there was a good place to catch a tan while playing Scrabble. Both of us came home calling it "the best" road trip ever. We left Wellington with no real plans set in place, no hotel reservations, no tickets to CoroGold, no idea how the week would develop. Ironically, even if we had sat down with travel books, maps and a calendar and nailed down a specific itinerary before we left, we couldn't have planned it better ourselves.



Going with the flow is the best way to let things happen and is one thing that I've become seriously good at. As long as you're armed with the essentials (in our case: tent, sleeping bag, pillows, Scrabble & banana bread) and willing to be flexible and let things come your way as the plan unfolds, very little can go wrong. In my opinion, it can be the best way to experience life. If we had made reservations for a hotel, we never would have randomly stopped in Hamilton and watched drunk casino patrons sing karaoke for over an hour. If we hadn't randomly walked into the surf shop in Whitianga, we might not have found CoroGold tickets for sale. If we had purchased a flight back home to Wellington, we would have missed out on the brie, roast beef and pesto sandwiches that our neighbors/drivers provided for lunch. If we hadn't decided to take Adrian up on his random invitation to stay with his parents in Te Puke, we wouldn't have taken tequila shots with Pedro.

The best trips are full of adventure and the best adventures are determined by random chances and random chances can only enter into the equation if you're open to adventure.

Happy 2011!

Michele the Explorer

I had the pleasure of meeting Michele Martin while volunteering with Cambodian Children's Painting Project in July. She had such a positive and exciting experience while volunteering with CCPP that she decided she had to find a way to continue her work with the beautiful children of Cambodia. After a few months of planning & raising funds back home in Pennsylvania, she returned to Cambodia earlier this month. Sihanoukville is the first of many stops to come; Michele is planning to spend the next few months painting murals at orphanages & various childcare centers throughout Southeast Asia. If you want to learn more about Miss Martin's fantastic and inspiring adventure, you can visit her site at : http://www.teachingmitchell.org/

Michele recently posted this fantastic video, documenting the walk from the CCPP Gallery in Sihanoukville down the “main road” to Serendipity Beach. This exact path was one that I took at least once per day. Judging by the sunshine dancing on the water, I'd say she filmed this in the late afternoon, which was my absolute favorite time to head down to the shore. Along the way, you’ll see Cambodian construction workers, stray animals, big random piles of rocks/dirt, a motorbike taxi and even THE famous JJ’s Playground Beach Bar. As someone who fell head over heels for Cambodia, I had such a strong reaction to this video- think Michele has perfectly captured the essence and vibe of Sinville in this short clip. She also included a pretty sweet soundtrack (for some reason, sound doesn't kick in until :35) and though the footage is a bit wobbly, I think it adds to the charm. Not sure if this is a “you had to be there” situation, but this video gave me goose bumps and the desire to look up flights to fly back to Cambodia as soon as possible…. enjoy!

Watch the video by clicking on this link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJZ_gS_DCZA

Its. My. Life.

I am a huge believer in listening to & trusting your instinct; whenever I (rarely) ignore my gut, I end up somewhere I shouldn't be and don't want to be. At this point, I'm sort of waiting for the "green light from within" on when to head home. I haven't the slightest idea when that will be, which is why "when do you plan on coming home?" stumps me every time.


That being said, November 18th was a really scary day for me. For a full 24 hours, it looked like I was finally headed home. No funds + no employment = no way to keep on keeping on. Don't get me wrong; home is not a bad place by any means. When I do eventually return home, it'll be oh-so-sweet. However, I just *know* its not homeward bound time for me yet. Thankfully, I landed the job at Mac's BrewBar and more recently, a three-month position with the government. Phew. Funds replenished and mission extended.

Along with the aforementioned low points, there have certainly been some pretty sweet highs. In fact, you might have noticed that every time I've let myself hit rock bottom with finances or opportunity, something amazing usually happens. This time, my sweet reward came in the form of 4th row seats and backstage passes at the Bon Jovi concert in Wellington. Let's start at the beginning...

While working at Mac's on Friday afternoon, these two guys came up to me and asked me if it was a holiday in NZ or something. Basically- why is everyone dressed in costume? I explained that in Wellington, people dress up for no good reason. Any gathering that involves adults and alcohol will include at least a handful of costumes. Its weird, but I've become used to it. From there, they asked me where I'm from and it turned out we were all Americans: they're from Vermont and Minnesota. After a brief intermission so I could pour a few more pitchers and pints, I found them at the end of the bar and we discussed what brought each of us to Wellington and turns out... they're sound techs for Bon Jovi, who had a massive concert here the next night. Without much effort on my part, they offered backstage passes and tickets to the show. For free. Since Liora was vacationing in the wine country for the weekend (tough life), I invited my friend Kyle. I met him at JJ's Playground -THE bar in Sihanoukville- back in July and after talking, we figured out that we were both from California AND that we'd both be living in Wellington at the end of 2010.

