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Hellllllo From The Antipodeeeees……

(It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like the Adele song….)

First off, yes! I got my email subscription to work! Huzzah! Thanks for everyone’s patience while I labored through that annoying WordPress plugin issue.



I’m here today to geek out about a cool concept–and cool word–which I stumbled across a few years ago in my New Zealand research: “antipodes”.

Antipodes (singular: antipode) comes from the Greek word ἀντίποδες, which roughly translates as “those with feet opposite ours” and referred to people living on the other side of the world.

The antipode of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth’s surface diametrically opposite to it. That is, if you chose a spot and dug a hole straight through the center of the earth and came out the other side, you’d find that spot’s antipode. The antipode of Whitianga, New Zealand—where I live—is Malaga, Spain. The antipode of Cape Cod, Massachusetts—where I grew up—is several hundred miles off the coast of Perth, Australia.

The antipode of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Australia and New Zealand are (apparently; I’ve never personally heard it) sometimes called “The Antipodes” by inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere, and Australians and New Zealanders are (again, I’ve never heard this) sometimes called “Antipodeans.” A quick google search of “antipodes New Zealand” brings up a number of NZ companies with the word “antipodes” in the name, including a line of skin exfoliants, a chemist, and a company that sells water, so it seems like the word is not entirely uncommon here, at least in the skin exfoliant/chemistry/bottled water industries.

Because 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, only about 15% of any given point of land has an antipode that’s also on the land. And there’s a good chance everything else has an antipode in the Pacific Ocean, since it’s so massive. In fact, the Pacific Ocean is so massive that it contains a number of its own antipodes. Out of the 15% of land that has other land as its antipode, the biggest examples are certain sections of eastern/southeastern China, Mongolia, and Russia, whose antipodes are in Argentina and Chile; the Malay Archiapelago (between Southeast Asia and Australia) whose antipode is in the Amazon basin; Greenland, whose antipode is in east Antarctica; and New Zealand’s North Island, whose antipode is in southern Spain.

For my friends back home: before you go racing to this cool website to determine your antipode: the antipode of nearly every point in the United States is in the Indian Ocean, with the exception of two tiny, remote spots in eastern Colorado which are each the antipode to two tiny, uninhabited, volcanic islands: St. Paul Island and Amsterdam Island.

Other cool facts about antipodes!

* At any given moment, there exist two antipodal points with the same temperature and barometric pressure. This is known as the Borsuk-Ulam Theorem, which is also known as the most intellectually advanced thing to which I have, and likely will, ever hyperlink.

* There is archipelago of uninhabitable volcanic islands, called the Antipodean Islands, about 500 miles southwest of Stewart Island, which is just off the southern coats of the South Island of NZ.

* In 2020, a guy in Spain and a guy in New Zealand made an “Earth sandwich” by each placing a slice of bread at the exact antipode of one another at the exact same time (in case you’re wondering: yes. Yes, they found each other on Reddit. Of course they found each other on Reddit).

And lastly, here is a list from Wikipedia of the only cities who have exact or nearly exact antipodes (look how many are in New Zealand! 😍):

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Yes, Monty, There Really Are Stickers in New Zealand!

I have a lot of penpals, one of whom is Monty, who is three. I just got a beautiful handmade card from Monty in the mail. The letter starts off with him telling me with great assuredness that he knows where New Zealand is because he’s seen it on a map. BUT—-and this is very important—-he does NOT know if they have stickers in New Zealand. He enclosed some for us in case we do not have access to them here.

Monty’s hand-painted card
The awesome stickers he sent us!



Dear Monty,

They DO have stickers in New Zealand!! In fact, I just wrote you a return letter and enclosed a few NZ stickers for you. I’m sending you stickers of the famous New Zealand silver fern, a tui (“too-ee”) bird, and a pōhutukawa blossom. Tuis have a wonderful call, and pōhutukawas are called the “New Zealand Christmas Tree” because they produce beautiful red blossoms around Christmastime.

Thanks for the letter, Monty! I can’t wait for my next one!

Love,
Your friend Hilary

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My Pounamu Necklace

Stewart gave me something very special upon my return to New Zealand: a pounamu necklace.


