My First Mihi Whakatau and Other Glimpses Into Maori Culture

The Public Health Association of New Zealand opened the annual conference on 4 September 2012 with Mihi Whakatau (a formal welcome).   To begin, Manuhiri (visitors) were invited into a lecture theater.  After we were all seated the Tangata Whenua (people of the land - marae representatives) went to the front.  The Kaumatua (elder) said a karakia (prayer) and mihi (greeting speech).  The Tangata Whenua then did a waiata tautoko (song of support) for his speech.  A male representative for the visitors responded with a mihi.  Here's a video of the waiata to support him:

The protocol for the Mihi Whakatau allow Tangata Whenua and Manuhiri to merge as one and become the Whanau (family) for the conference.  I think it was great to incorporate the Mihi Whakatau into the conference.  I had no idea what was going on for the hour or so that the Mihi Whakatau went on, but I enjoyed the experience nonetheless and liked the idea of us merging as one.

That wasn't the last of the singing, though.   Children came and sang for us on a few occasions.  During this song the whole audience got involved:

I'll post more about what I learned at the conference from the presentations I attended later on.  In the mean time, here's one last video of the children to tide you over: 

I Am A Mountaineering Machine

What a weekend!  It was amazing! It was incredible! It was spectacular!  It was so unbelievably awesome that I had to spend the better part of my morning detoxing on a near overdose of dropping f-bombs because simply saying something like, "This is the most beautiful sunrise ever" did not have the same emotional punch that "This is the most f-ing beautiful sunrise ever" had.

So, two cool things happened: I learned how to walk with crampons (those spiky things attached to my boots) and how to use an ice axe.  Typically, I'm accident prone.  So, placing a sharp object in my hands or on my feet is usually a no-no.  However, the kiwis were unaware that I have  cut my fingers with the sharp edge of a knife while trying to cut brie cheese with the blunt edge of a knife; nor were they aware that I once stapled my thumb while putting together a display of studying tips for freshmen when I worked as an academic mentor.

On Friday, we arrived at the lodge.

On Saturday, we walked up to the day hut just below Waitaki Face.  On the walk we learned about kicking our feet into the snow rather than stepping straight down.

Eventually, we made it to the day hut where the real fun began.

First, we practiced walking with just boots on our feet.

Then, we moved a little up the mountain to practice self-arrests.

Believe it or not, my favorite part was sliding headfirst on my back down the mountain and maneuvering onto my stomach, feet first, and digging the pick of the axe into the snow/ice to stop myself.

Before we headed back for dinner (by the way, roasted pumpkin/potatoes/onion/garlic and cooked broccoli/carrots and pan fried tofu in garlic/onion/butter/salt makes for a heavenly meal) we took turns bum sliding down the hill (this worked better than sliding down on a shovel or an inner tube).

I slept on the top bunk and on Sunday I was woken up to this view from inside the hut:

I scrambled down the ladder and booked it outside to catch the sunrise.  It was... beautiful.

After breakfast and a walk up to the day hut, we set out to haul ourselves up Foster's Peak using a combination of daggering and French technique.

Not a bad day, eh?

Target destination: straight ahead.

Ready? Set...

Climb!

I had the option of taking an easier route, but what fun would there be in that?!  After I got to the top, I was greeted with a Tim Tam Slam break (like a real kiwi!) and then we huddled together for a lunch break.

This was my view for lunch.  Hard to believe that at one point I used to have lunch in the hospital cafeteria!  This beats that hands down a million times over!!!

What goes up must come down.  After lunch, it was time to get back to the lodge and head home, but first...

Then...

Followed by...

Not a shabby place for a little Sunday morning walk.

If there are students who plan to study in New Zealand and enjoy the great outdoors then bring your own gear!  It is insanely expensive to purchase boots, a pack, and a sleeping bag.  Here's my list of things I want to buy for tramping (I've been entering LL Bean's give away, but no luck yet. *sad face*  That's okay, I'd still recommend their fleece lined raincoat!).  

