Getting to Know Cambridge

On Thursday the 20th of August I was able to provide some community service in a manner- my oldest daughter's school class was taking a walking field trip around the town to learn more of its recent history and sites. I was already a bit under the weather, and the day was a bit cold, wet and windy, so I ended up quite sick the following day. Nonetheless, it was quite worth the effort. We walked from Leamington into town and helped the kids in groups find and complete worksheets about various topics. It ranged from the area's horse racing prowess commemorated in mosaics on the main walk, to historic buildings and the old Anglican church and its historical depictions in its stained glass windows. Lastly, the tour included the town's history museum in the old courthouse.

Along the way I was able to converse with my daughter's teacher about various topics. Knowing why we came to New Zealand, as my daughter had informed him, we discussed my research aims and questions. As a a pakeha New Zealander (that is a New Zealander with a European background as opposed to Maori Polynesian one), he was aware of and related the quandary of the Kereru bird- how they are prized for their taste, and yet are endangered. He was aware of the history behind its current status and the role of Maori tapu (sacred restriction) behind its survival up through and to pakeha mismanagement or abuse. Additionally, he related his knowledge of the Huia bird, now extinct, who's fall is attributable to the nearly insatiable demands of European fashion after centuries of more or less effective management by Maori. This is no way is to say that all of NZ's ecological troubles stem from non-indigenous people's involvement in NZ, but that in some areas, in some respects, Maori had in place a system that tried to maintain valued resources, and that he was aware of such culturally-fixed mechanisms.

His class will be visiting the Maungatautari Ecological island in early September, and he has cordially invited me to come along again. I look forward to the occasion- it has been a little over two years since I have been within the enclosure and the forested canopy. For months I have been relating to my children, especially this particular daughter, the wonder of the project and mountain (in an effort to help her get a little more okay with leaving friends and family behind to come here). I suspect it will not disappoint. To see what it is, go to www.maungatrust.org.

A Funeral, A Roadtrip, and A Home

On Thursday the 13th of August, I attended the tangi (funeral) on the marae. The service seemingly provided a pleasant and welcoming feeling for everyone. Though the service took place on the marae (sacred area connected to a particular Maori group) within the wharenui (meetinghouse) the service was very much a blend of Maori custom and the religious custom of the deceased's faith. Today an individual, who indicated that he was very familiar with the particular marae/hapu/iwi (sub-tribe/Tribe) that was hosting the service, further indicated that he was pleasantly surprised at how well the 'blending' had gone. The service had seemed so seamless to me, that I thought it was 'par for the course,' or the usual way things came together- I guess from this person's experience, this is not always the case.

In an effort to help our small congregation bolster its musical prowess, indeed, to enable my wife to practice the piano so that she will be more prepared to play when called upon (there are few who can play well enough for church services), we decided to buy some sort of piano, as we left our upright one with family in Arizona. Thus, Friday morning this week was spent in travel. I drove about 1 hour 45 minutes away to the Thames/Ngatea area to pay for and pick up an electric piano/keyboard. The scenery, though shrouded in clouds was still nonetheless picturesque. I am only now beginning to understand just how much New Zealand is engaged in the dairy business. Throughout the entire drive my eyes met with pasture-covered green rolling hills upon green rolling hills. I passed several milk processing plants along the way as well. In the colour-muted distance all I could see was green, fenced pastures, replete with thick vibrant grass- in other words, cow heaven. If you have seen the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy, recall the Hobbit shire for a sense of what much of this area looks like. My thoughts turned to David Young's book concerning New Zealand's conservation history- specifically data that indicated how much forested area New Zealand has lost for the sake of settlement and animal husbandry and its businesses. I recall that over 90 percent of New Zealand was, largely over its existence, covered in a sub-tropical rainforest. Thus, what one sees across much of the North Island is anthropogenic- that is landscapes created and shaped by humans more than anything else. The text relates that Maori cleared forest for various reasons, and that this land-clearing continued and intensified with western settlement and incursion into Aotearoa New Zealand (see Young, David, 2004, Our Island, Our Selves. Dunedin: Otago Press).

I got somewhat lost a few times while en route, but I knew at least that I was lost. Having a good sense of the cardinal directions, I knew when I seemed to not be on the right course. The online map/course guide seemed to need some improvement as it lacked a few crucial directions, such as stay right to stay on a certain highway. However, with some kind help from locals, I was given a shortcut, made up lost time, and met Jeanette, the purveyor of the piano. Money and pleasantries exchanged, I was on my way back to the Waikato area. I went straight to the University of Waikato to attend a weekly late afternoon symposium. The paper/presentation, given by a certain Professor Kingfisher from Michigan (U.S.) focused on the negotiation between neoliberal and neoconservative views by struggling single-moms in an area of Alberta, Canada, and in an area of New Zealand. It promoted good argument and discussion among those attending- very stimulating.

