It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Okay, it's not really looking a lot like Christmas as we know it.  Firstly, it's summer!  There is no snow around here, only temperatures in the high teens or low twenties.  It rained this past week...not just any rain...solid, downpour rain...all day!  There are signs of Christmas though, in the forms of shopping sales, decorations, Santa villages, etc.

There are Christmas trees at places like the mall and the town 'square' area.  The town square is located in the Central Business District (CBD).  If you want to see a live camera feed to Garden Place ('downtown' where the Christmas tree is located) click here.

 The tree is 25 metres tall (it's pretty big)!

 The 'suburban' mall known as The Base (Te Awa) - Santa display

 take pictures with Santa

 back to the tree in the CBD, all lit up at night

More New Zealand Vocabulary

I am increasingly finding that many words are 'cutie-fied' in New Zealand.  What does that mean?  Simply take a word, concatenate it, and add a y (or ie)

Examples:

Sunnies ==> sunglasses

Kindy ==> Kindergarten

Nappies ==> okay, this one is a bit different.  Nappies is another word for diapers

Short story:

During one of our weekend trips, we were looking for something to do in town.  I went to the information centre (known as the i-site, in various New Zealand cities) to get some ideas.  The nice lady behind the counter looked through a book of local events, and informed me that there was a Kindy Gala going on during one of the weekend days.  Okay great...but what's Kindy mean, is what I thought to myself.  So I asked.  She told me it's short for Kindergarten, which is the german word for a class of preschoolers.   The kindergarten part I knew, of course.  We use the same term in Canada.  The kindy part of it, I did not.  I have never heard of kindergarten referred to as kindy.  I have however, heard of kindergarteners referred to as kindies.

btw, this word 'kindy' was used in a newspaper article to promote the event.  It's not just a spoken word in New Zealand, it gets recorded in formal print work as well!

Tauranga / Mount Maunganui

This is a day trip you can do from Hamilton.  It's about an hour and a half to drive over there.

In Tauranga, you can check out the local gallery and eat at our fav Fish and Chips place.

It's a short drive over to Mount Maunganui, where you can take the short hike up to the top (45 min or so going up).  You can also walk over the short sand bridge to what once was an island until it was connected by this sand bridge apparently.

There has been a lot of news lately regarding Tauranga.  There was a major oil spill just last week.  The following are pictures taken either that day, or before the spill of the container ship, Rena.  Let's hope the wildlife and surrounding areas do not suffer too much damage.

boats on the beach

balancing rock in the distance (actually, it's one piece)

 log on the beach

 Mount Maunganui

 view part way up the Mount

 stairkeeper (you shall not pass!)

 bird that landed on the bench behind me

 sheep lounging under a tree on the Mount

 surfers

fish and chips at Fresh Fish Market in Tauranga

New Zealand Speak

Each country has their slang...here is more of New Zealand's

Today's word:

FLASH

Usage:  That's a flash car.
Meaning: fancy, expensive

and on that note...

Today's second word:

DEAR

Usage:  The flash cars can be quite dear.
Meaning: expensive

Rugby World Cup - Canada vs New Zealand

It's a game you can't miss as a Canadian, in NZ.  Didn't catch it live, in the stadium, but at least live on TV.

• Less than 3 minutes into the game, and Canada scores the first few points with a penalty kick.  3 pts on the board, and leading New Zealand! Yay!!  It's looking good.
• Then Canada loses its lead at about the 7 min mark - new score 7 - 3 for New Zealand.
• A whole bunch of other points were scored by New Zealand, and just before the end of the first half, Canada scores their first try - score is now 37 - 8 entering the second half.
• Canada scores the first try of the second half...NICE! 37 - 15, New Zealand leads.
• Shortly after that, NZ answers with 7 points -> 44 - 15
• Final outcome - 79 - 15 New Zealand wins.  Not surprising, but Canada did put up a good fight.  Good job Canada.  The match included a head on collision with Canada's captain, and one of the New Zealand players.  Ouch!

Daylight Savings Time

Spring forward, fall back!  That's usually how you remember whether or not to set your clocks forward or backwards during daylight savings time changes.  Usually, you associate September with the beginning of autumn in Canada.  In New Zealand, it's spring around here, the first day of spring was September 1st.

September 25th, 2011 - Daylight saving time begins - you spring forward, setting your clocks ahead by one hour.

If you're living in Toronto, and want to know what is a good time to have a chat with your kiwi mate in NZ, refer to this chart.  The overlapping green and pink areas are the time slots where you're both likely to be awake (YMMV).

C

New Zealand Speak!

A few weeks ago, you got Lesson 1: Kia Ora.

