Kiwis - are they a friendly bunch?

[tottefan]

I was wondering what people honestly thought about Kiwis. Are they generally a friendly bunch? I'd like to become a part of the community so I wondered how hard that would be.


tottefan.

[Welshgirl]

To be honest, they are some of the friendliest people I have ever met! To have passers-by on the street say hello to you and give you a smile, to have the shop assistant smile and say thank you, to have complete strangers ask if there is anything they can do to help you.... it is something you can only experience and appreciate when you get here. A member of my family came over for a holiday a few months ago, and it was one of the first things she noticed. This is not a biased view, we've been here almost 9 months now, and sure, you get your grumpy ones who don't acknowledge you or smile at you, that's to be expected - but they are the exception rather than the rule!

I think it all depends on your attitude - if you are intent on making Kiwi friends, and are of a generally happy disposition, you shouldn't have any problems! There is apparently some 'anti-English' feeling here, but we've not experienced any of it.......

My only advice is to allow yourself an extra 5/10 mins to do your shopping, as chances are a friendly shop assistant will ask you how your day is going and end up chatting to you!

[krapotkin]

As above! Kiwi's are friendly people ,in general. Yes' more people do say "hello ,or yo bro/sis" in the street.
Of course there are some people who aren't friendly, ,but just beacuse thay don't reutrn your greeting, at least you don't get a finger in return.
The kids are more likely to wave or say hello here ,than in the uk.
One thing to bear in mind , some Maori don't like direct eye contact , or prolonged eye contact ,therefore ,you may catch their eye in the street ,but they will nod and tend to look at the floor or away. This i found out to be cultural ,and not a slur. as is pointing and shouting at moari, not really exceptable,especailly in teaching.

Good luck ,and hope your dreams come true!
Krapotkin

[kiwi_fairy]

[quote:01eae79360="krapotkin"]
One thing to bear in mind , some Maori don't like direct eye contact , or prolonged eye contact ,therefore ,you may catch their eye in the street ,but they will nod and tend to look at the floor or away. This i found out to be cultural ,and not a slur. as is pointing and shouting at moari, not really exceptable,especailly in teaching.[/quote:01eae79360]

that's good to know. I feel like there's so much I have to learn before November! :icon_neutral: :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif

[selchie]

I agree about the level of civility and friendliness in NZ.

Regarding an anti-English (or whomever) attitude, I suspect that may be due to attitudes & behaviors brought over with said immigrant, or just plain sterotyping. For example, Californians have a reputation in the rest of the US for being rather demanding, and for unfavorably comparing an area they're visiting with home (I know, the entire US has a bad rep abroad). When I went to grad school in Montana, many people were surprised that I was so pleasant and enthusiastic about their state. I was so relieved to be around genuine and nice people, and to be in such a beautiful, sparsely populated place. Who cared if many of the roads were unpaved? They were well graded, and didn't have giant potholes from a lousy paving job (as in CA). Anyway, the point (finally) is that one can sabotage that anti-immigrant attitude by appreciating one's new home and being nice right back at them. Maybe we should ask NZIS to screen people for niceness - no snotty grumps allowed!

[Welshgirl]

Good idea Selchie ::):

But would that mean they'd have to deport all the snotty grumps who are already in the country? :icon_confused:

[beenAwhile]

Hi tottefan (?),

I'd say 'yeah' - on the whole they are a friendly bunch. The thing is, it doesn't always come across that way ;-)

Some Kiwis can be very 'dry' and quite blunt. That doesn't mean that they are being rude - some of them just tell it like it is and that can take some getting used to - my advice would be to let it all wash over you until you know them well enough to give some back !

From a personal perspective I have met some really lovely people - friendly, helpful and chatty. On the other hand I've met some out and out plankers ! I guess it's like anywhere really. My family are (finally) starting to build friendship groups with the 'locals' and my wife and I have shared some good nights out with our Kiwis friends. But in our experience (so far), our social integration tends just to be at group functions - parties and work gatherings for example. We haven't had many (well, any to be honest) invites to Kiwi homes. Plenty of promises but nothing ever materialising. Perhaps we are still being appraised...?

One thing I must say though is that I've not (yet) met a nasty Pom out here. Now - before you all go shouting and sharing your experiences to the contrary - I can say that I honestly haven't. I will also say that ALL of our closest friends here are Poms. We naturally gravitate towards each other ! We can relate more closely to each others experiences I guess and the fact that we have all been through 'it' (emigrating - leaving home, finding homes, finding work, home-sickness etc), we also know EXACTLY what each of us is going through at every step of the way. Believe me, at times that's nice to have.


[quote="tottefan"]I was wondering what people honestly thought about Kiwis. Are they generally a friendly bunch? I'd like to become a part of the community so I wondered how hard that would be.

[dan-ish]

Is the pope Catholic?

They are the friendliest people I've ever met. And there is a lady in Hamilton who is friendly AND bakes the best chocolate and orange cake I have EVER tasted! What more can you ask for?

Dan :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif

[krapotkin]

[quote:bd2e9e02bf]bakes the best chocolate and orange cake I have EVER tasted! What more can you ask for?
[/quote:bd2e9e02bf]
Try asking for another chocolate cake. :smiley2:

Hey, don't you find the chocolate sweeter here.?
Krapotkin

[selchie]

[quote:c0039bc01b="Welshgirl"]But would that mean they'd have to deport all the snotty grumps who are already in the country? :icon_confused:[/quote:c0039bc01b]
Perhaps they can try reprogramming them first. Then off to the gulag (or worse - LA) if they fail.