On a less serious note.

Ok, so my last entry was kind of heavy on the conservation tone. Today, I bring you a little entertainment. Having been here for a month now, I have started to catch a bit of kiwi fever!

I have a tendency to pick up dialects pretty easily. It’s not something I’m necessarily proud of but it’s a habit that I can’t seem to shake. I have spent a good part of several conversations comparing Canadian and Kiwi terminologies for various things. For instance, we wear toques in the winter while New Zealanders wear beanies. To me, a beanie was a cap with little helicopter blades whizzing around on top of it. I thought it was the kind of thing a clown wears. Clearly, I was wrong!

A few more to tantalize your linguistic tastebuds:

Sweet as: “cool” or “awesome”

How you going?: How are you?

Choice: Very good

Chips: French fries

Crisps: Chips

Fancy: Have a hankering for

Good on ya: Congrats, well done

Jumper: a woolly sweater (not a onesie, apparently!)

Many of these are clearly a nod to their UK influence, but others are unique to this part of the world and clearly reflect the laid-back lifestyle of this culture. The most common term I’ve heard to date, and this one I tend to use a lot myself, is “no worries”. You’re running late? No worries. You hit my car? No worries. You’ve run away and joined a cult? No worries! It’s quite impressive how little phases them! At home I’m constantly hearing about instances of severe road rage, and annoying residents making stinks about off-lead dog parks, and noisy kids who play too loudly in the streets. I realize that I’m generalizing here but you get the drift.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Toronto and all its quirks. I’m proud to say that I live in one of the most multicultural cities in the world. But Windy Wellington has been a nice change from the high-paced, urban jungle that I call home. From the T dot to the Double Ewe. Sorry for the “punny” joke but I just had to throw it in there ;-)