A few musings from a new Kiwi. . .

Yes. . . Finally Laura has made her first post. It has been quite the whirlwind that brings me to the present: Jesse's homecoming, my graduation, our wedding, and the move to New Zealand. It was all great fun and a great adventure! I am glad to have it all behind us and to be able to finally settle down into some normalacy after months of planning for our wedding and Jesse being gone in New Zealand. I am really enjoying being married, and New Zealand thus far has been great. Jesse and I are still meeting people and getting adjusted to the culture. I have still have a hard time understanding some of their sayings or even following a conversation between two Kiwis. One of example is that people here call clothes' pins: pegs. In a conversation it sounds like they are saying pigs. Jesse and I were so confused, why were they hanging pigs on the line? We had to ask what they were saying. It is so interesting that even though we theoretically we both speak English; I really feel like we speak two different languages.

I am still getting used to the food here. Their dairy is a little different here which makes my breakfast eating habits to a different level. I am not used to the taste of their milk, cottage cheese, butter, ice cream, and cream cheese. Everything is a little a creamier and maybe a bit richer. It makes for a different aftertaste than what I am used to. It is not a bad thing just a little different. Sandwich meat here is more expensive especially turkey which is what I am used to eating. Turkey is just too expensive to buy, $20 US dollars per kilogram. Hence my bird food, as my family and friends lovingly call it, has taken on a different variety then in the States. Don’t worry I am still getting my daily intake of popcorn ;-).

I have been trying some of the food that is known to New Zealand. Wikipedia calls “certain items and icons from New Zealand's cultural heritage” kiwiana. There are some things that I have eaten and have that are kiwiana. The list includes chocolate fish, L&P, kiwifruit (both green and yellow), marmite (I thought it tasted terrible. I will take Nutella over marmite any day.) and ginger beer. I have eaten a Kiwiburger which is a hamburger but with a beetroot. Jesse owns a pair of gumboots. I have a pair of Paua earrings. If you want a more extensive list of kiwianas look at the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwiana.

The New Zealand scenery is gorgeous. It is the middle of winter and everything is so green. I like the green all year round, but I am not sure that I like that it rains all the time. I can never get my laundry dry (we do not have a dryer so everything has to be lined dried). The other cool thing about all the rain is that everyone in New Zealand uses for their water. We get enough rainfall to supply all the water (the other reason is there is not many people here either). This flatlander is not used to getting to see mountains in the background of her backyard. I am also not used to the winding roads that go up and down hills/mountains, neither is my stomach. Why can’t people just have square miles like the smart people in Northwest Ohio?

Jesse and I have been on a few winter excursions. We will be sure to blog about them soon with a few pictures! Till next time. . . Cheers!

The journey across the pacific

It's long time that Laura and I take a short break from the honeymoon to bring an update to Agrizeal.

I've been trying to bring Laura in on the blogging so we've agreed that if I blog about the trip, she will make dinner! Plus as an added bonus, she will blog about our first weekend in NZ later.

So here's the story....

The sounds of a Favorite House Monday morning woke us up. We stretched, yawned and slowly willed ourselves out of bed, though we both wanted a few more hours. Time flew by as we finished the last little bit of packing. Before we knew it, Dan and Jo joined us from Wauseon to see us off. We had a scrumptious "last meal" at cap city diner, and topped it off with some strawberry shortcake dessert.

Laden down with four suitcases, a boxed up Wall-mount Grandfather Clock (assembled with love by the Bruners) and two carry on items each, we headed to the airport. We still weren't ready to say goodbye, so we all sat down for a final cup of coffee in the terminal.

Saying goodbye to the world that Laura and I had know was very difficult. Leaving all of our friends and family behind had taken it's toll on both of us in the days leading up to the departure. I'm not sure if we would've been able to manage without each other, and we certainly wouldn't have been able to without God. So after a hard goodbye, we walked through security.

When we went through security we had to get the clock weights out because the security lady "couldn't see through them" on the x-ray. After a brief consultation with her superior, they unwrapped one just to be sure, then sent us on our way. In the airport we ran into Adam Johns, flying to Uganda for a three week missions trip. We passed the time quickly talking with him even though our plan required a front tire change. We were only a little late getting into Phoenix. The desert heat was 107 and we felt it in the jet way. After a quick bite we boarded the flight to LAX and within an hour we landed.

LA airport is always a challenge and this time was no exception. The many terminals are laid out in a giant U shape, but with no secure pathways connecting them, so we were required to leave the terminal and pass back through security, again with the lengthy explanation about the clock weights. Also, nothing is clearly market and since Quantas is partners with American, we had to enter the American terminal, but were unsure that we were at the right one until we got to the gate. This lag of the trip had Laura and I initially sitting apart, but the gate agents put us in a row of three seats with the third one empty. You can imagine how relieved we were when we found out that we sitting together and that we could stretch out.

Once out of LA, it was smooth sailing. Neither of us slept soundly, but we slept nonetheless. We arrived in Auckland a few minutes earlier than expected and began the process of going through customs, and the agricultural and bio security check stations. Customs went well, then we got our bags and box. The ag agents were interested in the type of wood that the clock was made from, but they were more interested in the bag of lavender that Mom D. sent with us. After a few moments hesitation we assured them that they could keep the lavender, with the trade off being that we got through with no other problems!!!

Nicholas (our ride) was only a few minutes late, and the drive to Hamilton was a good one. Sunny and cool day helped show the best of New Zealand to Laura. The Love Shack met Laura's approval after a brief inspection!!! so we spent the day unpacking, and shopping for some necessities and groceries. That night we even could take the time to cook up a proper meal of spaghetti. After dinner, we wandered over to meet the landlords and deliver Jorg's new macbook smuggled from the cheaper consumer markets in the US. We were both surprised when they loaded us down with wedding gifts of a duvet cover set and also a few bedside stands!

After briefly talking with them we went back 'home'. The fleeting sleep we caught on the airplane wasn't enough to carry us through the days activities, so we crashed into bed for some much needed sleep.