Student Reflections After Week 1
A few excerpts from students’ cultural reflection journals after their first week in New Zealand:
The “resort” where we’re staying…is actually quite relaxing. Certainly it’s not the Four Seasons by any means…but they do have a hot tub (of which I have only dipped my feet into once), a trampoline, a mini golf course, and even a game room. What more could you ask for? Not to mention the living arrangement I have with my roommate, William. He is a really cool person and so far, it seems like we are going to get along just fine for the next three weeks.
Soon I will be living with the whole group when we move into the Beach Lodge, which I believe will be more resembling of a community. This is what Doug referred to as both “mana” and “whanau,” which are the Maori words that refer to a sense of community, togetherness, and trying to make each day-to-day experience as enjoyable for yourself, as it is for the entire group. “A single person will not go very far rowing a canoe, unless there is a collection of people,’” Doug was explaining as a way of emphasizing his point in a metaphoric way.
The explication of the terms “mana” and “whanau” were showcased on just the second night when we all had a traditional New Zealand dinner together after playing a brief game of Boganopoly, which is really just the New Zealand version of the game Monopoly. The dinner consisted of lamb, broccoli, peas, potatoes, pasta with spaghetti sauce, and for dessert, hokey pokey ice cream (made from a very popular candy in New Zealand). It was a really good meal to cap off our second day in New Zealand…and it seemed like everyone was enjoying it as we were creating our own “whanau”.
Noah
While I was in the van talking to our tour guide Doug we got into to a couple conversations. The one that stuck out to me the most was our “treasure” conversation. Doug explained a treasure as being information that is personal and worth giving to another person who deserves to hear the way of his own thoughts. I really enjoy listening to the way he thinks, because there is a balance of knowledge towards science, but there is a metaphorical side as well since we can’t prove everything with science.
A really cool metaphor he explained to us was about when a great tree falls but its shadow is remembered. The great tree connects all of us and brings the community together. When a person passes away the person is remembered in a certain light with connections that can impact the community.
This is the treasure that I heard on the ride from the forest to the sea, filled with the half empty landscape and the stories.
Caroline
