While it was winter here in New Zealand, summer was full on hot in the U.S. and frankly I was looking forward to real summer heat. That just does not exist here. In New Zealand, if the temperature makes it up to the low 80s, they are complaining.
It had been two years since we were in the United States. (I know that sounds like a long time but when you are a senior citizen, the years just blows by.) We decided it was time for a visit back home. My sister was planning an all-hands-on-deck family gathering and we were on our way. We were staying in Annapolis as a sort of central point for Matt to go to some business meetings and see his family and for me to get some things done and to see my family.
So, after two years, how did it feel? The same but also very different. My first impression was, wow, people sure are angry and filled with attitude. Geeze. It felt like everyone was in a snit. I certainly understand why everyone is angry. But it pervaded the atmosphere. In New Zealand, few are angry (I’d say the indigenous folks are often not happy). But there is nothing here that really riles people up. Now I know some of you will say, wow that is great. Yes, but it can also be pretty numbing.
My second impression came when I drove on a highway for the first time in two years. The aggressiveness really put me on alert. I know we drive with speed in the D.C. area. But it felt like another magnitude. Going 70 made me the slowest person on the road. New Zealand is very different. People here think they are crazy, aggressive drivers. It is kind of quaint, and we have a good chuckle about it when it comes up. The reality is that they drive like maniacs on back roads where there is little room for error and they drive slow and steady on open highways. One reason is that the fines and penalties for speeding or doing anything suspect are harsh. Matt and I both learned our lesson after being pulled over for speeding. Basically, you pay a stiff fine and you get points based how far you are above the speed limit. That is normal. But if you get caught speeding three times in a five-year period, they take your license away. That will cause most people to chill.
Once we got our bearings, we did exactly what we came to do: buy stuff we can’t get in New Zealand and usually can’t be shipped here. By that I mean beer and wine. There are certain beers and wines we wish we had but are simply not available in New Zealand. We set aside a day of our trip to visit our favorite stores to stock up. I brought home a case of beer and a half case of wine. Yes, alcohol was at the forefront of our minds.
Then there were the many, many stops at CVS for sundries. Many items we might buy off the shelf in the U.S. are restricted or not available in NZ. If we want these things we have to get them shipped usually by Amazon and that is not cheap. So we stuffed our suitcases. For example, in NZ you need a prescription to get Sudafed. There are no cough suppressants here. They don’t have Benadryl. For me, I have certain skin allergies and I require fragrance free products. Those are pretty rare in New Zealand. So I cleared the CVS shelves of lotions and potions that I could use. When I asked my doctor here if lidocaine patches were available in NZ (I can’t remember why), she was stunned that such a thing even existed. So into the suitcase it went. I can’t even remember everything we lugged back but we were at the CVS just about every day because we would remember another thing we wished we had at home.
And then there was savoring foods that we cannot get in NZ. The grocery stores in the U.S. are marvels of abundance and variety and that just does not exist here. Everyone needs to appreciate this. The most important objective in my mind was cheese, one of my food groups. We bought a huge hunk of idiazabal cheese from Spain. Oh, the rapture. I savored American watermelon. They have watermelon here, but it just does not come up to the standards with which I assess watermelon. And peaches. God bless South Carolina and Georgia peaches!
We also visited family and friends on our trip and we loved seeing everyone. My sister’s family barbecue was a great time. She managed to get 95% of us in the same place, a minor miracle. Here we are:
On the 4th of July we had a fun time with Matt’s family. And we even managed to see the fireworks in Annapolis.
So it was a good trip all around. But exhausting. The trip takes 32 hours door to door so it is not for anyone impatient with travel.
A Yank Among the Kiwis 