Culture

On any sort of trip like this one, it’s very likely that you’ll be spending a lot of time on a bus. While driving through New Zealand, I saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. But as lovely as it all is, sometimes being a on a bus can start to feel a wee bit boring unless there’s something to break it up a little. In our case, this was Douglas, the bus driver. Douglas was a really cool guy, and while we were rolling along he’d often tell us stories or explain what what things we should know or look out for on our journey. I learned a lot of things about a variety of topics from Douglas, and I think it’s time for me to share a few…

1. Tip Top ice cream is a New Zealand staple, and it is worth trying. It comes both pre-packaged and scooped at many stores. That orange chocolate chip was to die for. I wish that was a flavor combination we had more frequently back home.

2. I kind of knew this one before we arrived, but I didn’t realize the extent of it. Kiwis love rugby, and they LOVE it. The All Blacks are an incredibly successful and beloved team, kind of like the big brother in the Pacific. Everyone loves the All Blacks, not just the New Zealanders. And for them it’s not just about winning and losing. It’s about the game. They celebrate when they win, and they still celebrate when they lose. The amount of national pride this country has in their team is really phenomenal.

3. One of the very first things we learned was Kia Ora! This is a common Maori greeting, and one of the things Douglas told us before we visited the Tamaki village. He also warned us to be serious and respectful during the initial ceremony when we arrived at the village. Through the rest of the trip, he told us a lot about Maori culture. He told us their values of pride and revenge, and how the highest form of revenge was eating the other’s flesh. That isn’t done so often anymore though. Additionally, song and dance and storytelling were so important to the culture as for a long time they lacked a written language. These conversations with Douglas helped us learn a lot about the Maori culture and how to be respectful while we were there.

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