Sweet as, bro eh!

Hello hello! I have finally reached my one-month mark! I’m basically a kiwi, just gotta work on that accent.

So I’ll give you guys a quick update on the going-ons since I last wrote. This past weekend I went to the Bay of Islands, which is located in the Northland region of the country, and is very close to the northernmost point. It’s actually one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen (I think I’m going to say that about every place I visit, so get used to it). It’s basically a whole bunch of small islands on a peninsula. The water is this weird magical blue-green color that makes you want to run around like a little kid, giggling at movement of the waves.

I stayed in the town of Paihia, which is just a small beach town with a bunch of cafes and hostels (called backpackers here). Near Paihia is the town of Waitangi, which is a very important historical spot in New Zealand. It was where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in I think 1840 or so. So the British colonized New Zealand, and this treaty was signed by reps of the British crown and Maori chiefs. It’s probably one of the greatest cases of miscommunication, in my opinion. It established Britain rule over the country while recognizing Maori ownership over some land and property, and giving Maori the same rights as the British. However, because not many Maori spoke English and not many Brits spoke Maori, they had different understandings of what they were signing. The British understood it as them gaining sovereignty over New Zealand, like the true colonialists that they were. The Maori did not think that they were surrendering their sovereignty to the British, so this led to some conflicts. Despite the misunderstanding, this treaty is said to represent the beginning of NZ as a nation. So I visited the grounds where this Treaty was signed, which was pretty cool. (Side note: the treaty has been a subject of debate in this country, and in the 1970’s there was a tribunal set up to investigate if Maori rights had been neglected, as the Maoris had claimed. Since then Maori’s have been given more rights and play a dominant role in NZ politics…gotta love colonialism)

I visited Cape Reinga, which is pretty much the furthest north you can go in NZ. This place was pretty sweet as (pronounced sweet az, it’s a kiwi saying. ‘sweet as, man!’), because it’s the point where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. You can actually see a line where the water gets significantly darker. There is a lighthouse at the edge of a cliff where you can see the ocean really well. The Maori believe that the joining of the waters represents the joining of male and female, and symbolizes the creation of life. Ironically, they also believe that Cape Reinga is where the Maori spirits go once they leave the body, and from there make their way to where it is believed that the Maori came from, Hawaiki (it’s kind of a mythical homeland in Polynesia). So this place symbolizes both the start and the end of life.

I also visited 90-mile beach, which is actually 64 miles, and I don’t really know why it’s called 90 mile when NZ uses the metric system…I should ask. (another side note: are we really one of three countries that has not adopted the metric system? If you have any ideas as to why that is, please fill me in) It’s a beautiful vast beach where I felt as though I had literarily entered a weird kind of universe where everything is beautiful and nothing evil exists. I felt like I was two years old, and, I kid you not, I ran and did cartwheels and just yelled for about an hour. I’m pretty sure everyone I was with thought I had some kind of mental problem, and for the rest of the day kept their distance. But I couldn’t help it. for the first time in a long time, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I felt this almost sudden release of euphoria, or something like that. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. It basically felt like a huge trip. I also went sand-boarding down a huge sand dune. Pretty fun.

I’m going to my first rugby match tonight: Auckland Blues v. Australian Brumbies. This is not an All Blacks game, but it should be fun, although I know nothing about rugby and or any of the rules.

As for my classes: I’m taking one about capitalism. Actually it’s called capitalism and its critics. We are basically learning all about capitalism and how it functions and the different kinds of capitalism. We also learn about how it fails and the problems with capitalism, and then the problems with the alternatives. Basically, what I’ve gotten out of it is that any system we adopt is going to leave some people worse off than others. I also realized that the reasons why capitalism leaves so many unemployed and poor as bloody hell is because we are a naturally selfish and greedy species, and if we have the option to be incredibly rich rather than just moderate, we will take the former, all the while knowing that we are screwing others over because of our decision.
I also realized that because capitalism fuels competition, needs competition in order to function, there can never be any equality under a capitalist society, and there will always be this huge disparity between the rich/middle class and the poor. I said this in my discussion group today and got called a bloody communist. That was fun.

So I knew before coming over here that people outside the US weren’t particularly fond of us (Us being Americans). I knew people love to make fun of Americans…I lived in Israel for a year, and got plenty of that. But I’ve never truly felt it as much as I have being here. It’s not so much of a hostile kind of hatred. But learning about capitalism and international relations in another country has made me realize how much we have really screwed people over. And if you thought that people don’t hold any grudges against the US and that there are no hard feelings regarding the current economic crisis, you are mistaken. Huge grudge and very hard feelings. In both my capitalism class and my international relations class, I can’t even explain to you how often the topic comes up, and I feel myself sinking deep into my seat, hoping that no one will know that I’m an American. It’s funny though, because I’ve always known how we are perceived in other countries, or I could have guessed. But this really brings it to different level: we are bullies and people resent us for it. More on this later.


Oh, fun fact: New Zealand police officers do not carry guns while patrolling the streets. Instead, they carry pepper spray and batons. The idea behind it is that when there are guns, there is an incentive to use them, and with less guns, less violence. That’s why you can get a long ass time in jail if you are caught in an armed robbery with a gun as opposed to without one. Hmmmm….


Ok, my beloved fans. That’s all for now. I will write again shortly, so keep checking!!!!

Much love,
Mickey

p.s. Kiwis love to say bro, and love to put eh at the end of their sentence. But it's less annoying than the Canadians.