Orientation

 So this is super long but that’s because we did so much cool stuff in a day that I has a lot to write. The rest will probably be a lot shorter.

28 July 2013

I left Wednesday the 26 and flew from PDX to LAX where I waited for 8 hours. Other people going to Univ. of Otago were also on the flight so we all talked and got to know each other some. I go to the largest school (by a whole lot) and one of the few who go to a public university. Most go to school in New England (for me that means anything from about New York and above) but there are a few that go to school on the west coast. The flight ended up being about 12 hours which is a lot better than what I thought it was going to be. The meals that they served on the plane were pretty good and A LOT better than what is served on any domestic American flight. They served supper and breakfast and one could request a snack in between the times the meals were served. We landed in Auckland at 6 am where we were met the staff and got on the bus to go to Shakespear Regional Park.

The park was about 1 hour north of the airport and on the other side of the city so we got to hear about the city.

This is the hypodermic syringe that is in the Auckland skyline. They told us on the bus when we were all jet-lagged that it was the hospital so we all believed it. It reality it is a casino that one can bungee jump off.

  

Here is a picture of the top of one tree hill. It’s the thing sticking up to the right of the power pole.  There used to be a pine tree on top but it was damaged by a person trying to draw attention to non-native species in New Zealand. So they are working on trying to plant another tree there. I thought it was exciting that the tree was a pine tree from Oregon.

When we got to the lodge, the YMCA staff took us on a wonder through the fields just to get the legs moving. The part of the park we were in is in the process of becoming an open sanctuary for native NZ species (kiwi, tuatara, and other birds). They put up a big fence that keeps the pests (rodents) out of the area because these are predators of the kiwi. They did a large poison drop to get rid of the pests a few years ago so most of them are gone. They are going to reintroduce the kiwi and tuatara within the next few years. There are a few islands in the harbour that are also sanctuaries for native NZ species. One is an open sanitary where people can visit and the other is closed where people cannot. This is also when I couldn't help but to take a few pictures of the sheep on the hillside because it was really pretty.

The staff taught us how to play touch rugby which is a lot of fun. I think the rules are pretty different than the rules of regular rugby with how the game is started (obviously there is no tackles, scrums, etc.) but it was fun to play. They also showed us how to form a scrum. This is when we all got to know each other a lot better. Rugby players have no bubble when they play. They would not actually let us scrum because we would all get hurt because we had it being guys vs. girls.

That night they brought us to hot pools that were just outside the city. It reminded me of the hot springs in Olympic National Park. They pumped in the water from the thermal pool into large swimming pools that we were in. They had water slides that were not heated so we all went down once.

After the pools we went back to Shakespear lodge and had dinner and went to bed. This was a very long day but it helped to overcome jet lag.

29 June 2013

We got to do a Rogaine which stands for Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Exercise which basically is a fancy name for orienteering. They gave us maps, answer sheet, and 45 minutes out in the park to kind pieces of wood with a symbol on them. It was a lot of fun because there were not many rules just that we all had to be back after 45 min. and to be careful when jumping the fences. The challenging part was that the map was a lot more zoomed in than any of us are used too. All of the teams struggled with that.

Rogaine team!

Pretending to read the map.

Shakespear Regional Park is on a peninsula and surrounded by the ocean so we went kayaking there. We got to go on two person fun-yaks. My favourite! We went to the ship wreck which was purposefully put there. It is an old steam ship that the Shakespear family sunk to create a wave break so it was easier for them to sail across the harbour to sell their produce in Auckland. The staff also had us switching boats. I think this was just so they could have a good laugh. We also had to make chariots. This is when two boats would come together and two people had to hold the boats together and the other two stood up to paddle. Our chariot did not come apart and no one fell in. I personally think this would be an awesome thing to do at camp with the kids and make them race even though it is not the safest water activity. Here are some pictures of the various chariots. (There are none from me because I did not want to bring my camera on the water so these are from other people.)

After some meal, we were able to split up and do various activities around the park. I went rock climbing and of course I had problems making the harness fit. We were able to make the harness small enough. It was an interesting way to belay because all we had to do was walk backward because the rope was wrapped around a metal pole with both ends attached to the people. We were doing this right at sunset so when we were at the top we were able to see the sunset over the harbour and the night lights from Auckland.

On my way up:

At the top:

How we belayed:

After this and another meal we had a Kiwi culture quiz. All of us did well in some categories and terrible in others. We were all really bad in history and grab bag because most of that was Kiwi slag. Some of the slag that I've learned and thought was funny is chilly bin (ice chest), trollied (schwasted), sweet as (awesome), jandals (sandals), and stubbies (really short shorts for men). I also learned that NZ biggest export is butter and they product about 200 lbs. per person.

30 June 2013

We left the Park this morning and did this ceremony that the Maori do were we have a chance to stand up and thank the other people and then we presented them a gift of a native tree for them to plant in the park.

