Some random people I've met here

When we were in Waipu, which we pronounce WHY-poo but is most definitely not pronounced that way, an elderly woman with a walker passed our campervan while I was standing in the doorway.  She asked me where we were from and then where we were traveling.

me: We are touring around the North Island

woman: Oh, the South Island is much nicer. The people are nicer and there is less crime. There didn't used to be crime here. When I was young, we left all the doors open.

me: When did that change?

woman: About 25 years ago.

me: Any idea why?

woman: Well, it's a racial thing really. People here are lazy and they just want a handout from the government. They don't know what poverty is. I am a Christian and the bible says the rich need to leave some of the harvest behind for the poor but the poor need to gather it. You don't just give it to them.

me: hmm.

woman: my grandchildren have visited the USA and the loved it.

me: Have you ever visited?

woman: No. My husband and I cannot stand Americans. We've seen them around here. The Yankees are loud and always complaining.

me: There are 330 million of us. We aren't all the same.

woman: silence.

me: Have you heard of Donald Trump? Your thinking is very similar to the people who voted for Trump and he is a loud, complaining yankee. Isn't that a funny coincidence?

Just kidding. I didn't say that.

The next day, we had to take a small ferry on the way to Waipoua. 

We stopped at a surprisingly good cafe on the beach for lunch. Most restaurants seem to want you to order from the bar then they serve the food at your table. As a paid for our meal with our Alaska Airlines credit card, a guy behind me said 'I recognize that card. Where are you from?' I turned around and said 'Now that is an accent I can understand' His speech sounded clear as a bell to my ears and it turned out he was from West Seattle. 7000 miles and I meet someone who is from a few miles from my home. He told me that his wife is a physician. He used to work for Amazon. New Zealand has a GP physician shortage so it is easy for American doctors to find good work here. He used to live in Australia and they love the area.

It was in this conversation that I realized there was some truth in what the older woman had said about Americans... certainly compared to New Zealanders. When we speak, we speak louder than they do. At first, I thought I had trouble understanding people because of their accent. That doesn't help but the bigger issue is they are quiet talkers. You have to lean in to hear them. I suspect when they hear me talk their experience is similar to when I hear someone from Texas talk. It's a loud voice that mangles the language.

For example, we were in the small town of Rawene. I pronounce that Raw-ween but that is not how you say it. A local asked me to pronounce different town names just so she could laugh at my pronunciation. Even the West Seattle guy was correcting me. We are going to Whangerei today. I say WANG-GUH-RAY. Not even close. It's Fan-gu-day.

Lastly, I've noticed this past year that I tend to feel generally nervous. There are times of calm but there's a low level of nerves that pop up and often, I have no idea why they are there. In chatting with the West Seattle guy, I realized that in leaving the US, I leave a great deal of every day tension that seems to be in the air and water. If I want news of the US, I have to find it. We are in the country now so there is no advertising. We speak to very few people other than to transact business or exchange pleasantries. No one here cares about Trump or the state of things in the US. I could be wrong but I think this is why I feel as un-nervous as ever. I suppose safe and calm is the better description. There are no guns here. No crazy political divides that I am aware of. The people are quiet.. they seem like they descended from stoic Scottish people. It's very restful.