Sunday, March 2, 2008

Blackout Warning / Fun Facts

So this is the big one. Tomorrow I have my first exam (3.5 hours to answer three questions). Then after that I am off to the south island for three weeks. two and a half weeks of program and four days off in Nelson Lakes. The south island is where Lord of the Rings was filmed my friends. I am sure I will have many stories to tell and wonderful pictures to share upon my return. Until then I will leave you with a few fun facts I have stumbled across in my journeys...

- There are only 4 million people in the entire country.
- They drive right handed on the left side of the road, but the gears are oriented the same.
- State highways slow down to pass through a town. It's like an extended exit through main street.
- Some high schools (they call colleges) have four rugby teams.
- The radio plays everything from home. Bummer.
- Most of the water comes from rain tanks.
- One-third of inhabitants fish from the ocean.
- No hunting or fishing liscences are needed. Most of the animals that are hunted are pests (sounds familiar). You can kill all the Australian possum you'd like.
- They call then bum bags because fanny is a bad word.
- They round to the nearest tenth of a dollar because there is no coin lower than 10 cents.
- You get two votes for Parliament; one for your district representative and one for the party.
- You can go barefoot into stores.
- Toilets have two flushing buttons a half and full flush. It just makes so much sense.
- The water does run down the sink the other way, clockwise!

Hope those were fun. See you in a few weeks.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

That toilet flushing thing is a good idea. I wish we had that here!

Fran said...

Haha! That was a nice blog Zachary. Little tidbits about countries are always fun. It's kind of like when I went on that tour in Belize with the guy who brought us to his house and taught us little fun facts about the country rather than just seeing the tourist locations. I'll have to keep some of that in mind for when I come. have fun on the South Island. Keep your eyes open for fun activities for us!!

grandee said...

absolutely amazing......enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.....
hugs, kisses and all that stuff and know that grandpa and i are so very proud of you!
love you,
grandee

Nicole said...

Hey Zach!

Those are some very interesting facts...things one might not think to ask about. The pictures I've seen so far are amazing! It sounds like you're having a great time and learning a lot about the country, its people, and culture. This is such a great opportunity for you & the other students...(you might say a once in a lifetime experience) enjoy every moment!
Have a great time this weekend!!!
Love, Nicole