War Memorial Museum

Today was incredible! We had the opportunity to visit theAuckland War Memorial museum. This museum rivals the Smithsonians of DC. It had3 different levels with multiple exhibits per level ranging from volcanoes,oceans, forest, dinosaurs, to Maori art, history, weapons, clothing, to a hugefloor dedicated to those who had fought in the armed forces in all of NZ’smajor battles. It was, like I said earlier, incredible!

We got to the museum just in time for the daily Maoriperformance. The show lasted about a half hour and it involved traditionalchants and songs as well as a poi ball performance ending with a haka from themen. They were all dressed in traditional clothing (as you’ll see) and no themen are not wearing anything under that cloth…. Anyway, the performance wasamazing! They even welcomed us in by blowing a giant conch shell! Before eachdance they would talk about the cultural significance behind each dance. Theytold us before the haka that it is a traditional war dance to help the men preparefor battle. They slap themselves so as to toughen up the skin and they stickout their tongue because in Maori culture that is a sign of complete dominanceand defiance. I have seen a few performances of the haka before but this onewas unlike any I had ever seen before. It was super intense! I had chillsrunning up and down my spine and I kept having to remind myself that it wasjust a show and not real!

After the show we took a guided tour of the Maori exhibitwith one of the performers. He told us all about the marea- the Maori spiritualplace. They have carvings of their ancestors all along the walls. In order toenter you have to first take off your shoes as a sign of respect. Most of thecarvings show their ancestors with their tongue sticking out as a form ofrespect. All of the carvings on the face are tattoos that those tribe membershad in real life. Only the chiefs are tattooed since it is a sign of respectand status. The tattoos show how that person is related to the past ancestors.Today the tattoos are put on like any other tattoo but in the past theyactually would chisel the design into the skin and fill it in with ink… womenwould usually only have a design tattooed (chiseled) into the chin and lips.Although there are no full blood Maoris left on the island because of marriagebetween cultures, there are many people who are still able to keep up thetraditions of their ancestors.

Erika gave us a few hours to go throughout the museum afterour tour and to explore. The kids exploration corner was one of the coolestkids centers I have ever seen. They had all sorts of interactive games andactivities for the kids to participate in as well as computer centers wherekids can explore about different animals. Even though we were all adults it wasstill really fun!

My favorite part was walking through the war exhibits. Theyhad entire sections dedicated to their own civil wars, WWI and WWII. It wassuper interesting looking at the wars through a Kiwi perspective. There werenew ideas as to how the war could have ended and what brought NZ to fight inthe first place. Funny how everyone seems to know US history and yet how muchdo we know about other countries and their histories? They had a huge halldedicated to those who had given their lives in the wars that NZ had fought it.

It was also incredible because as I walked around theexhibits I was able to experience the trenches of WWI, walk along the streetsof Auckland during the 1800s, and hear Hitler’s call to arms during WWII. Thismuseum didn’t just have plaques on walls and artifacts behind glass it actuallytook you inside the event itself so that you could experience what happened foryourself. I walked out of that museum wishing I could have spent all day there.

The day ended with a surprise treat from Erika. She took usto a chocolate boutique and bought us all some of the most delicious chocolatedrinks and desserts I have ever tried. J Definitely a greatending to another great day! 

This building is original and it was used as a food storage place for the village.

The inside of the marae, separate from the food storage holding.

The man on the left was our tour guide.

One of the many different memorials set up for the people. 

Ok, so NZ doesn't have lots of spiders but they do have these disgusting bugs called wetas. This is a cave weta and it is giant! It's legs can have a span as long as my arm.... gross!! 

My chocolate gift from Erika- Italino denso or Italian hot chocolate. Super yum! 

Who Shot Rock and Roll?

With classes over and the practicum still a few weeks away Erika (our director) decided to uses these next few days before our trip to the south island as a chance to explore two specific types of learning called problem based learning and project based learning. Problem based focuses on a real life situation (problem) and the students then use various problem solving methods to find a solution. Project based learning involves discovery and hands on activities that allow students to explore and investigate for themselves. It does not focus on a problem but instead it focuses specifically on acquiring knowledge. So she decided to take us museum hopping so that we could learn how to create a lesson plan around a specific topic without having to actually go on multiple field trips with the students.

For our first stop: Auckland Art Museum. A cool fact: it's free! This was actually a really neat experience. So you know how every art piece in every museum tends to look the same after about five minutes? Especially in the states because we know the history and our country is only a few hundred years old. Well, this museum was a different experience! They had Maori culture, European culture, modern art, a kids corner, and a hall dedicated to optical illusions! I found it really interesting to compare the American art that I have seen (just remember that I am no expert...) to the Maori and European art they had in the museum. Many of the Europeans enjoyed paintings and portraits of the Maori way of life, which reminded me of how people used to do the same things with the Indians back home because the people back east enjoyed seeing the "native" way of life.

