Minnesota is not a fly over state and other things only Americans argue about

I have a difficult time distinguishing between a New Zealand and an Australian accent. I think most Americans do. Kiwis (New Zealanders) have a difficult time distinguishing between a Canadian and American accent. I get it all the time. When Kiwis ask me where I'm from they hesitate to guess because they don't want to offend me by guessing the wrong country. Not that I'm offended to be called a Canadian. Well, not much. :)

As an American, I can hear several different American accents and pinpoint the region, if not the state, each person is from. Most Kiwis don't even know where 90% of the states are located within the country. When I tell people where I came from, I usually have to say north of New York. Maybe they know where Boston is, but they have no idea where New Hampshire or Vermont are, or likely even that they are states.

Jeremy and me at the top of Mt Moosilauke in New Hampshire

I can relate. Nearly every New Zealand city I hear or read about I have to look up. I grew up just hours from the Canadian border and I'm pretty sure I can't name and/or locate all of the Canadian provinces. It's a big world! Ask me to point out Zimbabwe, Yemen, Botswana - forget about it! Geography has never been my strong suit.

We're all a little provincial. You know what you know. You pay attention to what's familiar. If I made mention of the Minnesota/Wisconsin rivalry in New England they maybe knew what I was talking about. At a minimum they knew or had a general sense of where the states are located. Here they may not even know I am referring to US states.

Flying into Auckland

There are several Flight Centres (travel agencies) around Wellington. They have posters in their windows promoting trips to the Americas. The US is just lumped right in there with Canada and Mexico. Just as Americans may lump New Zealand and Australia together.

I had lunch with someone from my hometown a few months ago. We spoke about things that only someone very familiar with my hometown and my high school would understand. I grew up by Lorraine Park; Frau Schmoll now lives in Florida; Italian Dunkers from Angelo's are delicious (we may not have actually touched on that, but it's true). It was like speaking my native language. Even though I speak English to everyone, these words don't translate to everyone. You have to simply know what they mean by having lived in the same place.

When I lived in Alexandria, MN, I would say I was from the Cities and maybe describe which end of the Cities I grew up in. In New England I would say I was from Minnesota or the Midwest. Now I just say I'm from the United States.

These are not groundbreaking observations. In fact, you could figure this all out without moving to another country. It's just been intriguing for me to live it. I am an immigrant. An American expat. It's all very surreal. Sometimes it's overwhelming and I feel out of place. But mostly it's just opened my mind to a whole new set of wonders.

View of Titahi Bay from walking path near my house

As I walk around my new neighborhood {btw - spell check wants me to spell this as neighbourhood and I'm just not ready to do that}, I am struck by the incredible beauty. The fact that this inland girl lives less than a mile away from the ocean shore is almost unfathomable. The sound and sight of crashing waves leaves me feeling awestruck. I spoke to a young woman who grew up in Porirua and it was clear that she saw it through a different lens. It's just what she knows. It's not unusual or awe inspiring because it's the view she's always looked at.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I like my life. It's a little different than the norm. I see all the wonderful pictures of my friends' babies, hear about the weekend family barbecues, see my friends getting together without me, and I realize there are some things I'm missing out on. But I have different experiences that are also pretty cool. I hear a bird call I can only hear in New Zealand, I meet a nice new person with a cool accent and a different background from my own, I see a landscape I've never seen before and know that I can come back to again, I have regular access to Tim Tams and have learned about the Tim Tam Slam - these are the little things that add up for me and make it worth it.

Ruakuri Bush walk

Now those family and friends I'm missing just need to get their tushies out here to the South Pacific and share in the fun with me.