Culture Shock and Shock Absorbers

I realised the borrowed car I have here needed a new road fitness test, like the katsastus in Finland or the M.O.T. in UK. It had run out in November 2008 so there's no point in driving and parking in town and risking getting a fine from a passing traffic warden. Let's see what happens. I am anxiously awaiting the call from the garage at this moment. The car (1991 vintage Toyota Starlet GT Turbo, once obviously owned by a teenage road racer) is needed for travelling to South Island in early February so it would be nice if there are not expensive repairs needed. Will the inspector notice he's removed the shock absorbers? Or will the fact that the hefty bass woofer speakers in the back are not actually connected to the stereo be a cause for failing the test? This is a new country for me and the culture is still pretty unfamiliar.

Making comparisons between cultures is hard to avoid in these early days of my New Zealand existence. In fact, one of the notions of coming here was just the fact that there are quite a few basic similarities between Finland and New Zealand, like size of the country (approx./noin about), young age of nation, size of population (NZ 4M, SF 5+M), position of women in society, educational and social policies, development of research, concentration of population in a few major cities and migration to them, extensive rural/agricultural heritage, affinity to sport, affinity to (long and frequent) holidays, affinity to travel, affinity to nature, affinity to alcohol, inferiority/superiority complex in relation to neighbouring nations, relatively high cultural activity considering the above etc. etc.

So now for Land Hippie's (Landehippi suomeksi, thanks Gumby for the translation) 1st observation of total difference between the cultures of Finland and New Zealand: Quality of bus transportation in the capital city. How many times have you run for a bus in Helsinki only to get the door shut in your face and the driver grinning (or scowling) whilst driving off at breakneck speed to 'keep up with the timetable'. It's been something that people write to the local papers about on a constant basis. Here the bus drivers, driving very similar machinery, greet you personally when you get on, typically wait for you to sit down before they drive off and also don't expect you to stand up to get off until the bus has come to a standstill. Additionally passengers and driver also thank and greet each other when leaving the bus, 'thanks, and have a good one', 'cheers Mate' etc. etc. With this pleasant attitude and buses designed with low-level accessibility it seems much easier for the elderly, the disabled, people with kids and everyone else for that matter to get around town inexpensively. But, OK, I'm not saying that there are not exceptions to the rule, and certainly my driver this morning, despite all the politeness, then proceeded to drive down the 1:5 inclines of Mount Victoria's serpentine streets, weaving between the bends and parked cars in a style resembling the best of Finnish rally drivers. But 'it's the thought that counts', as they say. Maybe the emphasis for bus drivers should be on comfort and service and less about just battling to gain enough time for a cigarette break at the next terminus. Maybe Helsinki City could send a few drivers over for some training. On the other hand, that might be risky should they decide to stay. I heard that the city of Wellington has a need for more bus drivers...