Word Up

Whoever coined the phrase 'doesn't time fly' was spot on. I can't believe I've been here over a month. A month. Blimey where did that go to. Mind you I haven't stopped since we touched down at Auckland International; getting a house, getting a car, getting lost, finding myself, getting lost again, unpacking.... well sort of.... And then, of course, there is the small matter of starting a new job, making new friends and trying to navigate to world of engineering in the Southern Hemisphere. 

I presumed, I now know wrongly, that as English was the language of choice then it would be a breeze. But instead highway engineering you have roading, central reserve becomes median and a verge is berm. Obvious really. 

And there is the everyday. Safe ground one would assume. But no. A supermarket trolley is an aptly named trundler, your car MOT is a canine sounding WOF and you can only imagine my surprise when I was confronted by a TV advert screaming (they all scream) 'Sale Now On - Manchester slashed!!' or 'Manchester Half Price Or Less - Don't Miss Out!'. 'Manchester old and tired? Buy new!'. And so it goes on. I knew the north of England was in dire straits but I didn't think they had resorted to selling themselves on Kiwi TV. Whatever next? Reduced Bradford? Half price Cleethorpes or buy one Darlington and get another free?

But it turns out that 'Manchester' is bed linen. If course how could I have been so stupid. Numbskull. Actually the reason behind it is quite logical and sweet. You see when Europeans first settled in NZ cotton products were most sought after, the bulk of which were shipped in from .... you guessed it... Manchester, England. Nice huh? Which is almost a shame because I was looking forward to heading to the shops as we're getting a bit low on Todmorden.

A month in. Blimey. Anyway in the short space of time we've been here I'm pleased to say that I've invented a new sport. Which is something for a country that revels in sporting competition. Anyway it's taking off big style. 

'Get The Limey To Pronounce Our Place names' is a big deal in Auckland. Well it is in our office. Apparently great mirth can be had getting me to pronounce where I've been to at the weekend, where we're planning on going for holidays or even street names I've been looking for. 

'Papatoetoe', started it. Needless to say I didn't come out like it was supposed to. Neither did 'Waitakere', 'Whitianga' or 'Whangaparaoa'. And don't get me started on the amount of guffaws that were heard when I had a go at pronouncing 'Onehunga'.

Anyway I've found a way to beat them at their own game - from now on I'm only going to visit places I can safely pronounce correctly. So this year we'll be holidaying in 'Hobsonville' or 'Newmarket', taking a trip to 'Ponsonby' or perhaps taking a well deserved break in the romantically named 'Flat Bush'. Two can play at this game mate!