Funny, because even though NZ and the US seem to be very different (and we are in some respects) our history and heritage are really quite similar. Both countries had native populations who were nearly wiped out because of white supremacy, both nations were under British rule at some point, and both nations are made up of a melting pot of cultures/peoples.

As part of our tour we decided to pay the $10 to see the special exhibit on display entitled Who Shot Rock and Roll (meaning photography). It was super interesting because photos covered the walls of famous people from Elvis, to the Beatles, to KISS, to U2 just to name a few. Some of the artists were captured at the very beginning of their careers before they even knew what fame and fortune was ahead of them. Funny because those photos showed the ultimate dream, right? I mean these people had/have it all- the women, the drugs, the money, the fame, the "perfect" life with no cares or problems. And yet, as we walked around looking at all of these photos not one of the artists struck me as being truly happy. Even the few that actually had smiling faces betrayed unhappiness and dissatisfaction. It made me realize then and there how rich I am when it comes to happiness. I'm not talking about the feeling you get when you've won something, or how you feel when you find out that you passed a class. Those types of feelings fade and fade quickly. I'm talking about a happiness that brings peace and confidence. One that seems to radiate from your very being and that does not disappear when life gets hard.  I've come to realize that the best forms of happiness are the selfless forms where others come first. And of course (back to missionary mode...) the gospel brings a form of happiness that cannot be found anywhere else. It was a very interesting reaction to that exhibit... one that I wasn't expecting.

One of the hallways of art. There are statues and paintings all along the walls on both the upper and lower levels. 

 Cool optical illusion

Another hallway with art pieces 

 Another cool illusion! 

A Little Lesson in Spirituality

Sunday: A cool, draining and interesting day. It began as normal- the 3 hour church block. Because it was fast Sunday the ysa put together a break the fast at our spiritual mum's house (what they call their ysa leader). Camilla drove us over. Everyone had brought a dish to share. We had everything from curried sausage to taro to french bread and salads. It was really yum! After dessert the meal turned into a ysa planning session where they planned the next few activities. This was the last ysa activity for one of the young men who is leaving next week for his mission (stake conference is next Sunday) so after eating and planning we had a mini testimony meeting. It was awesome... at the start but then each person started taking 10-15 minutes per testimony... and with about 20 ysa well it turned into quite the meeting. Funny because after about the first hour I was done... after the second well I was very done... by the end of the third.... yup you get the picture.

 It is incredible to see the church and the faith of the members. Especially the youth. Missionary work is  honored like nothing I've ever seen and there are so many young people preparing to serve. Maybe we should take lesson from the faith of these people.

So if that extra testimony meeting wasn't enough then there was another ysa activity later that night at 7. We went straight from the break the fast (that started at 3) to the ysa activity.

This activity was pretty cool- it was a ysa discussion. One person is in charge of leading the discussion. For this month a girl was in charge. She began by showing us the mormon message by D. Todd Christofferson where he talks about the gardener cutting down the little current bush so that it could reach its full potential. During the discussion we talked about how we can know what Heavenly Father wants each of us to become and how we can achieve that potential. We looked up different scriptures as groups and then shared what we learned. She ended the discussion about an hour later by showing one last mormon message- better things to come by Jeffery R. Holland. It was a really neat experience. Everyone was surprised when I told them that we don't have these ysa discussions where I come from.

We didn't get home until after 10 and I was definitely glad to be home! It was interesting to see how important church activities and group togetherness is for these people. I love it even if it is a bit long sometimes... :) 

Zorbing with Hobbits

So Saturday we woke up bright and early. We were off by 8 to a farmer’s market that was nearby. It’s pretty similar to an American farmer’s market just the food was a little different. There was also a lot of Bob Marley stuff but I think that was more because of the music festival than anything else. I got to try my first Maori fry bread fresh from the fryer. Super yum! They have this stuff called golden syrup here that is a lot like molasses, honey, and syrup all put into one. It is sweet but not overly sweet and really good. We only stayed for about an hour because it was pretty small but fun.

Next came a unique experience. Remember that pet hamster that you had growing up? Remember that hamster ball you used to put your hamster in and then kick it around the room (don’t act like you didn’t do that!) Well, I can now say that I know exactly how said hamster felt. Allow me to introduce you to something Kiwi’s call Zorbing. Picture this: a giant plastic (soft plastic) ball with a smaller ball inside and two people inside the smaller ball rolling down a large hill. Sounds awesome right? Well, I can now say I’ve done that and not just once but twice! Because we had a group of 10 people we got a deal of 2 rides and photos/video footage for $70 (one ride alone without purchasing photos was $40). The smaller ball has some water sloshing around in it so that as you roll down the hill you mostly just slide around inside the ball instead of spin around.

