I just realised last night that even in just one month of being in the States I have almost cut out all of my New Zealandisms from everyday conversations! Mainly because the people here would not understand the Maori words haha, but also other words like "cuz", "chur", "bro", "sweet as" - things I said alll the time, now don't come out of my mouth at all! Its funny to think that things you say all the time can suddenly, easily, vanish from your vocabularly, particularly Maori phrases that I normally use like Kia Ora, tu meke, ka kite, kia kaha etc.
The one time that I do use a NZ term is when I see this plant:
I have always known it as toi toi and since I literally do not know what else to call it (I didn't even think they would have it over here!) I tell the kids that it is called toi toi. Haha. Its my one reminder of my home country!
Perhaps I will try to teach the kids some New Zealandisms. I would hate to return to New Zealand and find that I have forgotten all the Maori words that I have tried so hard to learn.
:)
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