Do's and Don'ts in New Zealand?

Forums › Off topic › Do's and Don'ts in New Zealand?

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Ultimate Geek

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#841041 21-Jun-2013 14:19

One thing that grinds my gears is hearing how much better something was done in your/their country... over and over and over.

And then you feel like saying 'If everything is that much better, then go back!!'

Not that you would do this :-)

I'm not a complete idiot, I still have some parts missing.

jaymz

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#841046 21-Jun-2013 14:24

kiwitrc

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#841051 21-Jun-2013 14:28

I like that Jaymz :)

Byrned

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#841064 21-Jun-2013 14:35

You can answer any question simply by saying "Yeah, Nah"

kiwitrc

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#841089 21-Jun-2013 14:51

Dont confuse the slang.

Example Tinnie can be an aluminium boat, can of beer, or dope wrapped in mums cooking foil.

So can you tell which Tinnie is what in this short test?

We took the tinnie out into the Fiords looking for oysters and had a couple of cold tinnies on board.

Edit: This came from the NZ residency test.

Elpie

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#841091 21-Jun-2013 14:51

Three important "don'ts" you may not be aware of:

1. Always remove shoes before stepping inside someone's house. If they don't mind you keeping shoes on they will say so.
2. Never, ever sit on a table or countertop. If you never do it you will never give great offense to those for whom it is culturally inappropriate.
3. Don't touch/pat people on the head. Some people may not care but others will care passionately and you cannot tell who may hold such cultural or religious beliefs just by looking at them.

DO:
Explore and enjoy NZ.
Accept every invitation you get (within reason) - Kiwis tend to be outgoing and social but aren't the easiest people to establish good friendships with. We also have a disturbing tendency to not issue second invitations if the first one is turned down.
Get involved as quickly as you can in things that interest you. Establishing a social life here takes work.
Be prepared for being cold. Our houses are not designed for warmth and winters here can be miserable as a result. Keeping warm inside your home may be a challenge. (My Canadian husband is colder here than he ever was in Canada and after spending part of the last winter in Canada I'm hating winter here now).

I hope your move goes smoothly and you learn to love New Zealand. It is a wonderful country to live in and has much to recommend it.

jaymz

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#841104 21-Jun-2013 15:03

Elpie: Three important "don'ts" you may not be aware of:

1. Always remove shoes before stepping inside someone's house. If they don't mind you keeping shoes on they will say so.
2. Never, ever sit on a table or countertop. If you never do it you will never give great offense to those for whom it is culturally inappropriate.
3. Don't touch/pat people on the head. Some people may not care but others will care passionately and you cannot tell who may hold such cultural or religious beliefs just by looking at them.

Just to give background on the above, these specific "rules" apply/originate from Maori culture.

Not every household in New Zealand requires you to remove your shoes. However as with anything it is polite to ask if you need to remove your shoes.

The sitting on tables and counter tops - again a Maori cultural thing. Personally i dont mind sitting on my tables and such. If unsure, dont do it.

The touching and patting on the head is another Maori cultural thing. "Most" Europeans in NZ dont mind it and i touch my children on the head all the time.

Elpie makes a good final sentence "You cannot tell who may hold such cultural or religious beliefs just by looking at them." so best advise if unsure is to ASK.

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Elpie

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#841163 21-Jun-2013 16:31

jaymz:
Elpie: Three important "don'ts" you may not be aware of:

1. Always remove shoes before stepping inside someone's house. If they don't mind you keeping shoes on they will say so.
2. Never, ever sit on a table or countertop. If you never do it you will never give great offense to those for whom it is culturally inappropriate.
3. Don't touch/pat people on the head. Some people may not care but others will care passionately and you cannot tell who may hold such cultural or religious beliefs just by looking at them.

Just to give background on the above, these specific "rules" apply/originate from Maori culture.

Not every household in New Zealand requires you to remove your shoes. However as with anything it is polite to ask if you need to remove your shoes.

The sitting on tables and counter tops - again a Maori cultural thing. Personally i dont mind sitting on my tables and such. If unsure, dont do it.

The touching and patting on the head is another Maori cultural thing. "Most" Europeans in NZ dont mind it and i touch my children on the head all the time.

Elpie makes a good final sentence "You cannot tell who may hold such cultural or religious beliefs just by looking at them." so best advise if unsure is to ASK.

