Monday, May 31, 2010
Pictures
Posts about the first few days in Sydney coming later tonight. In the meantime, if you click on the slideshow at the bottom of the blog, you will be redirected to my New Zealand photo album.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Aotearoa and the Mother of All Updates
The word at the title of this post, for you uninitiated Phillistines, is the Maori word for New Zealand, and it means Land of the Long White Cloud. After about two weeks here, I don't know about the frequency of cumulus clouds, but I do know that there is a hilarious tendency for the sky to rain the tiniest droplets known to man about every hour or so. Its quite humorous, actually. The rain is so small, it doesn't even get your clothes wet, but it does certainly lower the temperature, which has been a nuisance, as it has been about 10 to 16 degrees Celsius here. Well, digression about the winter weather done with, let's get on to some updates, shall we. Again, apologies for my lack of promptness, I have been a bit preoccupied and/or distracted.
Friday, May 21st
Today was a good day, for both myself and for the project in general. I got to sleep in a bit, since my 1st meeting was at the wonderfully late hour of noon. Through a bit of miscommunication and misunderstanding, my 10:30 meeting with Labour MP Ruth Dyson had been postponed to 3:00. Having heard that this was my last day in Wellington, the city had decided that it ought to behave like a teenager and throw a bit of a temper tantrum. The day was cold, dark, rainy, and extremely windy. It was like the worst days in Seattle and Chicago combined. Due to the poor conditions I had to spend some of my money on cabs, instead of walking across this very walkable town, which was a shame.
I took the taxi to my 1st meeting of the day, which was with the first person I had contacted, Mrs. Lis Ellison-Loschmann. She is a researcher at Massey University in Wellington. I had tried, unsuccessfully, to meet with her earlier in the week, but she had been held up with other work at a local hospital. Today she was actually in her office, which I considered to be an improvement. She was quite tall, and a bit intimidating, to be frank. This was all exterior, though, as she turned out to be a very nice and helpful woman. Her many of speech was a tad distracted, but we had some very fruitful discussions about my research, as well as the work she has done. She got off on tangents quite frequently, but they were all useful ones, so I didn't complain. We spoke about the Maori health provider system and their somewhat frustrating inconsistency with data collection. We also spoke about cultural education systems in the nursing profession, and in the doctoral profession in Australia, although not yet standardized in New Zealand. One stream of conversation led us down a comparison of the indigenous treatment in healthcare in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. This is often the comparison made, since all three share certain characteristics (British colonialism, strong indigenous populations, etc). It is for this reason that I plan to research all three countries and their systems in my project. We also spent some time discussing her time spent in Barcelona, and the ensuing conversation about the differences between Catalan (which she speaks) and Spanish (which I speak), and in the US (at an APHA convention).
After this meeting, I called Mr. G Oliver Smart, ONZM, who is a past president of the Circumnavigators Club. He had been very helpful in getting me a meeting with Minister Peter Dunne, so I was keen to meet him and thank him personally. Unfortunately, he was all tied up for the day, so I had to settle for thanking him over the phone. I then set off into the Wellington rain, back to the YHA. Along the way, I had a quick lunch at a chicken joint. Honestly, I think New Zealand may be crazier about fried food than the U.S., based on the number of places here which specialize in fired fish, chicken, or what have you. After an hour at the hostel, I went to Parliament for my meeting with MP Ruth Dyson.
Upon arrival, I was told to proceed to the second floor (really the 3rd floor, since New Zealand has joined most of the world in that annoying trend of having a ground floor, then a 1st floor above it, and so on up the numbers), where I would be gathered by Minister Dyson's secretary. I was pretty thrilled with getting to ride in the antique elevator used by the people in power in this country. I was taken to the Minister's office, where I waited while she was called up from the debating floor. Today was the day on which the Parliament was debating the new tax policy of the new conservative government, so I felt honored to be granted an appointment with the minister. She threw me for a loop when she introduced herself to me as no longer being in the government. By this she meant, of course, that she was no longer in the ruling coalition, but it took me a minute to figure it out. She turned out to be a pretty opinionated politician, but very helpful in understanding the policies of the previous government. I could understand her position; she was upset with the fact that many of the policies she had instated, as Assoc. Minister of Health, were going to be overturned by the new government.
After a little while chatting, Minister Dyson took me down to the viewing gallery of the Debating Chamber, where I sat with her in the Speaker's Guest section. Not all of the MPs were present, as the vote was a foregone conclusion. The practice of the ones who were was telling of the Westminster tradition. When opposition spoke, there were jeers. Some read the paper while their peers were speaking. It was kind of funny, to be fair.
After all the excitement, I went back to the YHA for my last night in Wellington. I had some Fish n' Chips for dinner, then walked over to Scorpio's, which is a local Welsh Bar (the only Welsh Bar in the Southern Hemisphere they claim) and had myself a celebratory pint of ale. It was great to put my feet up by a fire in a dark room and drink some Speight's Original Dark. Great end to the evening.
Saturday, May 22nd
I had to wake up god awfully early this morning, in order to catch my flight to Gisborne on time. I said goodbye to my hosts at the Wellington YHA and walked to the bus stop on Courtenay Place to catch the Airport Flyer Bus Service. The bus was really posh, with flat screen TV's that updated with outbound and inbound flight information. Once I got to the airport, I made a fool of myself, and the Air NZ woman at the service counter treated me like a moron, which I probably deserved. I waited about an hour in the main terminal, doing some reading and eating a slice of orange cake for breakfast.
I then went down to gate 18, which is very similar to the gates at MIA used for American Eagle Airlines, which is to say, small and unadorned. Unlike MIA, or any other airport I've ever been to (including Hanoi), there was no security to board the flight. I found this to be very suspect, until I saw the plane, and realized it couldn't be any danger anyway. It was such a small plane that it looked out of place in Wellington, and that screening would have been overkill. Once it was time to board, I walked out on the tarmac and walked up some stirs that folded out of the plane. I was unlucky enough to get one of only two seats without a window (another first for my flying history). Since the plane only had 18 seats, the pilots (who were also the flight attendants) made no attempt at closing the cabin door. This allowed me to watch all the machinations of the pilots, which was really neat, and yet another flying first for me. I chilled out and listened to music for the duration of the flight.
We touched down at Gisborne Airport, which may be the smallest and cutest airport in the world. The bag claim is outdoors, and the terminal is the size of a house. The control tower is only two stories high and our plane was the biggest one there. It was a different world from Wellington. I had to call a taxi to come and get me. I rode in to the local YHA, which is basically a big house right next to the Gisborne harbor. It seems like a nice place, and is more charming than the Wellington YHA. It also has a lot more space, which I appreciated.
I dropped off my stuff and took a walk down the main road in town, Gladstone. It's like a town in the 50's, but I really liked it. It was small, but it had a lot of personality. After about an hour of wandering, I had a lamburger for lunch at a place called Burger Wisconsin. After that, I walked the kilometer back across one of the three rivers in Gisborne to the YHA and took a lengthy nap, since I hadn't slept well the night before in the capital. Following the nap, I was well rested and went to e nearby restaurant on the harbor, called Lone Star. It was an upclass place, themed after Texas, with cowboys and country music. I had a plate of NZ Green Mussels, which were each about half the size of my hand, just extraordinarily sized, and a pint of Steinlager. Then I went to bed.
Sunday, May 23rd
Slept in a little today, which was nice, although a little difficult since there's somehow road noise at this YHA (despite being in a much smaller place than Wellington and not next to a fire department as I had been there). After freshening up, I had a walk down to town, where I went to the Visitor's Centre. It's not near the center of the city, but it is near the coast. The lady who worked there was very nice, and she gave me some good ideas about what to do there. The things to do here generally land into three categories: 1. the museum, 2. statues of Captain Cook, and 3. vineyards. I chose the second and third for today. I walked down the road to the coast, where a sand beach greeted me. On this beach were statues to Captain Cook and Young Nick, who was the first European to spot New Zealand. The Endeavor, Cook's ship, first landed here, making it a historical site in the country. I ambled down the boardwalk back to the center of town, stopping momentarily for a cup o joe.
After all that, I decided to take my father up on his suggestion, so I rented a motor scooter (as I had had such a fun time doing so in Vietnam) and visited some of the local vienyards. I stopped by Bushmere, Stone Bridge, and Matawhero Estates, sampling their stocks, which were quite good. I felt extremely cultured during all of this. For those of you interested, my favorite was a 2005 Gewurztraminer from Bushmere.
