Sharing the Country

I just spent a lovely week with my dad and step-mom here in New Zealand. Though they are down under for 5 weeks, we were only able to squeeze in one week together. I am, after all, supposed to be working (more on that failure later). Overall, we had a lovely, lovely time!

First, I want to say that my parents must be the weather gods. The weather was basically perfect while they were here. When they arrived in Wellington, it was cold and windy, but we had a nice lunch, wandered along the main part of the city, and then ambled back to their hotel and had dinner nearby. Then the clouds cleared, the sun shone, and the wind even almost disappeared. That is unheard of in Windy Welly. So what did we do?

We explored! First, we went to the top of Mt. Victoria, which overlooks the entire city. It was not even cold up there!

The weather gods and the beautiful view of Wellington from Mt. Vic!

Then we took the cable car up to the top of the Botanic Gardens. If you have been following this blog, you know that I walk through the Botanic Gardens on my way to school each day, so for me, the cable car has been used for commuting sometimes. In other words, am I a tourist or a resident? But the gardens did not disappoint, and we slowly made our way back to the city center and to the famous Backbencher Pub with caricatures of political figures on the wall. 

Then it was back to their hotel to get ready for my dad’s evening presentation on the psychological effects of relocation cases. Laugh if you like, but it was a great presentation, and I met some wonderful people, including a judge with whom I spent about 6 hours on Friday. She let me sit next to her on the bench – that was weird, but awesome, and I learned a ton, just by watching.

Ok, back to vacation! The next morning, I had a breakfast meeting with the Chair of the Family Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society. He was in Wellington from Auckland for a meeting, and he made time to see me. Have I mentioned that people here are absolutely amazing? When he pulled out a notepad and pen to take notes on what I was saying, my entire perspective changed on what I can do here in New Zealand. Apparently, I have something to offer them in addition to all the amazing things I can learn from them. It was a pretty exciting moment.

Then I literally ran to the hotel to meet Ruth, my step-mom, so we could head out to the Kapiti coast to meet up with her friends from back when she lived in Baltimore. My dad was doing another presentation, this one all-day, so Ruth and I were on our own, and we headed to the beach. The Kapiti Coast is known for three things – chocolate, ice cream, and cheese. Let me tell you, it is with good reason. All three were amazing (only one bite of ice cream – I was STUFFED). The friends live in an awesome ecological pre-fab house ten minutes from the beach, and one of them took us down to the beach, where we did some yoga, and then we had an amazing lunch full of veggies from the garden.

Yay tree pose with two people!!

The next day, the weather turned overcast, but no worries – we were headed for museums and Parliament. We started the morning with the Parliament tour, which was strangely different than the one I took during orientation, and then we went and saw two more museums. Okay, they saw two, but I had already exhausted one, so I managed to get some work done for a few minutes before meeting them in Te Papa, the National Museum. I finally took the time to wander around, and it was great. The rain set in just as we walked into the restaurant for dinner, but have no fear, it stopped just before we finished eating, so we were able to walk back to the hotel, and I went home.

The next day, we headed to Dunedin and had a lovely dinner with the amazing woman who has been hosting me down there. I will not write too much about her for privacy reasons, but the link is to her webpage, and suffice it to say, I have never felt so welcome by anyone in my entire life. I feel supremely blessed. The next day I actually attended a class in the morning called “Managing your Thesis” and learned all sorts of things about what it means to write a thesis. Yikes. My parents came into town and we met my future flatmate for lunch before heading to the law school where we ran into my professor.

Then we went on a wildlife tour. Since arriving in New Zealand, I have wanted to go on one of these tours. Dunedin is famous for the royal albatross, fur seals, sea lions, and penguins. It is home to one of the rarest penguins in the world – the yellow-eyed penguin. While we often think of penguins as ice birds, most species actually live in forests, though they spend their days out at sea. We got to see penguins up close, coming in from the water and a little blue penguin in his hole. We also saw a huge colony of fur seals and a bunch of sea lions on the beach. It was amazing.

The cutest fur seal was looking up at us. It was so adorable.

So cute!!

