In the morning of day two we aware all greeted with the most beautiful sunrise ever seen. The water acted as if it was a elegant layer of liquid mirror reflecting the sky’s abundance in color and glory. We were all awestricken, we couldn’t help but take as many pictures as possible, we all so badly wanted to capture its striking vividness but at the time could not understand that it was impossible. This sunrise wasn’t only beautiful because of the unrealistic, and astonishing array of color but also because of the way we all felt about it. How each and every student stood there stunned and hypnotized, how this one beautiful scene made us all feel like we have seen something so special, so wonderful that it will forever live in our deepest of dreams. That feeling came from not only the sappy teenage girls like myself, but also from the rambunctious boys and the, I’ve seen everything teachers.
After the sunrise we all went on a scenic duck tour, which was fun but mostly due to the large duck whistles we were all handed. Our duck tour dropped us off at Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao, or Whaka, if that’s too hard to read. This was the Moari’s thermal village. The native culture utilized the thermal activity and warmth for everyday living. The thermo mud and extraordinary therapeutic powers and are used for staying young and healthy, although the steam smelled it created some of the most delectable food and left your skin soft. It was a fascinating town and I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t stay any longer.
We then headed towards the Agrodome, a sheep sheering show, I was initially not to excited about this activity but it proved to be a lot of fun. Our last activity of the night was the traditional Hangi. It started with the Maoris and "Chief" Steven to do their traditional introduction. We watched as they preformed there traditional greeting to us and offered the food that was cooked in the geothermal steam. When we finished eating the Maori's performed traditional song and dance in their native tongues. They called the girls on stage to do the pois, I was embarrassing one of then. Keeping in rhythm and catching the pois was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I could slowly feel my face begin to turn red the more I was on the stage, thank god Lexa was with me laughing the entire time, making me feel so much better about the performance. At home I would have never of done something like that, me being a initially shy person, but I’m really glad I did, it turned out to be a great experience. Last they called the boys on stage to learn part of the Haka, a war dance done by the Maori people. I almost died of laughter watching some of our teacher’s faces, funniest part of today. Before I knew it dinner was done but me Shelby and Amanda stayed up for hours talking and joking about the days events, even trying the Haka ourselves.
The shared culture of the Maori people and the New Zealanders really reminds me little of Americas inclusion of Native American culture, strangely I believe that this respect and admirations towards the native people is more similar when comparing them to how America views the Hawaiian culture. We as citizens adore the beautiful dances and elegant beauty the natives have shown us through the years despite all the hardship, which is something I believe is beneficial to any country willing to accept and grow.
No comments:
Post a Comment