Kiwis are very DIY (Do it Yourself). They pride themselves on not using guidebooks, they don't ask for directions (or use those silly GPS instructors), rarely use recipes and they always fix things themselves. Here is my new favorite commercial showing both their sense of humor and DIY attitude
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqRVqXMyzhM
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Obama-rama
"A new era after the Bush Administration" has been heard on t.v. stations across the world and New Zealand is no exception. Yesterday, as Americans stayed awake for election results it was a few hours earlier here- but the t.v. coverage was still in full force. From noon until 8pm here it was "all election- all day" and I was glued to the t.v. just as if I was living in Denver. The kiwi news anchors provided a great "outside" perspective for this American snuggled on the couch and to be fair I needed some of the "explanations" on how the American political system and voting system works as I never quite know how to defend the 2000 election when Kiwis ask about our Electoral College. Most of the news shows switched in and out of CNN and Fox News coverage so I got plenty of American perspectives as well.
Once the results came in the excitement from Kiwis was the same as those cheering on Obama in Chicago (and I may have jumped on the couch as well). In fact the news showed a few local council offices in the Auckland area that are flying the American flag today. Two American citizens living in Auckland admitted that they were going to burn their passports if McCain won-and have been claiming to be Canadians. Kiwis are excited about America's new president but the excitement comes from a few different angles. First, America is New Zealand'ssecond largest importer of Kiwi goods and therefore a good American economy is a good Kiwi economy. Free trade with the U.S. is also a topic of interest here for local businesses. Many exporters are paying a 7% duty to import goods and McCain's proposed initiatives did not include a free trade agreement with NZ. Kiwis are hoping that Obama will open the exchange opportunities. I think that Kiwis also share the view of a many other non-Americans in recognizing what a superpower America really is. Will Americans stay up all night on Friday to await the results of the election in New Zealand? I think not, nor do I think that any other country watches others elections quite as closely as the whole world has been watching the American showdown. Just as I was surprised at far and how intensely 9/11 affected those in New Zealand I am again reminded at how influential the USA is to every country in the world. The negativity from health care, the war and the economy echoing from American headlines has depressed the world and it seems now that the world has a renewed sense of hope that if America is going to get a turnaround so can their own country.
There is also the race issue that is getting plenty of press here as well. New Zealand news reports have been showing footage from the days of US desegregation, Martin Luther King's speeches and "Ugly Face of Chicago in 1966" commenting on how far America has come in such a short time. The interesting thing is that Aboriginees in Australia only received the right to vote in 1967 and that same year New Zealand finally allowed their native Maori party to sit on Parliament. Apparently we all have a sorted past when it comes to racial equalities and it's only been 40 years since we started on the better path.
I wonder if the American population will feel more united or more divided now that Obama's race is even more relevant. I wonder too how it will affect race relations in the rest of the world...including this side of the pond. Whether Americans want the responsibility or not, the entire world watches how we act, what we do and for many social issues......we set the standard. I hope that we can live up to it!
Kiwis also have their national election this coming Saturday (Friday for you Yanks) and these citizens are stressed about their government and the state of the country as well. NZ unemployment is up to 4.2% with 16,000 more unemployed Kiwis than last year at this time. And the NZ stock market fell today along with the DOW and the Kiwi dollar is still remaining very weak against the US dollar (almost the lowest in history). However, it's interesting because New Zealand basically has a Democratic leader now (closest comparison) and everyone (even local Americans) seem to think that their National Party (closest to our Republican Party) will be the saviour for NZ. Americans want more government: Government health care, Government education, Government Aide. Kiwis currently have a lot of government (including health care ect) and now it looks like they want to take a step back. Many candidates are running the slogan "we don't want to be your nanny like the current reign" inferring the current system is "too" involved in Kiwis lives. Is more better or is more just more?
This is an interesting time for me to sit back and observe both perspectives. I hear Kiwis supporting Democrats in the States but Republicans in their own back yard....hmmmmm
While not even all Americans support our new leader (which is a whole other blog) I think that everyone can agree it's time for change. I think that everyone in the world can also acknowledge that Obama has promised quite a lot and I hope that everyone can remember that even Rome wasn't built in a day. So for now the American image is a bit restored (I truly think that that average non-American has a bigger disdain for President Bush than the average American Democrat) and I hope that the good spirits and commitments continue to get us all out of this economic and moral slump!