The next day, they wanted to relax at their beach resort, so I went to school, but we met up in time for a little museum action in the afternoon, and then Fulbright had its Welcome Reception for those of us in Dunedin. They planned it for that date knowing I would be in town. Have I mentioned how blessed I am by people in New Zealand? It was great to see some new friends and meet some new people.

The next day we did the other thing I have wanted to do since arriving in Dunedin – the Taieri Gorge Railway. It is a 4-hour rail trip into a gorge, and the weather was perfect, so I spent much of the outbound trip on the back of the train. On the way back our view was a bit blocked, but it was still a great way to spend the morning. Then I went to school while they went to the hotel, and we met up for one last amazing dinner in town.

Sadly, the next morning I walked to their hotel with my bag (they would have picked me up, but I wanted a walk, and the bag was light, and who knew I had been living that close to the beach where there hotel was?), and we drove to the airport. That is where our great adventure ends. I got on a plane, and they headed to Queenstown (where apparently my dad went hang gliding, but I will believe it when I see photos!).

Overall, it was an amazing week, and as blessed as I have been with people here in New Zealand, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to say that I spent a week with my parents and loved it and was sad to have to say goodbye. I guess now I have to get back to work, but that has been hard to do. I know it will come soon.

I am now back in Wellington for about another 1.5 weeks before I head back to Dunedin for the rest of my stay here in New Zealand (except the short trips elsewhere in the country).  But I just have to say – it was a great week and great to share the sites with my parents! They even put up with my being a tour guide. ;)

© 2011 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved

This blog is not affiliated with Fulbright or Fulbright New Zealand, and all opinions expressed herein are my own. 

A day in the life . . .

I have been wondering what to say next – the initial trips and orientation are over, the craziness of disaster is getting hard to discuss, and I am “settling” into life here in Wellington, at least until my dad and stepmom arrive on Wednesday!! But there are little things I want to share, and I think that my day yesterday, with a bit of additional thoughts, might be the perfect way to tie it all together.

My last post before the earthquake was about the little quirks here in NZ, about what it means to have culture shock in a place that is so much like home. I promised more . . . so here goes. My housing situation here in Wellington is with a professor and her 8-year-old daughter. On Fridays, the girl has a spelling test, and her mom tests her in the morning. Yesterday the child asked me if I would like to help. I have helped with piano and even some yoga postures, so spelling should have been a piece of cake, but the theme was “ou,” and as I looked at the list of honour, labour, etc., I felt my confidence dwindle. Needless to say, I declined to help, informing her that we spell things differently in the States. On that note, one of the weirdest emails I have written since arriving was asking my thesis advisor how to spell – not a question you expect to be asking in year 20 of education.

Leaving the house, I walked to school. My walk takes me right through the botanic gardens. I have tried different routes to get home nearly every day. I find it a good way to learn my way around. The best part, though, is that if I get “lost” I can always find my way home by finding the Botanic Garden. I keep saying, “how bad can life be when getting lost means you end up wandering through the beautiful gardens that surround this city?” My walk to school in the mornings takes me to one of the most glorious lookouts over the city. And I have learned that by adding about 1 minute (maybe less) to my “commute,” I can walk through the edge of the gardens instead of along the road that runs next to them. Today (Saturday), I discovered that by adding about 10 minutes, I can walk through the heart of the gardens.

Am I a tourist, or do I live here?

As I leave the gardens on my way to school, I arrive at the corner of a busy street, and like everyone else, find the easiest and quickest way to ignore traffic signs and jaywalk  to the Old Government Buildings (and if you knew me in Tucson, you know this is not a good idea for me). The law school is housed within the Old Government Buildings, which is the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere (also one of the safest in an earthquake!). I even took a tour of the building today, then promptly went upstairs after it, past the signs that say, “No Public Access” and used my swipe card to enter my office. From that office, I look out over “The Beehive,” aka Parliament.  

The flag is at half mast for Christchurch.

Tourist? Resident?

