Portal about Travel & Study in New Zealand

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 To the contrary to what the Kiwis think of themselves, of being people who love outdoor activities, and always involved in adventure and extreme sports, what they really enjoy doing is staying home and looking after their gardens. The Kiwi loves to conquer extraordinary feats, as long as it’s on the sofa, and watched on TV. Of course there is always the exceptions, and there are some Kiwis who live for adventure. Pioneering had always been a New Zealand strong point, conquering remote areas, mountains, extreme colds, and the forces of nature. But today with the Internet, TV, Video Games, and DVD, people are happy just to stay home on the weekends. The most extreme activity that the typical Kiwi of today undertakes, is to go to the shopping centre, where the most difficult challenges they face is buying a new TV or couch.

The Kiwi is a “home” kind of person, although sometimes they do like to get out a little bit and go to the beach (only in summer), to visit a different place, to have a picnic, or go to a park. But of course for any of these things to happen the weather needs to be fine, and this factor will pretty much influence anything that the Kiwi does. The weather report during news is almost a sure thing to have the viewers glued to the screen. Its very common for the Kiwi family to spend Saturday morning cleaning the house, and everyone does their part, children, mum, dad they all have their routine choirs that they must do. Saturday is also a day that the kids practice some sport. Many parent go regularly to watch their kid’s games, and they get very competitive themselves. On Sundays its pretty much free time, time to sleep in, to watch the rugby or cricket game on TV, to do dome gardening, or a DIY (do it yourself) project. During summer, Barbeques are common on Sundays. 

Drinking and Smoking cost big for the New Zealanders. Both Items (cigarettes and alcohol) are heavily taxed by the government to try to control consumption (or to earn some big revenue). Smoking in New Zealand becoming less popular and have decrease significantly. Firstly because there are many restrictions where you can smoke, and also for the fact that one pack of cigarettes (20) is around the NZ$10. Compared to Australia, the Kiwi smokes a lot less, but on the other hand they drink just as much. From teenagers to the elderly, the Kiwi likes to drink, and they drink well. In general the older generation drink more wines, and distilled alcohol like whisky, while beer and pre mixed drinks are more popular with the younger people. A can of Beer costs around NZ$2. Teenagers are drink more and more, and like in Australia, they have the habit of drinking extremely quick, turning from people to rugs in the matter of minutes. 

In the contrary to the Kiwi the bird, who is nocturnal, the Kiwi is diurnal, sleeping early, around 10 pm so they can wake up for work the next morning. They respect and understand the laws, with the majority of the population being pretty honest, and they don’t admit to corruption. Kiwis don’t demonstrate too much emotion in public. They are now choosing to marry a little later in life, and the number of kids per family has been decreasing, marriages a lasting less and less, and the number of single mums are increasing. Hygiene habits have change a lot in the last 100 years, when showers were taken on a weekly basis, it has now turned into a daily activity. The importance of brushing your teeth right is though from an early age at school, and good oral hygiene is practiced by the majority of the population. Using perfumes and colognes have become very normal with both men and woman. After all romance still exists.