America and New Zealand are the same in many ways. Both countries have many of the same brands like Mcdonald's, Coca-Cola, Mclaren, and Hilton. Both countries love coffee. I have had a lot of coffee while being here and it is better here. Both also call their currencies the dollar.

There are also some differences. Some of the most noticeable are the differences in their units of measure. Here are some examples of the conversions I've had to learn:

Kilometers vs Miles

A kilometer is 0.621 miles. So if you see a speed limit sign that says 100 on it that means kilometers per hour not miles per hour.

To convert from miles to kilometers multiply the length by 1.609. To convert from kilometers to miles multiply the length by 0.621.

The usual speed limit on motorways in New Zealand is 100 kilometers per hour which is 62.137 miles per hour. The usual speed limit on interstates in Illinois is 70 miles per hour which is 113 kilometers per hour.

Litres vs Liters vs Gallons

One US liquid gallon is 3.78541 liters so that means 5 gallon jug is 19 litres. A liter and a litre are the same thing, but it's spelled litre here and liter at home.

Gas is sold in liters instead of gallons and so instead of MPG it is MPL and so it looks worse than it is to an American.

Dollars vs Dollars

The American dollar (USD) and the New Zealand dollar (NZD) are different. The NZD is worth .66 USD. Because both use the $ symbol I will just use NZD and USD instead.

The exchange rate is 1 NZD is .66 USD and the formula is the same. Here are the items I've eaten from the mini bar so far:

• Candy Bar: 1 NZD cost me .66 USD
• M&Ms: 6 NZD cost me 3.96 USD

• Pringles: 9 NZD cost me 5.94 USD

  We filled up our rental car with 51 litres of gas and paid 112.19 NZD for it. That means we paid 74.05 USD for 13.47 gallons or 5.50 US per gallon.