NZ fun facts

My cousin Matt just asked me for some fun facts for his son Sean to present at school about NZ. Here's what I came up with:

1) People here say different words. They say "rubbish" instead of "garbage" and "shop" instead of "store" and they call McDonalds "Mackers". They say "carpark" instead of "parking lot," "boot" instead of "trunk," "mate" instead of "friend."

2) The steering wheels are on the right side of the car and everyone drives on the left side of the road.


3) there are 4 million people and 44 million sheep


4) They eat a lot of pumpkin here. They make pumpkin soup, pumpkin ravioli, and even pumpkin lasagna. (But no pumpkin pie).


5) The main sports are rugby, cricket, and netball. The most popular sports team is the rugby team called the All Blacks. They do a native ritual dance called a "hangi" before every game to make the other team scared of them.

6) There are Chinook salmon here (I think it was a gift from the Native Americans?) and there are orca whales here too.

7) there are NO squirrels, raccoons, bears, cougars, or skunks in NZ. Hedgehogs are never pets here, they are pests that carry diseases and that cars run over ;-)

8) The native people here are called the Maori. They arrived on the islands around 800 years ago. They hunted a giant bird (bigger than an ostrich) called the Moa to extinction. (That's Bryce holding a Moa bone in a cave on the South Island).


9) The national bird is called the "kiwi." Kiwis have no wings and are really fat. They have giant eggs. Kiwis are nocturnal so Julie has never seen one :-( Julie thinks that kiwis, like penguins, are part of a giant NZ conspiracy and don't really exist. Possums and dogs that were brought to the islands by immigrants are killing the kiwis because the kiwis can't run away fast enough.

10) New Zealanders like to call themselves "Kiwis."

Halloween, down under-er

So in our discussions with our Kiwi friends, we established that Halloween is known, but not heartily celebrated.
We, the Kiwis as well, decided that we need to have a little get together to share the joys of Halloween. Plus Jules and I are always looking for an excuse to host and have fun.
First the joys of pumpkin procurement. For most the world pumpkins are like any other vegetable, they're produce, they're for eating. Not just pumpkin pie, roast pumpkin is quite good and pumpkin soup is something the Kiwis are especially fond of. (though neither Jules or I care for it).
As a result of this recognition of produce as... produce, the pumpkins are small, thick, meaty and mostly available pre-quartered for ease of consumption. They would never be found in mounds beach ball sized orange squash outside of a store. The best ones are right by the kumara(sweet potato), around the corner from the onions.
After selecting three greenish/orangish beauts from the produce section I proceed to the check out. While in line I hear, "a little bit of pumpkins soup, eh? Good stuff" "nothing wrong with pumpkin soup.
I offered back a muffled, 'yis' (fake kiwi accent).
This elderly man , possibly even looking for an invite for the massive amount of soup I'd be able to make from three large pumpkins, added. "good ole pumpkin soup"
I didn't want to break his heart and let him know that wasteful Americans actually bought pumpkins simply to hack to pieces and let rot on the front step. That be like telling me that in China they use beer to clean drains and not to drink.
So I gave him a smile back and quickly and quietly checked out.

As our party neared we prepared for our night by decorating our pumpkins.
Julie opted for the easier drawn pumpkin.









I meanwhile carved an apple as part of an odd tradition I started with Ryan and Amy. It's a bit trickier than a pumpkin, but it's still fun. Plus you can eat most of what you carve out.



Finally the moment had come. Time to take the knife to my green-orange veggie.

I scooped and scooped. Guts, pumpkin meat, IT ALL MUST GO!







After a warm up beer, it's finally time for the carving. Equal parts determination to saw through the thick skin and determination not to saw off a digit in the process...
Tada.







But of course I've done this before. We had to have some rookies give it a try.

Dervla, representing Ireland.









Laua, representing the UK.





Amy, also from the UK, and on her way to Australia




We enjoyed a good night of our guests company over a few beverages and tons of snacks.
Saturday, beginning a bit late in the Wood household, is mostly spent relaxing.
At 5:30, as I open the door to get a stronger cell signal for a text,. I see what appears to be a trident reaching across our door-step to poke my prized pumpkin. I'm perplexed until the owner of the red pitchfork appears decked out as a devil with three costumed accomplices.
TRICK OR TREAT!
'Oh, of course. Um, uh. We don't have any candy. I don't know what we have for treats.'
Thankfully my quick thinking wife called from her relaxed position of reading a book.
'Give them popsicles'
'Yes, um I hope there's enough unopened ones'(I hate pineapple popsicles and they package each popsicle in opaque packaging to confound me).
Luckily there were exactly 4.
I heard the children brag from accross the street as they opened their popsicles.
'I got red'
'I got green'
(drat those could have been mine, now I only have opened pineapple).

Well Julie sent me to the store after to take care of our candy shortage.
Now we've got a stock pot filled with mini-chocolates and a properly decorated house.

Happy Halloween