Upside down and backwards
- susannesmcgraw
- Mar 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 19
Greetings from the bottom half of the globe! In case you wondered, no, we haven’t fallen off yet… although we’ve found some fun ways to try…
Our first order of business to investigate was flushing… Do the toilets flush in the other
direction? Well, check it out: I haven’t found a toilet with a whirlpool flush yet. But the bath drains clockwise, so there you have it, although I can’t for the life of me remember which way it drained in the Northern Hemisphere. You tell me!
Our minds have been turned upside down and sideways as we sort out some new normals here. To begin with, the week begins on Monday rather than Sunday, and the dates are written day/month/year. This one makes sense to me as that’s what I grew up with in Canada, but it takes a bit of getting used to again. And while I’m on the subject of making sense, what a relief to live with the metric system again!
Driving is entirely another story. Driving on the right side of the car on the left side of the road feels like learning to drive all over again. How do I signal? Which lane do I turn in to? I only rarely turn the windshield wipers on to signal a turn anymore, but Bernard keeps shifting the car into park for me when I park the car - old habits die hard. I still can’t seem to get used to which way to look to cross the street (and watch out because here in New Zealand, unless you’re in a crosswalk, crossing the street is an extreme sport). Even the bike brakes are reversed here! Oy.
One bigger surprise here has been payment systems. Checks are obsolete, and have been for decades. I once asked if we could pay with a check and the reaction we got made me wonder what cave I’ve been living in all my life! Credit cards aren’t used nearly as commonly and Venmo and PayPal aren’t really in use at all; bank transfers are more common and almost instantaneous. Through our banking app, we are able to identify our payee and the money is sent directly. No waiting for three days for the bank to “authorize a transfer”, no third parties. This works for stores, school payments, and person to person transfers. It’s led to some longer conversations in our home about the hidden economies of “skimming off the top” that I’m beginning to see are more prevalent in the USA than I realized. There are some “pay over time” payment options available which I haven’t explored, but it seems to me that personal debt isn’t as common as so many people in North American become burdened with so easily.
As we live through the seasons of the year, I’m so curious about how the holidays will feel. Coming up is Easter, and I’m already sad that Easter Lilies aren’t in season at this time of year here. How will the dark days of winter feel without the joyful holiday season to brighten things up? What will Christmas feel like with the heat of summer? It’ll be fun to live it and learn it. For now, the days are still warm, the gardens are still full of flowers, and the sunrises and sunsets are unreal.
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