Culture shock- Ilryeon Yun

There are several things that have shocked me since I came to New Zealand, but the opening hours of malls, cafes, and restaurants are the most astonishing of them all. 

I was especially surprised at the number of cafes that close at 3:00 pm. I was incredibly shocked when I heard that the reason for this was that caffeine, when consumed late in the afternoon, can be harmful to sleep. In Japan, almost all cafes are open from morning to night. Therefore, when I first arrived here, I didn’t know about it and tried to go to the cafes after school, but they were closed and unfortunately, I couldn't go there. In addition, there are a lot of restaurants that are open 24 hours in Japan. However, restaurants in New Zealand not only have limited hours of operation but there are times when I can’t even enter the restaurants between after lunch and before dinner. 

To overcome this culture shock, I have gotten into the habit of always checking the opening hours before going to the store. Moreover, when I was in Japan, I often made plans in the afternoon, but I started making plans in the morning. I was not very good at getting up early, but since all my host family members have had the habit of going to bed early and getting up early, I am able to get up early naturally. Therefore, it hasn’t taken me too long to get used to this cultural difference. 





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