This picture basically describes what I do everyday. New Zealand is an island. This means that the weather is very unpredictable and can change hour to hour. For this reason, if we are going to be gone for the day, kayaking for example, we have to bring sunscreen, thermals, sweatshirts, shorts, pants, sandals, shoes, socks, a towel, food, water... Bringing all of this stuff along in a vehicle wouldn't be too bad but you must remember--my only means of transportation is a bicycle. I usually end up wearing layers even if I don't want to just so I don't have to carry them in my backpack.

I'm being exposed here to a lot of new things here. Most of them are cultural differences like eating a New Zealand shell fish called Paua (pronounced powa). As you can hopefully tell, it looks a little green and I was very uneasy about eating it; mostly because it was green but also because I'm just not the biggest seafood person. Anyway, I tried it and it wasn't so bad. I didn't love it or eat the whole bowl or anything but it was...decent.

Some new things I have tried are things that could have happened at home but just never did. For example, eating mussels. This is another seafood that just by looks and smell alone turns me off. At the same barbecue I tried paua, I was pressured into trying a marinated mussel. It's hard to turn down a group of 15 people that all love what they are trying to make you eat. So, I tried one. It was...ok. Again, not something I'd be in a hurry to do again but, bearable.

That's the update on my recent cross-cultural experiences.