Picture of the Day: South Street

As the oldest fully preserved street in Nelson New Zealand, South Street is a historic site with 16 cottages dating back to the 1860s.

(*note: we found this street purely by accident)

NZ Reflections: The Language

Since Andy and I are spending most of our time now at camp working and not as much time exploring, we thought this would be a good opportunity to reflect on our time here in New Zealand so far. A couple of months ago, Andy posted about his thoughts on the food, which you can find here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. This time, I'm going to discuss the language. Enjoy!

When Andy and I were first planning our trip out to New Zealand, we took comfort in the fact that our country of choice had English as its official language. With navigating around in unknown territories, looking for work, and finding a place to live, the last thing we needed was to worry about getting lost in translation. However, upon arrival in this amazing country, I learned quickly that speaking the same language doesn't necessarily translate to easy or instant communication. I loved the accent immediately, but it took my brain awhile to adjust to it and even longer to process what was being said.

Accent aside, words themselves were used differently. The first (and probably most important) thing we had to learn was that a bathroom or a restroom was called a “toilet.” This makes sense if you think about it. Do you ever ask where the bathroom/restroom is with the purpose of taking a bath or getting some rest? If you do use these terms with a local, you will most likely be met with a confused look until you clarify it's a “toilet” you're looking for. During our time here, we picked up quite a few differences in our vocabularies. Just off the top of my head:

US → NZ

hiking = tramping

fries = chips (or “hot chips”)

downtown = city center

cooler = chilly bin

friend = mate

vacation = holiday

takeout = takeaway

sandals = jandals

peppers = capsicums

trash can = rubbish bin

wrench = spanners

shopping cart = trolley

clothes pins = clothes pegs

umbrella = brolly

tacks = drawing pins

license plate number = car registration (or car rego)
band-aids = plasters

Also, “pissed” doesn't mean “angry,” like it does in the U.S. ('pissed off' still does). Here, it means “drunk.” We learned this, along with the last three on the list, while working at the New Years Eve Camp...

Not only are words used differently, but some letters are pronounced differently.  Like "zed" instead of "z."

Additionally, the slang here is very interesting. I'm sure you're all aware of the famous “sweet as.”  For those who don't know, “That's sweet as!” translates to the American “That's cool!” However, I've also heard “great as”, “good as”, and “awesome as.” In fact, I'm pretty sure you can put “as” after any adjective and it would be perfectly acceptable here.

These are just a few observations from our time spent in New Zealand so far. We are still picking up bits and pieces here and there and are constantly adding to the list above. I have to say that since we arrived in New Zealand five months ago, my ability to understand and communicate here has greatly improved. Andy however picked it up pretty quickly and has even started to talk like a kiwi at times. Who knows, by the time we get home, maybe I will too ;-)

Cheers! <--- (as the kiwis say!)

The Claw

When you look back at the New Year's Eve Camp, you can see the amount of trash left behind. This included a huge pile of completely thrashed lawn chairs. When the time came to haul them off, I got to my camera just as the last scoop was getting picked up.

Growing up, my favorite playground toy was the two levered digger. Anyway, I had my camera handy later that night when a backpacker with a totaled van agreed to scrap it on site. It was quite exciting:

From Tent to Trailer

A few weeks before the New Year's Eve party, we upgraded to this fine little trailer camper. Jokes of moving up in the world were had around camp, but all kidding aside, it sure is nice to have electricity and to be able to stand up and walk around without being attacked by sand flies (more on these blood suckers in a future post).

*Job Update*
Peak season has arrived and the camp management has found itself playing catch-up in the aftermath of the big New Year's Eve party. As we had gotten to know them quite well during that event, we agreed to stay on another month or so to help them out. Jasmine will be working the front desk and I am going to do some work on the business development side.

Picture(s) of the Day: Maitai River Valley

Some pictures taken from a walk in to town from camp:

We survived New Year at Maitai!

Well, the week-long youth festival/New Years Eve camp is over and it has taken almost that long to fully recover from it. Despite the physical exhaustion we experienced from working 12-hour days, it was actually a lot of fun!

As I mentioned before, we worked at the check-in counter with our manager, Carol, doing everything from checking people in (checking ID and setting them up with wristbands) to answering phones, completing cash-out requests, and receiving payments for new bookings and purchases of ice and riggers (2 liter plastic bottles, to abide by the strict “no glass” policy). Andy also did some contraband and security work.

It was a high energy environment and the near-constant busyness (especially on New Years Eve) made the hours fly by. In the end, we checked in over 1,000 teenagers (most of them coming from as far as Christchurch)! As this was a designated party camp, families, children, and casual backpackers had to be turned away. Evenings consisted of drunken teenagers, loud music, and a number of security personnel roaming the grounds; the purpose of the camp being to provide a safe environment for teenagers to party, with the cooperation of police and local paramedics standing by (a "controlled chaos", as it were).

However, Andy and I have decided that teenagers and alcohol do not mix. We saw some pretty crazy things and heard of even crazier things, but since we want to keep this blog "family friendly"... what happens in Nelson stays in Nelson.

New Years Eve concert

What was hilarious was the scene at camp the next morning (New Years Day). Andy had pulled an all-nighter doing security work and woke me up at 6AM to witness the aftermath. It looked like a hurricane went through the camp. Check out the “trail of destruction”:

One of the wristbands we used for the teenagers who were only staying one night (on New Years Eve) had printed on it: “I survived New Year at Maitai.” Since I believe that this applies to the staff more than anyone else (hence the title of this post), I was tempted to keep one as a memento. But looking back, I don't think I need a band to remind me of this experience. I am certain it will be one I won't soon forget.