Back in town, I went to the local supermarket, Pack n' Save, and bought some dinner for the next few nights. I drove up Kaiti Hill for a night time view of Gisborne, then headed back to the hostel for some reading and sleep.
Monday, May 24th
Today was a great day, although it was sure tough to tell that during the beginning of the morning. I woke up early so that I could drive the scooter over to my meeting site at the Tairawhiti District Health Board/Gisborne Hospital. After getting dressed up and praying that the cloudy skies didn't open up during my drive, I got on the scooter...only to find that it was out of gas completely. It didn't even have enough in it to start, so I walked it over to the gas station and filled up the tank...but it still wouldn't start. In the end, I used some knowledge from Top Gear and gave it a running start. Motor trouble solved, I got on my way, about 15 minutes behind schedule. Fortunately I made it all safe and dry, and only about 5 minutes late, as traffic had been lighter than expected.
I made my way to the 3rd floor, where I was greeted by Dr. Bruce Duncan. A native Scotland, Duncan is now Chief Medical Advisor and Chief of Medical Staff for the DHB. In other words, he's kind of a big shot in the regional system. We had about an hour long meeting before he had to excuse himself and leave me to my own devices in his secretary's empty office. During our discussion, we talked about a range of topics in healthcare. These included kiwi perceptions about the nature of healthcare in society and how it should be run, rates of rhuematic fever among Maori, the fact that referral and prescription rates between Maori and Pakeha (white) population are very uneven, the logistics of hemodialysis being a block to Maori access since it is 5 hours away, the institution of cultural education programs for staff, regional programs to improve household insulation and heaters, thus preventing illness caused by damp living conditions, and much more. It was a very productive interview.
I then waited about an hour, on hospital grounds, before my second meeting that day, with Mr. Maaka Tibble. He is the DHB's Maori coordinator, and as such has an influential position in a region that is a little more than half Maori. He also sits on the National Maori Health Commission as well, which is headed up by Maori Party MP Tariana Turia. He's a very interesting man, as he is a big man, blind, and spent considerable time in the US studying disability services on Indian reservations. We discussed the role of institutional racism, factors preventing Maori from seeking care, socio-economic disparities, the 1970's urban flight of the rural Maori youth, and the newer Whanua Ora policy. This too, was a very useful meeting. He was very nice, and he offered me a few pointers on travel and research, based on his own experience.
After the meeting, I drove the scooter back to the place I had rented it from, in the rain. This was unpleasant, to say the least. Of course, being the fool I am I also neglected to return the key, which I will have to rectify later. I then had a lamb and quince foot long at Subway. Since it was a nasty day, and since there wasn't much more to see in Gisborne, I went back to the YHA and did some work.
Tuesday, May 25th
I was really excited about today, as it was going to be my first ever hunting experience. After waking up and getting dressed in mucking-about clothes, I was picked up by Roger White. He's an employee of the Ngati Porou Hauora organization, which is a Maori healthcare provider for the Ngati Porou iwi, or tribe. Specifically, he works in the Ngati and Healthy Program, which focuses on preventative measures to curb the high rates of diabetes and obesity among Maori, namely through healthy eating and exercise. Roger had grown up on the East Coast and is a member of the Ngati Porou tribe, so he had some obvious reasons to want change. He soon noticed, though, that the program wasn't reaching local men, who were the group most at risk. He thus helped develop the Mana Tane (Empowering Our Men) program, which develops healthy practices and diet through a return to Maori self sufficiency and traditional practices such as hunting, fishing, and gardening.
I had expected the day to be really poor weather wise, based on last night's weather forecast, but as weather in NZ is completely unpredictable, the day was brilliant, with narry a cloud in the sky during the morning. On the drive I was awestruck by the views of the country's east coast, with magnificent rocky shores, cliffs, and some sandy beaches. During the 2 hour drive north to Ruatoria, we discussed Roger's role in the system, his views on being self-sufficient, the tragedy of current male Maori health, how terrible modern processed foods can be for one's health, and the work of one Dr. Weston A. Price. We also stopped at Roger's house (on a cliff overlooking the ocean), and a few small towns along the way.
Now, back to Price, since it was a fascinating subject. He was an American dentist and nutritionist in the early half of the twentieth century. Upon noticing generational gaps in oral health, with a general decreasing trend, he set out to study the problem. Determined that the cause was based on nutrition, he traveled around the world studying the diets of indigenous populations, including the Maori. At the time of his study, they were very healthy, unlike the situation now. He saw a lot of evidence to suggest that the rise of poor health was due to a rise in processed foods in the diet of Americans. As such, his foundation advocates eating unprocessed foods, drinking raw milk, and not eliminating fats. Roger has been on this diet himself, and has seen positive effects. It's a very interesting concept to consider. Roger noted that Maori do better when eating a traditional Maori diet, for which their bodies have evolved. Maori diet and health both saw rapid changes in the 1950's, and it is Roger's belief that this is a causal relationship, so he is pushing more traditional foods like kumara (a tuber colloquially known as Maori potato) and wild game.
Once in Ruatoria, we met up with 3 Maori gentlemen, whose names I will not try to reproduce here, for fear of butchering them beyond recognition. They were all nice people, and were influential in the establishment of the Mana Tane program. One was a 69 year old man, another was a mid-50's security officer who worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and used to be in the Kiwi Special Forces, and a third was a man who, like me, seemed a little out of place on a hunting expedition (for instance, he brought gumboots for hiking).
We set off for Roger's family farm, which encompasses much of the mountainous bush we would be hunting in. We met Roger's father, Lairs, and had some healthy lunch. We joked about NZ's lack of snakes, the All Blacks chances at the next World Cup, to be held in NZ, (which it was agreed were very slim), and a lot of random topics. After that, Roger, his father, the 3 gentlemen, and myself all went off to catch some pig. We went on 3 ATVs between the 6 of us, which meant I had to ride on the back of Roger's. Perhaps I'm just inexperienced, but doing this while going up steep, loose, rocky terrain, is one of the most painful things I have experienced. By the end of the day, my shoulders, arms, thighs, rear end, and abdomen all either had bruises or muscle strains. When I finally got to the top of the mountain, my legs were shaking and I was panting.
I mostly hung back in the lookout party as Roger and his father traipsed through the "kiwi outback" in the valleys below. The sights were rally spectacular, with all the mountains, pine forests, and livestock surrounding us. It was easy to see why the people filming Lord of the Rings never had to leave the country. The place was beautiful, but it was also a minefield of feces, from the many creatures that inhabited the area. I had some long conversations with my hunting mates and it was a fun, if very tiring, way to spend the day. Eventually, from far below us, we heard a pair of shots from the rifles. We dispatched one of the Maori gentlemen on an ATV to go help them. It took him forever, so the rest of us started walking down the mountain. We got about a quarter of the way, looking over our shoulders at the rain clouds coming over Hakurangi (the tallest non-volcanic mountain on the North Island and a sacred site for the local Maori) before we got picked up by the ATVs. They had killed a respectably sized sow, and one of her piglets. We raced down the mountain to beat the rain (which mucked up my clothes and shoes something awful). Back at base camp we put the pig on a truck, to be singed and used for brine at a later date, and started our drive back to Gisborne. We talked about the differences between our two countries and the ill effects of everything from fizzy drinks (soda) to synthetic vitamins. We stopped at Roger's house for dinner. He has a beautiful family, and his wife made us some delicious soup. It was great, and I really appreciated it. Roger then drove me back to the YHA, for my last night in Gisborne, which I spent packing and doing laundry.
Wednesday, May 26th
Boy, today took some initial effort. I had to wake up at 4:00 AM in order to get to the airport in time for my 6:30 flight to Auckland. I got dressed, had some breakfast, packed up, and called a cab. I used the taxi both to get to the airport and to drop off the scooter key. At the airport, I got my ticket and watched some news, in Maori. This plane was a little bigger than the previous one, but still pretty small by most domestic standards. On the flight, I took a much needed nap. Upon arriving in Auckland I was still exhausted, but I had to press on to get to a meeting I had scheduled at 9 with Hapai Te Hauora.
I got into a shared shuttle, in order to avoid the $90 NZD taxi fare into town. The shuttle was packed, and after battling rush hour, I was one of the last to be dropped off. By this time it was too late to make my meeting, so I rescheduled to Friday. With an open day now, I took a nap, then wandered around the city. I went down the main drag, Queen Street, until I got to the Sky City complex. Sky City is home to the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere,which I duly ascended. I was rewarded with some great views of the city. Auckland stretches much further than Wellington, and has the added bonus of having been built on about 50 volcanoes. Good intro to the city, seeing from this high up.