Me & Takumi

Fast forward to Saturday, which just so happened to be the most beautiful day I've had in Welly, so far. After sharing a bottle of Chardonnay in the sunshine down on the waterfront, Kyle and I walked over to the WestPac Stadium, where Takumi met us at Will Call and handed us our official Guest Passes. Score. He escorted us around backstage, where we saw Jon & Richie's dressing rooms, met the rest of the sound techs, checked out the guitar selection, and were gifted something like fifty guitar picks from Takumi's collection. AC/DC, Kid Rock, Bon Jovi, etc. I don't play guitar, but I suppose they could be valuable at some point?

Above: Backstage with Richie's favorite guitar
Below: Richie onstage with his favorite guitar

We were invited to eat dinner at craft service with the media & crew and then met Takumi backstage to get our tickets. Turns out, he had scored some 4th row seats for us and managed to grab two extra copies of the show's set list for us to follow along. What a guy. The concert was fantastic and at times, felt like one big 30,000 person sing-along.

Jon Bon

JBJ definitely still has it going on, and he knows it- he was bouncing around all over the stage and even though he hasn't updated his moves since Bon Jovi's glory days, he looked pretty good up there. Personally, I found Richie to be far more talented than Jon Bon; better guitar skills, more powerful voice and less of a "look at me, I was huge in the 80's" factor. Although I was really only familiar with about 7 out of the 23 songs, I really loved the show- how can you not enjoy a live show when you're 4th row out of 30,000 seats? For free. The highlights for me were Bad Medicine, Lay Your Hands on Me, Runaway and Livin' on a Prayer (see clip attached).

Sweet, sweet view from our seats

The moral of this story has two sides. For starters, good things happen to friendly people. Had I not chatted up Takumi and Andy the same way that I chat up anyone who seems harmless and interesting, we wouldn't have even gotten to the whole "Bon Jovi" topic. I'm not bragging, I'm recommending.

On stage before the doors opened

Secondly, its ok to hit rock bottom. As the saying goes, "once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up". If you can manage to go with the flow, even it seems like you're drowning, hang in there - before you know it, you'll end up exactly where you're supposed to be. Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear. Oh, livin' on a prayer.

Family matters

From India to Germany to Cambodia to Australia, I have essentially been chasing Summer since I left home. No matter the country, my favorite thing to do each day is sit in the sunshine. Recently, I spent the afternoon walking up (and I mean UP- Wellington has some SF-style hills!) to the Botanical Gardens in town. Armed with a banana, a water bottle and my book, I found a bench among the flowers and sat there for a good hour, enjoying the peace and quiet. But this was not just any bench. I always need the seat with sun; direct sunlight. While out to lunch or drinks with friends, everyone knows that I'll gladly take the chair that has no access to shade. I can easily spend a full eight hours on a towel in the sand on a beach and be perfectly happy, even on a hot and humid day. If I'm in a city with good weather, I'll happily (and automatically) plan my day around any outdoor activities I can find. If there isn't one to choose from, I'll probably find a way to convince myself that drinking a pint at an outdoor cafe is a good use of time.

"I get it from my Mama." And well, she gets it from her father. My grampie was the classic "sun worshipper". I can't remember ever seeing him without a dark tan; he happily created outdoor projects around the house for himself, which conveniently allowed/required more time in the sun. If he wasn't working on something at home, he was probably helping out with a project for a neighbor or down at the church. But usually in the sun. Even in his final weeks, Grampie always insisted on being taken outside for our visits together. Luckily, Palo Alto is blessed with warm weather on what seems like 360 days a year, and Grampie took full advantage. My last visit with Grampie involved being outdoors, in direct sunlight, with a big grin on his face. Every time someone has jokingly (but seriously) called me a "sun worshipper" on this trip, I think of Grampie and instantly grin.

left: me & grampie, 1983
right: mooloolaba beach, australia in november

To most people, butterflies are beautiful and enchanting creatures. To me, they are a sign of guidance and assurance. You don't have to understand it, but for me- seeing a butterfly is my grandma's way of saying "I'm right here and you're doing great." When I was little, my dad's mom told me a story about how two butterflies had been lingering near the garden of a mother who had just lost her two sons in a tragic car accident back in Pembroke, Mass. I was pretty young at the time, but the story stuck with me as I got older and had to learn to deal with deaths of loved ones.