Wellington is a small city, and I probably know 10 people here, maybe 20. One of the people I met in Christchurch who was part of the Future Partners Forum with me just informed me that she is starting her job at the law school on Monday – her office is next door to mine. Wellington is a small city. New Zealand is a small country.

And when I leave my office at the end of the day, I walk amongst the backpack runners. I think this is a Wellington phenomenon, but there are hundreds of people who run to/from work with backpacks. I can only assume that inside the backpack are their work clothes. New Zealand is a laid-back country.

And where do we walk? We walk UP. I grew up near San Francisco, so I know about hills. The two times I lived in France, I lived up hills. But nothing, and I mean nothing, has prepared me for New Zealand. While much of Wellington is below sea level, and many of the buildings and the airport are built on reclaimed land or land that magically appeared after a major earthquake in the mid 1850s, you walk up a lot. Panting and wheezing, I get back to the house, back to a place I’m not sure whether to call home.

So, from spelling to gardens to the heritage buildings of the city, my day gets confused between tourist and resident. On my way to school today (working on a Saturday because my parents are coming, and I will be not working as much this week), I took some time to read the tourist signposts along the way, trying to appreciate the fact that I am in an amazing place, with wonderful history and heritage. 

I took a short walk this evening to see the full moon. I walked to the top of the gardens, to that lookout point I pass each morning and saw it with fresh eyes, in the night sky, lit up by the glorious moon. As I looked up, I saw the Southern Cross constellation – probably the best reminder that I am in a new landscape. After all, it is not visible from the northern hemisphere. But then just behind it was Orion, probably the only other constellation I can recognize. I felt one emotion – calm. After all the tumult, all the craziness of these months and certainly these last few weeks, that moon (that so many have predicted will bring more disaster) brought me to a sense of peace and calm as never before.

My cousin just posted a beautiful quote on facebook, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscape but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust. As I continue to live in this new world, I’m trying to see it through new eyes each and every day, to see its beauty, its quirks, and its similarities to home. I am still not sure whether I am a tourist or a resident, but hopefully I can keep my eyes open to the beauty of where I am.

Namaste!

© 2011 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved

This blog is not affiliated with Fulbright or Fulbright New Zealand, and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

Being a Citizen Ambassador

Quick update on life before the main post: I have left Dunedin, and I am now in Wellington for the next 6-8 weeks. I am here to study with a different professor before he heads overseas and also to meet with judges and lawyers here in the capital. I arrived just in time for one of Wellington’s well-known earthquakes, and it freaked me out a bit, but they happen all the time here (in fact, there was another one the other night), so it should become normal to me again soon. I must also say that I am so, so, so grateful to all of you for your love and support during and after the earthquake in ChCh. I am still struggling with my reaction to it, but it gets easier and easier every day. This post is not officially about that, but of course its message is exactly on par.

One of the “requirements” of getting a Fulbright Scholarship is to be a citizen ambassador. Senator Fulbright believed (I think rightly so) that the two best ways to create a smaller world and more understanding is through education and interaction. Thus, the Fulbright scholarship funds educational opportunities. It also, however, asks us to be citizen ambassadors. Basically, we are asked to represent the United States in whatever country we find ourselves.

I actually take this very seriously. I have lived and traveled abroad at some very precarious times, including when we started the war in Iraq and when we reelected President Bush in 2004. Of course, with the earthquake in Christchurch, perhaps I should stop traveling, but actually that has created an amazing opportunity of togetherness and connection, which is at the heart of the Fulbright. While a disaster, it has led to some deep connections (click here for my post about that on Is Yoga Legal).

Anyway, the Fulbright application is actually fairly basic – you need a research proposal, a personal statement, and three letters of recommendation. It helps if you have an affiliation in your host university as well. Specifically, in the personal statement, “Grantees are encouraged to get involved in cultural and/or community activities.” In my personal statement, I mentioned that when I lived in France, I joined a Brazilian percussion group and I hoped to do something similar to that or engage with the yoga community here in New Zealand during my time abroad.

