Haka Hongi Hangi Hell'vgoodtime

Our second week in Rangiwahia has been very exciting!

Sunday was a Fire Brigade Meeting at the fire hall, right next door to us. In a village the size of Rangi the fire brigade is a social convention more than a emergency service - they have 13 full time members in a town of 20ish people! They invited us over for fish and chips, a Tui beer, and to 'get a good look at us'. Kristine was ecstatic to meet Marianne, the only Dane in the region. They connected immediately over Danish things the rest of us would never understand... The fire brigade even sent us home with leftovers!

Tuesday, Kristine was right crooked (sick) and she dreamed lavish thoughts of apple juice, ginger ale, and chicken noodle soup. I say dreamed because those things are difficult to procure in a village with no shops. When we did get to Fielding, we found that the ginger ale was more like ginger beer!

Kristine visited our neighbours Jim and Bridgette who were creating decorations for the Wearable Art Show in Fielding. Jim and Bridgette are enterprising artisans who use recycled materials to create art in their Junk and Disorderly business.

Thursday was a Maori cultural day at Kimbolton school. All of the country schools banded together for a hangi or traditional feast and a day of cultural activities. The day began with a welcome ceremony where our hosts sung us a welcome song. We practiced a Maori song for the last two weeks to reply the welcome song.

When I say 'welcome song', I mean welcoming like a gang fight in Harlem. They sang and we had two Maori chaps shout back challenges. The Maori culture treasures its warrior roots. It was all very orchestrated with men and boys around the outside of the women and girls. I followed along at the back trying to look inconspicuous and ended up entering the school last.

They must have figured I was representing Rangiwahia school because they put me in the front with the rather impressive Maori guys who were doing the shouting earlier. They made their introductory speeches in Maori, and as it went down the line I realized that when I opened my mouth they might figure out that my Te Reo (Maori) had a slight Canadian accent. They might also notice that I didn't have any facial tattoos and then one of us would be embarassed. Luckily they finished the speeches two people before me.

Everyone in the honor section with me stood up so I stood. Like a good Canadian I just did what the person in front of me was doing. That was the hongi. The hongi is a Maori greeting where you get really personal and rub your noses together, like Eskimo kisses. I haven't been that close to a stranger since my last eye exam. I was honored and slightly intimidated to be facing down some people on their own home turf.

The hangi is a traditional meal cooked in an underground oven. They make a firepit, heat stones and place foliage over it to create a steam oven. They lowered 2 muttons, 42 chickens, and sacks of pumpkin, potatoes, stuffing, and even steamed puddings in big tins. It was an amazing meal!

Kristine and I went to the Barista cafe on Saturday and had a flat white (latte) and a bowl of pesto and bacon soup to die for! We also visited Te Manawa, an art gallery/science centre/museum. They had a really entertaining sheep shearing exibit where you could practise shearing with a bar code scanner on a stuffed sheep. It scores points for shearing quickly and completely. Kristine scored much higher than I did (she was much quicker) but she lost a couple points when she re-sheared the sheep's bum and made it bleed.

We also visited the Victorian Esplanade, an amazing garden and aviary. The gardens were out of season, but we look forward to many return visits. We hope to be here still when some of the 100+ rose varieties are in bloom. We especially loved the garden for the blind, a bouquet of fragrant plants along a quiet path.

After church on Sunday, our new friends Jean and Vivian had us over for lunch. We were very pleased to have a lunch date and see their son Ben tear through their house in a chips and ice-cream fueled frenzy. Jean is a chef so the meal was delicious. Bon appetit!