So I thought I would write a post about the city that I grew up in … but in my research I found a map of the city boundary and found out that I didn't actually grow up in this city. So instead spiralled into a “WHO AM I AND WHAT IS MY LIFE?” journey. However, I will tell you about the teeny tiny city I grew up just outside of (it is officially big enough to be considered a city – but if you tell that to anyone from the big cities of NZ they just laugh at you – not looking at a particular Post-Doctoral Fellow from Auckland who is about to move to Stanford!!!). Invercargill (Maori: Waihōpai), population 53,000 as of 2011, is one of the southernmost cities in the world according to Wikipedia, and I grew up on the outskirts in a suburb called Otatara.
There isn't a whole lot to say about Invercargill really, there is an infamous story from 1965 when the Rolling Stones came to town and played at the Civic Theatre, afterwards (due to an unruly crowd apparently) Keith Richards dubbed Invercargill with the title the ‘asshole of the world’. The only part of this story that I struggle with is that the Rolling Stones actually played in Invercargill!
Though I'm sure this wasn't an affectionate title (apparently the audience pelted the Rolling Stones with tomatoes … *shakes head in shame*) it’s all up for interpretation! For example – you COULD look at it like … the last statistic I read on the topic (thanks to some kind of Durex research project) claimed that only 40% of women try anal sex, which means it is a pleasure only enjoyed by a few, quite like a trip to the asshole of the world! It is not a very common tourist destination, so only a small portion of the population of the world will have had the rare pleasure of taking a trip to butthole-ville [Invercargill]. I’m trying too hard aren’t I?
ANYWAY! The point of this post was actually supposed to be that Berlin is quite different from Invercargill (surprise!). I have catalogued a few of my ‘country mouse in the city’ moments and also just some Kiwi-isms that are difficult to explain to Germans:
how do intercoms/door buzzers work?!?!?
You have to PAY to get into night clubs?!?!
There are SO many dogs in town, I could not be happier about this one – but my dog-envy is growing stronger and stronger!
Trying to explain what you meant when you said “The MIRAX scanner shat itself and I’m not sure why”
My constant use of Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes is sometimes mistaken for me mocking German/Austrian accented English, but really if you have to go into a giant freezer-room how is it not appropriate to say “into ze ice chambaaa” “You're not sending me to the cooler!” and of course “Let’s kick some ice!” but pretty much putting any statement into Arnie’s voice has been a passion of mine for years. Maybe it is mockery? ….
The fact that here it is appropriate to wear a bikini/speedos when you are NOT at a beach .. in NZ that is called wearing underwear in public. (There was even a commercial about it -n.b. togs is kiwi slang for swimming costumes).
In Rehbrücke they turn off the traffic lights after 8pm and on Sundays! Seriously!
Also NOTHING is open on Sundays! That only happens on Christmas day in NZ – and even then SOME places stay open – but I'm starting to think that maybe Germany has it right!
In NZ generally only beer/wine/cider is allowed to be sold in the supermarkets, but in Invercargill specifically no alcohol at all is allowed to be sold in supermarkets. In Germany – not only can you buy hard liquor at the supermarket but they also have the little handbag-sized bottles of vodka and gin etc. next to the checkout where we normally have chocolate bars and candy!
All shops don't have EFTPOS machines!! WHAT? Even stalls at our Farmer’s Markets have EFTPOS machines in NZ! I feel like walking and saying “We can fix this, we have the technology!” I hate carrying cash!
BUT I LOVE LOVE LOVE the public transport, the air-conditioned regional train that I take to get to work and home again on the hot hot hot summer days, how cheap buying food is!! I love the fact that I can buy croissants still warm from the oven with my morning coffee, I love wandering around the city exploring on the weekends, the culture is so rich here! I love the fruit stalls at the Saturday markets, and the Tempelhofer Feld, where there are just people enjoying their free time!
That’s probably enough for now, I have a terrible headache but am trying to keep posting reasonably regularly. Music for this week was Robyn – Body Talk, it was a bit hit and miss for me -but the songs that hit really hit! So I have been thrashing Dancing On My Own, Indestructible, Hang With Me, and Call Your Girlfriend.
