Culture Shock and First Impressions from New Zealand
27 Jan 2014
I recently read a travel blog where the blogger professed to never have experienced culture shock. Seriously? — how can you be a travel blogger and avoid culture shock? Maybe I have a very loose definition of the phenomenon but I’m pretty sure I’ve felt it in California. In fact, to a certain extent, I think I enjoy experiencing a little bit of culture shock here and there–I love noticing the little differences in how people interact, talk, eat, sleep, etc. When I stay in one place for too long, I feel like I get lazy and stop noticing all the little details that make life so interesting.
Admittedly, aside from the total mind warp of a time change, adjusting to New Zealand has been pretty easy. Things that might have been difficult elsewhere are made easy by the relative lack of a language barrier and, perhaps just as significant, the fact that Macky and I look pretty much just like everybody else. It helps to not stick out. That said, certain things are different here and certain things are not as I expected. So I would say, yes, there has been a little bit of culture shock.
1 The Language
You want me to put my what where?
You’ll notice earlier I said relative lack of a language barrier. You say, what’s the problem, Kiwis speak English, right? Right. The problem is that they’re much better at speaking English than I am. They also use all sorts of strange lingo, like track for trail or bonnet for the hood of the car or, our personal favorite, trundler for shopping cart (expect a post on Kiwi terminology later). But really, that’s not so bad as you can usually figure it out from the context. In fact, I don’t have that much trouble understanding New Zealanders at all. The problems arise when I open my mouth.
A recent grocery store interaction:
Me: Excuse me, where could I find ice?
Clerk: *blank look* What?
Me: Ice, like, to put in a cooler. *crosses fingers that cooler is term used in New Zealand*
Clerk (just as I’m about to really make an ass out of myself and say “you know, the frozen cold stuff”): Ohhhhh, oice.
Right. Oice. I’ll have to practice that one. This is the sort of thing that happened to me constantly when I was living in Argentina but I’m just not used to it happening in my native tongue.
2 Driving
The view from the other side
Like a good former British colony, New Zealand drives on the left side of the road. For the severely uncoordinated, right-hand dominant like myself, this is unfortunate. Especially when the first thing you do in said former British colony is run and out and purchase a stick shift car. Let me spell this out for you in case you’re not quite following the gravity of the situation — the gearshift is on your left and you shift with your left hand. While shifting with your left hand, you also have to steer and watch out for pedestrians and stay on what, despite myriad evidence to the contrary, feels like the wrong side of the road. And to make matters worse, every time you try to turn on your blinker you will hit your windshield wipers instead.
My first attempt at driving our new car (in traffic, in Auckland, omg) was surprisingly successful, which is to say I didn’t kill anyone and I exited the car with all four limbs intact. I did, however, take a pesky left turn too tight and hit a curb, flatting the front tire. I also peeled out numerous times, nearly entered a roundabout going the wrong direction and mistook the windshield wipers for the blinkers every single time. So….it could have gone better.
2 Food
Steak and kidney pie. Yum? Maybe…
As far as other first impressions go…Everyone is super helpful. The weather changes every five minutes. The WIFI is horrible. The mountain biking is rad. The rivers are crystal clear. The plants are unfamiliar. The birdsong is unlike anything I have ever heard. In sum, it is every bit as beautiful as everyone says and we are having far too much fun, just like this sign predicted:
What do you think? Can culture shock be fun? Share your thoughts below!
This post contains affiliate links. Bloggers have to eat, too.
I think a bit of culture shock is good to experience although I would probably freak out if I had to drive a manual transmission car on the opposite side of the road than I am use to while trying to shift with my opposite hand!
Yeah, I basically freaked out. I could do without the 100 km/hr, 2 ton vehicle kind of culture shock…
I really liked this article and wanted to carry on reading about your funny experiences with the differences you found over there. Being British and also driving on the left, pretty much every other country I’ve been to has confused as a driver, cyclist and pedestrian crossing the road, as the majority of countries drive on the right! I have to admit that we use the word track (as well as trail incidentally) and the word bonnet too ;-) It is amusing noticing all these little anomalies though, and I love they way that everything is “sweet” to the Kiwis. Have fun, I’m looking forward to reading more!
People don’t usually associate culture shock with places like Australia or NZ if they are from America or Canada – but, like you said, there are definitely different things that will catch you off guard!
The slang really threw me for a loop when I moved there, too!
Oh, and FYI, a cooler is actually a “chilly bin” in NZ. Just for future reference when you are out buying oice. ;)
Ah, good to know about the chilly bins. I feel silly just writing it, though. Haha.
Syd, you crack me up. But you should know that’s the PROPER side to drive on. But do take things careful, we want you back in one piece thanks.
Hahaha, no.
It is not! :p
Sooo my first trip to England…I had a similar experience with renting a car. I actually drove a stick so that’s not an issue. However, driving on the OTHER side of the road, on the OTHER side of the car, with the OTHER hand?!!! How no one died, I don’t know. And roundabouts..? Yea, not good. That’s great that the cheapest PB & J had no corn syrup in it…come on, get with the program America.
Yeah, theoretically I can drive stick in America, though I’ve never been a huge fan of it and I hate uphill stop signs with a passion. And using the other hand basically sends me back to square one….
From my secondhand observations, culture shock can be the worst in places that are ‘mostly’ similar to your home. When nothing looks familiar and you don’t speak the language, you’re prepared for an all-new experience – in a semi-familiar place every difference is disorienting.
So true!
Of all the places where I expected to encounter massive Culture Shock, China was the one I was very familiar with. I blame it on the fact that every major city in the world has their own version of China Town!!!
Yeah, I’ve found culture shock to be totally unpredictable…
We went to South Africa for our Honeymoon. It was the best possible culture shock I could imagine. There’s no “adjustment” time, you’re literally thrown in (or flown in?) and just deal with everything right away. My husband had the same issue with blinkers and windshield wipers. He finally got the hang of it around the beginning of our 3rd week. And then we went home and he messed them up in his normal American car. It was comical.
Ha, yes, the blinkers and the windshield wipers are the HARDEST PART.
Pingback: Milford Sound: Marble Beaches, Forty-Dollar Campsites and Fresh Snow | Nomadically InclinedNomadically Inclined
You find hummus cheap here? How random!
Groceries are crazy expensive here. Compared to the US, I think a lot of packaged stuff is on par, but things like meat and some veggies are way more expensive, sigh.
Yeah, the suburban takeaways are often a bit of a catchall – fish and chips, burgers and greasy Chinese food, but that’s because most of our takeaways are run by Asians (and burgers aren’t that hard to make).
I apologise for our accents – we mumble a lot and talk fast!
Pingback: How to Drive in New Zealand: Perils and Pitfalls of Driving on the Left | Nomadically InclinedNomadically Inclined
I’ve only been in New Zealand for a couple of months now, but I sure do love those fish and chip takeaways. As an American, I suppose it’s just in our nature to love the deep-fried goodness! :)
nomnomnom the chips all wrapped up in greasy newspaper oh godddddd
Pingback: Blogpost 5: The Blessing and Curse of Cell Reception – Hiking Boots And New Routes