sweet as...

In New Zealand, everything is 'sweet as'. instead of saying 'cool' or 'awesome', they say sweet as. Not sweet 'ass', but sweet as.

they also say 'hewayew', which is 'how are you?' said incredibly fast and slurred. i almost didn't understand the customs officer when he said that.

i've been having a pretty sweet as day. i made a new friend. i can't for the life of me pronounce his name (and therefore can't remember it), but he's a really cool dude from denmark. he was put in the same room as me at the hostel. the funny thing is that he also lost his luggage on his way to new zealand, so the both of us are living off essentially the clothes that we are wearing, and a toothbrush&toothpaste. it was good bonding time.

this morning i enjoyed a free hot breakfast at a local cafe (compliments of the work and travel program). then i attended orientation at IEP headquarters. while yesterday i was completely overwhelmed by how i'm going to figure everything out, today after orientation, i was super excited about being here. new zealand is such a beautiful country, and i want to go everywhere! will i be able to do everything and go everywhere i want in 1 year? i don't know.

on top of that, kiwis are the nicest people ever. here are my testimonials:
while i was on the bus yesterday, there was a car in front that stopped in the middle of a one way street, backing up the many cars behind it, which in turn blocked the intersection. he was stopped for at least 5 minutes. NO ONE honked. not one peep.

i phoned calling card customer service today. first, i didn't have to be put on hold, at all. second, the guy was so chill, but polite. he said things like 'alright, awesome' (in an english accent), and 'thank you, miss', and took the time to explain everything. he laughed, and joked around: 'how do you spell america?....oh, i'm kidding, kidding'

this country is too funny.