I first heard about pounamu necklaces in a New Zealand guidebook that my friend and I were pouring over in late 2019 in preparation for our month-long trip the following March. The guidebook’s very brief explanation was that “pounamu” (a te reo Māori word, pronounced “pu-na-mu”) necklaces are almost always carved from nephrite jade, occasionally referred to as “greenstone.” You see them everywhere around NZ, from cheap knockoffs in tourist shops to real handcrafted ones made in an artist’s studio.

The thing I love so much about them is that you cannot buy yourself a pounamu necklace. You must be given one.

A pounamu is a significant gift to receive, as they are considered precious and therefore aren’t gifted lightly (and they can also be expensive). You may be given one to mark a special occasion–a friend of mine received one when they left their job of many years–or you may have the honor/honour of being the recipient of a pounamu because, for example, you have finally made it back to New Zealand after having been away for so long. ☺️

Real pounamu necklaces are hand-carved, one of a kind works of art. Jade has long played a significant role in Māori culture and is considered a taonga (treasure). Some of the traditional pounamu shapes are hei matau (fish hook), a pikorua (twist), a koru (spiral shape representing an unfolding silver fern), a whale’s tail, or a simple circle.

The necklace Stu gave me was made by an artist in Kūaotunu, a tiny little town about 20 minutes north of Whitianga. My pounamu is shaped like a toki, a Māori woodcutting tool similar to an axe. It represents courage, determination, success, and bravery, all of which I will need in spades on my journey towards becoming a permanent resident of this incredible country.

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I’m here!

Me and Stewart down at Auckland harbor (“harbour”)

I made it! (I actually made it four days ago but we spent two days in Auckland and then I had to get settled). Anyway: I made it!

Stewart and I spent two days in Auckland when I flew in. January 1st & 2nd are public holidays here, and lots of businesses close for the whole week to allow for employee vacations (“holidays”), so there were a number of places that weren’t open. But the upside is that we had the city to ourselves, and spent our time exploring on foot.

One event of note that I have to share is when were walking across a bridge at the harbor (“harbour”) when a loud alarm sounded, which Stu said sounded like a fire alarm. He suggested we should stay put in case they needed to evacuate a building (it sounded like a fire alarm) and I of course wanted to stay put to watch the drama. And then after a few seconds a voice came over the loudspeaker and said “GET. OFF. THE. BRIDGE.” We looked around and realized everyone else had gotten off the bridge, apparently having read the BIG SIGNS saying that the bridge raises up to allow boats out. Oops. 😬

Auckland from the harbor/harbour. FYI the alarm means to get off the bridge.

I haven’t gotten out and about much yet, so I don’t have any of those “😍” New Zealand photos to post, but I do have some pictures of the absolutely charming little garden at the back of the absolutely charming little house we’re renting.

I met one of our next door neighbors yesterday when I spotted her tuxedo cat through the fence (I’m obsessed with tuxedo cats) and ran over and proceeded to “psstpsst!” it and lure it over so that I could take its picture, and suddenly this nice woman poked her head around the corner of her house and went “Oh! Hello!”. Great way to make a new friend, by stalking their cat through the fence. Anyway, both Mars and her owner are lovely. The former is a little shy, but I’ll make her love me if it’s the last thing I do.

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Bon Matin de Papeete, Tahiti!

This is the view from the adorable little open courtyard at the Faa’a International Airport in Papeete, Tahiti where I am currently:

1. Drinking a hot coffee (it’s 6:15 am and I’m trying to pep up for the last leg of my journey)
2. Sweating to death
3. Blogging from the airport like some insipid influencer. Lord forgive me.

I had the best flight.
I know; when do you ever hear anyone say that? But it’s true. I was on a gigantic Boeing 787 with cheerful Polynesian Islands-inspired fabric, lots of leg room, and extremely kind Air Tahiti Nui attendants with big smiles, light-up “Happy New Year” tiaras, and flowers behind their ears. I was settling into my aisle seat in the middle row (three rows of three) when I realized that the attendants were starting to make final preparations for takeoff…..with no one else seated in my row, or even close to me at all. Whaaaaaat. This was a dream come true; a not-full giant airplane for an 8 hour flight and an entire row to myself. I was trying to figure out of I was allowed to use all three seats when the attendants started coming around and inviting people to move to empty rows (again, when does that ever happen?!). Literally my best-case flight scenario, especially since I hold the irrational yet firm belief that the fewer the people on the flight, the less the plane weighs and therefore the less likely it is to fall out of the sky (tell me I am not alone here?).