.........and as a side note: you'll be happy to know that on the news tonight the anchors are "investigating a golden doodle" since this is the dog that Obama's kids have requested. Kiwi's are confused enough by our interest in our pets and now that designer dog breeds are officially introduced I'm laughing at their baffle/fascination. My dog will be running the Auckland streets soon enough and I can only imagine trying to explain what kind of dog my snub nosed Boston Terrier is.....breeds are a bit more basic here :-)
Once the results came in the excitement from Kiwis was the same as those cheering on Obama in Chicago (and I may have jumped on the couch as well). In fact the news showed a few local council offices in the Auckland area that are flying the American flag today. Two American citizens living in Auckland admitted that they were going to burn their passports if McCain won-and have been claiming to be Canadians. Kiwis are excited about America's new president but the excitement comes from a few different angles. First, America is New Zealand'ssecond largest importer of Kiwi goods and therefore a good American economy is a good Kiwi economy. Free trade with the U.S. is also a topic of interest here for local businesses. Many exporters are paying a 7% duty to import goods and McCain's proposed initiatives did not include a free trade agreement with NZ. Kiwis are hoping that Obama will open the exchange opportunities. I think that Kiwis also share the view of a many other non-Americans in recognizing what a superpower America really is. Will Americans stay up all night on Friday to await the results of the election in New Zealand? I think not, nor do I think that any other country watches others elections quite as closely as the whole world has been watching the American showdown. Just as I was surprised at far and how intensely 9/11 affected those in New Zealand I am again reminded at how influential the USA is to every country in the world. The negativity from health care, the war and the economy echoing from American headlines has depressed the world and it seems now that the world has a renewed sense of hope that if America is going to get a turnaround so can their own country.
There is also the race issue that is getting plenty of press here as well. New Zealand news reports have been showing footage from the days of US desegregation, Martin Luther King's speeches and "Ugly Face of Chicago in 1966" commenting on how far America has come in such a short time. The interesting thing is that Aboriginees in Australia only received the right to vote in 1967 and that same year New Zealand finally allowed their native Maori party to sit on Parliament. Apparently we all have a sorted past when it comes to racial equalities and it's only been 40 years since we started on the better path.
I wonder if the American population will feel more united or more divided now that Obama's race is even more relevant. I wonder too how it will affect race relations in the rest of the world...including this side of the pond. Whether Americans want the responsibility or not, the entire world watches how we act, what we do and for many social issues......we set the standard. I hope that we can live up to it!
Kiwis also have their national election this coming Saturday (Friday for you Yanks) and these citizens are stressed about their government and the state of the country as well. NZ unemployment is up to 4.2% with 16,000 more unemployed Kiwis than last year at this time. And the NZ stock market fell today along with the DOW and the Kiwi dollar is still remaining very weak against the US dollar (almost the lowest in history). However, it's interesting because New Zealand basically has a Democratic leader now (closest comparison) and everyone (even local Americans) seem to think that their National Party (closest to our Republican Party) will be the saviour for NZ. Americans want more government: Government health care, Government education, Government Aide. Kiwis currently have a lot of government (including health care ect) and now it looks like they want to take a step back. Many candidates are running the slogan "we don't want to be your nanny like the current reign" inferring the current system is "too" involved in Kiwis lives. Is more better or is more just more?
This is an interesting time for me to sit back and observe both perspectives. I hear Kiwis supporting Democrats in the States but Republicans in their own back yard....hmmmmm
While not even all Americans support our new leader (which is a whole other blog) I think that everyone can agree it's time for change. I think that everyone in the world can also acknowledge that Obama has promised quite a lot and I hope that everyone can remember that even Rome wasn't built in a day. So for now the American image is a bit restored (I truly think that that average non-American has a bigger disdain for President Bush than the average American Democrat) and I hope that the good spirits and commitments continue to get us all out of this economic and moral slump!
.........and as a side note: you'll be happy to know that on the news tonight the anchors are "investigating a golden doodle" since this is the dog that Obama's kids have requested. Kiwi's are confused enough by our interest in our pets and now that designer dog breeds are officially introduced I'm laughing at their baffle/fascination. My dog will be running the Auckland streets soon enough and I can only imagine trying to explain what kind of dog my snub nosed Boston Terrier is.....breeds are a bit more basic here :-)
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