More from the New Zealand Dictionary

Well, we now have 3 weeks and 3 days until we get our new house, not that we are keeping track. I realized that by the time we get our place, and finally unpack all the stuff we shipped, I will have gone 5 months living out of only two bags. Until a few weeks ago I really hadn't missed anything too much; I mean I wanted my bike and a few other things but otherwise was surviving. However, I think 4 months must have been the threshold because now I miss everything, my warm clothes (because it is getting kind of cold here), our familiar furniture, our books and other things to do. I am definitely tired of being in transit and looking forward to finally settling in; to be able to set up a routine and start exploring our new neighborhood will be great.

We are now living in a one bedroom, furnished apartment on The Terrace. It is actually closer to my work than I was before and still a good location for Ted heading onto the highway. It is nice to have our own space and it is still very handy to the city so we can continue to explore the area.

As it is winter here the weather has gotten kind of gloomy. So far it hasn't really been too cold, day time highs around 13C, but it does rain a lot. Luckily most of the city streets are partially covered so even in a hard rain you don't get wet, meaning we aren't totally trapped inside.

I have heard a few more New Zealand words and phrases I thought were interesting....

Sussed - Similar to "sorted", it means organized, or figured out, but is not used as often as sorted. I often hear it used in questions like "have you sussed out our travel plans?". I think I may have even heard someone say they were going to "suss" it out, as in figure it out. I definitely prefer sorted myself.

Done and Dusted - This saying is not said by everyone but those who like it, like it a lot. This is used as a further emphasis to "done" and often in the context of completing a large transaction or piece of work. For instance, our real estate agent likes to use this saying to refer to the process of buying a house and completing a purchase (or in his mind a sale). I find that people who like this one tend to use it quite frequently.

Taa - Not sure how to spell this one, but as it sounds like baa but with a T, I thought T-a-a would work. This is used as an informal shortcut for the word "thanks". Like when someone holds a door for you, you say "taa". I guess 2 syllables was 1 too many.

Well I guess that is all for now. We hope everyone is doing well.

Meg and Ted