Getting to know New Zealand

I have to admit, I’ve been quite ignorant of New Zealand so far. The only possible “explanation” I can come up with is that it’s not so much in the centre of people’s attention like Australia and China, which is, of course, a very poor reason. Because, like people who are often overlooked, it actually has a lot to offer. I’ve just got a first impression of what it has to offer — at least as much as my accessible media allows. Having been intrigued now, I’m still trying to discover more.

I’d like to share what I’ve learned for myself so far, as well as a possible issue that could be worth being given more thoughts on.

Reading and looking at pictures of New Zealand, I was amazed, as I suppose most others are, by the beauty and variety of its nature: You can find glaciers, fiords, mountains, vast plains, hills, subtropical forests, volcanic plateaus, lakes and coastlines with beaches, according to “newzealand.com”.

Being isolated from other countries its flora and fauna includes lots of endemic species, as “newzealand.com” states: for example the giant kauri tree, the flightless bird, kiwi and also the parrot, kea, which are very funny because they’re both intelligent and curious. They examine and sometimes even destroy everything they can get their beaks or talons on.

Besides its unique flora and fauna, it also sticks out because of the connectedness of its present and past as a country of immigrants:

Firstly, you can see it by looking at its three official languages, which are: English, Maori and the sign language. Maori is the language of the native people of New Zealand, having come here more than 1, 000 years ago. Even though the Maori are a minority now, the fact their language is one of the three official languages shows how important it is still deemed to be part of the identity of the country.

English was the language of the second big wave of immigrants, mainly from Great Britain, who came there and made New Zealand one of its colonies.

Secondly, you can see it by looking at its flag. A flag shows how a country wants to define itself. There’s the Union Jack and red stars on a blue background. The Union Jack reminds us of New Zealand having once been a British colony. The stars of the Southern Cross stress the country being situated in the South Pacific Ocean. So the flag combines the country’s past with the uniqueness it’s grown into, and even more so as the New Zealanders retained their original flag once more in a referendum (March 2016), according to “www.nzhistory.net.nz.politics/flags-of-new-zealand".

This connectedness of its present and past has made me think about the question of its identity and how it wants to be seen by others next to bigger countries. Often countries who are not so much in the centre of attention seem to feel the need to defend their singularity. However, after having got a first impression, it seems its unique flora, fauna and heritage speaks for itself.

Sources:

www.newzealand.com (date of retrieval 22nd April 2016)

www.nzhistory.net.nz.politics/flags-of-new-zealand (date of retrieval 22nd April 2016)