So I put up the arm rests, opened two of the three little complimentary blankets, stacked up the three little complimentary pillows, made a nest, watched the first 6 minutes of “Meg 2,” and fell asleep (sorry, Jason Statham, not even you could keep my eyes open in such a cozy little fort). I only woke up once, to the captain saying “Au nom de notre équipage, je vous souhaite à tous une bonne année!………….[awkward pause]………….Happy New Year. It is now 2024.” It was a bit anticlimactic when no one responded but then one person did one of those lackluster little “Woohoos”, and someone else joined in, and then everyone was clapping and wishing one another a bonne année/Happy New Year.

I’m thinking that this dreamy flight was the universe’s way of apologizing for that 2022 flight to NZ when my phone was stolen and then everyone at the San Fran airport except myself and my fellow Fiji Air passengers was evacuated due to a bomb threat.

The disbelief at the possibility of an entire row to msyelf.
The nest.

I walked off the plane in Papeete, Tahiti and was immediately drenched in sweat. It’s 80 degrees here with 85% humidity and I was in corduroys and a hoodie. After freshening up and changing into something more weather-appropriate, I paid 800 something ($800?)* for a flat white (the closest thing Oceania has to a coffee as we Americans know it; essentially a delicious, creamy latté) and am now settled into a corner of the adorable little open courtyard awaiting my 5.5 hour flight to Auckland, which departs in about three hours.

Merçi beauCOUP, Ait Tahiti Nui, et Bonne Année!

*CFP: French Pacific Franc. 800 CFP is $7.39.

PS: I know my photo-vs-text formatting is wonky. I’ll work on it!

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Let’s Do The Time Warp!

For the second year in a row, I’m flying out of the States at 11 PM on December 31st and arriving in New Zealand on the afternoon of January 2nd (due to the time difference). Which means that for the second year in a row, I’m completely missing January 1st. But 2024 is a leap year, so now I’ll only be one day behind for the rest of my life as opposed to two!

This time I’m flying from Los Angeles to Tahiti to New Zealand (I’m posting a map is because I personally had no idea where Tahiti was). I was ecstatic to find out that Los Angeles to Tahiti is only 8 hours, and Tahiti to Auckland is only 5.5. Usually the first leg is 12-13 hours and the second one is 3. This is so much better.

Last year, my absolutely ridiculous flight pattern was Boston–>Toronto–>Vancouver–>Auckland. Yes, you’re readying that correctly: I went north, flew aaaaaaallthe way across Canada, and then flew aaaaaaall the way south to NZ. It was the cheapest flight I could find, for obvious reasons, though I did get two New Years, one while flying over Canada and one somewhere over the Pacific. (Whenever I book a flight, I always think about comedian Mike Birbiglia’s bit where he’s on a flight and the PA system comes on and says “Thank you for choosing Delta!.” And Mike says “I didn’t choose Delta. If it had been five cents cheaper I would have flown on a kite”).

I’ll be celebrating New Year’s somewhere over the Pacific in a few hours. Wherever you’re celebrating, be it on land, at sea, or in the air, and whether or not you’re even staying up til midnight, Happy New Year’s to all and to all a good night. May 2024 have wonderful things in store for all of us!

Onwards and upwards (literally), lotsa love, and talk to you all on the flip side,

Hilary ❤️

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“Washashore”

I had no idea, until I floated a list of possible blog name ideas on social media last month, that the term “washashore” is unique to Cape Cod. A washashore is anyone who has moved to the Cape from somewhere else, as opposed to someone born on the Cape (a native Cape Codder). I’ve heard the word washashore my entire life and never knew how specific and local it was. I love learning surprising new things.

And while we’re on the subject of funny words in my blog’s subtitle, “Kiwiland” is not an actual nickname for New Zealand. I made it up because it’s whimsical…like “washashore.”

