Appetising Confusion

Column November 2018

The end of the spring holidays marked the beginning of Term 4 in New Zealand. For seniors, i.e. students in Years 11 to 13, this quarter of the school year only contains three weeks of actual lessons in the classroom. Afterwards, they are given the time to prepare for the end of year exams. Since I as an International do not have to sit these NCEA exams, I was able to enjoy a special program with the other 50 exchange students from my school.

The first week of this program consisted of various activities such as cooking for teachers, visiting a marae (gathering space of Maori) and romping around in the local trampoline park. In the second week we went on a four-day-long kayaking/tramping camp with the Outdoor Education Department in the Abel Tasman National Park. In groups of four we shared two tents, two backpacks, a two-man sea kayak and a cooker. During the whole trip we were blessed with clear blue skies and sunshine. This was definitely a good glimpse at what the upcoming summer might be like. 

That’s right, summer! At the moment, mannequins wearing Santa hats, tees and togs decorate the display windows of all clothing shops. Even though all of this makes it seem like everyone single kid would need to get an Advent calendar, I’m not feeling the Christmas vibes at all. 30 degrees outside, barbecues and ice cream may sound nice, yet in my opinion none of these things have anything to do with Christmas.

But that’s not where the confusion ends. The Kiwi accent basically derived from “British English”, while also adopting a number of words from Te Reo Maori, the native language of New Zealand’s indigenous people. In recent years, however, especially America has heavily influenced the vocabulary. Thin deep-fried potato strips are still called “Chips” just like in Great Britain, while Americans, on the other hand, call them “French Fries”. However, when speaking of what Brits refer to as “Crisps”, Kiwis stick with the US version of describing this snack being “Chips”. Therefore, the word “chips” has two meanings down here.

What’s a hot dog? I guess you’re probably thinking of a wiener inside a bun with some ketchup or mustard on top. Yet New Zealand has got its own version of this dish: a battered sausage on a stick, sort of like a “Corn Dog” in the States. Thus, there are also two hotdogs. And that’s not even it. In Aotearoa people don’t eat hot dogs or chips with ketchup. Kiwis call this “Tomato Sauce”, just like the tomato sauce on your delicious spaghetti.

If I were to get some dinner at the closest fish and chips shop and were to order a hot dog, a scoop of chips with some tomato sauce, there’s technically eight different combinations that could end up on my plate. I’d rather just go to a café and enjoy a donut. But wait, even this word has got two meanings!