The Culture Shocks

by Malu Penella

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New Zealand

My thank you (almost love) letter to New Zealand.

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I first arrived to New Zealand an excited and nervous international exchange student.

I left the country only a few hours ago as a changed person…a better one.

I believe living in New Zealand did me good and made me change my perspective on life for the better. These are the reasons why I am immensely grateful. This is my very small, but honest way of saying thank you.

Thank you for welcoming me with open arms,

For being the diverse country that you are.

Thank you for showing me that there are still kind people in the world,

For every Kiwi that smiled at me, walking down Queen Street.

Thank you for the friendships I have built here,

For the nights of dancing, laughing and absolute fun.

Thank you for Auckland with its beaming Sky Tower,

For being the city of sails.

Thank you for Wellington,

For your roads that lead to ever more beautiful landscapes.

Thank you for showing me that there are still clean rivers in the world,

For the shades of green and blue of your water.

Thank you for your volcanic heart,

For the vast immensity of Lake Taupo.

Thank you for every single time I raised my eyes to the sky to find the most breathtaking scene yet,

For Wanaka and Queenstown.

Thank you for being Maori,

For being Aotearoa.

Thank you for the ever-present silver fern,

For the never-ending nature that extends through your land.

Thank you for showing me what winter actually looks like,

For the first snowy flakes of my life.

Thank you for your beaches,

For leaving me in awe of natural beauty.

Thank you, New Zealand, for changing my life.

I leave you knowing that I will come back.

Knowing that my life will be better because I lived here.

Knowing that I will carry a piece of you in my heart forever.

Back in crazy and crowded but beautiful Mexico:

I will always be a little Kiwi.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

Haere Ra

Myths about The Haka you need to stop believing.

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There are a few things that people in different countries associate with New Zealand. The most obvious ones are The Lord of the Rings and, drumroll, The All Blacks Haka. For those of you who are not familiar with this tradition, let me explain in very simple steps what it consists on:

– In New Zealand rugby is the most popular sport.

-New Zealand’s rugby team is called The All Blacks.

Source: http://www.rugby.co.nz/blog/?id=187

-Before every match they perform something that looks like this:

What you just watched is a Maori tradition called the Haka. And because the All Blacks have made this their trademark, the Haka has become well known around the world, but its meaning has also been misconcieved because of this. So here are some of the myths about the Haka that you need to stop believing.

1) It is only performed by men.




This is a common misconception that exists due to the fact that it is mainly the All Blacks (all men) that we see performing this Maori dance, however, there are hakas that can be interpreted by women and even children. And…just in case you were wondering, the female rugby team of New Zealand also performs The Haka.

2) It is a war dance.

Wel this is really a trick question. Because it is a war dance, that was originally used to intimidate enemies and attackers at times of war or tension. But it has evolved into a practice that can take place for entertainment and even to pay a warm welcome to visitors, as a sign of respect. Take this video as an example:

This leads us to the next myth…

3) There is only one Haka.

As there are many reasons why a Haka might be performed, there are also many chants and choreographies that accompany the ritual.

I know you love the Haka, and if you are a sports enthusiast, I know you already want to go to an All Blacks game to watch it live, but until you finally get to do that, I hope this video is enough to calm your nerves:

5 Culturally Shocking Things About New Zealand

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New Zeland is a fantastic place. Just one of those places you have to see before you die. Put it in your bucketlist and get it done. That being said, there are some things about this country that as a foreigner, I don’t think I could ever get used to. Not things that strike me in a bad way, but just so different from my Mexican background, or my Mexico City constant-crazyness culture, that I could never look at them without being surprised.

Without further ado, here is my personal list of Kiwi things I find culturally shocking:

1) Incredibly relaxing yet mind-blowing barefootedness which can be spotted everywhere form the beach, to the supermarket and even the airport. People in New Zealand know what is good in life and taking your shoes off (all the time) is a part of that.



2) Noise-offs and people’s extreme desire to show off their car which takes place in every city in New Zealand that has cars and people, so basically, everywhere. I have to admit this one is not an enjoyable one, because…well, it makes people look very conceded and unaware of the fact that every time their car engine roars, a ton of pollution is released into the world.

3) The internet in New Zealand sucks and it is limited…LIMITED!

And then you realize that New Zealand is a developed country that should have an outstanding internet service.

And then you also relaize you are from a developing country that has better-and way cheaper- internet service than New Zealand. 

And then you learn that McDonald’s offers free Wi-Fi to its costumers.

And then you thank the burguer-making gods of the Universe.

But then you realize that the Wi-Fi at McDonald’s is also LIMITED…and sucky.

4) Kiwis have intense, completely-different-from-anything-you’ve heard-accents. If you want a guide to New Zealand English (some people call it Kiwinglish) see the one below:

Source: http://kiwiscots.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/kiwinglish-11-last-tutorial.html

5) Kiwis are always upbeat, happy and ready to wish you a good morning, a good day and basically a good life. This is not a bad thing at all, in fact, I love this about New Zealand; people are so kind and chatty. They are just good, honest people. But being from one of the largest metropolis in the world, you kind of forget people can be as nice as Kiwis are.

On that note, I hope you have a good morning and good day (depending on your time zone) and generally a good life. Cheers!

10 Things I Bet You Didn’t Know About New Zealand

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We get it, New Zealand is where most of The Lord of the Rings was shot. Other than that what do you know about this secluded, amazing and beautiful country?

Here’s my list of things about New Zealand I am pretty sure you had no notion of:

1) New Zealand has no Constitution.

I know right? I was pretty shocked as well, instead of a Constitution they have a document called the Treaty of Waitangi that was signed by Maori tribes and English settlers in 1840.
 

2) There are more sheep than people in New Zealand.

According to Statistics New Zealand there are 31.1 million sheep in NZ, while the population reaches 4 and a half million people. That makes the sheep-person ratio 7 to 1.

3) New Zealand produces 100kg of butter for each of its inhabitants and 65 kgs of cheese.

Source: http://wifflegif.com/tags/5996-butter-gifs

4) New Zealand is home of the first commercial bungee jump.

Source: http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/4761895/untitled/

It was installed in Queenstown in 1988 and required the jumper to fall from a 43 meter height. Queenstown is now home to a 134 meter bungee jump. Picture that.

5) New Zealand is home to the highest swing in the world.

Source: http://www.mydriveholiday.com/new-zealand/south-island/queenstown/attraction-detail/the-nevis-swing

This is a feet-first option for the people who don’t want to jump head-first in bungee mode. Still, going feet-first and reaching speeds of 150 kph is scary anyway.

6) New Zealand is the second country in the world with more McDonald’s per person after the US.

Source: http://gifsoup.com/view/53901/mcdonald.html

7) Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the name of a hill in New Zealand. It is also the longest name of any place in the world.

Source: http://www.reactiongifs.com/page/7/

8) In New Zealand there are three official languages which are English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language.

Kia Ora means welcome in Maori. Source: http://jackthewebber.com/project/kia-ora-clothing/

9) New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow women to vote.

Source: http://replygif.net/t/fuck-yeah

10) A street by the name of Baldwin Street, located in the town of Dunedin, in New Zealand’s South Island is the steepest one in the world. Take that San Francisco.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_Street

BONUS: New Zealand’s current PM, John Key, had to publicly clarify that he was not a “shapeshifting reptilian alien” after citizens officialy sent petitions explaining they believed the politician might have been an alien.

Source: http://beforeitsnews.com/paranormal/2014/02/pm-key-officially-not-a-reptoid-2464320.html

Source: http://thecultureshocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/l.gif

For this and many other things, come to New Zealand!