Random facts

Time for a quick list of some random observations of this interesting country New Zealand.

Did you know:

• that at road works they place guys with go/stop signs to regulate the traffic. The mobile traffic light is not yet introduced in New Zealand.
• you can still borrow books for free at the library and you can borrow an unlimited amount of books (jippy!).
• they use words I never heard used before by English speaking persons: “heaps”, “jandals”, “tramping” and “wee”.
• they have some interesting brands in the supermarket, which feel kind of familiar, but aren’t.

• they have hate love relationship with Greenpeace. Some adore Greenpeace and will hug you on the street if you are volunteering. Others hate Greenpeace utterly and see them as a hurdle to a more wealthier future (oil = jobs).
• they are certainly not as clean and green as you might think. There was a lot of destruction of nature in the past and there are still things happening which aren’t possible in Europe any more.
• to become a pilot in New Zealand is quite easy: the education programme is really cheap compared to other western countries and kiwi’s get a nice student allowance on top of that. So, it may not come as a surprise to you that there are heaps of unemployed pilots in New Zealand and most of them go for jobs to other countries such as Australia.