The Bone People

If you need a new book to read, check out The Bone People, which won the Booker Prize in 1985. Author Keri Hulme is one of New Zealand's celebrated authors.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It is an incredibly powerful, emotional, and sometimes disturbing experience. The Bone People centers on three broken souls who come together in a story of family, love, violence, death, culture, and redemption. These 3 characters are: Simon, a mysterious, abused orphan; Joe, a Maori man embittered by the loss of his wife and son; and Kerewin, a strong and compassionate part-Maori woman estranged from her family. These three characters slowly weave themselves together, experiencing pain, loss, and eventually, healing.

Hulme shifts narrative voice through out the story, includes Maori language and mythology, and uses an unconventional style of writing that may not be for everyone, it takes some getting used to. But I highly recommend The Bone People. The story will pull you in and the characters will stick with you long after you've closed the book.

Check it out!

In Brief

Kiwis love to shorten words. Many everyday words have been trimmed of excess letters and syllables in order to.......? I'm not sure, but shortening words seems to be a national pastime. The shortened words often end in -y or -ie, creating a somewhat "cute" version of the word. Although, I'm not sure if the electricians I know in the States would think it's cute to be referred to as Sparkie.

Here are some cute Kiwi words:

Batch=Bachelor house, usually by the seaside
Bickie=Biscuit (Cookie)
Brekkie=Breakfast
Brickie=Bricklayer
Cardy=Cardigan
Chippy=Carpenter, Builder
Chrissy=Christmas
Cuz=Cousin
Fizzy=Soda
Greasies=Fish n'Chips
Gummies or Wellies=Gumboots (Rainboots)
Hottie=Hot Water Bottle
Nappy=Diaper
Prezzy=Present, as in gift
Rellies=Relatives
Sarnie=Sandwich
Sickie=A sick day from work
Sparkie=Electrician
Sunnies=Sunglasses
Ta=Thank You
Togs=Bathing suit

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Kiwi men do! I have never seen so many upper (and inner) thighs of men as I have here in New Zealand. Apparently these incredibly short shorts are called 'stubbies' and have been around for a while. Think 1970s corduroy OPs or UPS Man, and then go shorter. Kiwi men who wear short shorts include the mail carrier, road workers, truck drivers, farmers, construction workers and rugby players. At least, as athletes, the rugby players usually have shapely legs, but still...

This You Tube video showcases 'stubbies' in an add for L&P, a popular soft-drink here in New Zealand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSFCvG6curE

Starring America

I haven’t owned a TV in years and I find very few merits in watching television. Call me a TV snob but I’d rather read. Besides, cable is expensive, I loathe commercials, I watch movies on my laptop, and most of the HBO, Discovery or History channel shows that I like can be found on DVD. But now that I’m millions of miles from home and am the proud owner of a TV, I can’t help but feel nostalgic for some good ol’American entertainment. Even if this means watching shows that I would never watch back home (or at least admit to watching). There’s something about hearing the American accent, seeing American cities and landscapes, laughing along to American humor, laughing at American stupidity….It’s like going home without the plan ticket!

Our huge Soviet-era TV only gets 6 to 8 channels, depending on the angle of the rusty wire antenna, but many American TV shows are popular here, especially reality shows. Apparently Beauty and the Geek was a huge hit, as is The Girls Next Door (c’mon, it’s Playboy). Other shows that we’ve seen include Extreme Home Makeover, Fear Factor, America’s Next Top Model, Survivor, and My Super Sweet Sixteen (seriously, where do they find those kids? Oh yeah, America…). Other shows that are popular with Kiwis are Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Scrubs and Seinfeld.

It’s quite unsettling to watch these shows and think, “Wow! This is how Americans are represented to those living outside the U.S. No wonder everyone thinks we’re crazy!” We come across as spoiled, immoral, greedy, un-educated, un-healthy, plastic surgery-obsessed, and aggressive. Ouch. But it’s entertainment and for 30 minutes I can lose myself in the silliness of American life.

Once in a while we even catch a movie on the basic channels. Most of these films don’t improve our image much but they sure are fun. We’ve seen some real gems of American cinema. These include:

The Day After Tomorrow-Might have been good on the big screen with all the special effects. Although, any movie that combines the science of climate change, rabid wolves, and Dennis Quaid is skating on thin ice.

Alien vs. Predator-This one has it all: big guns, the brave female, the complicated foreigner, the amnesiac old man, ancient mythology, shamefully bad dialogue, and dripping slime. We miss you Sigourney and Arnold!

Failure to Launch-Two words: Matthew McConaughey. Three words: Straight to video.

P.S. Kiwi shows aren't any better, but I'll save that for another day.