Thursday, May 27th
Today was an odd day, filled with ups and downs, but ultimately a good day. I woke up and got ready for my meeting with Dr. Stephen Buetow at the University of Auckland. I walked down Karangahape Road, where I've been staying, until I found a taxi. I took it all the way out to their Tamaki Campus, which is up on a hill in the suburbs. At U. of Auckland, Dr. Buetow took some time before collecting me from the waiting area. We had a brief conversation about his research of interest to me, and about some other pieces he had written about Orthodox morality in a healthcare context. We soon realized that he was not the best person for me to be talking to, so he took me to a colleague of his, Dr. Lorna Dyall. She was very helpful, and we had a long conversation about the effects of colonization. She was adamant that only Maori could properly solve their own problems, as these problems were the result of Pakeha. Her favorite word seemed to "tragic." It eventually came out that she was a key architect of the Whanua Ora policy. We spoke of the role of addiction in holding back the Maori community as well. She had been attacked for some of her views and she was pretty bitter about this.
After our talk, I called a taxi and went back to K Road. I was a bit bored, so I went and saw Iron Man 2 at the local theater. It was a nice experience, and reminded me of home.
Friday, May 28th
I slept in a little today, although only through sheer willpower since the noise off the street was deafening. Upon waking, I logged onto Skype to talk to Mom. I left around noon to go to my meeting with the people at Hapai Te Hauora Tapui Ltd, a local Maori Healthcare Provider. They represent the interests of three local tribes. I was warmly welcomed by Nelson, Zoe, and Denise, as well as Zoe's baby boy. We had a great time talking about their role in the community, about the situation and recent healthcare debates in the US, and about all manner of topics. They gave me a wonderful assortment of resources for my work. It was a really friendly environment, and they even performed a Moari welcome song for me. It was the best meeting I had in New Zealand, and a great way to end the my appointments in New Zealand.
After the meeting, I wandered back to the hostel.
Saturday, May 29th
Today was a fun day, as have been almost all my days in New Zealand. Since it was my last full day in the country, I decided to do some fruitful work, as well as see a few last sites in Auckland. I woke up at 9 and had some free breakfast (which tasted pretty much how it cost). Around noon I left for th Auckland Unitec Marae, which is a sort of Maori meeting house and cultural repository. It was highly recommended by the people at Hapai.
Unfortunately it was closed, so I went to the Auckland Museum instead. It was a cool place, with lots of exhibits about Maori in New Zealand. I also put some time in to visit some churches nearby. Alas, they too were closed, and so I came back to the hostel to prepare for Australia.
I hope this update has helped! Sorry for the delay.
Friday, May 21st
Today was a good day, for both myself and for the project in general. I got to sleep in a bit, since my 1st meeting was at the wonderfully late hour of noon. Through a bit of miscommunication and misunderstanding, my 10:30 meeting with Labour MP Ruth Dyson had been postponed to 3:00. Having heard that this was my last day in Wellington, the city had decided that it ought to behave like a teenager and throw a bit of a temper tantrum. The day was cold, dark, rainy, and extremely windy. It was like the worst days in Seattle and Chicago combined. Due to the poor conditions I had to spend some of my money on cabs, instead of walking across this very walkable town, which was a shame.
I took the taxi to my 1st meeting of the day, which was with the first person I had contacted, Mrs. Lis Ellison-Loschmann. She is a researcher at Massey University in Wellington. I had tried, unsuccessfully, to meet with her earlier in the week, but she had been held up with other work at a local hospital. Today she was actually in her office, which I considered to be an improvement. She was quite tall, and a bit intimidating, to be frank. This was all exterior, though, as she turned out to be a very nice and helpful woman. Her many of speech was a tad distracted, but we had some very fruitful discussions about my research, as well as the work she has done. She got off on tangents quite frequently, but they were all useful ones, so I didn't complain. We spoke about the Maori health provider system and their somewhat frustrating inconsistency with data collection. We also spoke about cultural education systems in the nursing profession, and in the doctoral profession in Australia, although not yet standardized in New Zealand. One stream of conversation led us down a comparison of the indigenous treatment in healthcare in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. This is often the comparison made, since all three share certain characteristics (British colonialism, strong indigenous populations, etc). It is for this reason that I plan to research all three countries and their systems in my project. We also spent some time discussing her time spent in Barcelona, and the ensuing conversation about the differences between Catalan (which she speaks) and Spanish (which I speak), and in the US (at an APHA convention).
After this meeting, I called Mr. G Oliver Smart, ONZM, who is a past president of the Circumnavigators Club. He had been very helpful in getting me a meeting with Minister Peter Dunne, so I was keen to meet him and thank him personally. Unfortunately, he was all tied up for the day, so I had to settle for thanking him over the phone. I then set off into the Wellington rain, back to the YHA. Along the way, I had a quick lunch at a chicken joint. Honestly, I think New Zealand may be crazier about fried food than the U.S., based on the number of places here which specialize in fired fish, chicken, or what have you. After an hour at the hostel, I went to Parliament for my meeting with MP Ruth Dyson.
Upon arrival, I was told to proceed to the second floor (really the 3rd floor, since New Zealand has joined most of the world in that annoying trend of having a ground floor, then a 1st floor above it, and so on up the numbers), where I would be gathered by Minister Dyson's secretary. I was pretty thrilled with getting to ride in the antique elevator used by the people in power in this country. I was taken to the Minister's office, where I waited while she was called up from the debating floor. Today was the day on which the Parliament was debating the new tax policy of the new conservative government, so I felt honored to be granted an appointment with the minister. She threw me for a loop when she introduced herself to me as no longer being in the government. By this she meant, of course, that she was no longer in the ruling coalition, but it took me a minute to figure it out. She turned out to be a pretty opinionated politician, but very helpful in understanding the policies of the previous government. I could understand her position; she was upset with the fact that many of the policies she had instated, as Assoc. Minister of Health, were going to be overturned by the new government.
After a little while chatting, Minister Dyson took me down to the viewing gallery of the Debating Chamber, where I sat with her in the Speaker's Guest section. Not all of the MPs were present, as the vote was a foregone conclusion. The practice of the ones who were was telling of the Westminster tradition. When opposition spoke, there were jeers. Some read the paper while their peers were speaking. It was kind of funny, to be fair.
After all the excitement, I went back to the YHA for my last night in Wellington. I had some Fish n' Chips for dinner, then walked over to Scorpio's, which is a local Welsh Bar (the only Welsh Bar in the Southern Hemisphere they claim) and had myself a celebratory pint of ale. It was great to put my feet up by a fire in a dark room and drink some Speight's Original Dark. Great end to the evening.
Saturday, May 22nd
I had to wake up god awfully early this morning, in order to catch my flight to Gisborne on time. I said goodbye to my hosts at the Wellington YHA and walked to the bus stop on Courtenay Place to catch the Airport Flyer Bus Service. The bus was really posh, with flat screen TV's that updated with outbound and inbound flight information. Once I got to the airport, I made a fool of myself, and the Air NZ woman at the service counter treated me like a moron, which I probably deserved. I waited about an hour in the main terminal, doing some reading and eating a slice of orange cake for breakfast.
I then went down to gate 18, which is very similar to the gates at MIA used for American Eagle Airlines, which is to say, small and unadorned. Unlike MIA, or any other airport I've ever been to (including Hanoi), there was no security to board the flight. I found this to be very suspect, until I saw the plane, and realized it couldn't be any danger anyway. It was such a small plane that it looked out of place in Wellington, and that screening would have been overkill. Once it was time to board, I walked out on the tarmac and walked up some stirs that folded out of the plane. I was unlucky enough to get one of only two seats without a window (another first for my flying history). Since the plane only had 18 seats, the pilots (who were also the flight attendants) made no attempt at closing the cabin door. This allowed me to watch all the machinations of the pilots, which was really neat, and yet another flying first for me. I chilled out and listened to music for the duration of the flight.
We touched down at Gisborne Airport, which may be the smallest and cutest airport in the world. The bag claim is outdoors, and the terminal is the size of a house. The control tower is only two stories high and our plane was the biggest one there. It was a different world from Wellington. I had to call a taxi to come and get me. I rode in to the local YHA, which is basically a big house right next to the Gisborne harbor. It seems like a nice place, and is more charming than the Wellington YHA. It also has a lot more space, which I appreciated.
