An Experience of Culture Shock -- Yuri

     I have spent about six months in New Zealand already. During my stay, I have found a lot of differences between New Zealand and Japan and I feel culture shock. I will write about my biggest culture shock in this essay.

   The biggest culture shock I have experienced was the friendliness and kindness of New Zealanders. I take the bus to school every day and when people get off the bus they always say 'thank you' or 'thank you driver' loudly. Not a day goes by that I don't encounter this situation. But I have never seen this behaviour in Japan. The first time I saw it, I was really surprised and could not say "thank you" out loud, but my host mother told me it is rude to get off the bus without thanking them. Since then, I could say "thank you".

Another example of the friendliness and kindness of New Zealanders was when I was travelling around Auckland with my friends from the same Japanese university as me, and we were wandering around looking at the map because it was the first time we had been there. And then a stranger said, "Are you lost? Thanks to her, we were able to ask how to get there. I don't think I could do the same in Japan. Also, people in Dunedin always say hello to me when I walk down the street.

These experiences are rarely seen in Japan, so these were the most impressive and surprising things for me. I think these things should be respected.