Uncle Bob's Birthday

Robert Burns, widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, turns 250 this year. Also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's Favorite Son, or simply The Bard, Robert Burns is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and after his death, became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism.

A cultural icon in Scotland, Burns is also celebrated by the Scottish diaspora around the world. Dunedin (Scottish Gaelic for Edinburgh) was founded by Scottish settlers, including the nephew of Robert Burns, and continues to maintain a strong Scottish heritage. A bronze statue of Burns, usually topped with seagulls, sits in the city's central Octagon. This week, Dunedin celebrates Burns' birthday with song, dance, poetry readings, and even a haggis feast. Oh boy, sheep heart, liver and lungs boiled in sheep stomach!

Perhaps Burns' most well known poem/song is Auld Lang Syne, which is sung during New Years Eve celebrations (you know, that song no one seems to know the words to). Another famous poem/song is A Red, Red Rose, which has always been a favorite of mine. Here are the lyrics:

My love is like a red red rose That’s newly sprung in June; My love is like the melodie That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in love am I; And I will love thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun: And I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only love And fare thee weel, a while! And I will come again, my love, Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.

So put on that kilt, pull up those socks, break out the bagpipes, and toast Uncle Bob's birthday with a wee dram of whiskey! Slainte!

Your Maori Lesson for the Day

Maori, also referred to as te reo (the language), is one of New Zealand's three official languages (along with English and NZ Sign Language) and is commonly spoken by people of Maori descent. It is considered an East Polynesian language and is closely related to Tahitian. Many of New Zealand's place names are of Maori origin and describe the physical geography of the environment.

Like many native languages under Western colonization, Maori has had many ups and downs over the past 200 years. At the beginning of the 19th century Maori was the predominant language spoken in New Zealand. As more white English speakers arrived on the islands, the Maori language was increasingly confined to small, Maori-only communities. By the mid-20th century there were concerns that the language was dying out. Major initiatives in the 1980s were launched to bring about a revival of Maori.

Today, most government departments have bilingual names, and many schools, museums, and libraries have bilingual signs. There are currently 2 Maori language TV stations and a Maori radio station. Parents have the option of sending their children to Maori-immersion kindergarten and more families are choosing to raise bilingual children. Recent polls show that over 130,000 people of Maori ethnicity now speak and understand Maori.

With few Maori living on the South Island, we rarely get the chance to hear Maori spoken, although we do listen to the Maori radio station sometimes. It's a beautiful language and I can't wait to hear more of it when we travel to the North Island.

If you're interested in learning more about the Maori language, check out the New Zealand government's Maori Language Commission website at:
http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/

If you want to look up a word in Maori, go to the online Maori Dictionary:
http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/

Here is a sample of common Maori words.

ao = cloud
aotearoa = Land of the Long White Cloud (one of several translations)
aroha = love and affection
awa = river, valley
haere mai = welcome
haera ra = farewell
haka = a dance and chants performed by the men
hangi = a Maori feast where the food is cooked/steamed in an earth oven
hau = wind
Hawaiiki = legendary homeland of the Maori
ka pai = good; well done
kai = food
kia ora = hello, good bye, good luck
mana = prestige, power, control
manu = bird
maunga = mountain
moana = sea or lake
moko = tattoo
motu = island, or anything that is isolated
pakeha = foreigner, white person, European
po = night
puna = spring of water
rangi= sky
roto = lake
tapu = sacred
wai = water
wairua = spirit
whanga = bay, stretch of water, inlet
whare = house
whenua = land

Hi, I'm a Lint Ball: Life Without a Dryer

We don't have a clothes dryer here. Electricity is very expensive in New Zealand so we try to save as much as possible on our energy bill. Which means we dry our laundry on the clothes line out in the backyard or on 2 large drying racks we keep in the living room. It's not uncommon to walk by a house and see knickers drying in the window. This works out great on warm, sunny days, but drying can take 3 days or more when it's cold and wet out. You also have to be careful on extremely sunny days: The sun is so intense that it doesn't take very long to sun-bleach colorful laundry.

I don't mind hanging clothes out to dry. I brought only cotton, wool, and linen clothes with me so drying is easy and I don't have to deal with dry cleaning. Although, I do miss the shrinking effects of the dryer's heat on my jeans and t-shirts. Some of my shirts are so stretched out from the washer's turbo spin cycle that sometimes I think they are my boyfriend's shirts.

And now I understand the vital importance of a lint screen. Without a dryer, all the lint clings to my clothing and I look like a walking ball of lint. Where does that stuff come from? No amount of sticky lint rollers or tape can combat the army of lint that accumulates on my clothes. Oh well, we save energy without a dryer and that means I can run the heat pump in the cold winter months.....at least I'll be a warm lint ball!