I dropped off my stuff and took a walk down the main road in town, Gladstone. It's like a town in the 50's, but I really liked it. It was small, but it had a lot of personality. After about an hour of wandering, I had a lamburger for lunch at a place called Burger Wisconsin. After that, I walked the kilometer back across one of the three rivers in Gisborne to the YHA and took a lengthy nap, since I hadn't slept well the night before in the capital. Following the nap, I was well rested and went to e nearby restaurant on the harbor, called Lone Star. It was an upclass place, themed after Texas, with cowboys and country music. I had a plate of NZ Green Mussels, which were each about half the size of my hand, just extraordinarily sized, and a pint of Steinlager. Then I went to bed.
Sunday, May 23rd
Slept in a little today, which was nice, although a little difficult since there's somehow road noise at this YHA (despite being in a much smaller place than Wellington and not next to a fire department as I had been there). After freshening up, I had a walk down to town, where I went to the Visitor's Centre. It's not near the center of the city, but it is near the coast. The lady who worked there was very nice, and she gave me some good ideas about what to do there. The things to do here generally land into three categories: 1. the museum, 2. statues of Captain Cook, and 3. vineyards. I chose the second and third for today. I walked down the road to the coast, where a sand beach greeted me. On this beach were statues to Captain Cook and Young Nick, who was the first European to spot New Zealand. The Endeavor, Cook's ship, first landed here, making it a historical site in the country. I ambled down the boardwalk back to the center of town, stopping momentarily for a cup o joe.
After all that, I decided to take my father up on his suggestion, so I rented a motor scooter (as I had had such a fun time doing so in Vietnam) and visited some of the local vienyards. I stopped by Bushmere, Stone Bridge, and Matawhero Estates, sampling their stocks, which were quite good. I felt extremely cultured during all of this. For those of you interested, my favorite was a 2005 Gewurztraminer from Bushmere.
Back in town, I went to the local supermarket, Pack n' Save, and bought some dinner for the next few nights. I drove up Kaiti Hill for a night time view of Gisborne, then headed back to the hostel for some reading and sleep.
Monday, May 24th
Today was a great day, although it was sure tough to tell that during the beginning of the morning. I woke up early so that I could drive the scooter over to my meeting site at the Tairawhiti District Health Board/Gisborne Hospital. After getting dressed up and praying that the cloudy skies didn't open up during my drive, I got on the scooter...only to find that it was out of gas completely. It didn't even have enough in it to start, so I walked it over to the gas station and filled up the tank...but it still wouldn't start. In the end, I used some knowledge from Top Gear and gave it a running start. Motor trouble solved, I got on my way, about 15 minutes behind schedule. Fortunately I made it all safe and dry, and only about 5 minutes late, as traffic had been lighter than expected.
I made my way to the 3rd floor, where I was greeted by Dr. Bruce Duncan. A native Scotland, Duncan is now Chief Medical Advisor and Chief of Medical Staff for the DHB. In other words, he's kind of a big shot in the regional system. We had about an hour long meeting before he had to excuse himself and leave me to my own devices in his secretary's empty office. During our discussion, we talked about a range of topics in healthcare. These included kiwi perceptions about the nature of healthcare in society and how it should be run, rates of rhuematic fever among Maori, the fact that referral and prescription rates between Maori and Pakeha (white) population are very uneven, the logistics of hemodialysis being a block to Maori access since it is 5 hours away, the institution of cultural education programs for staff, regional programs to improve household insulation and heaters, thus preventing illness caused by damp living conditions, and much more. It was a very productive interview.
I then waited about an hour, on hospital grounds, before my second meeting that day, with Mr. Maaka Tibble. He is the DHB's Maori coordinator, and as such has an influential position in a region that is a little more than half Maori. He also sits on the National Maori Health Commission as well, which is headed up by Maori Party MP Tariana Turia. He's a very interesting man, as he is a big man, blind, and spent considerable time in the US studying disability services on Indian reservations. We discussed the role of institutional racism, factors preventing Maori from seeking care, socio-economic disparities, the 1970's urban flight of the rural Maori youth, and the newer Whanua Ora policy. This too, was a very useful meeting. He was very nice, and he offered me a few pointers on travel and research, based on his own experience.
After the meeting, I drove the scooter back to the place I had rented it from, in the rain. This was unpleasant, to say the least. Of course, being the fool I am I also neglected to return the key, which I will have to rectify later. I then had a lamb and quince foot long at Subway. Since it was a nasty day, and since there wasn't much more to see in Gisborne, I went back to the YHA and did some work.
Tuesday, May 25th
I was really excited about today, as it was going to be my first ever hunting experience. After waking up and getting dressed in mucking-about clothes, I was picked up by Roger White. He's an employee of the Ngati Porou Hauora organization, which is a Maori healthcare provider for the Ngati Porou iwi, or tribe. Specifically, he works in the Ngati and Healthy Program, which focuses on preventative measures to curb the high rates of diabetes and obesity among Maori, namely through healthy eating and exercise. Roger had grown up on the East Coast and is a member of the Ngati Porou tribe, so he had some obvious reasons to want change. He soon noticed, though, that the program wasn't reaching local men, who were the group most at risk. He thus helped develop the Mana Tane (Empowering Our Men) program, which develops healthy practices and diet through a return to Maori self sufficiency and traditional practices such as hunting, fishing, and gardening.
I had expected the day to be really poor weather wise, based on last night's weather forecast, but as weather in NZ is completely unpredictable, the day was brilliant, with narry a cloud in the sky during the morning. On the drive I was awestruck by the views of the country's east coast, with magnificent rocky shores, cliffs, and some sandy beaches. During the 2 hour drive north to Ruatoria, we discussed Roger's role in the system, his views on being self-sufficient, the tragedy of current male Maori health, how terrible modern processed foods can be for one's health, and the work of one Dr. Weston A. Price. We also stopped at Roger's house (on a cliff overlooking the ocean), and a few small towns along the way.
Now, back to Price, since it was a fascinating subject. He was an American dentist and nutritionist in the early half of the twentieth century. Upon noticing generational gaps in oral health, with a general decreasing trend, he set out to study the problem. Determined that the cause was based on nutrition, he traveled around the world studying the diets of indigenous populations, including the Maori. At the time of his study, they were very healthy, unlike the situation now. He saw a lot of evidence to suggest that the rise of poor health was due to a rise in processed foods in the diet of Americans. As such, his foundation advocates eating unprocessed foods, drinking raw milk, and not eliminating fats. Roger has been on this diet himself, and has seen positive effects. It's a very interesting concept to consider. Roger noted that Maori do better when eating a traditional Maori diet, for which their bodies have evolved. Maori diet and health both saw rapid changes in the 1950's, and it is Roger's belief that this is a causal relationship, so he is pushing more traditional foods like kumara (a tuber colloquially known as Maori potato) and wild game.
Once in Ruatoria, we met up with 3 Maori gentlemen, whose names I will not try to reproduce here, for fear of butchering them beyond recognition. They were all nice people, and were influential in the establishment of the Mana Tane program. One was a 69 year old man, another was a mid-50's security officer who worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and used to be in the Kiwi Special Forces, and a third was a man who, like me, seemed a little out of place on a hunting expedition (for instance, he brought gumboots for hiking).
We set off for Roger's family farm, which encompasses much of the mountainous bush we would be hunting in. We met Roger's father, Lairs, and had some healthy lunch. We joked about NZ's lack of snakes, the All Blacks chances at the next World Cup, to be held in NZ, (which it was agreed were very slim), and a lot of random topics. After that, Roger, his father, the 3 gentlemen, and myself all went off to catch some pig. We went on 3 ATVs between the 6 of us, which meant I had to ride on the back of Roger's. Perhaps I'm just inexperienced, but doing this while going up steep, loose, rocky terrain, is one of the most painful things I have experienced. By the end of the day, my shoulders, arms, thighs, rear end, and abdomen all either had bruises or muscle strains. When I finally got to the top of the mountain, my legs were shaking and I was panting.
