Yesterday we arrived into Dunedin on our last bus drive of the NZ trip. We have a couple of days here before flying back to Auckland and then home. It will be nice to be back in the land where prices aren’t astronomical for the most basic things. I saw a sign for a 4L of milk for $6.80NZD. I have found free internet that worked with my tablet once; otherwise, it is usually wired, and $3/30mins. Who has wired internet?!?! I am glad I brought my cel phone or I would have had zero internet this whole time. Fuel which we haven’t had to buy is usually around $2.26NZD/L. But then we took a flight the other day for $29 including tax and checked baggage. Bus transport is equally cheap-$14 for a 5hour trip. At least the travel within the country is cheap!
Everyone we have met (except for 1 bus driver) has been super nice. The hospitality industry is amazing. Kiwis and other travelers have been friendlier here than anywhere else I’ve been. Even the airport security in Rotorua were smiling and happy. AND someone let me go ahead of them in the screening line. There was no pushing or rushing and everything was moving along properly. I guarantee I will NEVER see that in another airport.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
I’m doing my best to learn some useful Spanish to decrease the language barrier. In France, people spoke French and English, often saying the same thing in both languages one after the other. In Italy, most people spoke some English or we were able to get by with rudimentary Italian. Fortunately it was easy enough for me to pick up during the short time we were there. Ordering meals, buying train tickets and making small talk were all o.k. by the end of the trip. If I know enough to chat with a taxi-cab driver by the end of a trip, I’ll be satisfied.
I flat out refuse to be one of the people who knows nothing of a country’s language. It is disgusting to hear tourists yelling their questions to someone who doesn’t speak English. Pretty sure the person isn’t deaf, they don’t speak your language, and rightfully so; buck up and learn a few simple phrases!
How is it possible that with all the trillions of language courses I’ve taken over the past 2 decades, that I have never taken one in Spanish? Surprisingly, “My Spanish Coach” is actually a useful program. I’m working through the vocab lessons at the end of the “game”. Pretty sure my Spanish is better than my Italian, so I’m not too worried. But, I can tell you I know zero Quechua, and zero Aymara. I will be learning phrases at the airport when we’re wasting 4 hours in LAX. Could be fun times.
ps: I’m loving the Linguistics review with the chart. Ahhhh, flashbacks to Sentence Trees in university.
A while ago I set things up so that I could email in blog entries from my phone. I don’t really want things to look all wonky or have a silly “sent from my blackberry” message at the bottom. So, we’ll just have to see how the entry turns out and see what improvements can be made before we actually leave.
Ah, all in the name of keeping readers happy…all 3.5 of you out there!
Next I will have to figure out how to include photos. Oh technology you give me a headache.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
Jon has already posted several hundred photos on Facebook. I’m not keen on Facebook photos–it takes too long and always screws up the posting order. So, I looked into Flickr, but I’m not keen on having to have a yahoo ID to use it. (ps: Thanks blog for not making me get another e-mail account!) So you all have to wait patiently while I sort photos to post. And by you all I mean the half-dozen of people who will ever find me here.
**Update – Flickr was definitely not the way to go! It was way to frustrating for me in several different ways. You’ll have to settle for photos here, or Facebook if I ever get around to it!
Adventures of a couple seeing the world 2 weeks at a time.
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