Although my dad's dad sadly passed away when I was a toddler, losing my grandma in 2002 was really my first time dealing with a death in the family. From her big laugh, to her bright white tennis shoes, and her "oh VOW!"s, she was one hell of a lady. The tattoo of a butterfly on my hip is my way of keeping grandma here with me at all times. But if I had a dollar for every time I've had a random butterfly land on me, linger near me, or come directly within my path, I could probably afford another eight months of travel. Maybe to you, they're just pretty moths. As cheesy and silly as it may sound, seeing a butterfly at random is the highlight of my day and I choose to think of it as my grandma's way of giving me a thumbs up sign.

left: me & grandma, 1983
right: kissing a butterfly on island of mainau, germany in may

On a lighter note, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at home! Figured I'd put up a "heavy" post to go with the "heavy" meal you'll be eating today. Wink face. If you're surrounded by family and food and wine today, make sure to appreciate every minute of it. Cheers!

New chapter in New Zealand!

I've been here in Wellington for a full week now. The kicker? I'm planning to stay for at least three months. It was strange to unpack my bags, knowing that I won't be packing them up again for a while. Liora Saad (another Paly '01 grade) and her awesome boyfriend, Matt, picked me up from the airport at 1 a.m. on Saturday night and brought me to OUR apartment. Yes, I have housing that doesn't involve bunk beds, cigarette smokers, binge drinking on random Wednesday nights or waiting to use the communal computer. Liora first came to NZ on a year long work visa (same situation for me) over three years ago, and has now established Kiwi residency. She absolutely loves life in Wellington and has acclimated to New Zealand life quite well! While she misses the GAP, Jamba Juice & Aveda products, she has adjusted somewhat seemlessly to NZ's relaxed and easy paced lifestyle- "island living".

Without wasting any time, I jumped right into job hunting on Monday morning- not because I was anxious to set an alarm & be liable for showing up at a certain place at a given time, but because Australia was expensive and I could barely afford to buy milk this week. Per Liora's advice, I had already booked an appointment in town with a temp agency she had used in the past. It felt strange to put on a skirt and cardigan, walk across town with an armful of documents, and then sit in front of a computer (typing/spelling/data entry tests) for a few hours. It felt familiar, but wrong; I'm not ready for desk work yet. Besides, there's plenty of that waiting for me when I get home. The next few days, I focused my search more on the retail and hospitality end of things. Ya know- the type of job that puts more emphasis on chit-chatting with locals and would be possible to accomplish with a hangover. Before you judge my rationalization for getting an "easy" job, let me just remind you that New Zealand produces some of the world's best Sauvignon Blancs and that just so happens to be my favorite white wine. I'm only thinking ahead and being realistic.

Water sculpture on Cuba Street

Beginning Tuesday, I'll join the waitstaff of Mac's Brewpub: http://www.thebrewerybar.co.nz/
Ironically, Liora took me to Mac's for lunch on my first day here in Wellington; its that kind of place- where locals bring their friends from out of town. Good beer, gourmet pub food in a laid-back but inviting waterfront atmosphere. Should be good. Unfortunately, NZ as a country doesn't typically tip their waitstaff, but this also results in lower service expectations. Overall, there's just a lot less "How is everything? Can I get you anything else? How is the food tasting?". Not mad about that.

I've also been thrilled to find out about FOUR potential visitors to NZ while I'm here! One of my oldest friends in the world, Virginia Levanas, is heading to NZ with her fantastic boyfriend Joe. I've hung out with the two of them a few times before, and somehow drinks are always involved. Drinks and lots of laughter. I'm really hoping it works out to see them while they're here! Also, my old boss from OMM (+ her new husband) in February, Victoria (CCPP) in December and possibly another- yes, another Paly graduate who I haven't seen in about a decade.

Window display in Welly

Life is good, Wellington is sweet, and this blog was totally overdue for an update. So there you have it! For the first time in eight months, I feel completely settled. A new job, a new cell phone, a new bank account, a new IRD number (NZ's version of SSN), and a new apartment. A whole new life.

The city of Wellington deserves its own blog post, so stay tuned for that. With the vibe of Berkeley plus the food scene of San Francisco, a splash of Venice Beach's street performing and a sprinkling of Seattle's outdoor lifestyle, its really no wonder that just a week ago, Lonely Planet proclaimed this city as the 4th Best City in the World to Visit (see link below). Either I have incredibly good timing, or good luck. Either way, its all good here in Welly!

http://www.3news.co.nz/Lonely-Planet-names-Wellington-4th-best-city/tabid/420/articleID/184146/Default.aspx