Tonight I’m going to watch the Hobbit movie at the cinemas. I know lots of beautiful New Zealand scenery’s going to grace the screen and I’m going to feel a pang of homesickness. As much as I love exploring other countries, New Zealand is probably the prettiest country I’ve ever stepped foot on and it’s quite special to call it home.
Beyond the obvious things I miss about home, such as friends and family, there are a few little bits and pieces I wish I could find elsewhere. Or I wish that New Zealand was closer and I could just shimmy home for a weekend, but alas for now I’ll just keep day dreaming about these random things.
1) New Zealand Customer Service
I’ve had the pleasure (and misfortune) of experiencing customer service in countless countries. I’m not going to say that New Zealand customer service is the best, because it’s not, but I like it. I like that when I’m in a shop at home I’ll get greeted and then left to my own devices to browse the clothes. In America the customer service is overbearing, even in places that don’t seem to be tip-focused. In Latin America, customer service doesn’t exist. New Zealand has my sweet spot of customer service and I miss it.
2) New Zealand Coffees
We’re serious about coffee. I spent way too much on coffee while living back at home and going out for coffee was one of my favourite ways to catch up with friends. I had specific cafes for specific types of coffees. Now when I travel it’s all a gamble. Sometimes I’ll wind up with a delicious coffee that tastes like a dream, other times it takes like something a devil vomited up.
3) New Zealand Roads
Yes, other countries have great roads but many of them are boring, lacking in scenery. Not the case back home! And often in places where there may very well be fantastic scenery, such as on my recent trip to Burma, the roads are so bumpy you are constantly being thrusted about. We have great roads.
4) Meat Pies
Why aren’t meat pies a big thing anywhere else in the world? The delicious combination of golden flaky pastry and delicious meaty treats is too good. Perhaps one day I will open up a bakery somewhere specialising in meat pies and share the glory with the rest of the world.
5) Clean Air
Ah, New Zealand air. It’s beautiful. That’s one of the benefits to being extremely isolated and having a relatively small population size, our air is gorgeous.
6) Soft Grass
If you’re reading this and wondering why I might just miss soft grass then you’ve never spent long enough in Central America. Sitting on grass here is a gamble; you’re very likely to get stabbed in the butt by a blade of grass. It’s hard, and crunchy and it’s just not nice. Back home we have excellent picnic grass.
7) Nothing’s Gonna Kill You
I remember one night I was really drunk on Koh Phangan in Thailand making my way back to my hotel across the sand. I saw a scorpian on the sand, burrowing into it. It was the first time I’d seen one and I freaked. In most countries around the world outside of New Zealand (and especially in Australia) I assume that all bugs and creatures harness the ability to kill me. This makes camping and wandering through forests particularly terrifying. New Zealand is super safe, you’re probably your biggest risk there!
8) Seeing Stars Even When in the Cities
I guess because our air is so awesome, you can almost always see the stars no matter where you are. I used to love walking to one of the big parks at night, laying on the (soft) grass and looking up at the crystal clear skies.
NZ is pretty great and it’s a country worth missing. I’m looking forward to visiting home sometime this year and making the most of all the things I love about my home country.
What do you miss about home when you travel?
