Round and Round
Monday afternoon we went to the New Zealand War Memorial Museum, which despite the name, has little to do with war. It does have a monument to vets, but the whole first floor is dedicated to Maori culture. They were very proud warriors, so maybe that's the connection. I want to go back because I didn't have time to finish the first floor much less make it to the other two--I of course am one of those people that have to look and read each thing.
The coolest part was the Maori cultural performance. They, like other Polynesian groups, shake their hands (i.e., not with each other but moving their own hands rapidly) when they dance b/c movement indicates life. The warriors are also famous for sticking out their tongues in a gesture of defiance--only the men do this. Women support their men in the pre-battle dances, not by sticking outt heir tongues, but by widening their eyes. If this dance is done correctly this tribe will be so intimidating that it will decide the battle before they have a physical one.
Learned that they have about 7,000 Japanese tourists a year but b/c of swine flu scares most of their booked tours have been canceled. This is really bad for the economy. Tourism, according to our guide, is the number one industry now in part b/c of the dip in international sheep and dairy more so than an increase due to exposure through LOTR (but that did help). I saw a guy walking down the street with an IU tshirt--I almost stopped and asked him about it (I didn't have my IU jacket on at the time).
Then we went to an old volcanoe crater, Mt. Eden. The grater was covered in rich green grass, which surprised me. I expected it to be rocky.
Aukland has a lot of English names, but also a few Indian names, e.g., Bombay, b/c one of the first government officials had previously been stationed in India. Once you go out into the countryside you are more likely to find Maori words for place names. This is confusing for the likes of me, but is similar to our use of Native American words for a lot of place names in the U.S. and if you grow up saying it then it's not a big deal.
I went to a seafood restaurant and had a fish pie for dinner. Quite good and undoubtedly quite British--those Brits and their meat pies. Also, enjoyed some really interesting conversation with students--most of whom are in the School of Ed.
There's also a tv station that is all Maori programming (including "Mr. Ed" and "TMNT" translated). There also appears to be a 24-hr local yoga station. ha. The tv remote is also printed in both English and Chinese script (could be Japanese).
The coolest part was the Maori cultural performance. They, like other Polynesian groups, shake their hands (i.e., not with each other but moving their own hands rapidly) when they dance b/c movement indicates life. The warriors are also famous for sticking out their tongues in a gesture of defiance--only the men do this. Women support their men in the pre-battle dances, not by sticking outt heir tongues, but by widening their eyes. If this dance is done correctly this tribe will be so intimidating that it will decide the battle before they have a physical one.
Learned that they have about 7,000 Japanese tourists a year but b/c of swine flu scares most of their booked tours have been canceled. This is really bad for the economy. Tourism, according to our guide, is the number one industry now in part b/c of the dip in international sheep and dairy more so than an increase due to exposure through LOTR (but that did help). I saw a guy walking down the street with an IU tshirt--I almost stopped and asked him about it (I didn't have my IU jacket on at the time).
Then we went to an old volcanoe crater, Mt. Eden. The grater was covered in rich green grass, which surprised me. I expected it to be rocky.
Aukland has a lot of English names, but also a few Indian names, e.g., Bombay, b/c one of the first government officials had previously been stationed in India. Once you go out into the countryside you are more likely to find Maori words for place names. This is confusing for the likes of me, but is similar to our use of Native American words for a lot of place names in the U.S. and if you grow up saying it then it's not a big deal.
I went to a seafood restaurant and had a fish pie for dinner. Quite good and undoubtedly quite British--those Brits and their meat pies. Also, enjoyed some really interesting conversation with students--most of whom are in the School of Ed.
There's also a tv station that is all Maori programming (including "Mr. Ed" and "TMNT" translated). There also appears to be a 24-hr local yoga station. ha. The tv remote is also printed in both English and Chinese script (could be Japanese).
posted by AnthroAnge | 5:29 AM
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