• Boots (I can tolerate soggy feet, but something like this may keep them dry - oh la la!)
• Wool socks
• Gaitors (these fall under the trying-to-keep-my-feet-happy theme, but also useful when tramping through that sonofagun stuff called gorse!)
• Hiking pants (loving my waterproof pants, but something that is less baggy/more stylish would be grand... I am a fashionista-in-training after all) 
• Cozy hat
• Gloves (is it possible that they could keep my hands warm and dry during a bush bashing session?)
• Compass (New Zealand specific.  Interesting, eh?)
• Sleeping bag (you would faint if you knew how much $US I've spent on both the sleeping bags that I bought in New Zealand and I still FREEZE even in a hut!  Something that'd keep me warm indoors and outdoors would be fantastic)
• Sleeping bag liner (Celia swears by silk, but anything that keeps me from freezing would be sweet as)
• Sleeping pad (someone described the ones for hire at Unipol as rolled out rock, but not this one)
• Stove
• Knife 
• Tent (I've been staying in huts, but camping in a tent would be cool)
• Hiking pack (I've been borrowing Kate's, but my own would be sweeeeet!)
• Hiking poles (wouldn't it be great if I didn't look like the Hunchback of Fiordland?! Hiking poles would help me with that!)

The list could go on and on, but I am knackered and need to sleep.  Unfortunately, my weekend wiped me out and I had to nap after my morning seminar today.  This (combined with getting ready for the trip and being away for the trip) lead to a serious lackage of doing research-related work.  This then lead to me flicking an email to my supervisor with the subject heading "Sara = Slacker" followed by an explanation of how my exhausting (but, fun!) weekend prevented me from getting down and dirty with our database.  He liked the alliteration and forgave me (just this once, but I think it's because I described my weekend as "awesome" and then continued with "You know what else is awesome? Statistics!").   ☺  Needless to say, I need to focus way more research and less on fun...for now.  

Autumn in Aotearoa

The Mãori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, "the land of the long white cloud.” 

Fiordland trip March 2012

Lately, it seems as though that long cloud has been bringing cold, wind, and rain with it!  But, on a nice day like today, there is plenty of sun and just enough of a breeze to watch leaves softly floating to the ground.

Yesterday, I volunteered at the Lovelock Relay races, an annual event held to honor Jack Lovelock.  Lovelock was from New Zealand and a gold medal winner in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  

My job was helping Helen keep track of teams as they came across the finish line.  Hands down, the under 12 relay was the cutest event.  This little girl was on a team of other kids no older than 4 or 5.  

Last night, I attended a birthday party where everyone had to dress up as a famous person.  I tried dressing up as Lady Gaga, but only managed to pull off the hair. Sort of.

Still, it made for a fun evening!  There was a Katy Perry, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson and even a Paper Bag Princess.  

It hasn't been all play, though.  I'm still working on a manuscript on the response rates to a mailed survey based on the type of incentive the women received.  I turned in a rough copy to my advisor, but I have some major work to do. Here's hoping I turn out something brilliant, or at least publishable, when it's done!

AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND) 2012. Shot with Fujifilm Finepix X100.

Brownie points if you can find the bit of footage from Dunedin.

Foodies Need Not Apply

How can something that looks so cute and so pretty taste so weird?  The treat above is a piece of lollie cake.  It is "unique" to New Zealand.  Probably for good reason (I really didn't care for it).  Check out the recipe for an idea of what those polka dot things are.

What else have I eaten over here?  Well, to tell the truth, it's hard sometimes to tell if we're eating an authentic NZ dish, a different ethnicity's dish, or something else entirely (you cannot tell me that "savoury hamburger buns" is from any ethnic group!).  I guess that is catered resident-living for you. 

But, no worries!  I treated myself to a $13.50 pancake and $4 coffee at Capers in Dunedin on Monday.  It really was quite good.  I had raspberries and white chocolate drizzle on mine. Yum!  Luckily, we had a coupon for buy one pancake, get one free.  Could you Americans believe two pancakes and a coffee would have cost $34.50 (tip included in price)?

New York to New Zealand

I'm a little surprised that so many people have no idea where New Zealand is.  I'm a little more surprised that they think it's a tropical paradise like Hawaii.  So, to help those who are geographically challenged, I present to you... a map.

According to www.geobytes.com, it is 9,233 miles (14,857 kilometers) between Binghamton, New York (home) and Dunedin, New Zealand (school).  According to my flight itinerary, it's going to take 30 hours to get there.  I forgot to mention that I really, really don't like to fly.