Then, if again asked 'OK, but which one is your favorite - which one do you like the best?' I again heard something like 'well, it depends on what you like to eat' or some other way of avoiding the expression of a ranking or preference. I have used the restaurant example here, but I noticed the same hesitancy and discomfort when I asked people about movies they had seen, jobs they had held, places they had visited, and other similar choice-situations.
My tentative conclusion is that the legacy of socialism and egalitarianism in New Zealand has strongly affected people's beliefs about worth. The idea of all people being equal before the law, together with generations of efforts to eliminate social class differences, may have made it 'politically incorrect' to judge that one candy bar tastes better to the speaker than another, or that one hotel did a better job of meeting the guest's needs than did another.
The temperature was rarely below 60 or above 75, and I was told that there was usually much more rain than I experienced. I noticed that the men wear shorts (knee length) and matching jackets sometimes in semi-professional employment. Hats also seem to be worn casually by men more widely than here in the Los Angeles area. Stockings and pantyhose on women seem rare, although one woman told me that was because of the warm summer weather, and that during the cooler times most women wear them. However, even with the warmer weather during my trip, full slips seemed to be a standard wardrobe item for teenage and adult women alike.
The people I met in New Zealand, from personal friends to drivers that picked me up along the road to restaurant managers and hotel clerks, all seemed to be well stocked with statistics. Whether it was the length of a certain bridge, the population of a town, the percentage or senior citizens living with their children, or some other rarely needed bit of statistical data, I was amazed at the numerical knowledge so many people had about their environment. While quickly and easily telling me the number of people employed in an industry or the height of the closest mountain, it was not often that family or job stresses and frustrations were shared. I was a stranger to these people of course, but compared with strangers I meet in restaurants here, the people of New Zealand seem decidedly reticent to discuss the discouraging aspects of their lives.
All things considered, it was a wonderful adventure for me. I rediscovered physical strength and stamina I had forgotten, and found a peace of mind much needed. From now on, whenever I hear the term 'a kinder and gentler world' I shall recall my month in New Zealand, and the kind and gentle people who were so friendly to me there.
C. W. Lee, 5-9-94
cwlee@dhvx20.csudh.edu
Post Office Box 4822
Carson, California 90749
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