I mostly hung back in the lookout party as Roger and his father traipsed through the "kiwi outback" in the valleys below. The sights were rally spectacular, with all the mountains, pine forests, and livestock surrounding us. It was easy to see why the people filming Lord of the Rings never had to leave the country. The place was beautiful, but it was also a minefield of feces, from the many creatures that inhabited the area. I had some long conversations with my hunting mates and it was a fun, if very tiring, way to spend the day. Eventually, from far below us, we heard a pair of shots from the rifles. We dispatched one of the Maori gentlemen on an ATV to go help them. It took him forever, so the rest of us started walking down the mountain. We got about a quarter of the way, looking over our shoulders at the rain clouds coming over Hakurangi (the tallest non-volcanic mountain on the North Island and a sacred site for the local Maori) before we got picked up by the ATVs. They had killed a respectably sized sow, and one of her piglets. We raced down the mountain to beat the rain (which mucked up my clothes and shoes something awful). Back at base camp we put the pig on a truck, to be singed and used for brine at a later date, and started our drive back to Gisborne. We talked about the differences between our two countries and the ill effects of everything from fizzy drinks (soda) to synthetic vitamins. We stopped at Roger's house for dinner. He has a beautiful family, and his wife made us some delicious soup. It was great, and I really appreciated it. Roger then drove me back to the YHA, for my last night in Gisborne, which I spent packing and doing laundry.
Wednesday, May 26th
Boy, today took some initial effort. I had to wake up at 4:00 AM in order to get to the airport in time for my 6:30 flight to Auckland. I got dressed, had some breakfast, packed up, and called a cab. I used the taxi both to get to the airport and to drop off the scooter key. At the airport, I got my ticket and watched some news, in Maori. This plane was a little bigger than the previous one, but still pretty small by most domestic standards. On the flight, I took a much needed nap. Upon arriving in Auckland I was still exhausted, but I had to press on to get to a meeting I had scheduled at 9 with Hapai Te Hauora.
I got into a shared shuttle, in order to avoid the $90 NZD taxi fare into town. The shuttle was packed, and after battling rush hour, I was one of the last to be dropped off. By this time it was too late to make my meeting, so I rescheduled to Friday. With an open day now, I took a nap, then wandered around the city. I went down the main drag, Queen Street, until I got to the Sky City complex. Sky City is home to the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere,which I duly ascended. I was rewarded with some great views of the city. Auckland stretches much further than Wellington, and has the added bonus of having been built on about 50 volcanoes. Good intro to the city, seeing from this high up.
Thursday, May 27th
Today was an odd day, filled with ups and downs, but ultimately a good day. I woke up and got ready for my meeting with Dr. Stephen Buetow at the University of Auckland. I walked down Karangahape Road, where I've been staying, until I found a taxi. I took it all the way out to their Tamaki Campus, which is up on a hill in the suburbs. At U. of Auckland, Dr. Buetow took some time before collecting me from the waiting area. We had a brief conversation about his research of interest to me, and about some other pieces he had written about Orthodox morality in a healthcare context. We soon realized that he was not the best person for me to be talking to, so he took me to a colleague of his, Dr. Lorna Dyall. She was very helpful, and we had a long conversation about the effects of colonization. She was adamant that only Maori could properly solve their own problems, as these problems were the result of Pakeha. Her favorite word seemed to "tragic." It eventually came out that she was a key architect of the Whanua Ora policy. We spoke of the role of addiction in holding back the Maori community as well. She had been attacked for some of her views and she was pretty bitter about this.
After our talk, I called a taxi and went back to K Road. I was a bit bored, so I went and saw Iron Man 2 at the local theater. It was a nice experience, and reminded me of home.
Friday, May 28th
I slept in a little today, although only through sheer willpower since the noise off the street was deafening. Upon waking, I logged onto Skype to talk to Mom. I left around noon to go to my meeting with the people at Hapai Te Hauora Tapui Ltd, a local Maori Healthcare Provider. They represent the interests of three local tribes. I was warmly welcomed by Nelson, Zoe, and Denise, as well as Zoe's baby boy. We had a great time talking about their role in the community, about the situation and recent healthcare debates in the US, and about all manner of topics. They gave me a wonderful assortment of resources for my work. It was a really friendly environment, and they even performed a Moari welcome song for me. It was the best meeting I had in New Zealand, and a great way to end the my appointments in New Zealand.
After the meeting, I wandered back to the hostel.
Saturday, May 29th
Today was a fun day, as have been almost all my days in New Zealand. Since it was my last full day in the country, I decided to do some fruitful work, as well as see a few last sites in Auckland. I woke up at 9 and had some free breakfast (which tasted pretty much how it cost). Around noon I left for th Auckland Unitec Marae, which is a sort of Maori meeting house and cultural repository. It was highly recommended by the people at Hapai.
Unfortunately it was closed, so I went to the Auckland Museum instead. It was a cool place, with lots of exhibits about Maori in New Zealand. I also put some time in to visit some churches nearby. Alas, they too were closed, and so I came back to the hostel to prepare for Australia.
I hope this update has helped! Sorry for the delay.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Updates
Hey everyone,
Sorry about the huge delay between my posts. I have been a bit busy over here in NZ trying to work on sorting some contacts details out for Australia and India. I will post a very in depth update of my last week in NZ this weekend, while I have time at the airport.
Thanks for your interest!
Sorry about the huge delay between my posts. I have been a bit busy over here in NZ trying to work on sorting some contacts details out for Australia and India. I will post a very in depth update of my last week in NZ this weekend, while I have time at the airport.
Thanks for your interest!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Data and Harbors
Thursday, May 20th
I was quite excited about today, to be honest, for a number of reasons. First off, I was set to meet with Mr. Peter Himona and Mrs. Natalie Talamaivao, two researchers at the NZ Ministry of Health. Secondly, I knew that tomorrow was going to be a busy day, so today was effectively my last day to see the city.
I woke up, put in some emails to some contacts in Australia, got my suit on, and was off. I met Peter and Natalie at the Ministry of Health building, 1 The Terrace, which happens to be very close to both Parliament and Bowen House. The both of them work in the Maori Health Research Team. This team is tasked with collecting data from Maori health providers and about Maori health in general in order to help support government studies into health issues. The team members also lead their own research into various issues, such as the proper measurement of whether the implementation of Maori health care providers has improved the health of Maori populations or not. This is no easy task, as many of these organizations have no data collection protocol, or even a research staff. Some, such as Ngati Porou, in Gisborne, prove to be the exception. The team is one of the smallest directorates in the Ministry of Health, with only about 20 people working on it, which is in stark contrast to other directorates which can command over 500 staff members. I was very keen to speak with them, as they would help provide a gateway into myriad data sources to help bolster my research paper. As most of my meetings are centered on policy and programs, it was refreshing to have one that focused on data. They were both very nice people, and the meeting went very well I think.
After the meeting I walked back to YHA to change into some street clothes. On my way, though, I was stopped by a procession of bagpipes. Curious, I stayed a bit to see what came next. It turned out to be a parade of all the recent graduates of Victoria University (a Wellington university widely regarded as one of the best in NZ). It was a very cool thing to watch and I found myself wishing UM would do something similar, perhaps down Miami Beach. We could, of course, substitute the bagpipers for samba or some such thing.
After changing back at the hostel, I had a nice, relaxing walk about town. I then went for a long walk along Oriental Parade, which is a coastal road south of Wellington. The walk was extremely windy and I got chilled right down to my bones, but it was well worth it, if I'm honest. The views were great, the sun peaked out from behind the clouds, and the sea air was invigorating. I walked along some man made beaches, looked into some tide pools, saw millions of mussels (not an exaggeration), strolled past a plethora of sailboats and yachting clubs, and marveled at some of the stunning houses built on the seaside hills. It was all quite remarkable, but I eventually had to head back so I didn't freeze to death (I don't think Mum and Dad would like that). I made myself some veal and potato gratin for dinner, and headed off to bed.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Starting to Get My Research Groove On
So, without further ado, let me give you the last few days and catch everyone up entirely on my goings on. I finally started to meet with people and I have some very promising appointments coming up in the next few days as well, which I am super excited about. Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes so far (I can use all the warmth I can get, haha).
Monday, May 17th
Woke up a bit early today (8 am) in order to make it over to the Welly Visitor's Center (and also because I haven't fully adjusted to the time zone differential yet) in time to catch a tour of the city. I waited at the center for about five minutes before a man in a van pulled up and said he was the tour guide. As I was expecting more of a bus than a van, I was a bit skeptical, but it all turned out to be legitimate. As it was a Monday in the winter in Wellington, I was the only one on the tour, which afforded me the awesome opportunity to have a chauffeur take me around the city. His name happened to be Nathan, and we had some very interesting discussions about the differences between New Zealand and the US during some of the dead space in the tour (hint: there are a of differences, especially when it comes to health care). Of particular interest was New Zealand's ACC, or accident insurance system, which provides care and wages during recovery from unintentional injuries, and thus severely cuts down on the number of litigations. We also spoke for a while about New Zealand's energy policies, and how they are trying to incorporate more wind and wave energy into their infrastructure, while remaining a nuclear-free country.
