Day 81 .... Translating a Tea-Towel....

So Cat, winner of the tea-towel has asked for a translation....... of the tea towel.
This had not crossed my mind at all because I had assumed the world would know what we Kiwis are going on about at all times. We speak English. Don't we?? No we don't, it's kiwi-talk.
It got me thinking that perhaps our blogs aren't completely comprehensible?? Like we've got our own little in-house thing going on.

Anyways, I did explain to Cat that there may be some differences in opinion about the definition of these words/terms. ........
Before I go there though.... here's a bit of Gail's take on this beautiful nation:

NZ is made up of two three gorgeous Islands. The bottom island is called Stewart Island. I'm not even sure if mankind has really been there yet. There are birds there, and maybe a caretaker or two.

The North Island (where I am) and the South Island (Widge lives there) are fiercely competitive. Well, in rugby they are. In the south-south, they roll their "r"s. They rrrrrreally do. It's cold there. Within Islands there are differences of opinion about how words are pronounced etc. One town has now added an "h" to it's spelling because some would pronounce WANGANUI with a "WH" ..... it's all very complicated.

In the north we call a holiday house a BACH. According to sources, in the south they call them CRIBS. All-righty then.
Te Reo is taught in schools - basic Maori terms/words..... mostly greetings, songs.... sometimes a bit more. Our national anthem is sung in Maori and English.
I quite love all of this. Some New Zealanders don't and sadly, it can get really messy.
I love-love that our National Anthem asks God to Defend New Zealand.
There are many other things...... AMAZING scenery, laid back people, the beaches.... the ingenuity...... so much. It's an awesome place to live. You should all totally move here. There have been many times I've thought about why, out of all the places in the world, why I had the privilege of growing up here, in one of the smallest, most isolated countries. It's a weird thought.

Well that was all a bit of a tiki-tour of my thoughts...... Cat, I can only offer you my suburban Auckland version of this tea towel. And I invite you other kiwis to give your takes too.

AOTEAROA - (literally, ao = cloud, tea = white, pale, roa = long). This could be translated as (the) long white cloud. It does not mean "Land of the Long White Cloud". In Maori that would be Te Whenua o Aotearoa.
Aotearoa is commonly given as the Maori name for New Zealand

Good On Ya Mate : Well done. Congratulations.

Cheerio: Good bye. Cheerios are also little red sausages for birthday parties.


Chrissy : Christmas

G'Day : Good Day, hello ..... actually I'd say we stole this from the Aussie" gidday".

She'll Be Right: No worries, not a problem, it'll be ok (and my take on it sometimes.... - HARDEN UP).

A into G : Arse into Gear..... stop procrastinating and get on with the job. A hurry up. Get off your butt and do something about it!

TA : Thanks.

Aye: - hard one to explain. No, we are not all pirates. Usually said at the end of a sentence, almost as though you are waiting for someone to agree with what you've just said..... for example: Gail seems to have a lot of spare time, aye?
OK, we're a nation of pirates.

TIKI Tour : a really long, scenic way of getting from A to B. A roundabout way..... my preferred way to drive to avoid motorways.

Hard Yakka : really hard work

OE: Overseas Experience

Dag: refers to someone who is funny or quite hard case....... Gail is a bit of a dag, aye? Hahaha.

KAI : Maori word for food.

Good as Gold: saying yes in a really definite way; something is a sure thing.

Were you born in a tent?: If you say it in a sarcastic way (the only way really) it's like saying: Flippin heck, would you close the door, you're letting all the cold air in!

Haha. We're a crazy lot. What do you think?