Well, as you all can probably tell, these past few months have been sort of hectic. I got here, traveled, enrolled, traveled, got in an earthquake, and moved to Wellington – all in about 6 weeks time. I have attended one, yes one, yoga class since arriving. For someone who used to attend 3-5 per week, that is like losing a limb. But I was bound and determined to find a yoga community while in Wellington. It turns out that I found the Hare Krishna yoga community.

Sunday night is apparently a special night in the Hare Krishna community. In Tucson, I would often go to Govinda’s for their $3 dinners (thanks Anna and Jamie for starting that tradition!), and it was preceded by a service. I actually never attended the service, though to be honest, I am not sure why. Tonight, however, I attended a Krishna Fest – my first one. Of course, this involved a lot of singing and some dancing, and a talk, and a beautiful feast.

As I was chanting and swaying to the music, I wondered what Senator Fulbright would think of this. I had to smile. I actually think he would love it.

Being a citizen ambassador can mean a lot of things. It can mean attending Partnership Forums where political and business leaders get together to discuss the future of the partnership between two countries (the reason we were all in Christchurch), or it can mean teaching about your home community at a school or community event. It can also mean joining a community and being yourself. It means branching out in new ways, finding a new group of friends, and engaging with people in ways you may not if you were in your safe world back home.

Tonight I went to this event alone. That is a big step for me. But I chatted with people (few of whom were actually kiwis), and I had a lovely time. I may not become a Hare Krishna tomorrow, but I am going back to their yoga class tomorrow night. To me, the most important part of being a citizen ambassador is getting outside my comfort zone and seeing what life is like anywhere and everywhere. Of course, I have tended to find it is pretty similar everywhere. Sometimes, we just need to be jolted, literally, as the earthquake did, or metaphorically as moving to a foreign country does.

As it says on the Fulbright NZ website, “In Senator Fulbright's words, ‘the programme aims ... to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby to increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.’” He may not have been thinking of his future recipients chanting and dancing, but I think the compassion, peace, and friendship aspect of the Hare Krishna evening is exactly what Senator Fulbright would have wanted.

As I said, this idea of being a citizen ambassador means a lot to me; in fact, I think it is far more important than what I will learn while writing my thesis (though of course that is also very, very important). I hope to be able to live up to Senator Fulbright’s vision of community and friendship one chant and yoga class at a time.

Namaste and Blessings!

© 2011 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved

This blog is not affiliated with Fulbright or Fulbright New Zealand, and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

From Tears to Aroha

These have been a stressful couple of days, and as I have emerged from the initial instinctual reactions to this unsteadiness (literal and figurative), the intensity of what happened in Christchurch really hit home. There were moments when I could not see anything about it without tearing up. It has become obvious that I was in one of the safest buildings in the entire city, and I was far enough outside the city center (2.5 km from the cathedral), that I did not see the horrible wreckage and people everywhere.

But then with each news item, I get hit with the devastation again. I realize what befell that beautiful city and its wonderful citizens. I ask, “why me?” with the deep knowledge that the universe works in interesting and unique ways and that I got out unscathed to do something else with my life on this planet. My gratitude grows. Yesterday was nearly useless for me, but this morning, I decided to sit for a few minutes and deal with it. I dealt with it the only way I know how – metta.

Metta is a Sanskrit word meaning loving-kindness. Metta meditation is a type of meditation where you offer loving-kindness to yourself and others. It is much more than that as well, but for purposes of this post (especially on the non-yoga blog), that will suffice.

Short of giving money (which I have done) and food (which I will do), there is not much for me to do to help the people of Christchurch. Crisis cleanup is just not my specialty, not to mention that I have but nine months to write a 150-page thesis that I have barely begun. But we can all offer our metta to the world. I can sit and wonder why I got out so easily, but that does no one any good.

During orientation, we learned a little Maori. It is, after all, one of the two national languages in New Zealand. The one word that stuck with me was “aroha.” Yes, it looks almost the same as aloha and has the same roots. It has a more “limited” definition than aloha, and we were told that it really means love. As I tought about metta, I turned to aroha, the Maori concept of what I have studied in Buddhist and yoga practices. I thought it was a perfect transition.

