Today my mom and I are in Queenstown, NZ. We tried to fly out to Auckland, but our flight was cancelled due to rain and fog, so we leave tomorrow. This computer is about 100 years old and can't upload pictures just yet......
Eating my Words: Everyone has their quirks, things they like or dislike. I don't like black socks. I think they make my feet hot and make feet look bigger. For instance basketball players in the NBA, when they wear black shoes, I think they look slower and bigger footed than the players w/ white shoes. Additionally black socks are anything but sexy. Think of your partner. You are obviously w/ that person bc you are attracted to them. Now think of them standing naked in front of you. Now think of them standing naked in front of you wearing only black socks! Yuck! kills the whole mood. So I just don't care for black socks. I had to buy much warmer clothes in NZ in order not to freeze, part of this included some woolly black socks. I have been wearing them. Warm feet for sure. So I AM right! Black socks keep your feet warmer than white ones.
Additionally, I am not a coffee drinker.. Don't like it. But here they have FLAT WHITE. Flat white is like a cappuccino w/out the foamy stuff on top, hence the FLAT part of it. For some reason, I happen to like this flat white, only if it is made very weak, more milk than coffee, and TONS of sugar.. Seems to fit the mood of the trip for some reason.
Lingo--I forgot at the Farmstay to mention part of their lingo. They asked if I wanted a CUPPA. I asked, "A cup of what?", milk, tea, water, coffee, dish soap, what? what is a CUPPA? CUPPA is tea. A cuppa tea. Got it. So then later in the day, they asked me if I was staying for tea or going into town. I asked if they had tea at specific times bc we just had tea, (the whole Cuppa thing). Well TEA actually stands for "dinner." Right. So in order for me to tell them I would be eating dinner w/ them, I had to stay for tea. So if I wanted a cup of tea I had to ask for a Cuppa and if I wanted dinner I had to ask for tea. Because that makes sense.
Leg Warmers are back!!-- I knew the 80's were still alive. Australian women and NZ women wear tight jeans and tuck them into their dress boots, I knew leg warmers would be next and lo and behold!! Queenstown. Hello leg warmers and Flashdance!! "I'm a Maniac, Maniac...." (song from the movie Flashdance)
Maori tattoos-- I wanted to find a picture to post but haven't' had luck w/ this part. The Maori tradition is to tattoo someone after they have completed a large feat in their life. They use 3 chisels to tattoo the face. One to cut the skin, two to ensure the wound heals in a "V"shape and three to lay the ink. The faces are tattooed. Men have 4 birds: the forehead is the bat, the nose is the parakeet, the cheeks are the kiwi and the chin is the owl. The women also have their lips and chins tattooed, the owl is on the chin for wisdom and protection over the children. The Maori's treat their women w/ respect. They are trying to keep their language and culture alive. They teach Maori at the public schools and educate the public w/the culture shows we have attended.
Beet Root--Australia and NZ alike serve burgers, chicken burgers, steak burgers w/ beet root. It rocks!! I like beets and this is used usually in place of tomatoes.....
Australian Aboriginal Story--Now I don't know how REAL this story is, but this is what I was told. The aboriginals were considered to be livestock up until the 60's. When the whites would be driving in the outback, the aboriginals would rob and/or steal their cars and leave them in the bush. The aboriginals were said to lay down in the dirt roads to stop the vehicles. Now, the story goes, the whites would run over the aboriginals bc they knew they were being tricked to stop and could be robbed. Apparently there was a law that made that legal to run over these people as long as you told the law about it in the next town you came to. "Yeah, Sheriff, four aboriginals down about 30 miles back, but as long as you know about it....." The native peoples in every area so far: Native Americans in US, First Nations in Canada, Aboriginals in Australia, Maori in New Zealand, all have been shit on by the white man. Their land was taken, they were forced to assimilate, their language and religion were not valued or tolerated. They now have alcohol and "petrol sniffing" issues. They try to reclaim their land w/ not much success, they are very poor and uneducated. No true bloodline left. Aboriginals were bred w/ the whites, that is why there is such a range of color amongst them. It is sad. Yes, the English were amazing sailors and discovered continents! Huge success. They were also hogs, diseased, racial and aggressive. I just wanted to make the point that the native peoples seem to have similar treatment and generational issues now.
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