“We meet again, at the turn of the tide. A great storm is coming, but the tide has turned.” ~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Facing Culture Shock: An Unexpected Experience

Today is Saturday. It's cold, windy, and raining, so I don't feel guilty sitting inside and blogging. I have now spent approximately one week in New Zealand. I think I've figured out where my sources of culture shock will originate. I'll elaborate.

As usual, photos may not correlate...

Very cute houses! That fence is across the street from me. Love these views.

First of all, I'm having difficulty getting online. There are internet cafes and Starbucks shops, but it is definitely not so easily accessible as in Atlanta. Here, at Starbucks you have to pay per hour for their wifi. All of the internet at the hostels I've stayed at you have to pay. Four dollars for one hour—are they joking?

Adorbsss <3

No. I am now incredibly grateful for the ease of which I can get wifi at home. Ihop, Starbucks, and McDonald's I now intend to appreciate, for free wifi here is nearly non existent.

One of the few books I've paid full price of my own money for.

The one free wifi network appears to be of revolutionary magnitude in Wellington. Many articles were written about it. To use it, you have to "pick" a sponsor, and then you get thirty minutes free. Once your thirty minutes are up, you must reconnect. Even then, it's patchy and sluggish. Not what I'm used to.

Does it remind you of Lord of the Rings? 

I can only conclude that I have been wifi spoiled.

I hope my flatmates return to school soon and hook up their wifi so I will not be deprived any longer.

Another beautiful view of the city!

Wellington is incredibly pedestrian friendly. There are sidewalks everywhere. Even in Christchurch, where the earthquakes recently left the city in ruins, there are sidewalks. And if there isn't, there is a sign to continue on the other side of the road. How kind.

In Wellington, the cars always yield to you. I was on the sidewalk next to a crosswalk (not a light, just a crosswalk.), and I had just decided I wanted to cross when a car stopped. I hadn't even stepped out onto the road.

This is of revolutionary magnitude to me.

I am so happy to be here in Lord of the Rings country.

In Atlanta, there are signs that say it's the law to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Even then, it's rare for a car to stop unless you're in the middle of the crosswalk. I am finding this incredible kindness to pedestrians unfamiliar and foreign.

Another immensely cute house.

And finally, the fashion of the people walking the streets intimidates me increasingly every day. My dad says that in the capital city of any country you'll find lots of stylish people. I guess he's right.

This is a "gum" tree, according to Glenn. The trees that Koalas live in.
So a Eucalyptus tree? But of course, since it's an Australian tree... kiwis are not so keen.

I've never been terribly keen with keeping up with trends and spending lots of money on clothes. But I've never cared if everyone else looks “better” than I do. Combined with the fact that I didn't bring many clothes because I didn't want to have to carry around my entire wardrobe, I dread to think what these people here think of me.

I am scared this city will chew me up and spit me out.

In the hopes of revamping my looks, I've been hitting the “pre-loved” shops here. My goal is to not stick out like a sore thumb.

Another pretty view from Mount Vic.

I assumed that I wouldn't have to deal with much culture shock. I assumed I'd be missing people and home, but I didn't think I'd have many problems here. New Zealand, given its previous relationship with the United Kingdom, I expected would be very similar to the Western world.

Maybe every place does have its differences after all?

Apparently, years ago, they shot off this cannon at noon every day so people would know what time it was. Pretty snazzy.

In other news, I've finally started meeting some kiwis. The first couple days of orientation, I met a lot of other people, but most of them were other internationals—many from America. There are people here from New York, Nebraska, Florida, Boston, California, North Carolina... I could go on. There are a couple people from China, and a girl from Germany. It's been fun meeting all these new people, but I'm here to meet kiwis and see New Zealand. So I'm pretty thrilled.

Sorry if this offends anyone. It's a pizza place. A really yummy one incidentally...

Yesterday I climbed Mount Vic with one of the guys I met here. It wasn't raining, but it was really windy, especially when we got to the top. The national rugby team's symbol is a silver fern. They're called the All Blacks. He showed me the plant that their symbol comes from, which was really cool.

One more panoramic from Mount Vic. I loved the sky. It was obscenely windy when we got up there...

Fun fact—parts of Lord of the Rings were filmed on Mount Vic. Even though we may not have found the exact spots where the filming was done, we looked. It was extremely exciting because the whole place reminded me of the movie. I didn't want to leave.

So this is the silver fern. It's green on top. You have to flip it over, and the other side is "silver"

Last night, we went to a rugby game. It was the Wellington Hurricanes against the Waikato Chiefs. It was my very first rugby game, and it was absolutely fantastic. I guess in some ways it is similar to American football, but the biggest difference is that you can only throw the ball sideways or backwards. Also, it barely ever stops. When there's a pile up, you have to watch for the ball to come out because they keep moving. It was exciting, and the Hurricanes won at the last second.

John, Rebecca, and me before the game started. Black and gold FTW! 

Huge stadium, lots of crazy fans, really great energy.

Hardcore, padless rugby players piling on each other.

No big deal, they just shoot off fire when the Hurricanes get a try (like a touchdown)

These are the people that stayed with me to get autographs. I'm in the converse, that's John in the jeans, and Rebecca is the one in black.

After the game, I stayed with a few of the Americans we came with to get some autographs. There weren't any lines, just kids and people reaching over a gate trying desperately to get close enough to stick a poster in the players faces for them to sign. Some mothers were pretty mean and pretty scary, but I talked to a few people, and they helped me get closer to get some autographs. Chaotic atmosphere, and they do the wave here. It was an awesome night.

Successful evening, I'd say. I got lots of autographs for us.

This morning, we went swimming. The temperature outside was around 12º C or 50-52ºF, and windy with rain that felt like spray. In fact, the temperature of the water was around 11ºC, so I thought the water felt fantastic. I might do it again. We were pretty soaked by the time we got to the water, but it was heaps of fun. I went with the German girl I met at orientation, as well as the guy I climbed Mount Vic with, and two of his friends.


He made a video actually. You can watch it here!!

This is Glenn. He's from up North, but not as far as Auckland. He took me up Mount Vic, and went swimming with me, obviously, since we aren't wearing shoes...

Tomorrow morning there's a market by the bay. I'm really excited to get some cheaper fruits and veggies, and to see what fun things they have there.

Bye! <3