Not just Maori. These are common amongst Pacific Island communities as well, and the shoes and head-touching is a common taboo in Muslim & many Asian communities too.

I mentioned these three as they are so prevalent in NZ, across so many communities and individuals, that knowing about them avoids embarrassment.

richms

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#841169 21-Jun-2013 16:48

Don't park in someone elses driveway when you go and visit unless they say that its ok when they invite you.

Don't try to pay at places with your dodgey overseas credit card where you have to sign for things when there are people queueing behind you at a shop.

Richard rich.ms

jaymz

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#841170 21-Jun-2013 16:50

Elpie:
Not just Maori. These are common amongst Pacific Island communities as well, and the shoes and head-touching is a common taboo in Muslim & many Asian communities too.

I mentioned these three as they are so prevalent in NZ, across so many communities and individuals, that knowing about them avoids embarrassment.

Granted that this is good knowledge to have while traveling anywhere in the world, i would argue that in New Zealand they are not everywhere in the country.

If you were to move into a community and become involved in the local marae then they would be important to make special note of, but generally they are not frowned upon by every member of communities.

I don't want to cause an argument to take this topic into a "mod closed argument" so i will leave it at this.

I was only trying to make the OP aware that in my experience these are not as greatly important as they have been made out to be.

sleemanj

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#841181 21-Jun-2013 17:07

Elpie: Three important "don'ts" you may not be aware of:

1. Always remove shoes before stepping inside someone's house. If they don't mind you keeping shoes on they will say so.

Maybe I just live a more relaxed life but I have never, ever, been asked, or expected to remove my shoes when entering someone's house. I'm now on the wrong side of 35.

If anybody took their shoes off before coming into my house, unless they were completely covered in mud, I'd think they were very very strange and unsettling.

I seem to remember this topic being discussed a while back.

So to be on topic,
DO keep your shoes on if you come to sleemanj's house, unless you're wearing boots covered mud in which case just give them a scrape on the door mat since that's what it's there for. Thanks.

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

SepticSceptic

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#841183 21-Jun-2013 17:10

Jandal tan lines

Don't get confused when putting on your thongs ... or a thong

or listening to thongs ..

Learn to like meat pies and sausage rolls, drink beer, cook on a BBQ and talk sport

Broadband aint that crash hot, but you learn to make do ...

Incumbent pay-tv ( Sky)

blakamin

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#841189 21-Jun-2013 17:20

sittingduckz:

Australians aren't too bright, and claim lots of NZ stuff :) (you can have Russell Crow)

Nah, we don't wan't him so you can have him back any time... but you might want to learn to spell his last name so you don't cop a phone to the head.

(and you say aussies aren't too bright... sheesh.)

Back on topic... NEVER tell a kiwi you enjoyed being in Aussie if you ever holiday here, they're jealous and will come up with all sorts to put it down, ( as you see here) especially if they've never left the north island.

EDIT: After reading the comments here (stuff.co.nz weather article), it seems most kiwis also hate each other...

blackjack17

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#841204 21-Jun-2013 18:38

sleemanj:
Elpie: Three important "don'ts" you may not be aware of:

1. Always remove shoes before stepping inside someone's house. If they don't mind you keeping shoes on they will say so.

Maybe I just live a more relaxed life but I have never, ever, been asked, or expected to remove my shoes when entering someone's house. I'm now on the wrong side of 35.

If anybody took their shoes off before coming into my house, unless they were completely covered in mud, I'd think they were very very strange and unsettling.

I seem to remember this topic being discussed a while back.

So to be on topic,
DO keep your shoes on if you come to sleemanj's house, unless you're wearing boots covered mud in which case just give them a scrape on the door mat since that's what it's there for. Thanks.

I would always expect someone to take their shoes off (I'm NZ European).

If someone was just dropping something off and sticking to the tiles then I might not say anything, but otherwise I'm asking you to take those shoes off.

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Batwing

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#841206 21-Jun-2013 18:43

The taking shoes off thread.

I'm observing how many pairs of shoes are right by the door, if it looks like the occupants always take their shoes off then I'm taking mine off. If they are wet or dirty I'm taking them off. If it looks like I might get away with keeping them on then this is directly related to NZ houses being cold places, I've been asked to take my shoes off places then ended up hopping from foot to foot with feet aching from the cold in an unheated residence.

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