Things are different in New Zealand

Here are some things noteworthy to an American:

There are some items here that have different names.  Same package, same logos, different names.   Aquafresh toothpaste is McCleans, Sun Chips are Grain Waves.  (Like Hardee's-Carl's Jr., I guess!)

Items are smaller in general.  They have much less packaging.  The soaps are extremely concentrated.  They don't even advertise this; it just seems to be the norm that your itty-bitty bottle of dish soap is going to last you a year since you need only just a drop.

There are very few Target or Walmart type stores.  The Warehouse, maybe, would count.  But there are only three Warehouses in Auckland.  Can you imagine a city of 1.4 million with one three Targets?  A Costco type of thing is unheard of.  Stores are smaller and specialized.  You need appliances?  You go to an appliance store.  You need toiletries?  You go to a chemist.  Furniture?  Guess.

People are smaller here.  Thinner, I mean, on average.  And I noticed everyone at McDonald's drinking Happy Meal sized drinks.  I wondered what sort of special deal this McDonald's must be running, that all the adults are buying kids' meals, until I realized that that's just the standard size, not the 44-oz super gulp.  Oh, and the Starbucks?  They had big signs all over advertising their 'short' size drinks.  You know, the size that's kinda their 'secret menu' back in the States because everyone wants a bucket-size?  I think there might be some sort of a correlation here.

You know when you're walking on the sidewalk, and someone is approaching you from the other direction, and you both have to pick a side and move over to pass one another?  I naturally tend to go to the right.  Locals go to the left, so that means we veer toward each other and I've ended up doing that, 'Oh, excuse me, go ahead' dance a number of times.  (They drive on the left here; I suspect that's what's up.)

They have no pennies here.  And I haven't seen a 5-cent piece yet, although I think they exist.  Shops just round up or down to the nearest 10 cents for each purchase, and it evens out over time. 

Man, are they nice here.  So there's this street that's all torn up with construction.  There's orange cones and barriers and general confusion.  There are orange signs all over bossing you around:  "Slow", "Lane Ends, Merge Left", etc.  Then you struggle out of the construction area and back onto the intact street.  There is one final orange sign strapped to a post.  This one says, 'Thank you'.