Kiwi Kountry

The first indication that we were headed someplace really different was when we boarded the aeroplane behind a guy wearing a UtiliKilt. Yep, Carhart’s for the Down Under folks. The first indication that we were headed someplace not really different was when we noticed that the most common restaurant in Christchurch was McDonalds. Although the Kiwi Burger on the menu was a little odd (add a couple beets and a fried egg to a quarter pounder and you have a Kiwi Burger).

It’s cold here. And those teeny wall heaters in our house work really hard to keep it…just cool inside rather than downright frigid. Gardens and landscaping are beautiful in Christchurch, with lots of azaleas and rhododendron in bloom. Campus architecture, however, makes NC State look progressive. Where State looks like overgrown elementary schools, UC looks like overgrown concrete warehouses with mansard roofs.

We’re still struggling with the lack of internet access and electrical connections, but we do have cell phones and phone card to use on our UC landline here at the house, so we are not completely isolated. We’re still reachable by our usual emails, but we will be checking only every couple of days until we figure out the system here.

Love from NZ,
Karen, Bob and Abby