2015年7月3日金曜日 - 
Candace: Summer in New Zealand part 1
Kia Ora! My name is Candace, and I'm a Kiwi girl living in Osaka. I'd like to tell
you about a typical New Zealand summer.
The first thing you should know about New
Zealand is that everything is upside down and back to front. The north is hot, the south is cold, and the seasons are all
backwards! Although we celebrate similar traditions to England and America,
sometimes the seasonal difference makes it interesting. For instance, Easter
was originally a festival celebrating the coming of spring – hence all the
bunnies and eggs, which are symbols of fertility and new life – but for us
it happens in autumn. And Halloween, which has origins as an autumn harvest
festival, falls in the spring in New Zealand. But by far my favourite is
Christmas; summer in New Zealand falls from December to February, so we get
Christmas in the summertime. It is common to see imagery of Santa Claus wearing a
Hawaiian shirt, boardies and jandals. In New Zealand, Santa loves to surf!
New Zealand is beautiful 365 days a year, but summer is when it really shines. Our summers are warm but not too hot, and even in the north where the humidity is highest we cannot compare to the humidity of Japan. Kiwi families enjoy trips to the local beach, backyard cricket, and frequent barbecues in summer. New Zealand is made of islands, so most people live close to a beach. If not, you're sure to be close to a river or lake which are also popular. My favorite is Lake Rotoaira, a small lake in the centre of the North Island, where I spent a week last summer.
Kia Ora：Maori greeting. “Hello!” ：マオリ族の挨拶
Kiwi：New Zealander, a person from New Zealand. Refers to the
bird, not the fruit! ：ニュージーランド人
upside down / back to front：backwards, the wrong way：逆さま
fertility：多産
imagery：artwork and photos：絵や写真など
boardies：shorts made for swimming：男性用水着
jandals：summer sandals with a Y shaped strap：ビーチサンダル