Lesson 2: Heaps


Although commonly used as a noun in North America (i.e. a big heap is analogous to a big pile), in New Zealand it is an adjective
Meaning: lots of, a large amount of
They like to use the word alot in New Zealand...in conversation...in commercials
Example: There are heaps of people in New Zealand who use the word regularly.

Webb Ellis

Rugby World Cup everything!  Right now, everything in New Zealand is about RWC 2011.

As a foreigner, it's a good chance to be inundated with exposure to the country's beloved sport.

Today's lesson, Webb Ellis!

Webb Ellis --> Is the name of the trophy presented to the winners of the Rugby World Cup.  Apparently, the trophy is named after the alleged inventor of rugby, William Webb Ellis.

They have even introduced a coin with the Webb Ellis Cup on it!  And the Canadian Mint sells it!  Cool.  But what isn't cool is the $100+ price tag.  I shall admire through photos.

Are New Zealanders really that crazy about getting Webb Ellis?

Check out this song.  It's not the official Rugby World Cup song (like this one, which is much more hopeful, dreamy), but you'd think that it was an anthem.  I've heard it on the radio stations.  It's pretty funny (warning, some coarse language), and it's a nice little history lesson on New Zealand's role in the RWC over the years.  Basically, it's been 24 years since New Zealand won the World Cup.  The song laments how it lost to France, and how they'll never get used to not getting their hands on Webb Ellis.

C

Hamilton River Festival - The Gallagher Great Race 2011 (Rowing)

It has been raining pretty consistently ALL week.  And we're not talking about pitter patter rain, we're talking about RAIN!  There has been hail in other parts of the country.  It's still not that warm around here either.  But people still go outside.  Heck, they even have races in this weather.

We went to see a rowing race last weekend called 'The Great Race'.  The course runs along the Waikato River, upstream.

There was also a waka (traditional Maori canoe) that leads the teams of the two major races, the Harry Mahon Trophy and the Bryan Gould Cup, to the start line.  These waka paddlers were shirtless.  It was cold and rainy.  They were brave.

There was some excitement, including a collision between Waikato University and Cambridge University during the Harry Mahon Trophy race.  The race had to be restarted.   This collision resulted in a broken rudder for Cambridge.  Cambridge, whom had been leading initially now came out last as they steered with a paddle...a cheap yellow plastic one, one that you would get from the local hardware store, announced the commentator to the crowd.

The two main races are the University cup for the women's and men's rowing teams.

Harry Mahon Trophy (Men's Rowing)

first place: University of Waikato
second place: University of Melbourne
third place: University of Cambridge


Bryan Gould Cup (Women's Rowing)


first place: University of Waikato
second place: University of Melbourne
third place: University of Sydney

Brief clip (click here) of the University of Waikato women's rowing team on its way to the finish line during the Bryan Gould Cup.

C

Rugby World Cup - Canada vs. Tonga

Canada wins against Tonga, 25-20!  But those in Canada might already know this since it has hit the news there.

One of the radio stations in New Zealand is running a poll on who is the hottest rugby player on the Canadian team - click here if you want to vote.  The top picks, according to this broadcaster were:

a) Pat Riordan (Captain) - who apparently has to be on the list because he is captain 

b) James Pritchard 

c) Ed Fairhurst

d) Matt Evans

e) DTH Van Der Merwe (DTH??)

The rest were what they deemed too fugly, or just not good looking enough.  Yes, they used fugly on air.

Canada has a pretty 'beardy' team.  Check out Adam Kleeberger (photo cred) and Jebb Sinclair (photo cred)!  The beards can accurately be described as epic.

Tonight, New Zealand takes on Japan, right in Hamilton!

C

Mid-Autumn Festival

September 12, 2011 is the date for this year's mid-autumn festival, a harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people (also referred to as the Lantern Festival).  Traditionally, this festival is celebrated by eating moon cake, so we set out to find some.

There are a few small chinese supermarkets around Hamilton.  The one we went to did not have much of a selection.  We bought the last two moon cakes, imported from Hong Kong.  They were about $14 - $15 each!  Ouch!  They tasted just like the ones they have back in Toronto...probably because they are imported, just like a lot of the ones in Toronto =P.  Happy mooncake eating!

C

2011 Rugby World Cup Time!

It's Rugby World Cup time in New Zealand.  If you are living in New Zealand and you are unaware of this fact, you must be living underneath a rock.

Everyone is hyped up about the World Cup.  It's all over the news.  Yesterday was the opening ceremony and opening game.  It would have been great to go to Auckland to check out the openers...except that Auckland is about 1hr 45min away...and there was a massive number of people there, and traffic!...and tickets are over $400.  Instead we sat in the comfort of our living room, watching on the telly (they like using the term telly here).