We went to Auckland and they dropped us off in the city and gave us a map, scavenger hunt list, lunch, and a time to meet back up and then let us roam the city. The scavenger hunt gave us points to add to the Rogaine and Culture Quiz so me and two teammates decided to work on it because we had nothing else and they were places to see. My favourite thing was the intersection in town because all of the cars would stop and pedestrians could just walk where ever so there was no need to wait a long time to go to the opposite corner. We looked through some shops but also went to the art museum. They have a display of all 3-D pictures that looked cool. We also went to a park and square by city hall. We ended at the hypodermic needle so it actually is a casino and not the hospital. It was a fun way to see the city and it kept us busy for the whole time.

At the square:

We then got back on the bus and headed to the Marae. A marae is the ground around the houses of the Maori people. When we got there we went through a formal welcome where we were invited onto the Marae and into the building. From there the Maori elder welcomed us and then we had two chiefs do a welcome speech in Maori and we all sang to back up what they were saying. This was finished by touching noses and foreheads with the Maori people. After this we set up our beds in the big house around the edges. We all had to introduce ourselves in Maori. The Maori connect with the river, mountain, and sea/lake that are near them so we all had to introduce ourselves using those geographical markers. It was interesting to hear where all of the people are from. We then had dinner which was really good. After dinner we went outside to an area that replicates a Maori village 300 years ago. We were met by a warrior and Chief Mike had to accept the peace offering from them so we could proceed. We went into what is the big house in the village and got to watch some dance performances including a Haka. The haka is performed before going into battle and if it is good enough there is no battle. We were also shown the houses they lived in. Outside of the village they have a carving of a girl Te Hana who looks over the village. There is a love tragedy about how she got there. They also train all of the children starting at age 13 because if a man was to fall in battle then a women was to step up to the place.

Waiting to enter:

Chief Mike speaking:

Slumber par-tay!!

More par-tay!

1 July 2013

            We woke up in the morning an hour late but were okay because we were all ready to go by breakfast. During breakfast we were able to see our breath while we were inside. It’s only slightly cold here J. We did another thank you ceremony with the Maori. They were very impressed with our singing the day before and how Chief Mike didn't flinch when accepting the peace offering.

            We went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum.  We were given some time to wonder around there. The top floor has the names of the service men and women who have died. There is a small room about the Holocaust. There is a urn there that a couple brought with them to NZ after they escaped the concentration camps so they had evidence for what they witnessed. The ashes that were in there were returned to Europe and the urn was kept to remember the couple that brought it to NZ.

            They also have a room on volcanoes and there is a simulation that has an ash cloud coming towards you. There is a thing that is a person that was caught in the eruption of Pompeii.  There are also dinosaurs! The info with that is what I learned in Dino Bio so it was exciting. There were also A LOT of taxidermy animals. The birds were a lot less creepy than the ones in Cordley Hall.

Inside a traditional Maori big house:                                           

  Part of War Memorial:

The urn:

            After the museum we flew to Dunedin. It was a strange experience going through security because they did not need any ID at any point. We also did not need to undress to go through the metal detectors. The only thing they are really strict about is the size and weight of bags. We landed in Dunedin at sunset over the snow-capped mountains. After we landed we went to eat pizza and watch rugby. This October the All Blacks are playing Australia in Dunedin. SO EXCITED! I’m going to try to get tickets. We then were dropped off at out flats and went to bed.

2 July 2013

We had a welcome from the International Office. One of the ladies who work in the office is from the States. It was weird to hear an American accent after being talked to by Kiwis for so long. We went on a campus tour. There is so much in their library building. The architecture here is interesting because there are a lot of English style buildings with red and white brick. There are also very modern buildings with glass walls and then grey concrete buildings. We also got a tour of the city. We went to this hill just outside of town that has the “butter” statue on it. The park was made as a 100 year commemoration of Dunedin. We also went to Baldwin St. which is the steepest street in the world. Our student co-ordinator used to live on the street in a house that has the world steepest bar where his family would sell beer to tourists. We also went to the beach which is not really there because it is winter at high tide.

The budda (as it sounds when a kiwi says it):

Most of us at the top of the hill overlooking the city:

This is the top of Baldwin St. So steep you can’t see the road.

We went to the supermarket. I was very surprised by the number of options of peanut butter.

I got to meet the neighbours who were hosting a little get together. We played beer pong with them. It was really fun because the people from the States have different rules but we were all able to learn something new. The biggest difference is that they don’t have an elbows rule so some of the guys can reach half way across the table. While at the neighbours’, someone there knows someone who lives in Portland so wanted to know if I knew them. Of course I had no idea who the person is and didn't want to be rude about how big the Portland are is.

The Baaa, a bar across the street, has trivia night Tuesday nights. I met up with people there are we made a team. We did really well in the math, science, and celebrity gossip categories. There were some that were about NZ which we didn't know and the kiwi with us didn't know either.