Want to sound smart? Use little words.

Words and writing

When I was a kid growing up in New Zealand, I had two favourite words:  antidisestablishmentarianism and Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. Antidisestablishmentarianism means, in case you don’t know this, opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the name of a tiny hill in New Zealand. In English it means the place where Tamatea, the…

My first real job

Personal stories

I hardly slept all night. The next day, I was starting my first real summer job – a salesgirl at McKenzies department store. I’d just turned 15. I begged my parents to let me interview for this job.  It was a big deal. In New Zealand, especially in the rural areas, Exclusive Brethren girls were…

Me and my life

Personal stories

I grew up in New Zealand.  I was born and raised in the village of Ashhurst, in the Manawatu district. Ashhurst is 14 kilometres from Palmerston North and about 150 kilometres north of Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. I was brought up Exclusive Brethren, originally called Plymouth Brethren. This is a fundamentalist, Christian group that uses…