New Zealand and Japan

by Tokiko Saito

From SIF SATELLITE issue 46, Spring 1997

Tokiko Saito (second from left) and friends in New Zealand.

If I were to mention a big difference between Japan and New Zealand, it would be that in New Zealand, people appreciate family life more than in Japan. Young boys in New Zealand mow their family's lawn after school or on Sunday; Japanese boys don't help around the house like that.

When I stayed in a Christian home from January to March last year, the whole family went on a picnic together on Sunday. They played cricket together and enjoyed a barbecue. They put the family unit first.

While I was in Christchurch January through March, in the summer there was a summer festival and every Sunday in a large park called Hagley Park there was a free outdoor concert. It ran from dusk till rather late, but more people than I would have imagined came, spread their blankets, and ate and drank while they listened to the music. When it got dark, everyone lit candles, and it was very beautiful.

I think everyone looked forward to this kind of event because they don't have the overwhelming number of activities available that Tokyo has.

I was tramping (hiking) from mid-March to the end of April, and the cabin and the mountains were wonderful. In the off-season, the cabin rate runs about $7 a day; the average is $14 a day during the tourist season. Since the cabin was equipped with running water, a toilet, bunk beds, and so on, I could have a comfortable stay in the mountains. Why don't they build some New Zealand-style "huts" in Japan? Also, in most towns they had "Backpacker's", which are the same as youth hostels. This is something else I really want to have available in Japan. In the same room with the bed, there is a kitchen, toilet, shower, washing machine. One night's stay costs about $14. Unlike YHA youth hostels, Backpacker's are privately managed, and in some towns they have a lot of them, maybe 10. Travelers are thankful for the convenience and low cost.

Now let's look at some bad things about life in New Zealand.

They don't separate their garbage there, putting batteries and food garbage together in the same bag. Why don't people take action until after a problem has already happened? The people are taxed at a flat rate; the rich keep getting richer. The gap between rich and poor just gets wider.

Personally I think people allow unnecessary expenses for their everyday life. My host mother had an electric can opener. Something as inconsequential as a telephone card seemed to be made in too extravagant a form. It would be better to have it be smaller and handier.

But outweighing these complaints, the people there are so warm and friendly!

I spent about 5 months in a small town called Wanaka, and the people there who passed me on the street would invariably say "hi!" to me. Of course I would greet them as well. They would do their best to help me when I was in a jam (though of course Japanese people would have, too). I felt that they were kinder than Japanese people.

An interesting point for me was the Kiwi style of hanging out laundry, leaving it out even if it rained. They would leave their clothes outside for two or three days, long past the point where they were totally dry. Don't they know that one day, or even half a day, is enough to dry them? Once one of the New Zealander guys I was sharing a flat with left some clothes out to dry, and I brought them in in the afternoon for him; of course they were dry as a bone, and yet he asked me, "Are they really dry already?" Yes, of course!!

There are many different kinds of cars, too. There are some really nice, expensive cars on the road, but there are many dilapidated cars, too. Even if the windshield was broken, people would just drive their cars like that. They didn't care if the rear-view mirror was missing.

I think people don't give up possessions easily there. The cars I mentioned are one example. Cars that would be thrown away in Japan are part of everyday life in New Zealand. Food is another example. In New Zealand, unlike Japan, people eat all their food off of a single plate, so with their fork and knife they thoroughly clean their plates, getting every last morsel, every last drop of sauce.

They also like anything that's handmade. There are many more stores with do-it-yourself corners, with things like paint and handmade tools. I heard that the repair of the fence around a family's yard and adding onto their house will be done by the owners themselves; Japanese would usually hire a carpenter. New Zealanders are often seen gardening in their own very small gardens.

I feel that my year in New Zealand taught me the value of things, and the warmth of the New Zealand people. I also learned the accented "kiwi English". "Good on ya!"

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