IES orientation, Aotearoa

So we had our IES orientation the last couple days. We drove about an hour and a half north of Auckland (beautiful, may I add) to a marae (a Maori meetinghouse), where we spent Friday and Saturday. The welcoming ceremony, called a powhiri, was really interesting - we walked slowly toward the meetinghouse while a Maori woman called to us. Then we went towards the back wall and paid respects to the ancestors of the house and sat down on a bench. It was kind of humorous because the women were instructed to sit on a bench against the while the guys sat on this couch in front of us. There were 2 guys on the couch and almost 20 women on the bench. The Maori man who was welcoming us into his marae talked to us is Maori, and then repeated himself in English, and then his wife(?) sang a song. In the Maori culture, there is always a song after a speaker. Then one of the guys in my program explained to the leader who we were. Then we sang the chorus of "American Pie". Yeah. The chorus of "American Pie". It was awkward. (We sang a song that everyone knew..) Then we pressed noses with the leaders as our official welcome. Now we were welcome to stay in the marae. It was actually really cool to have this cultural experience so unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

We unpacked and ate lunch and then we split up into two groups. I was in group tahi (one), so we went kayaking first! It was AWESOME. I'd actually never been kayaking before, and despite the fact that by the end I was sitting in a puddle from splashing so much, it wasn't too hard. We kayaked around this little inlet by the marae, played a game, and then went in. Then we learned this traditional Maori song/stick game thing, which I am apparently extremely uncoordinated at. But it was fun. The rest of the night was pretty chill. We did in-depth introductions and ate dinner. We were going to go to this cafe, but more people wanted to watch a movie instead. I feel asleep about ten minutes into the movie. It was an exhausting day!

Waking up to natural sunlight was so cool. It was about 7am and since all of us were sleeping in the same room in the marae, most of us got up around the same time I think. Group tahi made flax flowers and fish (not very successfully though) and then we switched and I went snorkeling in the ocean!! It was so cool. I saw some pretty fish and dove down closer to the bottom and held a sea urchin. It was absolutely fantastic. Really, this is what I was doing for orientation?! YEAH.

We said our farewells at the marae and eventually headed to the beach. We didn't stay very long, though, which is good because I got pretty sunburned when we were kayaking the day before. My feet, thighs, and face are all pretty red. Clearly liberally applying sunscreen is not an option for this Minnesotan girl. However, I love what saltwater does to my hair - it gets wavy!

We got back to our housing a little around 5. The other two IES students who live in Parnell with me (and one of their flatmates) got food on our way over to a different apartment. Unfortunately, none of my flatmates have moved in yet, so it's a little lonely. They should be moving in within the next week, though. Maybe this means that I have at least one Kiwi flatmate? I don't know. Anyway, we got Japanese food (it was pretty good), and I bought my first drink! It was hot sake, but I didn't like it very much. We hung out at the apartments and then left to go dancing, which was fun. Downtown Auckland is a hopping place at night! People everywhere, and the skytower was lit up, which was really pretty. When I was in the bathroom I was talking to someone and this Kiwi girl told me, "whoa, you have such a strong accent!" I found that funny since I obviously don't think I have an accent at all, nevermind a strong one. It was a fun night.

Right now I'm sitting in my room, going through paperwork and looking up classes. I'm signed up for a sociology of Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand..), a dance technique class, an Italian women's literature class (taught in English), and a Maori dance class. We'll see how this goes. I'm going to need to go find the buildings my classes are in at some point this week. I also really need a cell phone still, and I need to go grocery shopping. I have no food in my flat right now. It's gorgeous outside but since I'm still burned I think I'll wait until a little bit later to go outside so I can avoid the sun's intense rays. Even though I'm wearing sunscreen. Also, there's a Chinese Lantern Festival downtown later in the day, so I'll probably go to that. I heard there's going to be fireworks tonight as well?

New Zealand is so beautiful, though. Seriously. I've taken about 200 pictures so far but the pictures don't do it justice. Everywhere is so green, the ocean is so blue, it has been sunny every day since I've gotten here, the people are so nice, and I love the ocean air. This country, what I've seen of it so far, is breathtaking. It's very hilly here (it's a workout to walk from my flat to downtown) but it's amazing. I am having such a wonderful time so far and I am so excited for everything coming up. IES orientation is basically done, but tomorrow begins International Student Orientation through the university, which is so awesome because then I will meet more international students! I want to join a club (possibly the tramping club)(tramping = hiking) and I think I'll get more information on all of that this week. I'm not homesick or anything which is most excellent. I feel really good being by myself here and I know already this is going to be one of the best choices I have made.

I will throw it out there that I am sitting in my room with my balcony door and window wide open with the sun shining in, in a tank top and shorts, and am warm. WARM. I do not miss Minnesota weather :) Love you all!


ps: For anyone who wants to send me letters or anything, and no pressure whatsoever to do so I just know a couple people already told me they were going to, here is my address:

Rachel Johnson
Unit 13
8 Claybrook Broad
Parnell
Auckland 1052
New Zealand