Once we had gotten our fill of adventure we then made our way over to the land of middle earth. Matamata, New Zealand is the home of a shorter bunch of folks with hairy feet. We got a deal with that as well because in times past the tour of Hobbiton was only about 30 minutes long but now since the Hobbit movie came out the tour is over 2 hours. Before our tour left we stopped by to get some lunch. James took us to a burger place that had THE biggest burger I've ever seen. Sara and I split one it was that big. Ingredients: pineapple, a fried egg, beet root, hamburger patty  mushrooms, a piece of fish, ham, lettuce, tomato, steak, bacon, and cheese. Definitely enough to fill us up on our way into Hobbiton.

Our tour was really cool! We saw every hobbit dwelling in existence and then some. The giant tree that Bilbo stands under during his speech was pretty neat (it is a live tree) and Bagend was fun to see but I think my favorite part was when we stopped to have a drink at the Green Dragon. During the whole tour we had a guide that took us around and told us facts behind the filming of all of the movies. By the end everyone had decided that living in a hobbit hole really would be awesome. Especially there because the countryside was so beautiful! It's right in the middle of a sheep farm but hey whatever works right? 

Just in case the day couldn’t get any better we of course had to stop by an ice cream shop on the way home. Now this isn’t just an old ice cream shop. This one has an option to get not just 1 or 2 scoops but 12! The cone is even double sided (check out the picture)!! I thought that 12 scoops might be a little much so I just stuck to a few scoops instead and boy was it delicious!

We got home absolutely exhausted but it was totally awesome! Another great day here in paradise!

Rachel and I inside the ball after our first ride

Video of our first ride! 

Giant Hamburger!! 

Sam's house

Bilbo's house! 

Inside the Green Dragon

Hobbiton 

View of the Green Dragon and the town square

The tree where Bilbo gives his speech. The field is where they have his 111th birthday

Giant Ice Cream! 

Auckland Day!

I've discovered a new hobby! Kite surfing! Here's how it works: You hook yourself up to a type of harness that stabilizes your back. This harness looks similar to those back braces people use who don't have good backs but it also has a strong line connecting you to a giant parachute type thing that is flying through the air thanks to the wind. After getting snugly into your brace you then pick up your board with one had (more like a wake board than a surf board) and away you go. Your biggest challenge: "controlling" your giant kite while putting your feet into place on your board while not being blown away. Oh it's not as easy as it sounds :). Mostly it's a battle to even get into the water in the first place. So once your feet are in place you grab onto the conveniently placed handles that appear about chest high on your strong cord connecting you to your kite and away you go. Your navigation ability is based solely on your upper body strength and your ability to combat the wind. Doesn't it sound awesome?

Because it was Auckland day we had a day off of school which roughly translates into rent a van and head to the beach! We left fairly early and drove up north to a beach called Orewa. It was a bit windy and overcast when we first arrived but after about an hour it turned into a lovely day. Perfect for kite surfing. In answer to your question no I did not go but we just happened to be on the beach where everyone comes to kite surf. Seriously! It was like a convention! The beach was full of parachute being prepped to go out into the water. It was so amazing watching these guys wrestle with the wind and then go sailing off. Some caught some amazing air (like 30-40 feet) and were able to do some flips and various other tricks. I could have watched them all day. The coolest part is that you don't even have to go out very far into the water.

At about 2 we left the beach and walked into the town for a look around. After talking amongst ourselves we decided to hit the city of Auckland and see what type of festivals were going on to celebrate the city. We drove up just in time to see the band Of Monsters and Men take the stage. Tickets were over $100 to get in so we just found a park that had a pretty good view of the stage (even if it was far away) and of course you could hear the sound from anywhere. They were pretty good live. There were lots of other bands playing and tons of people. As we walked past the port we saw a huge cruse ship at the dock. I've never seen a boat that big (besides the aircraft carrier we've been on in New York). There were SO many levels!

Our final venture of the day was to pick up some fish and chips and head to another beach on the west side of the city to watch the sun set. It was such a perfect time to go because there weren't very many people there and the water was very calm. It was beautiful. Another perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Temple and Rotorua

Friday morning we were up early and off to the temple in Hamilton. We had a few hiccups as we were leaving so we actually hit the road about half an hour after we were supposed to. We took the giant van and as well as Erika's car. The drive down was pretty uneventful. It was almost like any other road trip I've been on with lots of cows and sheep pastures, rolling hills and trees mixed in with big patches of dry grass. The temple is only an hour and half away but there was some traffic driving down so we ended up pulling into the carpark just 3 minutes before 10 (when our session was scheduled). The three of us from the group who are endowed ran up the steps to the temple entrance (of course the temple has to have about 7 flights of mini stairs just to make your race that much harder). Well, we made it to the recommend desk just in time for them to tell us that the session had started. So we decided to do initiatories instead of baptisms with the rest of our group.

