One of the greatest things about exploring a new country is the experimentation with the local food combinations. Through a variety of different economic influences such as a supply and demand, the availability of ingredients and certain spices, as well as the impetus for each culture to share its own cuisine leads to a variety of unique plates. Here in NZ the cuisine varies as widely as the population. Without knowing too many of the specifics, NZ is a nation of immigrants as much as the United States, though people tend more often to come from India and Asia. And in our case, a man who had moved to NZ from Algeria.
Though not directly related to this post, this photo provides a sense of the “foreign-ness” that we here experience every day. I do not suspect one could ever find the term “tepid” used in the US to describe what is essentially a public hot bath.
On this particular day, I had headed out to the Auckland suburbs to drop Addie for her cooling system refit, and hence was without transport. Walking for a couple 20 minutes, I never found the library, but happened upon a fresh fruit market where I met a really nice girl from Pakistan, who went by the name of Annie. She had decided to marry a man by the name of Ben and had opened a “fruit and vege” shop, which litter the countryside and the streets of bigger cities throughout the country. She and her husband had traveled a ton though, and her stories were phenomenal. On my way there I had discovered that our mobile phone had miraculously died, and so I had no way of getting ahold of Mike, Carrie, and Daniel, who were assumedly waking up by this time at Debbie’s place.
Daniel is baffled by the mainstream use of the corresponding term for “napkins” in Australia and NZ
As it turned out I had little to worry about, as Daniel was sleep-deprived (as per usual) and Mike and Carrie were still recovering from the time change. This did not help me any, and yes pay phones do exist in NZ, but Debbie’s and every other useful number to me were stored in the now dead mobile phone! (I use the term “mobile” because it is the mainstream term in Australia and parts of NZ - “cell phone” usually merits you an odd look from the locals, so you make the adjustment pretty quickly).
Thus after a nice chat, Annie and I looked up all the Vodafone shops in the area, where I might possibly find a charger and get in touch with my compadres. They all turned out to be at least a 20 minute walk away, so being the shy individual that I am, I began to ask in the shops surrounding Annie’s fruit and vege. After enquiring with several Indians and locals, I came to nothing, though my last enquiry gave me a lead. And so half an hour later I was seated at the lone table in the Vodafone shop, charging up the mobile, and waiting for Debbie to bring everyone over so that we could proceed with our day.
A good view of one of the types of buildings that comprise the Auckland skyline
By this time I had been up for a while, so after a good deal of journaling, I decided to try to find something to eat in the area. My compadres were soon to arrive, but I was sure that I could find something quickly. So I bid adieu and poka to my awkward Vodafone friends, and proceeded to find two gentlemen smoking cigarettes outside of what appeared to be a pleasant breakfast-style café. The time was just shy of noon if I recall correctly. Irregardless, viewing the menu, I noted a combination of foods I had never before imagined: “Poached Eggs, Pesto & Toast – $6.50.” I couldn’t help my curiosity, and the price was right, so this is how I ended up in the car chowing down on a combo that was probably one of the most novel and best breakfast ideas I have learned in recent memory.
Munching away, I shared it with my newly arrived comrades, and thanks to Debbie once again, we made our way to the market and collected nearly $250NZ in goods and supplies. We were unable to find some things, and unable to bring ourselves to pay what was asked for others ($12NZ for duct tape!), but in the end it was and has been the novelties such as the poached eggs, pesto & toast that has made each day of this journey ever more interesting, and ever more invaluable.
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