Well, it was an absolutely beautiful day in Nelson on Sunday... I of course therefore walked out to Tahuna to spend some time on the beach reading a bit, watching the kiddies flying kites and looking at the snow capped mountains in the distance. The sun was again shining down and the water was sparkling. I went for a nice wade- and although chilly :) it was good.
It was my two month anniversary of arriving in New Zealand. On a day like yesterday it was hard to imagine ever leaving... Winter- and the beach- and not too hot either. Although I think spring may be coming. There were definitely the smell of more flowers or blooms in the air.
Nelson has been the perfect little place to start exploring NZ. It's sunny, and safe. I'm starting to think about where I want to go next when this contract ends. (~ 1 month)... I lean towards Auckland (even though a lot of south islanders wouldn't understand why.) or possibly Christchurch. ?? We'll see.
I got asked for directions a few times in the past few days. I guess I'm starting to blend in as a local. I now know where all my key spots are. I was thinking a bit about travelling- and one of the best parts is that feeling right when you arrive somewhere new and you set out to explore- without knowing what to expect or what might be around the corner. Although I'm analytical and appreciate order- there is definitely something to be said about just going and seeing and being. :) I still discover a few things in Nelson that surprise me. But it now seems sort of normal that buildings might face outward one way, and there might be another store facing the other way into the car park. (I missed 1/2 the stores around here because I didn't realize that! Including the gelato shop... Luckily it has now been figured out. Did you know one of the ingredients in gelato is egg yolk?? I never would have guessed.) The wanna be explorer in me is starting to get a bit of an itch to move on again- even though this is a very comfortable and great place.
NZ's GST is 12.5% - however unlike in Canada it is included in the prices... I appreciate that very much. They also have the filing and some semblance of ITCs, as far as I understand.
NZ just changed their coin currency this summer. The smallest coin is now 10 cents. (The rest is "rounding".) I wonder what the peddlers of 1 c candies do... although they haven't had 1 cent pieces here in a long time... (don't know how long.)
Discovered that NZ has much closer ties to the UK than we do back home. Which means UK stores all over the place... I can easily find my YUMMY bassett pear candies here, and it's great! They do seem to use a lot more of the terminology that the UK uses, as well.
It is interesting learning how language evolved after the development of technology away from the mother land and away from language roots. In NZ our "plug ins" are called "power points". (And here I was trying to find a presentation when I got asked if I had a power point.)
Tomorrow night is the finale of the Amazing Race. So yes, tv is a little behind, but I must remember to watch. It is still a great show.
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