#question and answer time!

[elfkingofzaron-blog]

11 & 12!

11) describe your ideal day.

Just being a normal ten year old kid with either all of my friends, or just with my Super Best Friend. Literally. That’s all I ask.

12) dog person or cat person?

I don’t really know. I’ve had experience with both since my SBF Stan has a dog named Sparky and Cartman has a cat named Mr. Kitty. So far only Sparky seems to like me, so I’m gonna have to go with dogs.

[janelletakesnz]

5/23/16 - Wellington - 7:00 PM

This post is dedicated to my mother’s lovely coworker and friend, Tina, who has been so enthusiastic and encouraging about my trip. She recently emailed me some questions she had about New Zealand in general, and I thought they were so good, I decided to turn them into a blog post!

1. Are the native New Zealanders friendly and welcoming to outsiders? Truthfully, the way Kiwis interact with each other is one of my favorite parts about the culture I have noticed thus far. The people here are very reserved; whether in the office or on the streets, people aren’t like to strike up conversation with each other unnecessarily. I don’t like small talk with strangers, so I don’t have to worry about someone trying to chat me up out of the blue, which is great! That being said, every time I have asked someone a question or for help, they have been nothing but kind and helpful. I feel safer and more comfortable interacting with New Zealanders than I do around some Americans!

2. Do they drive on the same side of the road as we do? Nope! They drive on the left! While I won’t be doing any driving while overseas (thank goodness!) I still unintentionally backseat drive from time to time and get alarmed when my shuttle drivers make turns, forgetting that they aren't going to actually accidentally turn into traffic. Oops. People also tend to walk on the right side of the sidewalk as well, so I’ve spent about 5 days bumping into oncoming pedestrian traffic!

3. Is there any litter and pollution? I’ve seen a bit more litter in Wellington than I did in Auckland, but overall, the country is very much into recycling, conservation, and respecting the land as much as possible. The people and restaurants generally try to avoid food waste, and while there are plenty of cars, a lot of people walk in Wellington (since it is a small town) or use public transportation like buses or ferries in larger cities like Auckland, which cuts down on pollution.

4. What is their national industry? When the Europeans colonized the country in the 1800s, they planned to turn New Zealand into another pastoral and agrarian place like England was at the time, and agricultural industry is still huge. NZ is famous for its sheep; they have the highest density of sheep per unit area in the world, and the export of wool is still high, but dairy farming overtook it as the main agricultural industry i the late 1980s. (I learned all of this when I went to the national museum, Te Papa, on Sunday!)

5. Do they have fast food like McDonalds, Subway, Pizza Hut, etc.? I have seen Subway, McDonalds, and Burger King since I’ve been here, and they also have a British fast food place, Nando’s, which specializes in chicken! I’m definitely going to try it at some point!

6. Are there any quirky or odd laws? In general, they seem to have fewer safety and restriction laws than the US; for example, jaywalking isn’t an offense here like it is in the States. However, I did learn at work today that New Zealand recently passed a law preventing anyone from spamming through email; you can only copy up two 5 people at a time on any given email, or it won’t go through. 

7. Do the native people seem healthier than Americans? From what I’ve seen so far, I’d have to say yes. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of people walk to work or other places during their day, and portion sizes for food are a lot smaller.

8. Are they more laid back and happier than us? Hmmm. This is a good question, but I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve lived here a few more weeks. Stay tuned for my answer! :)

9. Have you found anything new that you like and wish you could get here? Something I really like about the lifestyle here is that tax (and tip at restaurants) is included in the original purchase price for an item. So while it seem more expensive upfront, you're actually paying the same amount, if not less. As for a an item or something in particular, they have these cookies called Tim Tams that are a lot like an Oreo, except they’re rectangular and covered in an additional layer of chocolate. Yum!

Okay, that’s everything! Thanks again for the great questions, Tina, and for taking such a serious interest in my time overseas! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask away!

[herpinknessreigns]

squirm

Squirm:What's a topic that always makes you feel awkward when it gets brought up?

Oh my gosh, it's really awkward when people ask how far I've gone with my boyfriend?? Like I'm all for talking Christian philosophy and how I feel on physical stuff in relationships for religious people but I don't really want to make it personal and talk about my sex life...it just feels really uncomfortable. Not even because I am embarrassed, since I largely am not, but because my partner is a VERY private person who does not like to talk about that sort of thing at all and it makes me uncomfortable knowing he wouldn't want me to share that sort of detail.

[dizzieslearningcurveseries]

So, I can't write because my friends are basically looking at my screen every few minutes. Haha.

BUT...I will answer your questions! Go ahead and ask away. I'll answer what I can and try not to be super spoilery :)

Ask away!

[pigfartsofgallifrey]

Ribbon. Hot cocoa. Stocking.

Ribbon: What's a book that had a strong impact on you?

Besides the entire series of Harry Potter... I wouldn't say this book is one of my favorites, but Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie" has definitely had an impact on me. It was required reading in my sophomore year of high school and junior year here at la universita, and both times reading it has made me sit back and reflect on my life and choices. It is one of the things that made me realize that work/grades are not the most important things at the end of the day; and what is important are the relationships you have with others and the things you do that form positive memories.

Hot Cocoa: What's your favorite thing about yourself?

Umm... UMM. Is this supposed to be overall or sequestered into one section like physical looks/personality traits? If this is talking about physical characteristics then I'd have to say my eyes. They change between blue and green depending on what I wear, which is pretty nifty.

Stocking: What color are your socks right now?

Invisible? I'm barefoot! But earlier today I was wearing neon pink socks.

[thistledownandmagic]

[my sherlock dvd came in the post today.]

And, of course, I went straight for The Great Game with commentary, because how can I deny myself Mark, Benny, and Martin?

I CAN'T.

But I do have a question to posit: should I watch the 60-minute pilot? I still haven't watched it because I've been perfectly content with the 90-minute version of A Study In Pink and know all the differences between the two, but should I just bite the bullet and do it?