Kia Ora!

So today’s blog is going to be kind of random, but I still want to keep the updates coming and I definitely have enough interesting things to share.  First off, Kia Ora! [pronounced ‘key-aura’]  This is a Maori greeting that means several things: hello, welcome, good day mate, goodbye, wish you well, etc.  All of the kiwis here say it upon meeting you and you are to say it back in response, and with great enthusiasm.  The Maori culture here is extremely pervasive in the lifestyle and ways of New Zealand, and in a good way.  It’s been really cool to learn more about the culture and understand some of the history of the Maori.  Last night we went to a Hangi, which is a traditional tribal dinner.  It was through this place called Tamaki Heritage Experiences, which is an organization that provides people with the chance to come to a recreated village to see many of the traditions of the ancient tribes.  The tribes of the Maori are still all throughout New Zealand, but the people live amongst all the rest of the citizens (as in, they don’t live in tribal villages anymore).  This place was really cool – they performed a tribal welcome and had some demonstrations of what village life used to be and then showed us the pit in the ground where our food was cooked.  Then the tribe performed songs and dance and Haka for us and we had dinner.  The whole evening was very cool and I have come to really appreciate the rich culture here.

Earlier yesterday we went to do some volunteer work at a local Railroad park.  It was sort of as quirky as it sounds but a good time nonetheless.  This place is sort of like a mix between a model train display area and a little kids’ park.  One odd thing is that it’s not typical for people in New Zealand to do service projects; for whatever reason they just don’t.  But our group did.  So.  We got there and the woman welcomed us and explained the jobs we would be doing and then we split off into groups.  This volunteer work was much less organized than other things I have done and I ended up playing with little kids for the majority of the morning.  But we started off by working on leveling one of the railroad tracks, which entailed lifting up the track and raking the gravel underneath and checking it with a level.  Note that this particular track was only about 10 inches across, so it is for a little train, called Little Blue.  So we did that and then rode on the train several times around to make sure it was good to go for the young ones.  Nick and Dad, you would have really enjoyed this place, it was neat.  They had a big room of model trains (as we think of them, the little ones) and then 3 different sizes of operating trains that you can ride on.  See below for a recap of the train ride for our group of students 20 years and older : ) Then the locals arrived – the kids were from a local Maori preschool and were all around 2-4 years old.  They got to ride the train and jump in the bouncy Thomas the Tank Engine complex and it was a blast.  I loved getting to spend time with then and experience a little of what it’s like to be a 3 year old Maori kid while hanging out in the bouncy train with them.

Some other random and interesting things I’ve learned thus far:

1.          New Zealanders have really bad teeth.  I don’t mean this in an offensive way, just factual.  I guess they just don’t have many dentists/orthodontists or at least don’t care very much about going because like 99% of them have teeth that look like they could use some work.

2.         Transportation is called waka

3.          The sun is really hot here, really really hot.  This is because there is a hole in the ozone layer above Australia/New Zealand and so the rays are way stronger, so much that daily news here includes burn times.  For example, today’s burn time was probably around 10 minutes.  No joke, you will get burnt in that amount of time or less if you don’t wear sunscreen.  I’ve worn sunscreen every day so far and have still gotten a little red.  Also, sunscreen is about $10 for a small bottle, and I really wish I would’ve known to bring more than I did.  For any of you who are thinking about visiting at any point, definitely bring some from home.

4.         Kiwis swear a lot but are so much more friendly than typical Americans.  They are a whole lot more laid back and chill and super genuine and really helpful.

5.          The kids here are just totally filled with joy, at least the ones I spent time with yesterday at the Railroad park.  The parents don’t hover as much and just let their kids run around and play, almost seeming as though they are more willing to let their kids make mistakes and learn from them than we typically are.  I could be reading too much into this, as I have only spent a few hours observing them, but it’s what I gathered from watching the interactions.  One thing I noticed was that the kids (and parents too, but it’s more obvious in the kids) aren’t as consumed with themselves and their own feelings.  They don’t take things personally and don’t seem as sensitive as American kids.  For example, today a little girl named Katie ran into this little boy, and it was obvious that the boy didn’t like that she did that.  But rather than getting upset, crying, or shoving her, he turned to her and said “Kayy-teaa” (in his thick and adorable 3 year old kiwi accent) and placed his hands on her shoulders and moved her out of his way, not shoving or angry, just conversationally.  This might not seem like a big deal to any of you reading this, but I was blown away by how easy-going all of these kids were to each other, in every way, and just really kind.  I think this is a really good quality in the people here – they don’t walk around thinking that everyone is out to get them.

6.         New Zealanders drive on the other side of the road.  After walking around Auckland and Rotorua for several days now, I find that it’s up to about 50% of the time that I look the correct direction before crossing the road.  I’m getting there, but it’s a definite adjustment.  Driving will be even more so.

7.          Signage and instructions tend to be way more upfront and to the point here, often sounding funny to me.  For example, when we were heading out of the airport in Auckland to meet up with the Australearn group the writing on the wall said “way out à” rather than “exit”.  They don’t have signs that say “yield” here, they instead say “give way”.  Rather than “nursing home” I saw a sign for “old persons residency”.  It’s just interesting to see how another place in the world has different directions for the same things.

8.         Bathing suits are called togs

9.         Coolers are called chilly bins

10.    McDonald’s here sells frozen Coke, like a Coke slushie.  I don’t think that we have those at the McDonald’s at home, but I could be wrong.  Really good, especially as hot as it is here.