Sorry! Missed this the first time around. Aroha mai (Māori for "my bad").
To begin, I have never heard Jacinda referred to as "Jaz." Not sure where that came from. But I haven't met her, so maybe close friends call her that. (I've met each of the three previous PMs; it's a small country. Called them all by their first name. Moms Skillethead has had long chats with the previous two.) And second, that pic could not be further from an actual pic of Jacinda. This is what she looks like:
https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217549/jacinda-ardern/ So, attractive, but not the babe in the pic.
We have several major natural advantages on this problem over countries like the US. First and foremost, we have a 2500 mile moat. Great for keeping people out.
Second, as a small island nation at the bottom of the world, we have a real national sense of "we have to take care of one another and this small place we call home." NZ is actually about the size of California, so not really that small, but certainly isolated.
Third, we have a parliamentary system of government. What the PM says, goes. She has the votes on most anything she wants to do. If the parliament rebels, we hold a new election.
Fourth, Kiwis are by and large incredibly nice people. We have our jerks like anybody else, but people say hi to one another on the street, help each other out, look out for folks who need help. I cannot tell you how many times we've been invited to dinner by people we've just met. Here's an example of Kiwiness: I was at a Home Depot like place that had a big garden section with plants. I was looking for a vine that would grow down over my dry stone wall. So I ask the guy who works in that area. He says, "Ah what you want is a hanging frimmitz (can't remember what they're called). They'll be great for your area." I say, "Super, do you guys sell them?" He says, "Sure, right over here." As we are walking to where they are he says, "Listen mate, you don't want to buy them here." I say, "I don't? Where should I buy them?" He says, "Nowhere. I've got a bunch of them at my place. I'll make you some cuttings and next week you come over and you can have them for free. Here's my address." And just today, my neighbor who runs his sheep and cattle on my land comes over with about a 20 pound bag of venison he's just butchered. Venison filet on the barbecue tonight.
Fifth, we live within our means. Thus, we don't have a large national debt and can afford a big wage subsidy plan to get us through this.
And sixth, people really do like Jacinda Ardern. She's a lovely person, incredibly smart, and seems to work around the clock. She says "I don't know" when she doesn't know, and "I'm sorry" when she makes a mistake. I actually liked our previous two PMs who were in the conservative party (called "National"). I didn't agree with many of their policies, but I knew that they had New Zealand's best interests at heart.
We've just moved from a very tight lockdown to a lesser one last week, and we will go to a near normal in about a week or so if everything goes right. I've actually enjoyed the lockdown, but then I've shown you guys a pic of where I live.
And, rugby is coming back! When it's back, I'll post a thread on it. If you have any chance to get it there, I can pretty much guarantee you'll like it if you like football (or "gridiron" as we refer to it here -- football is soccer, and "footy" is rugby -- "you watching the footy tonight?").
Hope this helps.
Skillet
