Kiwis on OE do same as at home

See the world, experience new cultures and meet interesting people - or just get drunk at the pub with your mates from home.

Despite their best intentions, most Kiwis heading to London for their OE take the second option, often without knowing where the classic drinking and touring traditions originated.

Those are the findings from Lincoln University researcher Jude Wilson, who interviewed 99 New Zealanders for her PhD thesis, loosely titled Unpacking The OE.

As well as grilling Kiwis about to depart and those who had returned home, Mrs Wilson went to London to talk to people in the midst of their travels.

The subjects - who ranged in age from 17 to a couple in their 70s - included some who had been on OEs as far back as 1968.

"Most people were quite embarrassed about how few Brits they'd met," Mrs Wilson said. "And if they had stayed in that Kiwi community in London they were embarrassed about it."

Yet while abroad they were sold on the convenience and the fun of being part of the strong Antipodean expat community - which included devoted sporting leagues, pubs, employment and travel agencies, newspapers, and food and wine festivals.

Mrs Wilson - who returned to New Zealand in 2000 after moving to London on her OE 20 years earlier - said today's overseas experience was more serious, more organised and more professional than it used to be.

Today's travellers often opted for a career-type job over working in a pub.

However, some venerated customs survived, even if the travellers were unsure of their origins.

"People used to go to the Bierfest and 'The Pamps' because they were in Spain and Germany and they were interesting festivals to go to," Mrs Wilson said.

"Whereas, a travel company I spoke to said they get clients now who are genuinely surprised to find that there are other Germans at the bierfests, or that Pamplona is actually a centuries-old Spanish festival.

While the stereotypical OE - "you went to London when you were 22 and you worked in a pub and you lived in Earl's Court" - was no longer accurate, it was still a benchmark for how Kiwis viewed their travels, Mrs Wilson said.

Other options - such as teaching English in Asia - meant OEs were not limited to the UK, but the "quintessential Kiwi OE" was London-based.

"One guy I interviewed had worked in Japan and travelled extensively in Asia. But he said whenever he was back in New Zealand sitting around with his mates and they were telling OE stories, he'd done it wrong. He couldn't join in."

THE CLASSIC KIWI OE

Seedy London flat overflowing with Kiwis and Aussies.

Sunday drinking sessions at The Church bar, London.

Kombi van trip or Contiki Tour around Europe.

The running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany.

NEW ADDITIONS

Social netball league in London.

Anzac Day celebrations in Gallipoli, Turkey.