A Bit Of This And That

Get a paper and pencil for the latest vocabulary test—Kiwi 101.  I’ll be waiting to see how well you do.  The answers will be at the end of this post. 

1.  Pottle

2.  Bench

3.  Mokopuna

4.  Fizzy

5.  Winge

6.  Dodgy

7.  “Bob’s your uncle”

8.  Hiding

9.  Carked it

10. Dairy

11. Dear

12. Hori

13. Half pie

14. Knackered

15. Pakeha

16. Torch

17. “Spit the dummy”

18. Long drop

19. “Rattle your dags”

20. As

The government of New Zealand has, after months of being hounded by the citizens of Christchurch, come up with a solution to give some relief.  They have identified three “red zone” suburbs to be completely demolished.  The homes in these zones are damaged beyond repair and the ground is too unstable to allow rebuilds in the near future.  Until homes or areas are condemned, people are held hostage by mortgages on ruined homes and insurance companies that aren’t ready to pay out.  The plan is for the government to pay homeowners the 2007 assessed value of their property, and then the government, with all its clout, will deal with the insurance companies.  The suburbs that are “red zoned” are Avondale, Avonside, Bexley, and Dallington—all on the northeast side of the city.  I think these residents were satisfied with this solution and are now making some decisions about what to do next.  I know that many of them will be leaving Christchurch for good.  Many neighborhoods are waiting and hoping for the same solution, but it takes time for all of the assessments to be made. 

As for the future of these neighborhoods, who knows.  The government will retain ownership of the land and after 10 years or so, if the earthquakes ever stop, they will remediate the land and new, beautiful housing developments will spring to life.  Perhaps these quakes will put the earth to rest for another 16,000 years and Christchurch will become a lovely city once again.

We have the cutest sister missionaries here in Christchurch…

Sister Yu (left) and Sister Wu (right).  Sister Yu is from northern China and joined the church very recently while studying in Auckland.  She had only been here a week when she had a biking accident and broke her jaw. (Sound familiar, Brad?)  She has been on a liquid diet for the last two months and can barely speak, but she keeps on smiling.  Sister Wu has been here as long as we have.  She is from Taiwan.  She is an only child and her parents were unhappy when she joined the church, and even more unhappy when she decided to serve a mission.  They have given her no support—financial or emotional—they never write or contact her. This last week was her birthday.  She didn’t tell anyone, but cooked lunch for all of the elders to celebrate.  When we discovered it, Alyse, Hayley, Abby and I went to the store.  We bought a card, chocolates, and some flowers.  I have never seen anyone so pleased.  She said it was the first time she has ever received flowers in her whole life.  She has sacrificed and given so much and expects nothing in return.  She just serves and smiles.

Answers to the vocabulary test.  Because I am a missionary and have spiritual discernment, I will know if you have cheated.  You all know how I feel about cheating.

1.  Pottle—a container.  John bought a pottle of noodles for dinner.

2.  Bench—the countertop.  After cleaning the bench and doing the dishes, the kitchen sparkled.

3.  Mokopuna—Maori for grandchildren.  Moko is a shortened form of the same thing. By the way, I really miss my darling mokos.

4.  Fizzy—soda pop.  We really splurged yesterday and had a fizzy for dinner.

5.  Winge—complaining or grumbling.  John NEVER winges about all the work he has to do.

6.  Dodgy—shifty, shady, or of poor quality.  She spent her time with some very dodgy characters.

7.  “Bob’s your uncle”—everything’s fine.  You’re vacuum cleaner has died.  Go get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle.

8.  Hiding—a beating, punishment.  The student received a hiding for arriving late at school.

9.  Carked it—died, like our “kicked the bucket”.  You’re vacuum cleaner carked it.  Go get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle.

10. Dairy—the corner market.  Could you please run to the dairy and bring me some milk?

11. Dear—expensive.  John: “I’d rather not buy the milk at the dairy, it’s too dear there.  I’ll go to Pak ‘n Save instead.”

12. Hori—grungy or unkempt.  I get tired of getting dressed up and putting on makeup every day.  The hori look is very appealing to me lately.

13. Half pie—poor performance, bare minimum.  Her cleaning of the house was half pie.  I had to do it all over again.

14. Knackered—tired or exhausted.  Could you please run to the dairy and bring me some milk?  No, I’m too knackered.

15. Pakeha—white person or a person of European descent.  The Maori word means without a family—no genealogy.  Europeans, unlike Maori, were not able to list off generations.  We have a ward of islanders with a smattering of Pakeha.

16. Torch—flashlight. Her half pie 72 hour kit did not contain a torch.

17. “Spit the dummy”—threw a fit—derived from a baby spitting out his pacifier when he is upset. I really spit the dummy when my vacuum cleaner carked it.  I’ll just get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle.

18. Long drop—outhouse or latrine—very self-explanatory. When the sewage system carked it after the earthquakes, the people in Christchurch were encouraged to dig long drops in their back yards.  Sounds pretty hori to me.

19. “Rattle your dags”—hurry up.  This term is an old sheep farmer term.  When the wool is long, dung balls stick to the wool, dry in the sun, and rattle as the sheep run. Your vacuum cleaner carked it.  You’d better rattle your dags and get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle. Or—When the sewage system carked it after the earthquakes, the people in Christchurch had to rattle their dags and dig long drops in their back yards.  They were all hori and knackered after having done so.

20. As—add this to any word to add emphasis.  Means more. Hori as….mean as….dodgy as…dear as.

This vocabulary test was hard as.  Hope you have a sweet as week.  I miss you all, especially my mokopunas—they are all cute as.  I’m knackered and heading home for a fizzy, and Bob’s your uncle.