Whoa whoa.. Cultural Differences!

I must start this blog post with this epic video that I took during my first week in Wellington at Red Rocks with my awesome flatmates and bros (pause the music up top to the left):

Yes that was music that was already playing from my phone when I found Corey a better 'Gandalf'.

Now that I've been in the country for a month I think it's time to talk about my thoughts on Kiwi culture. There's a lot. From the lingo to the attitude to the way most things operate is similar to the US in some ways but very different in others. The one thing you MUST remember down here is that Kiwi are not Australians. After a while you begin to understand why Kiwi's like to distinguish themselves from their bigger, louder, more obnoxious, and goofy neighbor. It's like the rivalry between the US and Canada that you've seen in South Park but a bit more intense. At least that's what I've experienced. Here's a few examples:


Obviously, New Zealand wins by a long shot.

The next most obvious thing that I've experienced here is the attitude of just about every single Kiwi I've come in contact with here. I can't recall any locals here in a month that have been pissed off or generally unhappy. No everyone down here is loving life. there are some homeless on the streets but even they seem to be in high spirits although it might just be the drugs that they might be on. Aside from that, from the convenience store clerk, to my classmates, to my doctor, to my professors, everyone is considerate, respectful and smile every time you make eye contact and I don't think it's just because of my good looks. I think people tend to be happier when they are more relaxed and EVERYTHING here is more relaxed than anywhere I've been besides maybe Hawaii. The atmosphere is relaxed but people here are extremely efficient about the way they do things. The design of crosswalks, the way bus stops have digital times of when the buses will arrive, the amount of ATM's at every corner, the security chip scanners at grocery stores, the monetary incentive to use reusable bags at grocery stores, the way they've simplified change to make small change actually useful and less complicated.

There are no pointless 1 cent or 5 cent coins here

(Much more cultural experiences in my next post.)



Schoolwise, I love the way things operate. Some students complain about the need for tutorials but I think
it's an awesome idea and I feel like I'm actually going to remember some of the things I hear from lectures when I'm at them. Tutorials at VUW are similar to labs from my school at Bridgewater State except almost every class has them either as a requirement to attend or a recommendation to attend. One of my tutorials is an hour and briefly goes over some things covered in the past 2 weeks lectures. My professor said the other day that "the point of Uni (University/college) is to learn things about the world but the biggest thing to take away is the ability to remember and decide what is important/relevant to you". Boom, nail on the head for me and I think tutorial help a lot with figuring out the important stuff said in class and discussing it instead of going straight to tests and not fully understanding whats important and whats not.

The other great thing at VUW is the idea of a class rep for every class. This is such a typical Kiwi Can Do attitude. (Kiwi Can Do attitude meaning how most Kiwi are bold, speak up when they have something to say, and don't care what other people think; very similar to my own mentality.) A class rep, to which I agree strongly with my professor is a genius and convenient idea in which the students of each class (like all 70 to 200 students) vote an elect 1 person to be the main communicator to the professor. It's a mini democracy within each class. The professors tend to be busy and if there's a major issue such as a class being too difficult or a professor talking too fast, the class rep will address the issue to the professor but do it anonymously so nobody is thrown under the bus and the professor is made aware of criticism or problems. I loved the idea and raised my hand to be one for every class I've been in. After a close election in my Urban Geography class, I was elected the class rep. I immediate created a Facebook page and strangely, I think every single person in the class joined within a week. I love it when people are proactive.

VUWSA is great

The Student Government here has their own building with their logo on it and provides free bread to students on some mornings, helps fight legal cases for the student against the school (yes I know, like a real student government should), gives you a credit card for signing up that you can use around town for discounts and all kinds of other awesome things for students.

The student magazine here is pretty worth picking up and has some pretty funny opinion pieces and actually good articles written by students about current events. It's free and published every Monday.

Then you got your VILP, The Victoria International Leadership Programme which you sign up for and listen to super interesting lectures about world issues and do projects that count for class credit.

Then you have the just plain crazy views from all over campus as a result of the Uni being located on a hillside.

(Pictures to follow shortly)

That's my intro for now to mark my 1 month here. I'll add more later.