Then I looked up the meaning and realized it is far more perfect than I could have imagined. It may be an online dictionary, but this is the definition I found: as a verb, “to love, feel pity, feel concern for, feel compassion, empathise,” and as a noun, “affection, sympathy, charity, compassion, love, empathy.” It encompasses exactly what I feel for the people of Christchurch, exactly what I feel for those who survived but saw others who did not.

Below are two photos of what I saw after the quake and a photo of the building I was in when it struck. While it is obvious there is damage, you will notice that it is nothing compared to the utter destruction of the Central Business District (CBD). I have learned so much from the kiwis in the past month (Monday was a month after I arrived). Perhaps the greatest lesson has been the one of aroha – love coupled with all its meanings, including charity, compassion, and empathy.

The flooded street. I think I heard the word liquefaction 500 times that day, and I had never heard it before.

But one photo of the cracks in the sidewalk, but they were not too bad near us.

The AMI Rugby stadium, where the Forum/conference was being held. We were on the 5th floor. My backpack and bag are still there. It is sort of surreal to think of all that stuff just sitting there - the spilled water and our bags - simple reminders of what transpired.

There is no doubt the tears will continue. In fact, they flowed most freely this evening at a Dunedin community gathering (a vigil, in the United States) in which a group of people gathered to support Christchurch. As I write this, a helicopter is flying overhead, and my first thought is that it is from Christchurch – Dunedin is the closest big city to Christchurch, about a 3-hour car trip. But more than the tears and the constant feeling that the Earth is going to shatter below me, I feel aroha, for the people in Christchurch, but also for all people – a constant reminder that we must hold that notion at all times.

It is unusual for me to share so openly, but after this tragedy, it only seems natural. So, from tears, to aroha, to hopefully finding a better way of living in the world. As I said in my Is Yoga Legal post, “As we got off the plane, I told a high-ranking US politician that if we are to survive, we have to act, at all times, as we acted that day. The best part was that he agreed. For a brief moment, idealism, from my yoga background and my generational attitude, was able to come through.”

Hopefully, I can now move forward and start getting some work done again. After all, I am here for a purpose, and that purpose must be fulfilled, now more than ever.

Namaste and Blessings!

© 2011 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved

This blog is not affiliated with Fulbright or Fulbright New Zealand, and all opinions expressed herein are my own. 

As "Luck" Would Have It

This post could also be called “The Morning After . . . on 4.5 hours of sleep.” In other words, please bear with me and my probable typos and grammatical mistakes.

As you all probably know by now, Christchurch New Zealand was struck by a Magnitude 6.3 earthquake a few minutes before 1pm on Tuesday (New Zealand time, which would make it about 7pm Wednesday, Eastern Time in the United States). Instead of being in Dunedin or Wellington where I will be studying for the next 9 months, I was in Christchurch. I was part of a Forum called the Future Partners Forum, which was part of a larger US-NZ Partnership Forum. There are press releases to both forums, but suffice it to say that business and political leaders from both countries were attending to discuss the US-NZ partnership, and we were asked to discuss its future. It was quite an honor, but not the point of this post.

The Future Partners consisted of 9 United States Fulbright Fellows and 11 New Zealanders. We all had vastly different backgrounds, and the Americans and kiwis met for the first time on Sunday evening. That is important to this story. To keep this somewhat short, I am using bullet points and focusing on “as luck would have it.” At the end, you will know why.

As luck would have it . . .

·      We were an over-anxious and productive group. We had a “brown-bag” lunch. Instead of being in the center of town, and all spread amongst different restaurants, where the vast majority of the Forum was, we were all together working through our lunch break when we could have been socializing, etc. In other words, we were together as a community. Readers of my other blog will know the importance of community to me, and if you are curious, here is a link to 12 blog posts on it.

·      We were in a particular room of the rugby stadium. As the floor started to shake, the building did exactly what it was supposed to do. It shook violently, and water glasses fell, a little of the soft ceiling fell (so someone told me, but I did not see it), and the windows and walls stayed intact. My CA training kicked in, and I protected my head before my computer, which got a little water damage and saved immediately after the shaking ended, but my head came first.

