My initial impression of Auckland, New Zealand is that it’s pretty different from the US. I’ve noticed the norm of public transportation within the buses and trains. Additionally, they drive at the other side of the road. I’ve got to experience this firsthand by renting a car and being able to drive on the other side of the road! Another thing is that the wipers and signals are on different sides, which I had to get used to by turning on the wipers to signal multiple times. I’ve already gotten to learn about the retirement village industry in New Zealand as well as the overall business industry within the speakers and events with these industries. I hadn’t known what a retirement village was before this trip and thought it fell into the category of nursing homes. Additionally, I found that to open a business in New Zealand is much less expensive and risky as it is in the US. Therefore, lots of US citizens come here to test their business and success of it and then move it to the US if it is successful.
Another thing I noticed was the cleanliness of the city and country overall; things are more in order and organized than in the US. Within the first couple of days, I was told that lots of businesses here don’t care about customer satisfaction and I was able to experience this firsthand when I was turned away from a bathroom because the store was closing. In the US, I would imagine I would’ve been granted permission to use it although the store was closing. Throughout this global experience, I hope to come back with lots of niche knowledge of the ins and outs of living in these cities that I wouldn’t be able to just read about or discuss in a normal conversation.
