Friendly

From September 2008

Before we arrived people kept telling me how friendly kiwis are. When I think of friendly I think of Sandi, my aerobics instructor in Tennessee who would have us do a kick line to our aerobics finale “I got friends in low places” by Garth Brooks and then high five everyone on the way out. Kiwis are much more reserved. However, when our car broke down at a busy intersection this weekend within 10 seconds of having our hazards on a man had pulled over, ran over to our car and helped Brad push the car off the road. Then, when Brad was with the tow truck and I was wandering the streets with the kids waiting for him and it started to rain, a man who was painting an office came out and said “I saw what happened, you can sit in my van to wait if you want”. When you try to thank people they shrug it off and say “No worries”. Also, when meeting other moms, they’ll often say something like “Well, it would be nice to catch up with you so why don’t you come over for morning tea on Thursday if it suits you” and before I know it I’m having tea with them. So, I agree with all of those people who will tell you how nice people from New Zealand are.