Reason #6: Everything is Reversed

In New Zealand, everything is backwards. Of course, New Zealanders don't think so. Case in point: when our Samsung fridge was delivered, the young bloke hooking it up had trouble turning it on.  Finally, he figured out that he had to flip the switch up. His comment? "The switches in Japan must turn on when you flip them up. Huh. That's weird." (Note: this is the only Kiwi I've met who wouldn't know that Samsung is a Korean company; but this post isn't about their freaky geography prowess.) Light switches do indeed switch down to turn on, which is a never-ending source of amusement for me.

Other things are backwards as well:

1. Roads, obviously. In New Zealand, as in most other Commonwealth countries, we drive on the left. I actually like it, for some indefinable reason. Perhaps my love of English literature?

2. Drains. Nope. That one's a myth. But toilets here do seem to violently flush straight down. Newer toilets have 2 buttons... I'm never quite sure which to press.
3. Time. When we first heard "eleven half," we weren't sure if that meant 10:30 or 11:30. Since it was a lunch date, we went with the latter. Luckily, we were right.
4. Using the credit card machine at the grocery store. You have to wait for the cashier to tell you to swipe, then you swipe, choose your account, and enter your pin. Something about the order feels wrong, though it sounds the same as in the U.S. Nevertheless, I always do it wrong.
5. Pumping gas. You pump first, then pay. It's old-school U.S. There are also people to wash your windows (no tips, of course.)
6. At the end of the meal, even in a nice restaurant, you go up to pay at the counter. I think they will bring a check if you ask, but no one actually does. I'm guessing it's gauche to ask. Queues form just before the rugby game is going to start.
7. Prepositions seem to be reversed and used without articles. "Good on ya" and "in hospital" are popular phrases.
8. The nicest, most helpful people around work at the Post Shoppe.

Reason #5: Quiz Night

While taking a break from stacking wood (quickly becoming my #1 reason NOT to move to NZ) I am pondering the fun that was quiz night at the Rose and Shamrock last night. While not a NZ phenomenon, quiz nights are incredibly well-attended here in Havelock North. The Rose and Shamrock is not a small pub, and it was packed full of people of all ages (over 18, of course.) We had to bring in the plastic chairs from the patio so that we could sit down. The teams with the most points win bar tabs, which would have been pretty darn cool. We all agreed to drink the tab immediately should we win.


Our team was Sarah, her partner Nick, our Irish friend Aoife, Michael and I. The categories for quiz night last night were:


1) Famous name changes
2) Plays and Playwrights
3) Monarchs
4) Geography
5) Sport
6) Music
7) Inventions
8) Trivia


Needless to say, Team Green did not win. There were some pretty obscure questions, and the music category consisted of the announcer playing a 70s disco song, and you had to list the artist who sang it.


My two best answers of the night were the ones my team voted me down on:


Longest ruling British monarch? Victoria, of course! But the queen's subjects at my table all thought it was Elizabeth I, so naturally I acquiesced to them. Why didn't they listen to the American?


The author of The Importance of Being Earnest? Oscar Wilde was my first answer. But Aoife insisted it wasn't him, and since he was an Irish bloke, I had to go with her.


Answers I almost got: which race started in 1903 and goes for over 2000 kilometers? I answered the Iditerod. As it turns out, the Iditerod didn't start until the 1970s, although its roots are older. The answer: The Tour de France!!! How did I miss that one???


And what did Colonel Schlick invent? I said the safety razor, which we amended to disposable safety razor. He actually invented the ELECTRIC razor.


Of course, at least I knew Monopoly was based on Atlantic City, which from the groans in the pub, was an answer few teams got right.


All in all, an entertaining evening. And I owe Aoife a beer.