New Zealand Culture Shock
4:34 PM
Before
I went to New Zealand, my naïve self thought that culture shock was centered
mostly around language: if I went to a place that spoke English, there would be
minimal culture shock, right? Not
necessarily. Culture shock may not be as
dramatic as a language barrier. It can
be as subtle as word choice and how to cross a street. I never felt culture shock in New Zealand all
at once. Instead, almost every day offered
a new concept or way of living. I wish I
could articulate all the differences I noticed, but the following examples are
the ones I remember from New Zealand.
1. Crossing the street. In America, the crosswalks signal when it is
safe for pedestrians to walk parallel to traffic to cross the road. At some intersections in New Zealand, all the
stop lights are red when the walking light appears. This allows pedestrians to walk diagonal
across the intersection. Other than late
at night in a low-traffic community, have you ever seen people walk diagonally
through an intersection in America?
2. Driving on the left. While on the subject of traffic, the Kiwis
follow their mother country by driving on the left side of the road. Early into my Kiwi adventure, I often momentarily
forgot which side of the road was the correct place to be. Luckily, I was never driving, so I never
caused an accident. Because Kiwis drive
on the left side of the road, the steering wheel inside vehicles is on the
right-hand side. More than once did I
forget which side of the car was the passenger side when riding with my
host-dad. I think no one wanted to
experience my driving.
3. Backpackers. New Zealand has a large tourist industry. With a large demand for accommodations,
backpackers, which are like a special type of hostel, were created. It is affordable because you rent a bed with
a pillow and blanket in a room with multiple beds that strangers rent. Backpackers saved me money and allowed me to
meet people from a variety of places. One
of the best parts of NZ culture is respect, and on my adventures staying in
backpackers, no one stole anything while I was away from the room.
4. A winter without snow. I knew I was travelling to New Zealand during
winter. Since I associate winter with
snow, I sent an e-mail to my host family saying how I was excited for winter
and especially the snow. They responded
saying that the Winterless North rarely receives snow. This baffled me since winter is synapse with
snow to me. Since Missouri and Auckland,
New Zealand, are both about 35 degrees latitude from the equator, I thought the
climates would be similar. However, I
was wrong. This website illustrates the temperature changes
I experienced in central Missouri: ice in the winter and saunas in the summer. In contrast, Auckland is considered part of
the Winterless North. This link graphs the temperature changes
throughout the year for Auckland, only averaging a high 77oF during
the summer.
5. Wear sunscreen, even in winter. Since New Zealand can be considered “the land
down under,” it is close enough to the South Pole to have a thinner ozone. I was not anticipating this on my trip. As a redhead, I have a higher sensitivity to
radiation, which causes me to easily sunburn.
Many days I tried to enjoy my lunch outside on the patio at work, but
after sitting outside for 10 minutes, I could feel the radiation harming my
skin.
6. Goodbye fruit pies, hello meat
pies. America is known for its fruit
pies, specifically apple pie. In
contrast, many New Zealanders have not tasted a fruit pie. They have a different type of pie, meat
pies. These are not a shepard’s
pie. It is meat and gravy baked into a
biscuit crust in pie form. It is
delicious. While talking about food, sausage
rolls are delicious as well. Sausage
rolls are sausage links that are an inch thick in diameter wrapped in a biscuit-type
dough. Simple but tasty. I highly recommend trying both.
7. Anchor & Fonterra, the major
dairy industries in New Zealand. Both corporations
export their milk and many Kiwis drink this milk. I personally did not like the taste of either
company’s milk. Their milk tasted watery
to me. I would always add sugar and
chocolate powder to milk in order to drink it.
I prefer my local Central Dairy milk in Missouri. While on the topics of milk, milk shakes in
New Zealand are not as thick as American milk shakes. To me, New Zealand milkshakes are slightly
thicker than the milk. While in New
Zealand, you must specifically request a “thick shake” to compare to an
American milkshake.
8. Marmite. It is a unique food that visitor should
try. If you are a true Kiwi, you will
like it.
9. No Wal-Marts. There are no Wal-Marts in New Zealand. Let that sink into your mind. There is no one-stop shop for almost anything
you want or need to buy. Instead,
stationary can be purchased at Office Max, food at the grocer, phones at
Vodafone, etc. Shopping trips are
planned more carefully when everything is not under one roof.
10. Tax included in the price. Imagine you are shopping at Walmart for
food. When you go purchase your food,
this magical thing called tax is applied then and not sooner. In New Zealand, the tax is already included
in the sales price. I was able to easily
add the price of my items before check-out to know how much I would pay.
11. No to 1¢, 2¢, and 5¢ cent coins, yes
to $1 and $2 coins. Kiwis voted to remove
the 1¢ coin from the market. Then they
voted the same for the 2¢ and 5¢ coins because they said they had to many
coins: 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, and $2 coins.
If an item is advertised for $9.93, the sales taxes is already
included. If you had the cashier a $10
bill (note), the cashier will not give you change since the market does not
have the coins to give change. However, debit
or credit card transactions would only be charged $9.93.
12. Not obligated to tip. Waiters and waitresses are paid a livable
wage without relying on tips. The adult
minimum wage in New Zealand is $15.75 (Employment New Zealand).
I was stunned when I realized Kiwis have a minimum wage paid twice that
of Missouri’s $7.70 minimum wage which is better than the federal minimum wage
of $7.25 (Minimum-Wage.org).
13. Options for flushing the
toilet. Instead of having the one handle
on the side like American toilets, New Zealand toilets have two options: light
flush or regular flush. I appreciated
their environmentally friendly attitude.
14. Football is weak; rugby is
better. I never enjoyed American
football. I never understood why people
enjoyed a game with a completely inaccurate description as a name. I remember attending my first rugby match in
the States, but I didn’t pay much attention since I was too busy talking to a
friend. However, one night my host
family in NZ invited me watch a rugby match with their friends. I am so glad I did. I enjoyed the environment and the sport. The rugby players do not wear padding like
the American football players. I was
able to see their faces and watch their emotions as plays were made. I recommend attending or watching a rugby
match while in New Zealand.
This
is not an exhaustive list of what struck me as culture shock in New Zealand. Since every person’s life is unique, what is perceived
as culture shock or surprising to me may not be so for another person. Through the difference and the surprises on
the trip, I learned more about what it is like to be Kiwi and what it is like
to be American. I encourage everyone to travel
outside their comfort zone to discover more about their identity.
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