Who are Kiwis? Element II

This write-up is continuation of Who are Kiwis, Part I?

Kiwis, the human kind, are identified all more than the globe for their type natures.  They are laid-back, extremely friendly and constantly prepared to have a very good time.  Kiwis in basic are really useful, of course there is often an exception to the rule.  But I ask in what other nation can you safely run out of petrol in your car (in the middle of the road) and just before you have recovered from the shock, stop pounding your steering wheel in frustration and embarrassment, and are out the door to push your vehicle to the side of the road so you can sulk in private,  will you find there are two or three fellow Kiwis in front of you ready to push your auto and offer you to go and get a canister of petrol for you from the local petrol station?  Only in New Zealand is such a sight greeted with a large smile, a click of the tongue and a friendly ‘How you doing mate?’ or ‘Ran out did we?’

Image from manvsdebt.com

I don't forget coming to someone else’s rescue not so long ago.  Yes, granted, some Kiwis try and make their cars do miraculous things (far more of the ‘what were they thinking’ type?), but it provides you with a chuckle and brightens your day providing no a single is hurt.  There is a amazing beach near our residence, where we are located quite often, and from knowledge I know NOT to drive the car more than the sand bars that create on the road for the duration of windy days.  Apparently this knowledge is not shared by all whom reside in Invercargill, since on this distinct day I parked the automobile as usual and smiled as a saw a family of 4 enjoying the beach.  As I got closer I noticed the Male of the family crouched down in front of his vehicle with his five year old plastic spade attempting desperately to take away sand from his front wheels.  His extremely pregnant wife was in the driver’s seat trying to convince the car to move just one more inch.  The male of the household greeted me with the regular Kiwi greeting ‘How you undertaking?’ to which I wittedly replied ‘better than you by the looks of things’.  The sheepish smile on his face made me laugh.

After a handful of feeble attempts to push the auto back onto the road his wife emerged from the automobile and gave me a appear only a woman knows (the famous ‘I told him not to but he didn’t listen’ appear), she then proceeded to tell me she was overdue to have her infant and truly didn’t want to have it here on the beach!  That spurred us all into action and a tow rope magically appeared from the back of the car and together we managed to get the auto back on solid ground.

For the rest of the day I was reminded just how friendly, trusting and down to earth most Kiwis are.  All 4 young children had played so nicely with each other in the sand dunes whilst us adults shared a laugh and a chat afterwards and wished every single other effectively ahead of departing in our own direction.

Normally speaking, it’s not at all hard to strike up a conversation with a full stranger in New Zealand and then be promptly invited to a ‘do’ in the procedure.  The Kiwi ‘do’ will most most likely be a BBQ in the summer season or a dinner in the winter.  We are a nation of outside folks, we really like a great old get collectively, any excuse will do, we like to eat and we like to laugh.  A classic Kiwi dinner would be off course ‘The Hangi’.

A Hangi is a Maori method of cooking meals using heated rocks buried in a oven pit (yes, in the ground).  It is still used right now for unique occasions, but in New Zealand we don’t want considerably of a specific occasion, any occasion to have pals and family over is a unique occasion.  To ‘lay a hangi’ simply entails digging a hole, heating the stones in the hole with a huge fire, putting baskets of food on prime of the stones and covering almost everything with earth for a number of hours just before ’lifting’ the hangi.  Then the Kiwi cry of ‘dig in everyone’ will be heard as in invitation to eat.  A lot of Hangi authorities have created strategies that, like the stones utilized, have been handed down for generations, although other folks just make it up as they go along with some spectacular results.

To be invited to a Hangi is really a pleasure, due to the fact the food, like the men and women and the stories you will hear, are actually distinctive to New Zealand.

About the Author:

Monica Toretto is a writer, painter, photographer and blogger. She lives with her two young sons in Invercargill near Bluff. She has travelled widely in Canada and the US and worked as a veterinary technician just before returning to New Zealand. Her function has appeared in several magazines in the UK and New Zealand. She has also authored a book of poetry and photography known as ‘Words’.