·      We were in New Zealand. I am from CA, but little did I know how unusual the phrase “Duck and Cover” is to the vast majority of Americans. The kiwis made sure we were all under tables. They felt they had an obligation to protect us in their most common natural disaster that makes CA look calm by comparison. Not only did our kiwi counterparts scream to get under tables, but I heard that other Americans were dragged under tables by the kiwis they were with.

·      We were in New Zealand. Within seconds, and I mean seconds, crew from the stadium were in the room, on radios, evacuating us from the room and the building.

·      I have a blackberry. Ok, this is purely personal, but as we were walking from the 5^th floor to the outside, I emailed my four parents to tell them I was safe. This was before the phone lines got clogged, and I could still get through. They heard that I was safe before they heard there was an earthquake.

·      We were in New Zealand (are you seeing a theme here?). The entire staff was outside with us, comforting us, taking care of us. They all live in Christchurch, and they were concerned about their family and friends and their homes, but they stuck with us until a bus arrived.

·      There was a home across the way. Let’s just say that within minutes several of us had to use the facilities. We walked across the street and were welcomed into what can only be described as a college house of boys. Clean or not, they had a toilet, and they let many of us use it. (Later, as we left the area, they had set up a card game outside – not for us, but they were doing it, probably because they were bored, and there was little power in the city.) They were really, really kind to let us use their home.

·      We are Americans (and our kiwi friends were not leaving us). The embassy acted fast! Some of the Partnership Forum was also in the stadium and found us about an hour after the earthquake. The rest of the people started to migrate back. Before 5pm (now that I think about it, that was about 4 hours after the earthquake when roads were nearly at a standstill and the city was in shock), a bus was there for all of us ready to take us to the Antarctic Center. We were all accounted for, and reaccounted for, before we got on that bus. We made sure our kiwi friends got on with us. This was the Partnership Forum, after all, and we are partners . . . and now friends. The embassy took them with us!

·      We were with some VIPs, and the military cares about us. We were at the Antarctic Center less than an hour when it was decided that we would be evacuated by NZ Air Force jets to Wellington. They made sure that we future partners signed up for our boarding passes first and foremost. We were getting out! But more importantly, being with these people made us all feel safe. Without going into specifics, people trained in disaster preparedness, who have helped with some of the largest most recent natural disasters in the world, were there, and they were working together to make sure we were all cared for properly.

·      We were with some caring people. This was the first trip on a C130 for most of us, and for many, this was their first earthquake. One VIP in particular spent the pre-flight once we were on the plane ensuring we had earplugs and ensuring that we were ready for a different sort of air trip. (We also passed out sick bags for those that were worried.) That same VIP realized that several of my friends were a tad nervous, and he chatted with one for 15 minutes about her work, her boyfriend, etc., just to distract her. We had to scream to hear, and even then it was hard. The outpouring of love and support to everyone was amazing.

·      We have an amazing Ambassador. Here is a link to his official blog. Let me just say that it was his call that we were safely removed. It was him on the tarmac as we got off the plane. It was him who ensured that we had housing last night. It was him who made sure that a Navy Captain was there to pick us up and take us to our lodging. The embassy staff, along with the Ambassador, ensured we had everything. I have rarely before been so impressed with a group of people.

·      I was wearing Flourite. Ok, odd one, but I’m putting it here. I bought this bracelet about two years ago, and it is both pretty and useful. Apparently, florite sold out after 9/11 because it has a calming effect. I don’t know if it helped, but I’m glad I have it on.

·      We are alive.

That last point is, of course, the most important. As I talked to people who saw the damage, and the news came through that at least 65 people had died, the cathedral I had photographed that morning to show my parents a view from their hotel where they are set to stay in a month, had collapsed, and hotels and buildings around the city still contained missing persons, the last point hit home harder and harder. We are alive, uninjured, and together.

These next few days will be about processing. I beg of you to think of those in need right now. I was treated the way I would expect royalty to be treated, perhaps because I was with the VIPs of both countries, but also because I know how much the Fulbright program means to our current Ambassador. I feel like I do not deserve such treatment, but I am grateful for the support and caring that we received.

