Grocery List

            Living in New Zealand for the past five months has meant adapting to new people, new food, and new situations.  While I’ve been a big fan of a lot of these new experiences, there are just some things that are better in ye ol’ U-S-of-A that I have dearly missed.   Likewise, I’m really going to miss some of the things that I’ve grown accustomed to during my stay.  So, I’ve compiled a list of things I have missed from the states and things I will miss from New Zealand as well as some situations I will have to re-adapt to when I get home.

HAVE MISSED

·      Ketchup-Tomato sauce is ABSOLUTELY NOT the same thing.  I want thick, creamy, Heinz 57 ketchup for my burgers and chips.

·      Bookstores-Books are extremely expensive here because they have to be shipped a long ways over here and there are no Barnes & Noble or Books-a-Million to be had.  As someone who regularly goes to Barnes & Noble just to sit in the rows and read, I have sorely missed a quality bookstore.

·      McDonald’s dollar menu-They have the “spare change menu”…but they also have $2 coins.

·      Walmart-I’ve missed being able to walk in to one store and be able to buy toothpaste, a NASCAR shirt, and a duct tape with flames on it.

·      ESPN/Sportscenter-I missed the Tim Tebow-Jets debacle, the Roger Clemens case, and the Jerry Sandusky trial. NEED. SPORTS. ASAP.  The New Zealand equivalent of Sportscenter is called Crowd Goes Wild but the content is mostly cricket and rugby.

·      Peanut Butter-It’s probably due to the fact that the peanut butter here is a lot less processed than ours but that knowledge doesn’t make me feel any better when I’m trying to make a quality PB&J.  It’s thick, but not creamy so it just doesn’t spread well and generally lacks the classic peanut butter taste of JIF and Skippy.

·      Standard System of Meaurement-I have had no sense of speed, temperature, or weight since I’ve been here.  The metric system sucks.

·      Connie’s-Chicken biscuit with gravy. ‘Nough said.

·      Speaking Tradition at W&L-If I pass one more person who breaks their neck trying not to make eye contact I’m going attack them.

·      Participation grades-There’s no buffer 5%-10% grade just for showing up to class here.  Professors could care less if you drag yourself to uni.  There’s a midterm and a final. Sometimes a paper.  But that’s it.  I prefer a little wiggle room. 

And the thing I’ve missed most of all…

·      THE SOUTH-If I had a dollar for every time someone commented on me saying “y’all” I could buy the country of New Zealand.  Also, I miss the southern mentality of bending over backwards to be nice/helpful even if you secretly wish the person’s face would melt off.  Kiwis are genuinely nice and engaging but for the most part if they’re annoyed that you’re a stupid American asking them a question, you’re made quite aware that you’re an annoying, stupid American.  I miss Sunday lunch after church where you see half of Tupelo; I miss buttermilk biscuits; I miss cornbread; I. MISS. THE. SOUTH.

WILL MISS

·      Fish n’ chips-Fried fish and chunky chips. And salt. Need I say more? Even better with some aioli sauce.

·      Gummy snakes-Better than gummy worms. I’ve bought two bags to bring home and am thinking about adding a few more to my carry-on.

·      Shortland Street-I have never in my life watched a soap opera but I’ve gotten really invested in New Zealand’s home-grown soap.  I literally plan my night around the 7 o’clock airtime.  The fact that they have shirtless Maori doctors featured at least once a week is pretty good incentive to watch.

·      Kiwi style-I’m really going to miss the casual style of Kiwi clothing: girls in baggy sweaters over short dresses, boys in blue jean shorts and singlet tops, and lots of Vans and Converse.

·      Cheap avocados-When they were in season, I could buy four avocados for $2.  Winning.

·      Hokey Pokey-This New Zealand version of honeycomb toffee is a mix of golden syrup, sugar, and baking soda melted together.  It can be eaten separate or my favorite broken up and put in vanilla ice cream.

·      The Hub-For the past few months I’ve had free access to countless movies, TV shows, and music via the student network at my flat.  There have been several times where I’ve had to go through my hard drive to delete files to make room for me downloads. 

·      Landscape-This country is beautiful.  And I don’t just mean the wilderness parts of it.  I can honestly say that every inch of this country that I’ve seen has been breathtakingly gorgeous and even puts W&L in the spring to shame.

·      Rugby-Now that I’ve figured out the rules, I’m a fan.  It’s all of the best parts of soccer and American football mixed together: hard hits, lots of opportunities to score, and no timeouts.

·      Frogger-Nothing makes me more wide-eyed and bushy-tailed for class in the mornings than trying to avoid getting hit while crossing a major street to get to campus. 

And most importantly…

·      Mary-My Kiwi flatmate has been the best! I’m really going to miss her wisdom on all things New Zealand and having her right next door enabling me to procrastinate by watching movies and Gossip Girl.  She played tour guide for our adventures at the Wild Foods Festival as well as Fox Glacier and Franz Josef.  I shall be returning the favor to her and her husband when they come to the states sometime soon.  Nigel really wants to go to a NASCAR race.

RE-ADAPT

·      Switching light switches down to turn them off

·      Driving on the right side of the road

·      Looking left before crossing the street

·      Walking on the right side of the sidewalk

·      Standard measurements

·      8.5”x11” computer paper 

·      No half flush on the toilets