While I was in Napier, I visited the aquarium.  It was a really nice aquarium.  The very top had information about earthquakes, which I’ll talk about later.  But there were lots of cool fish and animals to see.

 

aquarium (1)

You could do encounters with some of the animals so I chose the encounter to feed the penguins!  These penguins are called Little Blue Penguins.  They are smallest kind of penguin.  They are only 30 cm tall!  They live along the coast of New Zealand.

Little Penguins will mate for life.  They prepare nests in May and June along the shore.  They like to find rocky holes, caves or to dig a hole where there are lots of plants to protect them. The mother penguin will lay two eggs.

Little Penguins will eat small fish, krill, and small octopus.

Feeding penguins

Last week I decided to take a trip out of town.  I went searching for some sunshine because it has been so rainy!  I decided to go to a town called Napier.  Napier is on the east coast of New Zealand and about a 5 hour drive from Wellington.  I’m not brave enough to drive yet, so I took the bus.

I arrived in the early afternoon and took a walk around the town.  The buildings are built in what is called “art deco”.  The town had to be rebuilt in 1931 and art deco was the style.

Question 1:  Go to the internet and find out why Napier had to be rebuilt in 1931.  This is for a grade!!  Don’t copy someone else’s answer….they might be wrong!

In the morning I had to wake up early to go on a tractor pull ride to gannets!  The ride was rough but a lot of fun.  And the gannets were amazing!!  You could get very close to the birds!  I tried to make a video but it didn’t turn out so well.  The place we went is called Cape Kidnappers.

Question 2:  How did Cape Kidnappers get its name?  Go to the internet and find out!

Bird video

There were also these amazing cliffs.  This picture shows some fascinating geology.  When it rains, a small stream flows in the back of this area.  It is so windy that the wind picks up the water and pushes it around.  That water eroded the rock into this circular formation.  Water is that strong!  Think about how sleet or rain feels against your face when it is rainy- like needles!  Over thousands of years, that water can erode the rock to make formations.

I also visited a store called Possum World.  NZ possums are a bit different than our possums.  Possums are not native to New Zealand.  Possums were brought to NZ by European people when they started coming to NZ.  But now possums are all over and they are very much hated because they eat too many plants and kill birds.  Possum fur is used to make sweaters, scarves, and gloves.  It is actually very soft and comfortable.  The store also had some funny possums set up.

 

 

 

Ryan asked about what I am eating.  Food is similar but different.  Things I miss…they don’t have lemonade mix!  I brought some Crystal Light Lemonade with me but it isn’t going to last 5 months!  I’ll be sad when it is gone; no Kraft Mac and Cheese; fast food is just slightly different.  So far I’ve eaten McDonalds, Burger King, and Pizza Hut.  I ordered the same thing I would at home…but the taste was just a little different.

Most of the food in restaurants I have to special order.  They like to put a lot of stuff on their burgers.  Here is an example:

I tried to be brave and I bought a chicken butter pie.  I asked what was in it and the lady said chicken and peanut sauce but I guess I did not believe her because I ordered it any way.  I opened it- and then I ordered a kids meal!

Here are some pictures from the grocery store.  You can click on a picture to make it bigger:

What do you think about the food?  Is there anything you want to try?  Anything you wouldn’t want to try?  Why?

I just returned home from two very busy days!  All of the Fulbright scholars were together for a meeting.  As part of the meeting we went to a marae.  I told you about this a couple of weeks ago in the announcements.  A marae is a Maori meeting house.

Before we left, we had to learn a song in Maori language.  Luckily it was a short song!  Learning to pronounce Maori words is a little challenging.  The vowel sounds are different and the way the sounds blend can be confusing!  But I did it!

When we arrived at the marae, there was a Pōwhiri.  A Pōwhiri is a welcoming ceremony to see if we are friend or foe.  We entered and said “Kia ora” and then did a hongi- the touching of noses.  The Maori call this “sharing of breath”.  It wasn’t so bad! Next was a call and a speech from the tribe.  Then we sing the song.  We did great!  Once that is done, we take off our shoes and are permitted to enter the marae.  We were treated wonderfully by the Maori people from the community.  They were welcoming and funny.

We next walked to another building which houses 3 waka.  A waka is a Maori canoe.  They are very large and heavy.  The ones we saw weighed over a ton!  We got to sit in the boat and learn how to row.  My arms got tired!

We slept over night in the marae after learning about its history.  The next day we learned about the Treaty of Waitangi. This was a treaty signed by the Maori and Britain.  However, when the treaty was translated into Maori language- it didn’t mean the same thing as the English version.  Britain meant they would provide protection but Britain would control the land.  The Maori version translated to the Maori would control the land they held and would continue to have their own chiefs.  Over time, Britain made new laws that were against treaty agreements- similar to the way Native Americans were treated in the US.

One law enforced in the 1890s said that Maori children could not use Maori language at school.  If they did- they would be punished.  This reminded me about deaf students in the early 1900s and later who were punished for using sign language instead of speaking.

Click on the links below to see some video!

rowing

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