Dinner, Dancing and Luau's!

This past weekend was our Welcome Dinner for Toroa House students. We were escorted to a beautiful venue on the Otago peninsula where we enjoyed a gourmet buffet and then some singing and dancing. Everyone cleaned up and dressed for the event. I have some great pictures of my flatmates and friends from Toroa, however blogspot isn't being too friendly at the moment and letting me upload them. So, please be patient with me and the pictures will be up in due time.

This weekend, I also had the opportunity to go to a luau at the local beach. There are many Pacific Islanders who reside in New Zealand and they preserve parts of their culture through these traditional dances. It looked like there was a lot of skill and talent that went into their hand gestures and hip movements, even for the men. There were also some Maori traditional dance performances. If you are unaware of the Maori population in New Zealand, they are the indigenous population who were the first settlers of New Zealand. They make up approximately 15% of the population, however the fact is that there is no such thing as a pure Maori anymore. Anyone who says they are Maori is usually a mix of Maori and Pakeha (European settlers) blood. Although assimilation was a large part of the government's agenda throughout history, the present day government has been attempting to preserve a large part of Maori culture. Maori is one of the official languages here. I have been learning some basics of the language while in New Zealand. For example, when I say "Kia Ora" to you, I am greeting you. In my treaty politics class, I am learning in detail about the colonisation of the Maori and the aftermath. Thus far, it has been very interesting. Surprisingly in a class of only 16 people, there are about 5 other Canadians.

Onto other matters...for some time now, I have been wanting to talk about certain things that are quite unique to New Zealand. My flatmates and I have been making a mental list of things that we're simply not used to in North America. We have called this list "kiwi-isms". So here goes...(by the way, for those who haven't caught on yet, "kiwi" is the endearing term we call New Zealanders because their official bird is the kiwi and they have tons and tons of the delicious fruit here)

1. Walking around town barefoot. Some people argue that this is a type of kiwi rebellion and a way to "stick it to the man". Others do it because it is so warm.

2. Reggae Music. The Kiwis love their reggae. Quite a few years ago, Bob Marley played a concert here and he inspired all.

3. Dreads. 1 in 10 people seem to sport dreadlocks. This may be influenced by item 2 on my list. I have also been told by one of my kiwi mates that it's the easiest hairstyle for surfers to manage.

4. Tomato Paste as Ketchup. Those who know me know I love my sauces and this includes ketchup. I mean real ketchup, not the stuff you put on your pasta or make your sloppy joes with. Kiwi ketchup is actually tomato sauce/paste. It's thin, runny and too sweet. A real disaster.

5. Fish and Chips. These fast food stops are on every corner. It's like Tim Hortons in Canada. I am not kidding you. Thankfully, it's delicious stuff. It's greasy, cheap and fast. Everything you would want in fish and chips. Also, there seems to be a pattern in who owns these joints. It's mostly Chinese families who make fish and chips and they're so good at it. It's also not a rarity to be offered a side dish of fried rice with your fish and chips.

6. Island Time. New Zealand is one giant island and they treat it as such. Time moves slower here in New Zealand. I have been on daylight savings since I arrived. The attitude here is that you shouldn't rush to do anything. Just enjoy yourself and take in the moment. This is all nice and dandy on a day at the beach, however when you're on a 10 hour car ride that has slowly turned into 12 and then 14 and then 16 hour trip because of this attitude, it's not so good.

7. Ridiculously overpriced CD's and grapes. I scoured the cd store at the local mall and all the new releases start at $29.99. Even the year old Mariah Carey cd was! That is a sin. I first thought this was maybe because everything had to be imported, however even the Kiwi bands were that expensive. Grapes among other groceries are crazy expensive too. I have heard that all grapes are imported except for grapes to make wine.


I really could go on with my list, but that is where I will end it for today. Hope everyone is faring well in Canada and elsewhere! Next time, I will let you know how my "wine appreciation" and "women's self-defence" classes are going :)