The tour started off with a drive south of the city to Mount Victoria, which is the highest point within the city limits. As such, it affords some great views of the city and the harbour, as well as the mountains and ocean in the distance. A recurring theme throughout the day turned out to be the proximity of amazing nature vistas to the urban center of Wellington. This is all possible because Wellington, despite being the capital of New Zealand, is only about 400,000 people strong. After Mt. Victoria, we drove to Newtown, which is ironically enough the oldest part of Wellington, the idea being that it was new when named. It is now a bit run down, but is seeing some revival as the city tries to rescue the colonial Victorian architecture that is only present there. All the buildings are made of wood, just like Old St. Paul's, thanks to the constant threat of earthquakes.
From there we drove out to the coastal roads, which hug the rugged shore. The coast looked very similar to that of Northern California, with lots of rocky outcroppings, although there were some sandy beaches. We stepped out of the car and walked around for a bit, and the sea air was even more incredible on this side of the mountains. There is a strong belief in keeping the coast natural in Wellington, so very little of the shoreline is developed. This means that wildlife still frequent it, as evidenced by the penguin crossing sign we came across. The area quite frequently gets Orca whales as well, although not on this day, unfortunately.
Following the coastal roads, we made our way to Miramar Peninsula, which had been an island until the city decided to fill in the swampland separating it from the mainland. There we went to the suburb of Seatoun, which is one of the wealthier districts in Wellington. Even here, in an almost entirely Pakeha (read: European descent) neighborhood, there was a school taught completely in Maori. How's that for progressive policy? Also there was Peter Jackson's house, although I didn't take any pictures because the tour guide noted, "We don't do paparazzi and we don't bother Peter Jackson at his home." The man has a rather reverential following in this country.
After that we went on to tour the various buildings associated with the making of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They were all remarkably small and modest, but apparently also very high tech and modern on the inside. The Weta Cave, which handled all the special effects, was a really cool place to visit, as they had some of their props out on display. We came back into town along Oriental Way, which is the only section of the coast on which high rise buildings are allowed, mostly because they were already there by the time nature preservation became a national issue. Back in town, we drove by Parliament, where a bomb scare had just been dealt with while the Chinese had some top diplomats visiting. I noted the big difference in security between the Premier House (where the NZ Prime Minister lives) and the UK High Commission. The lack of security in NZ is kind of encouraging, to be honest.
I had Nathan drop me off by the entrance to the Wellington Cable Car, which travels from the city up a steep incline to Kelburn. From there, I walked back down to the city through the botanical gardens. There were a lot of very neat exhibits, and even a novice like myself could enjoy the sights and smells of so many different trees and flowers. There were exhibits of native plants, Australian plants, succulents, endangered native plants, and even a huge rose garden. The lower portion of the pathway back to town went through an old cemetery, where I quickly found the old Jewish section (lots of stones littered the ground out of respect). Back in town, I took a quick look about the National Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Supreme Court Building. Both of them are very new and modern. Cooked myself some dinner and prepped for my first interview, with Dr. Lis Ellison-Loschmann at Massey University, tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, May 18th
I woke up pretty nervous about my meeting with Dr. Ellison-Loschmann. I was prepared, but you always feel nervous about these sort of things, especially the first one. I walked up Kent Terrace and the hill it lies on before coming to a small cricket ground. From there, I took a right to the National War Memorial, and then straight back onto the main campus of Massey University. I wandered around campus, lost, for a while, before a nice lady at the reception desk pointed me in the right direction. It turned out her office wasn't on the main campus, but in the Research Building, which was in a light industrial area nearby on Adelaide Road. I went to the 2nd floor of the building, where another very nice lady got me some water and asked me to wait. After a while, we both realized that Dr. Ellison-Loschmann was not going to make it. I later learned that she had been tied up in another appointment out of town, and we rescheduled our meeting for Friday.
I then walked down Cuba Street and got some amazing fish and chips, or as the locals would say fush end chups. They were excellent, greasy, and seemingly never ending. From there I went to the New Zealand Olympic Museum, right on the waterfront. It was small and quirky, but interesting nonetheless, especially given all the torches, uniforms, and medals on display. Right next door was the Museum of Wellington, so I visited there as well. The museum is in the old building used for holding goods before their duty had been paid, as well as home to the former Wellington Harbour Board. On the first floor of the museum was an exhibit which highlighted one interesting event from each of the last 100 years in the city. On the next floor was an exhibit about shipping in Wellington and the Wahine ferry disaster. On the final floor was a display about Maori in the region, with a holographic show about Maori storytelling.
Wednesday, May 19th
Today my research began in earnest. I woke up early, shaved, got very smartly dressed, and went on my way for a 9:00 am meeting the Honourable Peter Dunne, who is, among many things, a Member of the New Zealand Parliament, the leader and sole representative of the United Future Party, the Minister of Revenue, and the Assoc. Minister of Health. I got to Bowen House, where his office is located, and was directed to the 19th floor.
After a brief wait in the lobby of his office, which takes up half of the floor, I was invited into his personal office. We sat down and began to discuss the matter at hand almost immediately. He is a very friendly and inviting person, and I was very interested in what he had to say. We discussed several topics, including the New Zealand health system, New Zealanders perceptions of the role of the state in health care, the public vs private hospital debate and the attempt to have the two sectors work more cohesively, the Maori and Pacific Islander challenges being faced by the government as pertains to different cultural norms, and especially new health policy aimed at closing disparities. Of particular note was the Whanua Ora policy, which is just now coming into effect, and aims at having a more localized, decentralized health provider interface with the traditional Maori communities. We also discussed his work with the United Future Party, which I was curious about as a Political Science student. It was a very helpful meeting, to be sure.
Afterwards, I visited the National Arhives and saw an original copy of the Treaty of Waitangi, which serves as New Zealand's founding document. It was not in great shape, but was being kept in a very sensitive environment to prevent further wear. There was a basin of water outside of the exhibition room for Maori, so that they might remove bad effects from having such close contact with something related to the dead (as all the signatories of the Treaty certainly are by now).
I then made my way back to the YHA and worked on planning more appointments for my research. Tomorrow, I have a meeting with officials at the Ministry of Health, here in Wellington. On Friday, I will be meeting with Minister Ruth Dyson, Dr. Ellison-Loschmann, and Mr. G. Oliver Smart, who is a past president of the Circumnavigators Club and assisted in getting me a meeting with Min. Dunne. I also set up a day in the field with a health worker in Gisborne, which is sure to be interesting. All is looking well, I think.
That's it for now, more to come.
Monday, May 17th
Woke up a bit early today (8 am) in order to make it over to the Welly Visitor's Center (and also because I haven't fully adjusted to the time zone differential yet) in time to catch a tour of the city. I waited at the center for about five minutes before a man in a van pulled up and said he was the tour guide. As I was expecting more of a bus than a van, I was a bit skeptical, but it all turned out to be legitimate. As it was a Monday in the winter in Wellington, I was the only one on the tour, which afforded me the awesome opportunity to have a chauffeur take me around the city. His name happened to be Nathan, and we had some very interesting discussions about the differences between New Zealand and the US during some of the dead space in the tour (hint: there are a of differences, especially when it comes to health care). Of particular interest was New Zealand's ACC, or accident insurance system, which provides care and wages during recovery from unintentional injuries, and thus severely cuts down on the number of litigations. We also spoke for a while about New Zealand's energy policies, and how they are trying to incorporate more wind and wave energy into their infrastructure, while remaining a nuclear-free country.
The tour started off with a drive south of the city to Mount Victoria, which is the highest point within the city limits. As such, it affords some great views of the city and the harbour, as well as the mountains and ocean in the distance. A recurring theme throughout the day turned out to be the proximity of amazing nature vistas to the urban center of Wellington. This is all possible because Wellington, despite being the capital of New Zealand, is only about 400,000 people strong. After Mt. Victoria, we drove to Newtown, which is ironically enough the oldest part of Wellington, the idea being that it was new when named. It is now a bit run down, but is seeing some revival as the city tries to rescue the colonial Victorian architecture that is only present there. All the buildings are made of wood, just like Old St. Paul's, thanks to the constant threat of earthquakes.
