Kiwi Trivia

Hey my dear friends,

First of all thanks you guys for checking my website so regularly. Great to see you are enjoying my stories!

So far I've been enjoying the Kiwi atmosphere a lot. Been chillin' out @ Flat 6b with Pars(ley) and Bas(il) - my new friends - while the internationals down here finished their last bits of studying. And now they've finished it's finally time for me to hit the road and go on some adventures. This week I'll be going to Tongariro National Park!

Fortunately for you I have not been sitting around doing nothing. Like I said last time I've been doing some field research. This meant getting to know everything there is to know about Kiwi culture, i.e. Kiwi Triva/Kiwiana!

But what is Kiwiana? Well, Kiwiana are all kinds of random facts about the country I live in at the moment. And trust me, there are lots of things you and I probably didn’t know before but no worries: I’m going to get you all up to date!

What is a Kiwi?
The Kiwi is, next to being the national fruit, New Zealand’s national bird, quite small, nocturnal and shy. I’m hoping to see one in the wild soon! Btw, New Zealand inhabitants are named after their national fruit and bird.

Edmonds Cookbook
THE cookbook used by all Kiwi’s in and outside New Zealand. Paulien & Kristin have been using it a lot to make delicious muffins!


Midori
Some strong, green, gewy liquor. Great for making ‘Midori Splice’: a nice cocktail with Midori, Malibu, Pineapple juice and a bit of cream.

All Blacks
The National Rugby team. Don’t mess with them ‘cause they’re huge and particularly scary when they perform the HAKA. They're really cool so I've become a big supporter of them as well.

Kiwi Slang
If you are planning to come to New Zealand, here are some words, which might help you to understand the locals better.
Batch – a holiday house
Arvo – afternoon
Heaps – a lot, a bunch
Sust – sorted
Jandals – known by Europeans as flip-flops and the Aussies call them thongs (?!)
Commered – completely hammered after consuming a lot of…. yeah…. alcohol

The Southern Hemisphere!
New Zealand has the biggest, greatest, longest, fastest, smallest, rarest, greenest, hottest everything in the Southern Hemisphere! And they do, but just picture the world map for a sec. There isn’t a whole lot in the Southern Hemisphere anyhow…
Well, now they've got the coolest plant in the Southern Hemisphere ;).

Wikipedia!
Wikipedia helped me out a bit more:
Chocolate fish — pretty self evident, really.
L&P — Lemon & Paeroa, a popular soft drink.
Pavlova – a light and fluffy meringue dessert named after the ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova
Silver fern — native plant; its stylised image or shape is displayed by many of the national sports teams.
Hei-tiki — Maori neck pendant. Tourist variety in green plastic are the definitively tasteless depths of kiwiana.
Vegemite - a dark and salty spread made from yeast extract. Developed by the Australian Fred Walker Company (but now produced by Kraft Foods). Similar to Marmite.

That's all for now folks. I'm off celebrating the end of the semester with my new friends and if all goes well I'll show you the top of the first mountain I'm going to climb in New Zealand next time!

Cheers,
Sofie

p.s. This is me with my new friend Bas. He's really nice and don't tell anyone, but I kinda have a crush on him!

Welcome to Aotearoa - New Zealand!

Hello everyone!

After a long long journey I have finally arrived in the Land of the Long White Cloud: Aotearoa/New Zealand! And it's wonderful! I have been warmly welcomed by Paulien and her friends at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, where they study. So nice to see Paulien again after such a long time. How great it was that she, Bjorn and Arjan picked me up in Berlin and gave me the opportunity to see the world...who could have imagined I'd go all the way to New Zealand? Before telling you more about my first adventures here let me tell you about the creation of this beautiful country.

Another name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which literally means 'Land of the Long White Cloud'. The indigenous people of New Zealand - the Maori - believe this country was found by either Kupe or Maui. Kupe's daughter, while exploring the seas, at one point yelled out 'A cloud! A cloud!' and that is how they found Aotearoa. Another legend tells the story of the demigod Maui. When he went fishing with his 5 brothers he soon caught a huge fish with his magic fish-hook. It was struggling and fighting but eventually Maui pulled the fish up and that became the North Island of New Zealand - Te Ika a Maui/The Fish of Maui. Wellington Harbour is the fish's mouth, both coasts are its fins, Lake Taupo is its heart and the Northland peninsula its tail. The South Island - Te Waka o Maui/The Canoe of Maui - is the canoe in which Maui sat when he caught the fish and Stewart Island is his anchor. That is the story of New Zealand!

So I am finally in this country found by Maui and I have lots (or as the Kiwis say - heaps) to see. Unfortunately Paulien still needs to finish her semester at university before she can take me on some wonderful trips. Luckily she will be done by the end of October and this will be our itinerary from then:

• Do the famous Tongariro Crossing (located in the National Park where much of LOTR was shot) if the weather allows for it.
• Come back to Hamilton for a 21st b-day party (will need some beers after all that hiking).
• Go on a Van Trip to the top of the North Island where we will go from beach to beach camping, hiking, surfing, bbq-ing, etc. Btw, I've already been on my first VAN TRIP, see the picture below.
• After returning I will go to the Great South. I will cross the Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton by ferry and will discover the South Island for a month. Apparently that is even more beautiful than the North Island: glaciers, mountain ranges, funny beaches with big round boulders, fjords. I can't wait!
• After that we will see where my travels take me...
  

Until then I will try and explore more of the Kiwi culture which apparently is very interesting! Yesterday my new friends threw me a Welcome Party which meant sitting out in the sun drinking beer all day and having my first real 'Kiwi Barbie'! And to make me feel like home I even had some Belgium Hoegaarden Beer...wonderful...it felt just like home and I had to think of my European friends. I will miss you but thank you for sending me over here guys!

That's all for now. I hope you will enjoy my stories the next coming weeks. I already know I will love it here!

Cheers,
Sofie

p.s. Of course I will leave some photos on this website of my travels but if you want to see all of my pictures you can go to http://paulien.fotopic.net

Sofie packed up ready for new Zealand!

A message from Sofie dated from October the 5th....( her secretary is typing)

My dear Friend,

Here a little pic of my lovely case in which I will travel into to reach the land of the long white cloud....land known as New Zealand!
I decided to make this travel now because as in Europe the temperature started to be a little bit colder....I thought that going to the South Hemisphere could be a great idea ...
I am still packed in this lovely box, I am in stand by at the custom for the moment.... the officers have to check if I don't carry any drugs or ...in my lovely orange flowers!!

Ciao

Sofie