16 Things I Learnt From Living in New Zealand

As a Nepali Indian growing up in a small town of Darjeeling, life was pretty much simple. Moving to places and traveling did let me expand my horizon of thinking and accepting cultures in life and the last six months I spent in New Zealand has been absolutely amazing. Everyday in New Zealand has been an adventure, seeing and experiencing new things on a daily basis and learning so many things. 

    New Zealand has been everything I wish for and actually quite more than that. I had always wanted life to be a bumpy ride, full of adventure and trust me, New Zealand is one big adventure, opening doors to so many cultures and ideas, that has made me realize that there are so many things life has to offer. Reflecting on the last 6 months I spent living in New Zealand, there is a long list of things I have learnt.

   Here are 16 things that I learnt living in New Zealand:

1. Everyone is really friendly and teaches you the culture of friendliness

Source: New Zealand.com

 The first thing I realized after coming to New Zealand is everyone you meet, even a stranger passing by the street is really friendly. I was used to those fast paced lifestyle where no one cared who you are or has time to even look at you  and then here in New Zealand, everyone you meet, talk to or even pass by the road, has a smile on their face. What surprised me the most was that even strangers whom you cross ways would just come up and greet you 'Good morning' and my first reaction to it was like, 'Do I know that person?'. Later I realized that it was just a culture of being friendly to one another despite of who you are or what you do. Six months in New Zealand and I am quite glad that I have embedded in myself this culture of friendliness.

2. New Zealand has the BEST COFFEE in the world

I have always been a huge coffee addict and I always felt something missing with every cafe latte I sipped in the evenings or the first mug of Americano I had in the morning or the espresso I took for my power boosting regime. Then in New Zealand, I was introduced to their coffee and I realized, this was what I was missing my entire life. A cup of flat white is just so perfect, which was always missing on my cafe latte. Coffees like long black for instance seems to be created perfectly for me and maybe that is why a double shot espresso never worked so well for me.

3. Shoes are not a requirement. People go barefoot everywhere

Seriously, people go barefoot everywhere and especially when it is summers, shoes are not even needed. It was a totally weird experience I had but once I was used to it, it seemed pretty normal to me. Actually, I did try going to the nearby dairy once or twice barefoot and as weird as it felt, I enjoyed it. Trust me, if you're a foreigner living in New Zealand and haven't tried it, you should definitely try it once.

4. People know how to indulge with nature

I was absolutely amazed by how people in New Zealand just indulge with nature everyday. For me, spending my leisure time was basically watching tv, going out to eat and drink or partying but after coming to New Zealand, I was so inspired by people all around here to indulge in activities with nature which is so fun. That would not only mean extreme sports like bungee jumping and sky diving, but even just going out for a stroll along the beach on a bike or hiking or just jogging along walkaways is so fulfilling. 

5. Groceries are pretty expensive

 

I am not quite sure whether it is expensive compared to the standard of other countries but when I compare it with countries I have lived including India, the Middle East and South East Asia, groceries here are pretty expensive. 

6. You pick up tons of languages

Source: TSCF

New Zealand is very much culturally diverse with a large population of international expats living here that you will meet and be friends with. There are a lot of people coming from various countries and language backgrounds here in NZ. Even if you don't learn a language as such, I'm sure you will learn words and phrases from various languages from the diversified people you meet.

7. The food culture is amazing

As diverse as New Zealand is, the reflection of it is highly visible in its food culture. You can find restaurants and cafes serving authentic food from so many different countries and cuisines, each different than others yet so great. Especially if you are in a big city like Auckland, the number of food options you have is so varied.

8. You go to the counter to pay

Source: Plateau Taupo

This was another thing that was quite different from what I have experienced in other countries. You will not have the waiter bring you your bill to pay and instead you actually go to the counter and pay for your food yourself.

9. You don't actually have to use cash

Since here in New Zealand, people highly use plastic money, everywhere you go, you pay by card unless you're getting on a bus. I personally never have cash with me and only keep little for bus fares which is not needed as well if you have a bus card.

10. There is wind everywhere

I have been to windy places but wind in New Zealand is different. You can feel wind everywhere and can actually figure out which direction the wind is blowing from. If its a cold day, the freezing wind will definitely hit you bad.

11. There is earthquake all the time

And this comes from a guy who grew up in the Himalayas which is seismological unstable. It is quite common to feel tiny jerks every now and then and once you're accustomed to New Zealand, those little shakes feel very normal.

12. You grow your passion for wines

Source: InspirationBio.com

New Zealand indeed has the most amazing wines and the best part about it is, it is one of those few things here that is actually cheap to buy.

13. You question your English skills sometimes

As an English speaker who has been speaking English all my life, I sometimes question my ability to speak and understand English because there are various slang and words used in New Zealand, that one would not understand as a foreigner initially. Like even everyday words have different names and it took me a while to figure out what was what like chips for fries, jandals for slippers, a dairy for a shop, togs for swimming shorts, lollies for sweets and so on. And yeah 'piss' is actually alcohol.

14. Wildlife here is just so different

Because New Zealand is located quite a distance from where I and a majority of foreigners come from, the flora and fauna of New Zealand is so different yet very captivating. This aspect of New Zealand having animals and plants that I have never seen before is so awesome making everyday in New Zealand, a day to discover something new.

15. Anywhere you go in New Zealand, you're at or very close to somewhere marvelously beautiful

Like seriously, anywhere and everywhere in New Zealand, you will be bewildered by how beautiful it is from the landscapes to little houses to the wildlife.

16. New Zealand is irreplaceable

The unique culture within New Zealand, the places, the society, the people and the amazing experience here is so heart warming and nothing could replace that in the entire world. As a foreigner, I have had heard several stories about New Zealand and how amazing it is and when I actually came here and lived the New Zealand dream, I realized that it's even more than what the stories tell. You just learn so much and more than that you learn how to live your life beautifully.