Everyone is wondering how I have been going through the culture
shock since I had a 6-month working experience and holiday in New Zealand.
Before I share my experience in handling culture shock, let’s talk about the
differences in life style between New Zealand and Malaysia.
New Zealand is a relatively peaceful, relaxing and “greener” country than Malaysia. New Zealanders, we call them “kiwi”, normally prefer a slower pace of life style. For example, there are lots of outdoor activities such as hiking
in spring, diving in summer, cycling in autumn and snowboarding in winter. They do not like to work over-time and they are quite particular about working overtime, I think this is the reason why New Zealand is one of the
countries whose citizens possess long leisure hours. I was quite surprised when
I was told that there was only 5 million people in this 2-island country
(bigger than Peninsula Malaysia) and it is also the only developed country
specializing in agriculture (other developed countries specialize in high-tech
industry, instead). When comparing with Asian countries, kiwis are not keen on
fashion, technology (getting internet connection is quite difficult in this
country), entertainment…..well, being rich is not their priority…..but they can
get angry if they see you littering or harming animals (the female grants pets
superior rights than husband).
In short, there are many differences between New Zealand and this
country.
However,
handling culture shock sometimes is not that difficult if you proactively make
friends in a new environment, I mention only New Zealand but this is also true at Vision
College. I always take up challenges as an opportunity for growth. At Vision, the
life is so fruitful that people are free to share their learning experiences with me, whether it is a good or bad story. As days go by, the connection
between me and the members of this Vision family (Whether they are colleagues, superiors or
students), is getting stronger. I hope you guys enjoy life at Vision and Happy
Learning!
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| The Happy Bunch |
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| Psychology Exhibition with my students |
From,
Chew, XingJiun
Lecturer