From there we drove out to the coastal roads, which hug the rugged shore. The coast looked very similar to that of Northern California, with lots of rocky outcroppings, although there were some sandy beaches. We stepped out of the car and walked around for a bit, and the sea air was even more incredible on this side of the mountains. There is a strong belief in keeping the coast natural in Wellington, so very little of the shoreline is developed. This means that wildlife still frequent it, as evidenced by the penguin crossing sign we came across. The area quite frequently gets Orca whales as well, although not on this day, unfortunately.
Following the coastal roads, we made our way to Miramar Peninsula, which had been an island until the city decided to fill in the swampland separating it from the mainland. There we went to the suburb of Seatoun, which is one of the wealthier districts in Wellington. Even here, in an almost entirely Pakeha (read: European descent) neighborhood, there was a school taught completely in Maori. How's that for progressive policy? Also there was Peter Jackson's house, although I didn't take any pictures because the tour guide noted, "We don't do paparazzi and we don't bother Peter Jackson at his home." The man has a rather reverential following in this country.
After that we went on to tour the various buildings associated with the making of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They were all remarkably small and modest, but apparently also very high tech and modern on the inside. The Weta Cave, which handled all the special effects, was a really cool place to visit, as they had some of their props out on display. We came back into town along Oriental Way, which is the only section of the coast on which high rise buildings are allowed, mostly because they were already there by the time nature preservation became a national issue. Back in town, we drove by Parliament, where a bomb scare had just been dealt with while the Chinese had some top diplomats visiting. I noted the big difference in security between the Premier House (where the NZ Prime Minister lives) and the UK High Commission. The lack of security in NZ is kind of encouraging, to be honest.
I had Nathan drop me off by the entrance to the Wellington Cable Car, which travels from the city up a steep incline to Kelburn. From there, I walked back down to the city through the botanical gardens. There were a lot of very neat exhibits, and even a novice like myself could enjoy the sights and smells of so many different trees and flowers. There were exhibits of native plants, Australian plants, succulents, endangered native plants, and even a huge rose garden. The lower portion of the pathway back to town went through an old cemetery, where I quickly found the old Jewish section (lots of stones littered the ground out of respect). Back in town, I took a quick look about the National Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Supreme Court Building. Both of them are very new and modern. Cooked myself some dinner and prepped for my first interview, with Dr. Lis Ellison-Loschmann at Massey University, tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, May 18th
I woke up pretty nervous about my meeting with Dr. Ellison-Loschmann. I was prepared, but you always feel nervous about these sort of things, especially the first one. I walked up Kent Terrace and the hill it lies on before coming to a small cricket ground. From there, I took a right to the National War Memorial, and then straight back onto the main campus of Massey University. I wandered around campus, lost, for a while, before a nice lady at the reception desk pointed me in the right direction. It turned out her office wasn't on the main campus, but in the Research Building, which was in a light industrial area nearby on Adelaide Road. I went to the 2nd floor of the building, where another very nice lady got me some water and asked me to wait. After a while, we both realized that Dr. Ellison-Loschmann was not going to make it. I later learned that she had been tied up in another appointment out of town, and we rescheduled our meeting for Friday.
I then walked down Cuba Street and got some amazing fish and chips, or as the locals would say fush end chups. They were excellent, greasy, and seemingly never ending. From there I went to the New Zealand Olympic Museum, right on the waterfront. It was small and quirky, but interesting nonetheless, especially given all the torches, uniforms, and medals on display. Right next door was the Museum of Wellington, so I visited there as well. The museum is in the old building used for holding goods before their duty had been paid, as well as home to the former Wellington Harbour Board. On the first floor of the museum was an exhibit which highlighted one interesting event from each of the last 100 years in the city. On the next floor was an exhibit about shipping in Wellington and the Wahine ferry disaster. On the final floor was a display about Maori in the region, with a holographic show about Maori storytelling.
Wednesday, May 19th
Today my research began in earnest. I woke up early, shaved, got very smartly dressed, and went on my way for a 9:00 am meeting the Honourable Peter Dunne, who is, among many things, a Member of the New Zealand Parliament, the leader and sole representative of the United Future Party, the Minister of Revenue, and the Assoc. Minister of Health. I got to Bowen House, where his office is located, and was directed to the 19th floor.
After a brief wait in the lobby of his office, which takes up half of the floor, I was invited into his personal office. We sat down and began to discuss the matter at hand almost immediately. He is a very friendly and inviting person, and I was very interested in what he had to say. We discussed several topics, including the New Zealand health system, New Zealanders perceptions of the role of the state in health care, the public vs private hospital debate and the attempt to have the two sectors work more cohesively, the Maori and Pacific Islander challenges being faced by the government as pertains to different cultural norms, and especially new health policy aimed at closing disparities. Of particular note was the Whanua Ora policy, which is just now coming into effect, and aims at having a more localized, decentralized health provider interface with the traditional Maori communities. We also discussed his work with the United Future Party, which I was curious about as a Political Science student. It was a very helpful meeting, to be sure.
Afterwards, I visited the National Arhives and saw an original copy of the Treaty of Waitangi, which serves as New Zealand's founding document. It was not in great shape, but was being kept in a very sensitive environment to prevent further wear. There was a basin of water outside of the exhibition room for Maori, so that they might remove bad effects from having such close contact with something related to the dead (as all the signatories of the Treaty certainly are by now).
I then made my way back to the YHA and worked on planning more appointments for my research. Tomorrow, I have a meeting with officials at the Ministry of Health, here in Wellington. On Friday, I will be meeting with Minister Ruth Dyson, Dr. Ellison-Loschmann, and Mr. G. Oliver Smart, who is a past president of the Circumnavigators Club and assisted in getting me a meeting with Min. Dunne. I also set up a day in the field with a health worker in Gisborne, which is sure to be interesting. All is looking well, I think.
That's it for now, more to come.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
First Few Days in Windy Welly
Let me start by apologizing for the few day gap between posts here on the blog. The reason for this is that there has been less than trustworthy or cheap internet here in Wellington, and so I have had to be efficient with my time. Unfortunately, this has meant that doing research and talking with the family have gotten the attention over updating the blog. I'm now going to rectify all that, starting with:
Friday, May 14
Friday didn't exist for me. Thanks again, International Date Line. It's not even like my trip last summer to China where I got the day back, because I won't be flying over the IDL going east this year.
Saturday, May 15
I got off the plane in Wellington pretty excited, and certainly awake enough, to do some exploring. After getting a ride into town by airport shuttle, I walked into the lobby of my hostel. I was promptly informed that I couldn't check in until 2:00 pm. As it was at that point not even 9 in the morning, I locked my luggage up in a broom closet, and set out about the town.
Right across Cable Street from the hostel (YHA Wellington City) is a gigantic supermarket, which I imagine will come in handy as I try to make my money last as long as possible. I popped in for a bit, but didn't buy anything quite yet. The weather this morning was a bit on the overcast and drizzly side, but thankfully the wind hadn't picked up yet. From what I've heard, Wellington quite often has very strong and cold winds coming up from Antarctica, so I was pretty happy to avoid that for the time being. After exiting the supermarket, I walked along Cable Street, which happens to go right along the harbour as well. It's a really pretty harbour, with mountains across the water, and the smell of salt water hanging in the air. It's also a very protected harbor, on account of the Miramar Peninsula which wraps around the city and protects it from the rough waters of the Cook Straight.
Continuing along the waterfront, I came to Te Papa, which is New Zealand's national museum, and means Our Place in Maori. The building is pretty cool looking itself, with some attractive modern design. As luck would have it, I arrived too early for the museum to be open, so I had time to kill before I was let in. I decided to just keep walking down the waterfront, seeing more and more of Wellington as I went. The sea air continued to be intoxicating, and even though it's a different ocean, it reminded me of both Miami and home.
After about 30 minutes of strolling, I went back to Te Papa. Interestingly enough, the first person to greet me there was a museum tour guide, who happened to be a Yank. This was completely unexpected, but kind of nice after such a long and tiring flight full of strange accents. Let me tell you, the Kiwis know how to build a museum. Te Papa is gorgeous and is designed very well. I started on the second floor, which is the first floor of exhibitions as the the ground floor just holds a shop and cafe. On the second floor is a big exhibit about wildlife in New Zealand, some of it native and some of it invasive. One of the more recent additions to this exhibit is a colossal squid, which was caught a few months ago and put on display at the museum. There's also an exhibit about the volcanoes and other geological forces which have helped shape the country over the last few million years. There is also a walkway to an outdoor island which shows some of the natural ecosystems present in New Zealand. As it was drizzly, I was the only one out there, and it was fairly serene, a little rainforest in the middle of the city.
