Blog B

B)    What cultural elements called your attention? What is similar to and what is different from our Chilean culture? (200-250 words)

The cultural elements that were called to my attention were many but the ones that I noticed the most were based around the people. They are very respectful and trust one and each other greatly. This is because nobody steals or mistreats others, which makes it easier for them to coexist and builds upon the trust that they all ready have with each other. This is very different from Chile.

In general, Chile and New Zealand are very similar countries with very similar cultures. In the central north island and the south island, the climate is very similar to Chile which promotes the same cultural experiences and values. For example its main exports are similar to ours (fishing, mining, wood, etc) and the Maori culture (a pacific culture) are very similar to the culture of the Easter Island natives. Because the New Zealand culture has been influenced by others, the views that New Zealanders have are very similar to the Chilean views which makes it easy to relate to them.

Finally, I can say New Zealand is a very beautiful country because everything has a deep relationship with nature, which is something that we don´t see in Chile. Seeing how nature influenced the people was something I have never seen. It helped make my exchange more pleasurable and completed the experience of a lifetime. I will sorely miss everyone there.