English as a First (and Second) Language

When I first started dating Josh, I noticed, little by little, that what I was saying didn't always mean the same thing to him - and vice versa.

First up: y'all.

Anybody who has been to the southern part of the US or even has met a southern person (not unlike myself), you know that "y'all" is a staple.

Meaning "you all," y'all can be heard in almost every conversation.

However, it just sounds wrong coming from a kiwi. Or a Brit. Or really anyone who doesn't have a southern accent. And when I say it here in New Zealand, I can sometimes sense the confusion... What's that saying: you can take the girl out of the south, but you can't take the south out of the girl? Something like that...

But y'all is not the only difference between the two languages. And yes, we both speak English, but it is just not the same English. 


Before we get into the translating, I have to admit, I thought that all accents
from the Commonwealth (places colonized by the United Kingdom that stayed
on good terms with the monarchy, including but not limited to Scotland, Ireland,
South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) sounded the same. Boy, was I wrong.
(Since dating Josh, I've learned how to identify them pretty well.) 

One of the most confusing ones for me: shout.

Yes, that shout. As in, "You know you make me wanna..." or "Twist and..." In America, it's really just yelling, either in anger or excitement. But in New Zealand, it also has another meaning: buy. Someone might say, "I'll shout you," and they won't be screaming. They might be buying the next round of drinks or paying for lunch. I still have trouble with it when I hear it in conversation and I definitely haven't tried to use it when I'm speaking.

Next up, the other difficult one: period.

In America, when you say period, it can have a few different meanings. But I use it in normal conversation to emphasize a point, like "That's all there is to it. Period. End." However, the punctuation that Americans call a period, kiwis call a fullstop. So when I say "period" here, people look at me funny. This one causes me to trip up in conversation, so I still struggle, but I'm getting better about it.

One that has more than one meaning here is "pissed."

It can mean angry or aggravated here, but it can also mean drunk. So if someone yells out, "I'm so pissed!" don't be alarmed, or at least not until you've deciphered what kind of pissed you're dealing with.

Below are some other words that Americans use that New Zealanders (Kiwis) have different words (or meanings) for:

American English vs. Kiwi English

Cookies - Biscuits

Flip flops -  Jandals

      Trash - Rubbish

                            Fries - Chips (but chips can also be chips)

Bandaid - Plaster

                                       Cooler - Chilly Bin (this makes so much sense, right??)

 Vacation - Holiday

Truck - Ute
Afternoon - Arvo    
Tank top - Singlet
Beach house - Batch/Crib
Stroller - Pram
    All good - Sweet as
Electrician - Sparky  

I will update this list as I become aware of more differences in the language.

Getting Here

Two months after I arrived here, I submitted the paperwork for my work visa.

Old Sheldon Church Ruins,
South Carolina, September 2017

A lot of people are confused by that because I'm already here.

When I was in America, I applied for a work visa. Just doing that was difficult. But the specific visa I applied for is based on my partnership with Josh, who is a New Zealand citizen. This specific visa is unique because I don't have to have a job offer to apply.

That being said, they don't make it easy. When telling people I was applying, most people said, 'Why wouldn't they let you in? You're American," or something along those lines. They said it so often that I started to believe it myself.

The application is based on my relationship, so we had to provide evidence.

But how do you prove how much you love someone?

According to Immigration New Zealand, you must provide evidence that you are in a genuine and stable relationship with the intent of staying together long-term.

For us, that meant submitting photos and descriptions of our adventures together, citing weddings and holidays and road trips we took over the last two years. And a letter from a close friend of ours describing what she knew of our love. And a letter from me explaining in great detail all the things we've done and how desperately in love we are and how the separation was killing me.

And with all that, my first application was denied. But the immigration officer who was assigned to us was extremely gracious and gave me an extended visitor visa of 6 months. She did this so that I would have time to come here, get the "evidence" they needed and reapply.

So now here we are. Two months later, Josh and I have been living in our house for a month and have a joint bank account, which shows - shocker - that we are "financially interdependent." However, we know that's not quite true... He has a job and I don't, so I'm basically completely dependent on him. And he is pretty much fully responsible, at least financially, for me.

With a wallet that's $413 NZD lighter, we now wait approximately 81 days to see if this new evidence shows just how much I love Josh.