Hello Everybody...
It's been another busy old week in 'Windy Wellington'... and I do mean windy! I was told that Spring is the time when the really strong winds arrive: This weekend has been a taster of what is to come. So put your umbrella's away, (they are no good here), and enjoy the tales of the week!
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| Lake Wairarapa |
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| Lake Wairarapa |
There are 3 main themes this week, 1) The Bi-Cultural Education Session I attended at work, 2) Watching the All Blacks Live against Argentina, and 3) Road trip to Lake Okone (known as Lake Ferry)... and another goodbye!
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| Lake Wairarapa |
I attended a 'Bi-Cultural' training day on Wednesday, hosted by a fascinating guy from a Maori perspective... the clue here is in the title; Bi-Cultural rather than multi-cultural theory. I have heard this phrase used on a number of different occasions, including during the process to get my OT registration here in NZ. The training focused on the perspective of the Maori culture, and the importance of a a famous treaty here... the TREATY OF WAITANGI, signed on the 6th February 1840. The treaty was not signed in war time, making this a ground breaking way of negotiating partnerships for future relations. The importance of this treaty is hugely important, even to this day, as a number of Maori tribe 'rights' were supposedly protected under this treaty. In 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act was formed, and established the Waitangi Tribunal, which gave the 1840 Treaty recognition in New Zealand law for the first time. The original treaty signed by a large number of Chiefs from different Maori tribes, (but not all Maori tribes) was written in Maori language. An English version was drafted. However, some differences in a few specific words in articles 1&2 still lead to legal arguments today, about how these words are interpreted and fit into the rights of people today!
So despite this Treaty being signed to enable the 3 P's - PARTNERSHIP, PROTECTION & PARTICIPATION, for over 100 years, the focus of the predominantly 'European' governments was to integrate Maori's into the European way of living, including teaching in schools being in English only.
Other interesting (briefly described here) issues around Maori culture discussed included; The idea of things being 'tapu' (sacred) such as a person's head, which you should not touch without permission, and things being 'manu' (worthy of respect). It was suggested one of the reasons some Maori tribes ate their enemies, was not because of a desire to be cannibalistic, but because this took away the enemy's 'manu' (respect).
THE ALL BLACKS vs ARGENTINA
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| At the stadium... |
So last night I had the chance to see the All Blacks (NZ rugby team) play here in Wellington, against a very determined Argentina side! The score finished 21-5 to NZ, and the game was pretty poor, this being mainly due to some shocking weather (wind & rain). Two events stood out from the evening, one being seeing the live version of the 'HAKA' - The famous 'traditional Maori war dance'.....
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| the Haka... |
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| Warming Up... |
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| Game On! |
... and second the half time entrainment - no, not the Famous Wellington Ukulele orchestra (honest!), but the power cut that sent the stadium into darkness.. and not only did it provide us with some fun pictures of a part-lit rugby stadium, but the stadium speakers then blasted out the Back Street Boys - 'Baby, when the lights go out'.... good fun!!!
Enjoy the pictures....
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| when the lights go out... |
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| When the lights go out... |
ROAD TRIP TO LAKE FERRY (LAKE ONOKE)
Having the ability to go on another little road trip this weekend, gave me the chance to explore a little further along the South Coast of the North island, destination - Lake Onoke, known as Lake Ferry! This 2 hour drive, through mountains and past Lake Wairarapa led to a ridiculously windy coast line and a very unusual (brown) lake which led to a very (blue) sea...
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| Lake 'Ferry' |
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| Lake 'Ferry' |
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| Oh it's windy! |
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| what are they doing? |
The wind blew around the coast and made the walk around the coast pretty tough! See below. The lake itself was not so spectacular, but where it joins the sea, the water swirls around almost like a whirlpool! Spectacular stuff....
A FINAL NOTE: I'm definitely coming out of the honeymoon period of thinking almost everything new = good. I feel like the next 3 months I really need to start doing some more group activities, but one thing that has been a continued source of support has been my work colleagues. This week, we had to say goodbye to one of our much loved and well respected doctors. So Friday evening became the 3rd work social event in 3 months... a lovely evening was had the Havana bar, with beer and tapas, before a windy walk to the waterfront to see a free 'light show', before having another little drink by the water... Thanks to all my lovely colleagues!
Kind Regards
Dan Johnson
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