California Summer

I've been back in the States for 2 weeks and I finally have my groove back. I feel like a normal person, I am able to sleep the entire night through and I no longer cringe when I make a right-hand turn (well....the driving still throws me off a bit). I'm still overwhelmed by TV, grocery stores and the news. I feel like I'm bombarded with consumerism and overloaded with information. It's a bit much, really.

The best part is that Summer has arrived in California. Real, sunny warm Summer that lasts for days. The sky is incredibly blue, the frogs are croaking, the birds are singing and flowers are bursting with color and perfume. And boy, am I soaking it all in, pollen and all!

I feel just a little bit guilty when I look at the weather in New Zealand. Apparently it was so cold in Dunedin last night that the olive oil was solid this morning! I'm happy Y. is returning to CA next month. He needs some sunshine in his life too!

On the (Right-Side of the) Road Again

Yesterday I drove a car for the first time since I've been back in the States. Boy, it sure is amazing how much I adapted to driving on the left side of the road!

First of all, I drove a brand new Toyota Highlander which was loaded with all kinds of fancy gadgets, including a cell phone intercom, seat warmers, GPS, and a camera to help you back up. The strangest part was that the car didn't have a key! You push a button to start the car and another button to lock and unlock it.

I was a bit overwhelmed by all the new features, not to mention the size of the car. Our pint-sized Subaru Justy in New Zealand didn't even have power steering and felt like it would blow right off the road in heavy winds! In the Highlander, I felt like I was driving a tank.

But the strangest part was driving on the right side of the road. I really had to focus on my driving, especially when making a turn. I kept thinking I was turning into the wrong lane and my life would flash before my eyes! Turning on a red light was also scary, I felt like I was doing something illegal. And to make matters worse, I kept hitting the windshield wipers instead of the blinker. Crickey dick!

I didn't think 6 months in New Zealand would alter my driving habits so much. I guess I was so focused on learning to drive on the left side of the road and following New Zealand's quirky road rules that I quickly adapted to life on the left. I'm sure after a few more trips behind the wheel I'll be settled in to driving on the right side of the road.

Until then, I swear that my old car never had the steering wheel on the left side of the car....

American Lamb

Tonight I made an easy, delicious lamb dish that I used to make often in New Zealand (see recipe below). It turned out great, except the lamb was, well, different.

Because I try to eat as local as possible, I bought lamb from the U.S. at the grocery store today, even though my eyes wondered over to the New Zealand lamb. There were not as many different cuts to choose from as there are in New Zealand and the chops were huge! The average American lamb weighs about 135 lbs when it is slaughtered, which is considerably larger than lambs in other countries. This results in larger cut-sizes and a higher meat-to-bone ratio. Apparently Americans like their lamb super sized too.

Once everything was cooked and we sat down to eat, I noticed the lamb was extremely tender and rather bland. I barely had to chew and it actually tasted more like beef. There was none of the distinct gamey taste that I remember from my lamb dinners in New Zealand. This is because American lambs are "finished" (fattened) on grain, making the meat more tender and milder in flavor. Apparently Americans enjoy this non-lamb-tasting lamb over natural grass-fed lamb and over 80% of restaurants in the U.S. serve American lamb. Great for the American meat (and the government subsidized grain) industry, bad for lambs and humans.

Sheep are ruminants whose digestive systems are meant to process grass, not grain. Besides, there are numerous health benefits to eating meat from animals that have been grass-fed. According to various research studies, the meat and milk from grass-fed ruminants contains more conjugated lineolic acid (CLA), vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene, and vitamin A than the meat and milk from grain-fed animals. CLA and omega-3 fatty acids are good fats with anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, and anti-fat properties.

I prefer the chewy, gamey grass-fed lamb. I like to know that I'm getting my vitamins and that I'm eating something distinct, not some bland, spongy meat product. Besides, I might as well eat chewy meat while I'm young and still have all my teeth!