I have been in many, many earthquakes in my life, but this was, by far, the roughest (though not worst magnitude). The last time I went through one that resulted in a state of emergency I was 7. Today I can grasp what happened. I woke up this morning in a strange but safe bed unsure of what I experienced yesterday. There will be more posts, but I wanted you to all know that I feel “lucky.” I do not actually believe in luck, so the better word is grateful, incredibly, incredibly, incredibly grateful. Wow!

It is now several hours later, and I have not had internet access to post this, so I am adding to it. I am actually on a flight from Wellington to Dunedin as I type this, and as I read the newspaper, the survivor guilt sunk in. Why me? Not only did I survive, but I got to leave the city – in a military jet. I know it is the embassy’s job to ensure our safety, but after being in a devastating earthquake my biggest inconvenience is that I had to buy a toothbrush at the airport, wear the same clothes two days in a row, and get back to Dunedin about 15 hours after I was supposed to arrive there. Oh, and some of my stuff is still in Christchurch. That is hard to stomach, really hard. But yes, I am grateful, and I know that this Forum / Partnership is going to do what we can to send whatever help we can to the people who have been hurt, killed, displaced, etc.

Namaste and Blessings!

© 2011 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved

This blog is not affiliated with Fulbright or Fulbright New Zealand, and all opinions expressed herein are my own. 

The Little Things

During orientation we were asked to embrace the differences between New Zealand and the United States. I appreciate the sentiment; after all, an underlying purpose of the Fulbright Program is to ensure understanding between cultures. But it seems sort of silly between New Zealand and the United States. After all, I have one friend on a Fulbright in Kenya, and another friend currently in Georgia (the country, not the state) teaching English after having spent time in South Korea teaching English and doing the Peace Corps in Tanzania. New Zealand is small potatoes next to those.

With that disclaimer, however, there are a few differences I have noticed, and while I do not want to imply that either country has a single story (the link is to an amazing article written by the friend in Kenya about places having single stories), I do want to point out the most interesting differences I have noticed over the past month.

First, people here walk around without shoes. I thought it was just in the south at first. After all, the south in so many countries (gross generalization) seems to be far more relaxed. But no, people do it everywhere in the country, from the Bay of Islands (think San Diego beach town) to Auckland (think major metropolis – 1/3 of the New Zealand population lives here). And yes, they go into stores and restaurants without shoes. By no means is it everyone, but I see several everyday. The best part was the American I saw at the bank without shoes – apparently he caught on quickly.

Second, teatime! I wrote about how wonderful teatime is on my other blog, Is Yoga Legal, but here I want to discuss it differently. I noted in my last post that NZ used to be tied to the Motherland – the UK until it realized that it is much closer to the Pacific Island nations. I really will get more into that another time, but back to tea. The tea culture, no doubt, comes from NZ’s English history. With no evidence to support this notion, I believe that teatime was a requirement in England. It is COLD and DARK. Tea warms you up, which seems to be as good a reason as any to have morning tea and afternoon tea and tea after supper. I happen to love this, and I love even more that the law school at the University of Otago has a tearoom. It is about the size of a closet, but there is a hot water dispenser, and a sign asking people not to use too much milk, so there is enough for everyone. Many people take milk in their tea here – something that has not caught no as much in America.

Third, lax (or no) security on airlines. I did not remove my shoes or throw out my coffee when transferring from the International to the Domestic Terminal in Auckland and going through security again. I even got to keep my sweatshirt on. I thought it was lovely. Then I went from Dunedin to Wellington where they opened security ten minutes before the flight took off. I thought that was cute. Then, from Wellington to Dunedin, my flight number had 4 digits. Someone told me this meant it would be a small plane with no security. I laughed . . . then I saw that she was right. You read that correctly – no security. I will just leave that for you to ponder.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention one final thing (though there are many more, and another post will  come with those). I took a shuttle to the airport for my trip to Wellington, and my bracelet fell off in the shuttle. The shuttle driver came inside and found me, outside security, of course, because it was not open, and she returned my bracelet to me. I think that action embodies so much of what I have witnessed here – amazing people. I laugh and grin about shoeless people in banks, but what I really see is how wonderful people have been, how welcoming, warm, and genuinely happy to talk to me.

