An Experience of Culture Shock -- Milae

 When I traveled to New Zealand for the first time, I was very surprised because of the big culture differences between Korea and New Zealand. Especially at the beginning of my trip, there were many situations where I felt panic because of culture shock. Now, I have been here for almost 10 months, so I usually don’t feel culture shock but sometimes I can find many interesting things in culture differences. 

The first culture shock I experienced was the greeting culture. During my trip, many strangers said “Hi” and smiled at me. It was very surprising for me, because in Korea we usually don’t say “Hi” or smile at strangers. And when I greeted hotel staff and restaurant waiter, they always asked me “How are you?”, It was very interesting because in Korea we only say “Hi” very simply. 

The second was about Maori culture. Before I visit New Zealand, I didn’t know about Maori culture, but as soon as I arrived at the airport, I could find a lot of Maori culture everywhere. Among many Maori cultures, what I shocked was Maori tattoo. In Korea, I’ve never seen people who have a tattoo in their faces. But many Maori people have the tattoo in their face. I really respect their culture and it’s cool, but when I saw at the first time, it was quite scary for me.  

It doesn’t take long time to get used to those cultures because I liked the people who show those cultures for me. The people who said “Hi” and smiled to me were very friendly and I liked talking with them, so I was able to get used to them easily. And when I joined the Maori festival in Rotorua, I could understand their cultures and many Maori people who welcome me. In my opinion, the fast way to overcome culture shock is to experience and understand the people who live in that culture.