It was such a neat experience! The sisters serving there were so kind and happy to see us. Afterwards we met up with the rest of our group and ate lunch at the temple cafeteria. Yes they serve fish and chips and milo at the temple. :) They also eat a lot of chop suey here probably because of the heavy Asian influence. During lunch we convinced Erika to stay with us so we could go to the next session that stared at 1230. So James took the rest of the girls in the monster van while the four of us stayed for the next session. I'm so glad that we stayed! The feeling you get inside the temple cannot be found anywhere else well except maybe the visitors' center but then again I'm a little biased.

We stopped by the VC before we left and boy was that cool! I forgot how much I enjoy being in a temple visitors' center. It's like coming home :). Inside we met up with a couple if guys who had been in our session. They asked us if we would sing the American national anthem for them. Haha which we did...outside and they filmed it! Then they sang theirs for us and also performed a haka for us. It was so cool!

Pretty soon we were on the road again making our way to a place called Rotorua. It's famous for its Maori culture and its thermal pools. People call it the Yellowstone of New Zealand. After meeting up with our group at the hotel we all changed into our togs and piled back into the cars. James took us to swim in one of the most beautiful, clear lakes I have ever been in. The water was a clear blue and you could still see the bottom even when it was more than 6ft below you. We swam out to a floating dock about 40ft off shore and took turns jumping off. There was no seaweed which was another plus!

After swimming for a bit James had us pile back into the van and we drove to a natural hot springs. It was pretty small but it felt so nice. The warm water would come in waves. We also had our own therapeutic experience as we took some of the white clay found along the shore and made our own face masks. What more could a girl want? :) There was another neighboring hot springs nearby that we also visited but it was much warmer than the other one and we took turns just putting our feet in for a minute or so and stepping out.

That night we had some of the best pizza I have ever had! Where did it come from you ask? Oh just hell. Yes hell's pizza is quite the thing around here. The best part is that your pizza box can be converted into a coffin that is perfect for storing any leftovers in the fridge. Super delicious!

That night we slept in a motel with 5 girls in one room and 5 in the other. There was a big reggae music festival going on downtown and from the sound of their music most of our neighbors were hard core fans. We even were stopped twice to have our drivers breathalized as we drove to and from the lake/hot springs. It was an awesome day!

The clear lake!

More of the lake and you can see the floating dock to the left

It's hard to see in this picture but this hot springs is actually boiling it's that hot.

More hot springs. This one is hot enough you can only really put your feet in for a minute or so.

All of us in the hotsprings

Face mask! 

In front of the temple!

Hell's pizza box

Coffin cut out! 

Last Day of School!

It's hard to believe especially since it's only the end of January but our classes are officially over as of Wednesday! It's super nice because now that means we'll be getting into the schools really soon and I can't wait! We have a few papers and a portfolio that we still have to put together before our trip to the south island next week. I'm glad that we are done with our long days at the chapel. Not that I didn't like the classes or the professors but it is a long time to be in the same room... even if you have breaks it can still get long.

Thursday was really neat because we had a woman from the University of Auckland who is in charge of the Maori immersion program throughout the country. She talked to us about how the program came about. The Maori language/culture was treated very similarly to the way the US government treated our native populations. When the English arrived the people were eventually forced into English only schools and made to be transformed/converted into "civilized" people. It was only in recent years (as recent as the 70s/80s) that parents/grandparents began to realize how important cultural preservation is and they began to fight for their children to learn the Maori language. The parents themselves organized schools: mothers would give the lessons and fathers would donate a day of pay to provide the materials and such for their children to learn. This began at the kindergarden (which is their preschool) level. As the children got older a program would be created for them at the primary level (elementary school) and then at the college level (high school). Now there are programs even through the university level. The program is complete immersion into the Maori language. Obviously there are pros and cons to this approach. Pro being the preservation of native language and culture. A con being that these students struggle with learning how to read in English. They are still working out the kinks but it is amazing what what they have made happen!

This specific professor was one of the leading parents behind the cause. Her approach about bilingualism is different from most. Some believe that it is like two separate wheels of a bike spinning together, leading in the same direction but remaining separate as two distinct parts. Instead she believe that it is like a tree with different branches. These branches should grow together as the tree grows and eventually the tree will be able to reach its true potential.  It was really awesome!

We spent the rest of the day doing homework and getting ready for our weekend trip to the temple and Rotorua. Yeah, I know it sounds boring but even in paradise you still have to get work done. Both Wednesday and Thursday night Jean and Jayceen invited us to dinner (some of Julie's friends). We had the best time! Jean is an excellent cook! After dinner we played the wii version of the DDR game. Jayceen really loves puzzles too so naturally we had to put together a Hannah Montana puzzle (her favorite one). It was an awesome week and the weekend trip is just going to make it better!