1. The landlord gave us a vacuum squeegee to clean the windows every morning. I didn't even know vacuum squeegees existed. There is dew inside the windows. The first thing the middle child exclaimed upon exiting the aircraft into puddles was, "Well, they aren't in a drought!" I hope it's started to rain in Albuquerque.
2. Rice Krispies are called Rice Bubbles. And the soft "restroom," is The Toilet.
3. Air New Zealand serves you wine with dinner. For free. They have free blankets, free pillows, free individual entertainment systems. I watched 7 episodes of Orange is the New Black. The adorable flight attendant sensed our elevated mood on our flight and refilled our "bubbles" til we fell asleep. All the sparkling wine we could take.
4. I am terrified of crashing my car or getting hit by a car. I have been very diligently working on the left side drive thing...but it's terrifying. The roads are narrow, curvy and everyone seems to drive really fast. I'm terrified about the kids walking or riding bikes...even though we now live in a place where it's otherwise safe to do both.
5. It smells really nice here. Even in Auckland, a large coastal city, it smelled fresh--not briny. Very fresh. And there is algae and moss everywhere. Our driveway is covered.
6. New Zealand, Mike and I have observed, is like Big Sur meets Kauai...or like secret warm places on the Oregon coast. Green. GREEN. Like I have never lived in. Like Ireland green.
7. I don't get rugby. Trying to.... Always a game on the tele. The blokes wear short shorts when they play, and have gargantuan thighs--tree trunks. That's all I can see when I watch. No flipping thigh gap here. And the referees wear pink. And considering the abuse the players dish out I'm not sure why they bother with referees.
8. The coffee culture here is amazing. These folks like GOOD coffee (yay! me too!). You can get a really good, lovely frothy drink anywhere. See #9. The stores all have locally roasted organic amazing grinds. They make a "kid's fluffy" which is a demitasse cup with cocoa and lots of the froth with cocoa powder and marshmallows. Love it.
9. The food here is also amazing. We stopped at a truck stop-like place to pay a toll, and the food there included the aforementioned amazing coffee (a 'flat white' which is espresso and creamy milk with unbelievable froth--so creamy) and also the following sandwiches: Brie and frisee with cranberry on gluten-free bread, thai chicken, bacon/lettuce/avocado....and various filos, including spinach and gruyere, salmon and caper, and other savory delights. At a gas station. Same thing at the public library. French toast includes "bacon" on top and fried bananas standard with fluffy brioche type bread. There's also a full selection of fried food and other fast foods, too.
10. The people are so nice I feel self-conscious about it. Ridiculously nice. And really good service. I feel like I don't deserve it. Or that they want something from me.
11. There is a huge case of sausage-ish products at the supermarket. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. A "hot dog" here is some kind of wiener on a stick dipped in batter and fried. Sort of like a corn dog meets fish and chips...?
12. No one cares if you are bare foot anywhere. Except maybe court.
13. We've seen a rainbow every single day. Every day. For a week.
15. Produce. Amazeballs. The apples--to die for. Best carrots I've ever had. Locally grown, yay.
16. SEAFOOD.
17. I have never lived where it rains and I just don't know how the lifelong desert girl will do with this. Hoping the Irish genes will activate and thrive on a wet island.
18. Beware travel plans with data service. Enough said.
19. The beach is the greatest playground ever. Temperature is immaterial. Children are impervious to cold.
20. I look around and cannot believe I live here. It's not mine yet, and still it is so amazing. I miss my mom and my sister terribly, I miss my friends but only because I know I'm here for a long haul. I would regularly go for weeks and not see any of my posse--go for months and not see my sister. But when I imagine myself back in NM I also feel the compulsion to get out. And this is what it all is: gingerly finding my way to a new normal, not settled anywhere. Forging different connections in my lifelong relationships. The kids are so, so adaptable. Amazingly so: they are great. The hubs is giddy happy. And basically I come to: I. Am. So. Lucky. To be here, to have a job, to have options. Wow. So grateful.
21. Wet cold is super cold. And uninsulated houses are really hard to keep warm. Duh. Spoiled by adobe. And though I swore I'd never do it again, I'm heating a house with a wood stove.
