BACK IN REDLANDS
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My family and I arrived home safely last Sunday (21st) at 8 AM and were treated to snowy, white mountains surrounding our dear San Bernardino valley. Apparently, the night before there had been a big storm leaving snow at lower levels than our area has seen in 30 years! Anyway, that took care of all the usual smog, and we were treated to a clear, beautiful scene. MUCH different than then the beauty NZ had treated us to, but to me, and for the past week, everything of this familiar place has seemed to have had some warm glow around it. It’s nice to get free refills on soda again, to bite into a jumbo soft pretzel (I hope someone shares this work of art with NZ soon! :o), to go to a Costco or a Target and have everything you could possibly want to buy right at your fingertips, to hear and see familiar voices and faces, to snuggle up in my bed at night and hear the train whistle starkly out in the distance and in the morning wake up to crows cawing, to hug my sister end-on-end, to see how she and Nick (fiancé) have grown as a couple. I feel like I’m part of a big puzzle where all the pieces fit again. It’s also interesting to see how my city of Redlands has built up over the past year- new housing developments, shopping center’s, etc. Not everything has been left the same and it’s fun to see the differences.

IMMEDIATE REACTIONS TO CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
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Funnily, I more just see the similarities. I think I expected New Zealander’s to be really different people, as different as running into a new race on Star Trek, living on different principles giving them a different lifestyle. I thought I would be extremely limited in technology and availability of certain products. I was proved wrong in all these cases. Perhaps living in Auckland had something to do with the contemporary lifestyle since it IS the largest city in NZ and all. I think I also hoped I could truly see inside a culture in 10 months, but I don’t think I saw all the way into New Zealand. I’m still trying to understand some things I witnessed and whether they were aspects of the culture or just aspects of humanity in general. To sort this out I’ve compiled some small lists below:

Things I noticed New Zealander’s believe to be characteristic of themselves (in general) are
1) being reserved [This is one of the differences that stands out to me most. I wonder if this difference is not where the international phrase of ‘loud American’ came from. Comparatively, people are so open in America. I can’t remember one store I’ve been in since being home (okay, I’ve been a lot because I’ve done Thanksgiving meal shopping, registering for my sister’s wedding, etc.) where people haven’t just randomly struck up a conversation. Also, people rarely asked questions in class. I remember one of my math professors telling me that he noticed Americans were usually outgoing and go-getters. However, I question the exclusivity of that to Americans. People who go overseas usually have that kind of personality trait- it takes initiative and openness to go somewhere you know nothing about!]
2) being critical of others and self-dependent (self-righteous), as in they don’t tend to look up to anyone or seek out anyone’s help or guidance. [I noticed that I was usually one of the few (if any) who went to office hours, or in small group atmospheres- asked/stipulated and didn’t just speak what I thought (I know that sounds snot-nosed but I know more than one who could attest to this)]
3) adhering to the ‘tall poppy syndrome’… when people rise up quickly in position or profession, other people like to cut them down. [I don’t recall observing this- at least in my job, I felt encouraged, not brought down.]

Prior to coming to New Zealand, people told me New Zealanders were
4) generally very kind. [I especially noticed this when I had car problems. People seemed to be willing to go way out of their way to help.]
5) being relaxed and slower paced. [I met people of a variety of paces and came to the conclusion that life is how you make it. Some people keep themselves busy because they like to be that way. However, after talking to people who’ve worked both in the States and in NZ, they’ve found that you are expected to do more in a lesser amount of time in the States. Interesting…]

One thing I noticed independent of these typical NZ characteristics was
4) Segregation! Auckland contains many different ethnicities with many languages. I was surprised how many people I witnessed or heard of who had lived in NZ ‘X’ years and still couldn’t speak English. It seemed every ethnicity had its own little neighborhood where it could sustain itself and not get too integrated. I haven’t found that in America so far.
Also the number of Hispanics and blacks in America stick out to me a lot more. I’m more aware of Pacific Islanders!! As in NZ, instead of seeing French and German subtitled on instructions, I see Spanish. Also, I see lots of signs up of people who actually support Bush! I feel like if I had said I supported Bush anywhere in New Zealand I’d probably get a rock thrown at me (just kidding.) Actually, I wouldn’t feel any differently in Santa Cruz.

Other subtle (non-people oriented) cultural differences
1) American freeways allow you drive a lot faster than in NZ. Being in America after NZ, it’s weird feeling like I’m always going over the speed limit when I’m really under it. I guess that’s better than before NZ, I never felt like I could go fast enough. ;o)
2) American electric sockets only let out 116 Volts, not 240 Volts like NZ. Everything takes longer to cook in the States
3) Just about everything I can think of is much more inexpensive in the States.

What I miss about NZ (so far)
1) The ability to drive 10 minutes in any direction and be able to enjoy a beautiful walk/hike.
2) Pepsi Max
3) The southern night sky, though I do love the northern. Wish I could see ‘em both at the same time.
4) Presenting
5) And of course, the relationships I made…

Some really unique experiences/characteristics I appreciated from New Zealand are:
1) How much the Math department was willing and worked to accommodate my needs.
2) If you hand the cashier a $20 bill, they wouldn’t mind one bit. It’s all the same to them. (Usually I find Americans get frustrated having to break $20’s.)
3) How water conscious they are- their toilets have half and full flush options!
4) How clean and well kept all the public bathrooms were.
5) How you’d rarely find a street with a piece of litter. They literally look like they’d been washed down every day.
6) You felt safe wherever you went (minus late at night).
7) How the whole country accommodates and welcomes tourists- they have information centres and museums in almost every city and town and well-maintained trails in about every place imaginable.
8) How Maori’s were so excited and willing to share their culture at the opportunity.
9) The awareness of citizens of people and places outside their own country. For instance, throughout the year they had huge celebrations of all the different cultural holidays in selected parks and showgrounds. They also had postings all over campus to encourage students to watch the US Presidential Debates on TV.
10) New Zealand has its own pop/music culture. They had New Zealand Idol earlier in the year with winner Ben Lummos. Brooke Fraser is my personal favorite- she is a fast rising singer who just moved to Australia from NZ, (but she went to Christian Life Centre Auckland and I got to see here perform live several times!) On pop radio stations, you’d here a mix of current US hits, NZ hits, and European/Aussie hits. Pretty neat! I thought the US music industry was the world music industry.

TODAY AND THE FUTURE
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WHAT I’M DOING NOW
Well, I’ve spent my last week (hey! Today’s the one week mark of being back in CA.) unpacking, cooking and shopping for Thanksgiving, and helping Katherine (sister) with preparations for her wedding on January 8th. From here on out I expect to be continuing helping Katherine, reading some good books, and catching up with old friends.

WHAT I WONDER
Will I ever experience reverse culture shock? Being in another culture and away from what I know, I realize, was a challenge (though I never got shocked too badly). And I like challenges. I wonder if I will miss that challenge- being the odd one, working to assimilate and understand another culture. I wonder where He will put me in years to come. But in the end I can honestly admit my lack of anxiety. I stammered to my dad a while back, “I wonder if I will come back and live in NZ,” and he said “If you want to be there, you will be there.” There’s Truth in that. I only want to be where He wants me and I entirely trust Him to give me the desire and means to be where I am meant to me. Coming to New Zealand, I didn’t struggle with whether I should go or not. I just knew. Thank God for His clear call to my heart. My dad relays to me, “This is such an exciting time for you, Michelle. Six more months and then the whole world is open to you.” So you may wonder what the Lord is saying to me about after graduation… It’s the same thing He’s said since I actually began listening three years ago. “Wait, and see… I’ve got plans for you.”