The one thing i'm always asked is "What is the biggest difference"? This is almost my least favorite question, because well, a lot of things are different. I thought i'd take the time now, to tell you about one of my favorite little differences which is a staple of cultural identity--food. It might seem silly but food is one of those things that no matter where you go, you see evidence of cultural choices in (ie fast food for the on the go american, vegetarian food for the religiously observant Indian, and so forth). Even in Western countries such as the UK, and Ireland you still find food that is very different from what you (or in this case me) am used to. My favorite thing to do in a new place is checking out a grocery store, not just because i love to cook but because its always a different and facinating experience. Here the differences lie in simple things--there are an abundance of sweet potatoes here. Despite many attempts to stomach them growing up, i've never really been a huge fan of them. In New Zealand tho, they are everywhere in the form of the Kumara (which is as far as i understand just the Maori word for sweet potato). Huge sections in the grocery store and even in fast food joints (i refuse to call them restaurants)-they're served a long side our normal deep fried fries. But what originally inspired me to write this entry was......Broccoflower. Yes, that's right, broccoflower. I took this picture while at the grocery store last weekend.


It is what looks like Cauliflower only green (presumably some odd half child of broccoli). Now maybe we grow up acutely unaware of odd things in our own culture (not sure what strange vegetables i'm passing in my mind at the moment because they dont' seem all that odd to me) but broccoflower is just wrong. They also have Broccolini which looks like asparagus with broccoli florets at the top. This may seem like an odd thing to write a whole entry about but as they say it's the little things that make the difference.