From A-NZed

I figured as I set to depart Oceania tomorrow for Singapore, and set foot in Asia for the first time, I would reflect on my time in Australia and New Zealand.

The last letter in the Kiwi alphabet is pronounced 'zed' and not 'zee'

Kiwis love to shorten any word or phrase except for the fruit we in the states refer to as kiwi, because if you wanted to eat a kiwi here in New Zealand, that would sound quite cannibal-istic without adding the word 'fruit.'

Kiwis even shorten their grammatical similes. Everything here is 'sweet as' or 'nice as' when discussing food, family, weather, scenery, activities, etc.

'No worries' and 'Cheers mate' are very pleasant ways that conclude any type of conversation.

Most towns and states in the US have signs that thank you for visiting. One town in New Zealand had a sign that 'Farewell'ed me.

Even the locals feel that everything here is way too expensive, although New Yorkers don't notice much of a difference.

I flew over New Zealand today. What a landscape. So rugged, green, white beach coastlines, turquoise waters. Quite stunning when it doesn't rain.

Mountain tops are prettier than mountain bottoms.

It would be nice if the Chesapeake Bay had turquoise water.

I haven't weighed myself lately but I feel like I have gained weight. New Zealand is the 3rd most obese country in the world. Good 'ol US of A is still #1 though.

I wish I went to the Australian outback and did a bit more hiking in New Zealand.

Hostel beds are a sight for sore eyes after 3 nights in hut beds with only a space blanket for warmth.

A note to the TV networks: New TV episodes of my favorite American shows are only new if I didn't watch them 4 weeks before I left home.

I can't imagine finding nicer or more hospitable people anywhere else in the world.

Even after 6 weeks down here I still look the wrong way before crossing the street and can't get used to the fact that when I travel north, temperatures rise.

I probably should have realized that if northern lights exist in the northern hemisphere, that southern lights exist in the southern hemisphere. Maybe I will get to see them in Antarctica.

I traveled around Europe for almost 9 weeks. I have already been on the road for almost 7 weeks and don't feel nearly as fatigued or feeling like I should be back work like when I was in Europe.

As excited as I am to see what is still left for me for the remainder of this year, I have already grown tired of telling my travel plans to every random backpacker I come across.

I am looking forward to some pollution in order to see a really great sunset. My lungs might disagree.

Anyway, my last night in New Zealand is being spent in a hotel with a 42" TV in my bedroom. I also had a nice dinner of Clif bars watching American TV shows from my queen size bed. Sounds similar to what I might be doing at home right now except my TVs are bigger. I miss my babies. Off to Singapore in the morning. English is actually the common language of the nation. Maybe I will be able to understand their accents slightly better than I understood the Kiwis. Cheers.