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The title of this post is simply “🤯”.

Here are all of the clothes I plan on bringing with me to New Zealand. Huge thank you to my sister Gillian for sitting there while I tried on every single piece of clothing I own to help decide what I’m bringing, what I’m leaving, what I’m donating, and what needs to be thrown away immediately.

I was planning on starting this blog when I actually arrived in New Zealand, since who the heck wants to read a blog chronicling some American’s wild adventures in another country while they’re still in the States. But since I created this blog with the intention of chronicling *all* of my adventures, I wanted to start now. Because preparing to move to another country is absolutely bananas and I want to share the experience with you.

I am a very organized and efficient human being. I rarely forget to do something I need to do, or do it later than I’m supposed to. I have a good memory and I am constantly making to-do lists. But holy cow you guys. I’ve never used the “exploding brain emoji” as much as I have these last few months.

I have also never, ever had this many reminders constantly popping up in my iPhone calendar. A few examples, and please excuse the AGGRESSIVE CAPS LOCK and excessive use of !!!! but that’s exactly how I put these my phone:

“GET FBI BACKGROUND CHECK!!”
“CALL T-MOBILE/DBL CHECK OVERSEAS PLAN??”
“PICK UP NZ$ @ AAA!!”
“MAKE SURE AIR TAHITI FLIGHT INCLUDES CHECKED BAG????”
“HAVE I RECEIVED FBI BACKGROUND CHECK??”
“ORDER COMPRESSION BAG THINGIES FOR PACKING???”
“PUT ETSY SHOP ON VACATION MODE!!”
“GET CAR INSPECTED!!”
“DOWNGRADE CAR INSURANCE??”
“GET TAX STUFF READY FOR HAZEL!!!”
“SEND INT’L STAMPS/NZ ADDRESS TO PENPALS!!!”
“MED REFILLS MID-DECEMBER!!!”

And I keep a notepad and pen on the passenger seat of my car since every few days I think of even more things I have to do.

It’s a lot. Preparing to move abroad is a lot. There’s the practical side of it, such as what to do with my car (I’m keeping it because I love it) and what to do with everything I’m not bringing with me (neatly packing up and storing it in my parents’ attic). Then there’s the fact that I need to see as many of my friends as I possibly can, knowing that I won’t be seeing them again for another 6-7 months, which means going off Cape nearly every weekend but I’m still working full time so I’m just exhausted when I come home to start my work week. And then there are all of my AGGRESSIVE CAPS LOCK phone reminders and the scrawled notes on my passenger seat notepad. Yeesh.

I truly don’t know how people with real jobs, families, homes, pets, and all of those other grownup things move to another country. I really don’t. I’m overwhelmed, and I don’t own property, I have no kids or pets, I have a seasonal landscaping job that doesn’t require me to train a replacement or transfer all of my files over or attend exit interviews or whatever the heck other stuff happens when you leave a “real job”, and I don’t own anything that needs to be shipped overseas.

On top of all of that, there’s quite a lot of things I’ve had to do this year to prepare to submit my first visa application. I needed to order an original copy of my birth certificate. I needed to get updated passport photos. I needed to get what Immigration NZ calls a “Police Certificate,” which meant getting fingerprinted at my local police station (oooooo!) and then ordering my official background check from the FBI (it was VERY exciting to order my own rap sheet and I can’t wait to see what kind of dirt the Feds dig up on me!). Then, because I am hyper-organized and somewhat neurotic, I also got copies of my contact lens and eyeglasses prescription, a letter from my PCP stating that I’m in good health, and the past ten years of my medical records in case Immigration needs to see them. And yes, I went out and bought a bunch of international postage stamps to send to all of my penpals (I’m a lifelong avid letter-writer).

But all in all, I’m fine. A little “exploding head emoji,” but fine. I’m all packed and ready to go, though I will inevitably unpack and repack at least three times because…..I don’t know; just because I tend to do that. I have two more weeks left of work. I only have a few little things I need to buy before I go. I managed to see a boatload of my friends this year. I got a haircut. I think I’m good to go. 🙂



Ordering a copy of my rap sheet!