I know there are wonderful people in the United States, but when we are forced to rely on others, living in a foreign country, we appreciate it a lot more. I feel so blessed to be here, so lucky to be among such amazing and wonderfully warm-hearted people, and to be in this beautiful country.

Namaste and Blessings.

© 2011 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved

This blog is not affiliated with Fulbright or Fulbright New Zealand, and all opinions expressed herein are my own. 

English or Pacific?

After the amazing trip to the Maori Marae, Fulbright orientation continued to amaze. We had a wonderful introduction to the flora and fauna of New Zealand, during which we learned why NZ is full of such huge, and many flightless, birds – there were no land predators. The big debate is whether there are one or two native mammals in NZ. Yes, one or two. They know of a very small bat that does not act like other bats, and they just recently found the remains of what might have been another mammal, but no one is sure.

Sadly, the Maori and then the Europeans brought rats, pigs, dogs, etc. to the country and almost overnight wiped out the vast majority of the huge, flightless birds. Today, the kiwi bird is the most well-known flightless bird that remains in the country, and it has iconic status here, especially in that New Zealanders often refer to themselves as kiwis, though not as often as I had expected. ;)

Then, after this amazing introduction, we took a guided tour through the Otari Bush right within the city limits of Wellington. You would have no idea, however, that you were in a city. We saw an 800-year-old Rimu, which is one of the native trees in New Zealand, few of which remain that old because of all the logging and fires by people.

 Yes, this is a group of Fulbright Fellows and Scholars hugging the 800-year-old tree. :)

Yes, that is actually sun and blue sky in Wellington. We were so lucky!

The next day, we learned all about the peopling of the Pacific, the migration from Taiwan through the islands, all the way to Hawaii. Not much is known for sure, but my big question throughout the presentation, and one that I asked, was, “how did they miss Australia?” When people talk about the Pacific Islands, they include New Zealand, but not Australia because the migration never went there. It is the largest landmass, by far, in the region, and people made it through vast ocean space to end up in Hawaii, but they never went to Australia. This is a question I will continue to ponder.

It leads to another interesting issue, and one brought up by our flora and fauna speaker. Is New Zealand an English nation or a Pacific Island? He told us that when he was growing up, prior to the 1980s, really, New Zealand was British through and through. New Zealanders were proud to send their men to fight in England’s wars, proud of their English status, and certainly fish and chips are available everywhere. But then something started to change. The Maori population got louder, began to question the role and implementation of the Treaty of Waitangi – the document that “created” European New Zealand, New Zealand began to have its own trade with nearby nations, as opposed to sending all its goods to England, and they realized that they are a small, isolated land mass, but surrounded by Pacific Islands, all of which have their own cultures and customs, many of which are anciently shared with the Maori.

Overtime New Zealand has started to see itself as a Pacific Island instead of as a British country. New Zealand is, however, still a part of the British commonwealth, but more than half of our speakers, including the ones talking specifically about the political climate, discussed the growing belief that New Zealand will form a Republic soon. There has even been talk of changing the flag from the Union Jack / Southern Cross to a picture of the Silver Leaf – the national plant (and absolutely beautiful) of New Zealand, and I even heard someone mention the idea of renaming the country to Aotearoa, the Maori name for the country, meaning Land of the Long White Cloud. In other words, though they take tea at 10 and 4, New Zealand is finding its roots as a Pacific Nation more appealing.

All of this was great as we ended orientation with a discussion with a Member of Parliament and a tour of the Parliament building. It was loads of interesting and useful information, and after being oriented, I feel so much more prepared to engage with the community here, and so excited and honored to be part of a culture coming to grips with its place in the world. I certainly did not give this topic enough justice here, and I am sure I will add more in the future, but this post is long enough.

Namaste and Blessings!

© 2011 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved

This blog is not affiliated with Fulbright or Fulbright New Zealand, and all opinions expressed herein are my own.