I had a really wonderful weekend. Yesterday, my friends and I were at Orakei Marae, an area here in Auckland owned by Maoris. We visited their place and received a short, but informative, orientation to their culture. Several elders of the Maori tribe in that area, including their families (even their children) were there to welcome us. About 50 guests came. There were 20 of us from the university. One of the most interesting (read: entertaining) parts of the visit was doing the "hongi", or the gentle pressing/rubbing of noses. Apart from being a traditional form of welcome in Maori culture, it also symbolises the mingling of the breath or spirit between two people and thus represents unity. The Maori group that welcomed us yesterday was made up of about 20 or so people. Each of us performed the "hongi" to each of them so imagine how many people they rubbed noses with yesterday!
The scenery was really fantastic. We had so much fun taking pictures and exchanging stories while strolling around the park. I also met a Japanese girl who incidentally originates from the same place as my host family in Japan. It was great to speak again in Japanese--even short phrases that I could remember from the past. On our return to the city, I shopped for some gifts for my host family which I will request my new Japanese friend to give them when she travels to Japan this coming Thursday for a visit.
Then, this afternoon, I attended a birthday party at Cornwall Park which is at the foot of One Tree Hill, a volcanic cone. It's a big park with lots of flowers (even cherry blossom trees which are flowering right now but I think nothing can compare with the cherry blossoms in Japan in the spring) and trees. There's also a sheep farm and a cow farm. Since yesterday, we've been enjoying a really pleasant weather so going to parks here is really wonderful and extremely enjoyable.
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