Coriander Lamb

1 lb diced lamb
1/2 T coriander, crushed and soaked in warm water 10 minutes
1/2 t whole cumin seed
Salt & Pepper
1/4 t cayenne powder

Olive oil
1 medium onion, julienne
3 cloves garlic, chopped

Marinate lamb in spices for up to 2 hours.

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add spiced lamb mixture and cook 10-15 minutes, until lamb is cooked through.

Serve over saffron couscous with chopped cilantro.

Returning Home: First Impressions

3 flights and 25 hours later I'm back in the States. I feel like possum roadkill and I'm a bit overwhelmed with reverse culture shock, but I wanted to mention some things that I have noticed about being back in the US:

1. There is so much air pollution! Coming in for a landing in San Francisco I couldn't help but notice the gray-brown smog sitting over the Bay Area. New Zealand definitely doesn't have this problem. NZ skies are piercing blue and sparkling clean.

2. They drive on the other side of the road here! Every time we made a turn coming home from the airport, I got freaked out. I don't think I'll be getting behind the wheel anytime soon...

3. Speaking of driving...the roads here are wide and packed with huge, speeding cars, but no tailgaters. Yipeeee!

4. The hot and cold faucets are switched and water comes out of one spigot. I love this, especially when washing my face in the bathroom sink.

5. It's a bit cold out but my house is warm inside!

6. Hot water pressure actually exists.

7. I don't have to worry about how much Internet bandwidth I'm using. I can return to downloading podcasts to my heart's content!

8. There is no Tui song to begin my day.

9. There are lots of snakes, lizards, bugs and spiders. Ugh.

10. Clothes dryer = no more lint ball.

11. The land of plenty has become the land of too much. The consumerism is overwhelming!

12. I'm already missing all the things I said I would miss about New Zealand in an earlier post.

A Learning Experience

My time in New Zealand has been a huge learning experience. I've learned

sometimes you have to adjust your expectations

it's OK to ask questions about things you don't understand

how it feels to be foreign, new, strange, and different

that I don't like cold, rainy weather

to read more than the guidebooks before you move to a new place

that sometimes you have to give something up to discover something new

how to drive on the left-hand side of the road

that I like lamb more than I thought

that I need my friends and family closer than I thought

that it is possible to hear bagpipes in the South Pacific

when in doubt, always carry an umbrella

I'll Miss...

Beautiful sunsets
The scent of flax flowers
Grass-fed lamb & beef
The Tui's song
New wines
Maori TV
Maori radio
Southern hemisphere constellations
Hedgehogs
Crazy geological formations
Rainbows
Pasha's restaurant
Cabbage trees
Cider on tap
Summer sunsets at 10pm
No traffic
Bacon Butties
Sheep
Tim Tams
Nikau palms
Fresh feijoas
Apricots, peaches, cherries & plums in January
Thyme-covered hills of Central Otago
Knowing I can go curling anytime I want
Curious fantalis
UB spotting
Mountain beech forests
A wood pigeon's crash landing
Empty white-sand beaches
Fields of lupine in bloom
Podocarp trees
Beach combing
Kiwi words & phrases
Penguins

....and Y

Anzac Day

Red Poppy
Georgia O'Keeffe

April 25th is Anzac Day, a national public holiday in Australia and New Zealand that honors members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli, Turkey, during World War I.

The ANZAC forces landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish Army commanded by Ataturk. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. However, it quickly became a stale-mate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, Turkey still held Gallipoli and the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties.

Over 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers died at Gallipoli. The deaths of so many young men had a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders. In 1916, April 25th became the day on which Australia and New Zealand remembered the sacrifice of all those who had died in war.

In New Zealand, Anzac Day is commemorated through memorial services through out the country. A typical commemoration includes a pre-dawn march by returned service personnel and an afternoon parade to the local war memorial.

The red poppy (above) has become a symbol of war remembrance all around the world. The red poppy was the first flower to grow in the battlefields after WWI. In many countries people wear the poppy, usually around Armistice Day (November 11), to remember those who died in war or who still serve, but in New Zealand the poppy is most commonly seen around Anzac Day.