Coffee up!

Throughout my time in New Zealand I have attempted to immerse myself in kiwi culture, tactfully avoiding those things classically American that have infiltrated the country. While not always successful, I have gone out of my way to avoid one particular symbol of American culture that’s landed on the New Zealand doorstep: Starbucks. This was not particularly hard while living in Hawera, with the closest coffee house located an hour north in New Plymoth. However, now living in Hamilton I find one strategically located in the middle of the CBD, on a corner I pass multiple times in my downtown travels. Thus far I have been successful in my resistance, until today. I guess I figured that with my trip home occurring in just two weeks, I should reacclimatize my taste buds to what I would be drinking a majority of the time, especially in Seattle. Entering the establishment, it was like I’d entered a close friend’s home, the ultimate tactic of the Starbucks Corporation. Instantly I was at ease. The experienced marred only by the counter boy’s black stare when I flippantly mentioned I had forgotten the proper sequence in which to order my coffee, as I had done in Seattle so many times before. Clearly, he did not know the origins of his product. Yet, when my grande, non-fat, vanilla latte was called to the pickup counter in true Starbucks style and crossed my lips, all was forgotten. Some things never change.