Opening Ceremony - Spectacular

There were mobs of people in Auckland.  Apparently, at the peak, there were about 100,000 people in the Central Business District (what we would call downtown).  People were doing flash haka mobs in the street.  A Haka is a traditional Maori dance.  One popular example is the Haka performed by the New Zealand rugby team before the game starts.

Here is the coles notes version (shorter) of the opening ceremony and first game.  You can get the gist in the first minute.

These next few links show the entire thing... the original footage is from a New Zealand TV station.


The ceremony incorporated many Maori cultural aspects.  The Call, the Journey.
The area that the light show is projected on is about 100m x 70m, the size of the rugby field.

• The Call - below 1min40s Maori woman performing a karakia, a formal greeting when opening a ceremony, calling the chiefs and champions together
• 2min50s it's like Lord of the Rings, travelling through New Zealands beautiful scenery via the light show
• then there is a Journey and some boats representing how people had arrived to NZ many years ago
• hammerhead sharks representing rugby, for how they hunt together in packs
• 9min or so - Haka - note the Maori traditional dress, and the classic bulging of the eyes, and sticking out of the tongues

Next - backyard rugby - little kid taking on some rugby players (the Gladiators).  Some neat choreography.

• my favourite part at 1min 56s - the try line moves and the kid scores a goal
• The Prize - rugby past greats culminating into Jonah Lomu, who has more tries scored than any other player in any Rugby World Cup
• the name of the trophy - The Webb Ellis Cup 

• at the beginning of the next clip, there is the Rugby World Cup Haka
• after that there are some speeches by the NZ Prime Minister and IRB Chief (International Rugby Board) - not too exciting

• then the next clip gets more exciting again with the fireworks show
• you get to see the Auckland cityscape...reminds me of Toronto with the tower and all (3min7s, 3min14s, 11min06s is about the end of the pyrotechnics show)

Now, I think I heard that the light show for the Rugby World Cup was done by the same person(s) as the Vancouver Winter Olympics (but I haven't been able to confirm this).  I found it pretty impressive.

Opening Game - New Zealand wins!

The opening game was New Zealand vs. Tonga.  New Zealand beat Tonga 41 - 10 at Eden Park in front of about 60K spectators.

More Rugby World Cup fun to come!

C

Whoa, time flies!

Okay, so maybe this blog isn't kept as up to date as it could be.

It's September already!  It's been over a month now, and we're finally slowly settling in.  There has been alot to learn and adjust to.  You take it for granted that you know exactly where to shop back home.   You know what stores sell electronics, and groceries.  At home, you know what websites to go to, to look for jobs, rentals, cars to buy.  You know who your internet and electricity providers are and how they are structured...  That has all been part of the settling in process.  It's taken some time, but it hasn't been incredibly difficult.

So now we have a place to live, and a car to drive - two big to do's on the task list checked off.  Now it's time to enjoy New Zealand a bit more!  We have done a few day trips here and there, but there is definitely much more to explore.

And now it's Rugby World Cup time!  The city will likely be buzzing with much more activity for the month of September.  Stay tuned!

C

Kia Ora!

Greetings from Hamilton, New Zealand!

So what does Kia ora mean?  well it's what people say here to greet others in New Zealand.  In the Maori language, Kia Ora means be well, healthy, and is used as an informal way to say 'hi.'  Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.  More on that later.

We have been here for about two weeks now.  We escaped the sweltering, hot, humid weather in Toronto (with a high of 48C...blech) into the middle of winter here in Hamilton.  The winter isn't that bad here.  It's short, running about 2 months in length, and it's temperate.  It feels like spring in Toronto with temperatures of 12-14C.  We did encounter a few cold, cold days where it was about -1C to 4C...brrrr!

So what's it like here?  Is it as beautiful as they say it is?

The scenery reminds me much of parts of Ontario.  So yes, it's pretty here.  There are lots of farms, and rolling green hills (pictures to come).  And yes, the people are friendly.  We saw many more cows than sheep when we first got here.  For those of you who don't know, the number of sheep outnumber the people by about 10 to 1.  In Hamilton, dairy is the leading export...so it makes sense that there are lots of cows around.

It took about a week to get over the jet lag.  There were too many consecutive days of sleeping at 8PM and waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning.

Nothing is cheap here.  Everything seems to be more expensive.  The food, clothes, shoes, rent, cars, phones...everything!   In hindsight, we should have brought more stuff especially since we had luggage room.  So word to the wise for all those planning to move...don't be afraid to bring more!  Except for the appliances...maybe leave those at home since it would be  a hassle to buy converters for everything.  The power requirements and adapter are different.  There are many other little differences, but perhaps they deserve their own blog entries.

C