Mentioning the Unmentionables

There are many food products I have grown up with in the States that they do not sell in NZ. Often when trying to follow American recipes, I need to either find substitutes for things like vegetable shortening, or just kind a kiwi version of a similar recipe. It’s hard enough trying to convert grams into cups for me to be able to follow a recipe, but to also figure out substitutes makes things rather complicated and at times seems like too much effort!

I got used to not being able to buy Ghiradelli chocolate chips (the reliable brand in the States that is dairy free) and instead became partial to Whitakers dark chocolate blocks that they have here in NZ (yummmm). The thing I haven’t gotten used to is the selection of deodorants that Kiwis have to choose from. I have always been partial to solid deodorants (roll-ons are too wet!) but they don’t really have any of them here. The options are typically roll-ons or spray-ons (anybody want to explain to me why an “environmentally conscious” country located so close to the ginormous hole in the ozone layer uses so much aerosol?). Regardless of the limited options, I have switched to natural deodorant (sans aluminum) in the past few years so wasn’t interested in the majority of the selection available anyway. I instead had to seek out health food/organic shops in order to find natural deodorants, but they never had one that seemed quite right. I’m not enough of a hippie to go for the powdery stuff you sprinkle on, and I was skeptical about a liquid spray on. There were a few solid choices, but they all seemed to have very “alternative” scents to them. The only other ones were super flowery and made me gag.

Blogger's Lament

I feel the need to update

But I don't have time to write;

Time flies living in one place

Restricting a travelers life.

Building friendships and making money

Replace my traveling mission;

Becoming part of a community

And working in my profession.

Daily habits and responsibilities

Take place of aimless games;

Soon I'll be on the road again

Following my dreams.

Why New Zealand? And why Blog4NZ?

I chose NZ as my destination for a career-break-working-holiday for any number of reasons. My feelings and reasons at the beginning of my trip I’m sure have grown or changed a bit, so if you want the story from the start, then go ahead and check out my first ever blog post. I decided on NZ because I wanted to travel. I wanted to spend a year outside my home country in order to live and experience a culture different from my own. I didn’t speak any foreign languages and wasn’t up for that sort of challenge, so narrowed it down to English-speaking countries. I have a mother who worries more than any other person I’ve met, so there was no question my destination had to have a “safe” reputation (particularly for the solo female traveler). I also needed a change. I wanted to feel like I was away. New Zealand may not be directly on the other side of the world from Pennsylvania, but it’s pretty darn close. I knew there were heaps of outdoor activities to appease my taste of adventure and any photographs I’d seen were just plain stunning. It was a far off fantasy of mine to spend a year abroad, and everything I learned about NZ seemed to make the choice ever more clear.