In all, the last few days have been quite good and productive. However, not all efforts have come about as planned. I decided to finally put together a slat-bed so that we could stop sleeping on the ground. Well, the bed we purchased was not wood- upon opening the box it turned out to be painted metal- quite different that what we thought it was going to be. I packed it back up- we will return it when we have a vehicle to do so. Hopefully, this coming week our SUV and affects will arrive at Auckland, and then we can setup our house a little more and make it feel more like a home.

Entre' ensues

Each day brings new opportunities to connect with the community. Sometimes such occasions are not entirely happy for many various reasons. Today I was introduced onto the Maungatautari marae. A fine gentleman passed away after some time of suffering a debilitating disease and medical condition. He is a member of my church- and with his passing and by way of connection with a mutual friend- I came to the marae as a friend and fellow church member to mourn with those that mourn. This week Thursday I will attend his tangi at the marae. Overall the tangi funeral ceremony is quite touching and much as been written about in NZ anthropology. Some focus has been on its tradition of the complete family gathering from all over, to stay on the marae and mourn together for days on end and the amount of food and resources expended throughout the entire tangi. The official ceremony wherein burial takes place will likely be this week Thursday and as appropriate will last as long or as short as it needs. I hope to find out more about the gentleman and what his life's accomplishments were. I do know that he and his wife did serve a temple mission to the NZ temple outside of Hamilton.

Today however was an opportunity to pay our respects. I introduced myself, telling of where I have come from, my connection to them and my overall reason for coming to NZ- to study the community in regards to their mountain ecological island project. They were quite polite and warm. After a welcome speech in Maori, they also sang to us, after which we introduced ourselves and sang a song as well. They invited us to have lunch with them- which was great- a baked egg quiche and mashed potatoes. The conversation within the wharenui (meeting house on the marae) and in the eating hall, covered a few topics, including their mountain and the project. Theirs is the hapu who lent 2/3 of the project's total land area. One very nice woman was visibly proud and exuberant concerning the project. She recalled that as a child she enjoyed the sound of kiwi birds on the mountain and she very much looks forward to hearing them there again.

The occassion serves as an entre' vehicle to a certain degree- albeit within a mixed-emotion occasion. To briefly explain, many believe in the resurrection and in a reunion with one's ancestors following death. Thus, the passing of a loved one embodies both loss and joy. My hosts- the family and extended family members (though here I suspect they make no such distinction)- extended a warm welcome to myself, a complete stranger, amidst their grief. The people, the marae, and the meal together was most enjoyable. I hope to have made many new friends and I look forward to being with them again.

It begins...well sort of.

This is the first post to begin it all. I have now been in NZ for a little more than half a month. Most of the time here thus far has been spent finding a home to rent, getting it setup for my family and I, and trying to settle into some sense of normalcy. Most of our personal effects are still on a ship on its way here, but we are doing fairly well without them. Most of all, I think we all miss having beds the most- for now we are using sleeping bags. But, others have had it far worse than this, so we really have nothing to complain about.

Coming to Aotearoa New Zealand has been a long process- but a worthwhile one. Some cultural anthropologists have taken children with them, but many have not. In the case of Lowell D. Holmes, when he went to Samoa, he took a young child- this worked well for him as being a father meant he gained a certain status within the village that afforded him more contacts and better inclusion. I hope the same holds true for myself. Three of my children are enrolled now in an area school and they are already engaged in school projects that seek to better the community's plant diversity and beautify the area. This area is of course westernized in many respects but being a father of a family may still help in my case.

Not having a car at first meant we walked all over to gather things we needed to live. I was surprised also that we as tenants would have to buy the home's major appliances. In the United States, rentals homes come fully setup- so we were just surprised, that all. It meant we had to spend more than what we planned on, but it is all good. We had a great deal of help, starting with our realtor, and many others who helped us get things done and who went far out of their way to do this.

I recall a Neopoleon Chagnon video wherein the locals always came to his hut to take or ask for something of his. He was either fending them off or trying to make some sort of trade for it. Sometimes things just disappeared. No one ever likes their stuff disappearing- but it does happen. My wife left our baby's stroller outside on the patio... and it of course has disappeared. It worked with our baby's carseat so its loss means we need to find a way to get something else that will work.

Neighbors have been very kind. Some have helped us figure out the trash and recycling system here. Others brought by couches, recliners, chairs, a table and even a TV! Thus, we made some new friends and were finally able to sit down! We all missed sitting! We are well enough off and enjoying our new home and community in Cambridge.