Book blurb New Zealand – My Adopted Home: A cross-cultural trainer’s personal portrayal of New Zealand and Germany – and what it’s like to live between two worlds.

Kiwiana, jandals, sunnies, barefoot in the supermarket, breath-taking landscapes, friendly people, wingless birds, no poisonous animals – how could you ever suffer culture shock in such a beautiful country? Plus, it’s a Western country just like Germany!

New Zealand – My Adopted Home describes the depth of cross-cultural predicaments as well as the obvious differences between cultures and uses the iceberg model to guide the reader through the cross-cultural theme of the book. A secondary theme alternates with this cross-cultural thread and reflects on the author’s visit back to her home country, Germany, her travels through other countries on the way there and back, and lifetime experiences with friends of all cultures.  

Cross-cultural theory in action and practiced in real life: what happens when a German starts a new job with an English employer in New Zealand, and how do her Filipino colleagues react? Why do people in New Zealand only know after a party how many people will actually be there – how to plan for this, and how do New Zealanders handle it?

The book primarily describes German and Kiwi culture, but there is more to it. How would you be able to limit it that way anyway? Depending on your own culture, you see other cultures through a completely different lens. This book tries to look through many lenses – the English lens, the Italian lens, the Asian lens ... It also describes why it’s often more difficult to return to your own country than to leave it for a new country, and how the author’s friends successfully managed to return.

This book expands on the little research and few articles available on the New Zealand culture, and discusses cross-cultural theories, applying them to real life, using humour and wit, and making them approachable for anybody. This book is the perfect read for a cosy evening at home in front of the fire or relaxing on the beach – cross-cultural findings transformed into light-hearted reading pleasure.

But, watch out! It is almost impossible not to fall in love with New Zealand while reading this book.

The book is also available in German: Wahlheimat Neuseeland - Auswandern, Einwandern, Zurückkehren, Wegbleiben: Eine interkulturelle Trainerin über Neuseeland, Deutschland und sich selbst zwischen beiden Welten.

Extract including cross-cultural content:

https://wahlheimat-neuseeland.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/978-0-473-50714-5-extract-Noll-opt.pdf