Random Observations

Milk - When we checked into our first motel, the receptionist asked if we wanted whole or trim milk and then handed us one small container of milk. Not one per person, just one. I thought that seemed strange, but the same thing happened at the next motel and then the next. In fact, every hotel and motel that we have stayed at, has given us a small container of milk when we check in. I think it is meant to put in your coffee and tea, but we bought a box of cereal and use it for breakfast every morning. Just about every room we have stayed in has had a full kitchen also. That seems to be the norm in New Zealand.

Motels - We have stayed in 5 different motels so far. They all remind me of motels from my childhood. Instead of being 2 or 3 storybuildings with rooms side by side, they have all been one story cottage type buildings with only one or two rooms per building. Wehave always been able to park right in front of the door, and many have a bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Very comfortable.

One lane bridges - There are a LOT of one lane bridges in this country. As we have driven around, I have noticed that it feels like we are in the country almost all the time. The roads are narrow and windy, and almost every bridge is one lane. Before each one lane bridge, there will be a sign that designates which direction has the right of way. I swear that 90% of the bridges that we have come to have given the right of way to the other direction. It doesn't really matter though because there is very seldom traffic anyway.

Stop signs - Well, lack of actually. The other day we were driving and had to stop at a stop sign. I realized that I hadn't seen one for a couple of weeks. They use roundabouts almost everywhere and even where there is a regular intersection, they tend to use 'Give Way' (yield) signs.

Crosswalks - While I really love the roundabouts, we found that as a pedestrian, crossing the street can be very scary. There are places to cross, but it most places, nothing is marked in the street so the cars don't even slow down. In one case, a car was waiting to enter the roundabout, so was stopped when we started to cross the street. Even though we were already in the street, the car zipped right past us.

Electrical Outlets - All electrical outlets have switches for each outlet. I have not seen any without the switch. This is kind of nice.

Bacon - I've had several meals with bacon in them and not once has the bacon been cooked to a crispy state. I even asked for a BLT with crispy bacon once and it was still undercooked. I found this on a blog of someone who moved away from New Zealand for a while and then came back:

Bacon. Or, more to the point, flaccid bacon. What is it with our national fixation with droopy, limp, greasy bacon? I've lost count of the number of times I've asked a server whether the chef can do crispy bacon – even miming the 'snap' for them. YES, they'll say, with a withering look reserved solely for dorks like me who would even ask such a question. When the plate is eventually plonked down, guess what? The most lifeless, floppy, saggy piece of pork product is staring back at me.

Toilets - All the toilets here have buttons instead of handles. I was also tasked with seeing if they flowed in the opposite direction but none of tem have drained with a swirl. I did test in a couple of sinks and they both drained counter-clockwise.

Currency - The smallest coin is 10 cents and the smallest bill is 5 dollars. They still have prices like $4.23 but will just round the total to the nearest 10 cents. Coins are 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200. Bills are 5, 10, 20, and 50.

Words - There were a few words that either stumped me or I just found interesting. During the first few days, I saw menus for pizza saying they had capsium on them. I know that capsicum is the ingredient that makes peppers hot, so was afraid that the pizza would be very spicy. It turns out that capsium is red bell pepper. I saw minced beef at the grocery store and it is just ground beef. We saw salad that included rocket, rocket is a type of lettuce. Other words:

• biscuit- cookie

• chips - french fries

• crisps - potato chips

• long drop - outhouse

• take away - food to go

• tramping - hiking

• tomato sauce - catsup