May 2012 Archives

For lack of a better, more creative idea, my post today will be dedicated to food. As both a vegetarian and an unadventurous eater, my options have been slightly limited. However, I've given some new foods a try while over here.

During our first marae visit, we encountered feijoas. A feijoa is small, ovular, and close to lime green in color. The skin on the outside is rough like an avocado, but the consistency on the inside is nearly opposite. Once the skin has been peeled, a has a grainy texture, like a pear is revealed. The fruit has a sweet taste. I know "sweet" is not very descriptive, but I don't really have a better adjective to use to describe the taste so it'll have to do.

We had pavlova for the first time the other day. Pavlova is a popular dessert that is like a meringue on the outside, but it is soft and fluffy on the inside. It is topped with cream and fruit. Since I love to bake, I'm definitely going to try my hand at baking pavlova sometime after I return home.

Chokito, a candy bar that is carmel fudge and rice balls covered with chocolate, is also pretty good. I found it at the local grocery store once, but since then, it has been out of stock. I guess it's pretty popular.

Other random food observations: Seafood is a pretty big staple of the diet here. Cream is frequently used. Bacon resembles ham. Ketchup is called "tomato sauce," but tomato sauce here does not taste like ketchup. I've been told that the beef tastes different, but I have no way to confirm that statement. Mac's Green Apple Sour Fruit Drink is incredible.

(an excerpt from my personal journal from Day 1 in NZ)

1. Fries are called chips (ex. Fish & Chips)
2. Rugby is a big thing here
3. Their language sounds a little like Filipino in the sense of how to pronounce "ng" and a little like Japanese in the sense how the words sound.
4. There are different dialects of the Maori language, but they can still understand each other
5. The Maori men love their woman and don't want them to get hurt, but acknowledge that Maori women are also very strong
6. There are a lot of apple orchards, but many of them are turning into wine vineyards
7. They say ten-pin when talking about bowling
8. Shakes and smoothies aren't very good here

We had a wonderful night at waimarama marae. The hospitality and knowledge that was shared about Maori culture and the traditional stories of that area was awesome. Here is a comment they posted on our visit to their Marae.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=475430055803758&set=a.168652039814896.42923.161677687178998&type=1&theater

So far. weve visited five different Maraes with overnights at three of them. We've been so welcomed and have become a part of their communities. Today, Ngahiwi Tomoana, the chairman of the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporation, our host here in NZ. The hungi is a feast of meats and vegatables buried underground with hot rocks for 3-4 hours. later we all sat around the table and sang songs with the chairman and several elders. We also visted Te Mata Peak, a sacred site of the Maori. It is about 3500 feet above the Hawks Bay plain.

We're about halfway through the trip, and so far, it's flown by. I've had an incredible experience thus far and I'm sure the second half of the trip will be just as enriching. Aside from the trip to the aquarium, which I could have lived without, I've enjoyed just about everything we've done to date. Through our studies and our marae visits, I feel like we've been doing a good job surrounding ourselves with Maori culture, and that has resulted in a greater understanding of our hosts. I feel very fortunate because everyone has been so welcoming, friendly, and eager to share their stories and personal history with us.

I was told by multiple people before I left that the South Island was more beautiful than the North Island. We haven't been to the South Island, so I can't evaluate that claim, but I do have to say that everywhere we have been so far has been pretty incredible. There are so many mountains here and combined with what seems to be an endless amount of water, the North Island seems very pristine and picturesque. I'm definitely going to miss seeing mountains set against water everyday when I'm back in Chicago. A group of us went up to Rotorua this weekend where we saw mud pools, hot springs, and geysers. I think breathtaking would probably be the most appropriate word to use to describe Rotorua. I've truly never seen anything like it. I hope everyone reading this at one point or another gets a chance to experience Rotorua in person because neither words nor pictures can accurately portray its magnificence.

I have so much more to say, but I'm going to cap this post here because we're just about to do a talking circle.