Where do I start?!
This weekend was another completely new and exciting/exhausting experience for me! For my Race, Gender and Development class we had to spend a weekend at a Marae, which is a Maori meeting house. I think I've wrote about it before but I don't remember. Anyways, we had to sleep, eat and have hours and hours of lectures from Friday afternoon through Sunday noon. It was exhausting and there were some very frustrating moments but overall it was a great experience.
A little history about the building...this picture is just the driveway and the front of the building...it has 10 levels, 2 of which are underground and it is made completely of recycled materials and wood. It holds the world record for largest wood-only building. The inside also holds the worlds top three records for largest deer heads. It is a communal living environment and as of now around twenty people live there full time, including Bruce, the owner and his many children and grandchildren. He is 73 years old, has 13 children, the youngest of which is only 8. Age definitely hasn't slowed him down! :) He has over 80 grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren as well. I could go on and on about him because his story is just so great but I'm sure someone will write a book about him someday.
About the Marae, it is unlike any other marae because it is so large and doesn't follow traditional standards for the building layout. I don't know the details but that's what we were told. The way the building was built is completely illegal in New Zealand but Bruce was friends with the Mayor of Wellington at the time so he got a free pass. Apparently they still have issues with the council but Bruce just overlooks it and keeps doing what he's doing. It's like a hippie version of the Maori and it's great!
As far as the school part of the trip that was no fun. We had 4 hours of lecture Friday night, 8 hours of lecture Saturday and 3 hours Sunday morning and all of the lectures required us to be sitting on the ground on a hard wood floor for hours...I am sooo sore. My whole body aches and I didn't retain much information but I love learning about the Maori culture so it was really exciting. I am glad that weekend is over!!
Coming up I have so much to do it's overwhelming! Break starts the first weekend in April so I have to start planning that trip and figure out all the logistics. I have more school work than I can handle and I have to get groceries and do laundry very soon. So much to do so little time!
I will talk to you all very soon! Cheers!!
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