On to the higher floors, then. There were some great exhibits about non-native species (including that butt of all jokes about NZ, the sheep), Maori history, New Zealand art, and much more. One of the more interesting displays focused on the Treaty of Waitangi, which is New Zealand's founding document. Signed by the British and several Maori chiefs, it promised some amount of Maori self government, as long as they were under the banner of the British Empire. Of particular note was that the English edition of the treaty does not agree word for word with the Maori version, when it is translated. There are several differences, and it was noted at the exhibit that more effort is made today to follow the intent of the treaty than its actual words. Given all of the exhibits, I was honestly a bit overwhelmed by it all. Of course, the jetlag beginning to kick in might have had something to do with that.
While I had been in the museum, the sun had decided to show itself and the day had turned perfect, with only a light breeze and plenty of sunshine. I decided to postpone the nap and take advantage of this kind of weather (rare as it may be in the winter of Wellington). I continued my earlier walk along the waterfront, eventually coming to the neighborhoods of Queen's Wharf and Lambdon Quay. I also saw the massive Wellington Railway Station, Victoria University, and the campus of the New Zealand Parliament. I hadn't planned on doing it this early in my stay, but as I was already there, I decided to take the free tour of Parliament.
The tour was given out of the Executive Building, which is more commonly referred to as the Beehive on account of its distinctive architecture. The tour began with a short video introduction to the three main buildings, but mostly focused on the 1992 fire which destroyed sections of the Parliamentary Library. The tour group had only two kiwis; the rest were foreigners. In fact, after a rude American couple showed up late, there were more Americans than New Zealanders on our tour of Parliament. The group was only about 20 in total, with Italians, Swiss, Israelis, Japanese, Scots, Australians, and a few others. The tour began in the Beehive which is quite pretty on the inside, even if it is one of the uglier buildings in Wellington on the outside. The next stop on the tour was the Parliament Building itself. Inside, we got to see the Debating Chamber, the Arcade, the Maori Special Committee Meeting Room, and countless corridors of power. It was all very exciting, especially getting to stand in the room where New Zealand policy is made. We also went to the basement of the building to discuss the Base Isolation system, which keeps this mostly stone structure stable in Wellington's earthquake prone area. The same system is in use at Te Papa, and is a cool solution to the problem.
From there, we moved on to the Parliamentary Library, which was constructed in the 1880's and looks very much like a cathedral from the exterior. Inside, it is all warm native wood paneling and plaster mouldings. Its a very inviting place to have a read, but alas, it's only open to the members of the Parliament. As I went on a Saturday, we got to go further inside the building than most tour groups, which was neat. After the tour, I went for another stroll, and found a place for lunch called Wholly Bagels. There, I had a New Zealand classic, L&P, which stands for Lemon and Paeroa and is a soft drink which is "World Famous in New Zealand." It was quite tasty.
After all that activity, I finally checked-in to the YHA hostel. By that point I was really tired, so I took a long nap. I woke up for a brief time to go have dinner at a pizza parlor, then conch back out.
Sunday, May 16
I woke up today with a sour stomach and a headache, which did not bode well for the remainder of the day. After stumbling around the hostel in a sorry state, I set out for some breakfast. I had some sashimi and a lamb pie from the supermarket, and went for a walk around town. Settling down in Courtenay Place (which is a shopping district) I had a cup of coffee and relaxed for a little while to let my body feel better. In a short time, it did, so I was off again. I went to Wholly Bagels again for lunch and spent some time reading the local paper, the Dominion Post. Apparently the local rugby team is called the Hurricanes, so my hoodie has been a hit with the locals. After lunch, I was finally feeling human again.
I took a stroll down Cuba Street, which is Wellington's alternative shopping street. At a second hand bookshop I picked up a copy of Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad," which I felt would be a good travel book to read. I then went on a long trip to see Old St. Paul's Cathedral. It's a very old church in Wellington which has since been replaced for parish purposes, but remains for historical ones. In essence, it's a Gothic cathedral, but in a unique twist it is constructed out of timber in place of stone. This gives it a very strange appearance, but one I find to be very heartwarming. It has quickly become one of my favorite churches. As an interesting aside, Old St. Paul's has a connection with the US Marine Corps, from when they were deployed in Wellington during World War Two, and there is a large USMC flag hanging from the rafters inside.
After I left it started to rain, which made the long walk back to the hostel a bit unenjoyable. I dried off and took some time to read a bit of my new book. I went out to a Malaysian restaurant for dinner and had some delicious lamb soup. Afterwards, I came back to YHA and passed out.
P.S. I know Lord of the Rings is fictional, but I am beginning to notice some similarities between the locals and the hobbits that are portrayed in the films, such as the propensity of many Wellingtonians to walk about without any shoes, the very low placement of door knobs, and the fact that there is a law firm near the hostel whose door has its handle in the direct center.
More to come!
Right across Cable Street from the hostel (YHA Wellington City) is a gigantic supermarket, which I imagine will come in handy as I try to make my money last as long as possible. I popped in for a bit, but didn't buy anything quite yet. The weather this morning was a bit on the overcast and drizzly side, but thankfully the wind hadn't picked up yet. From what I've heard, Wellington quite often has very strong and cold winds coming up from Antarctica, so I was pretty happy to avoid that for the time being. After exiting the supermarket, I walked along Cable Street, which happens to go right along the harbour as well. It's a really pretty harbour, with mountains across the water, and the smell of salt water hanging in the air. It's also a very protected harbor, on account of the Miramar Peninsula which wraps around the city and protects it from the rough waters of the Cook Straight.
Continuing along the waterfront, I came to Te Papa, which is New Zealand's national museum, and means Our Place in Maori. The building is pretty cool looking itself, with some attractive modern design. As luck would have it, I arrived too early for the museum to be open, so I had time to kill before I was let in. I decided to just keep walking down the waterfront, seeing more and more of Wellington as I went. The sea air continued to be intoxicating, and even though it's a different ocean, it reminded me of both Miami and home.
After about 30 minutes of strolling, I went back to Te Papa. Interestingly enough, the first person to greet me there was a museum tour guide, who happened to be a Yank. This was completely unexpected, but kind of nice after such a long and tiring flight full of strange accents. Let me tell you, the Kiwis know how to build a museum. Te Papa is gorgeous and is designed very well. I started on the second floor, which is the first floor of exhibitions as the the ground floor just holds a shop and cafe. On the second floor is a big exhibit about wildlife in New Zealand, some of it native and some of it invasive. One of the more recent additions to this exhibit is a colossal squid, which was caught a few months ago and put on display at the museum. There's also an exhibit about the volcanoes and other geological forces which have helped shape the country over the last few million years. There is also a walkway to an outdoor island which shows some of the natural ecosystems present in New Zealand. As it was drizzly, I was the only one out there, and it was fairly serene, a little rainforest in the middle of the city.
On to the higher floors, then. There were some great exhibits about non-native species (including that butt of all jokes about NZ, the sheep), Maori history, New Zealand art, and much more. One of the more interesting displays focused on the Treaty of Waitangi, which is New Zealand's founding document. Signed by the British and several Maori chiefs, it promised some amount of Maori self government, as long as they were under the banner of the British Empire. Of particular note was that the English edition of the treaty does not agree word for word with the Maori version, when it is translated. There are several differences, and it was noted at the exhibit that more effort is made today to follow the intent of the treaty than its actual words. Given all of the exhibits, I was honestly a bit overwhelmed by it all. Of course, the jetlag beginning to kick in might have had something to do with that.
While I had been in the museum, the sun had decided to show itself and the day had turned perfect, with only a light breeze and plenty of sunshine. I decided to postpone the nap and take advantage of this kind of weather (rare as it may be in the winter of Wellington). I continued my earlier walk along the waterfront, eventually coming to the neighborhoods of Queen's Wharf and Lambdon Quay. I also saw the massive Wellington Railway Station, Victoria University, and the campus of the New Zealand Parliament. I hadn't planned on doing it this early in my stay, but as I was already there, I decided to take the free tour of Parliament.
The tour was given out of the Executive Building, which is more commonly referred to as the Beehive on account of its distinctive architecture. The tour began with a short video introduction to the three main buildings, but mostly focused on the 1992 fire which destroyed sections of the Parliamentary Library. The tour group had only two kiwis; the rest were foreigners. In fact, after a rude American couple showed up late, there were more Americans than New Zealanders on our tour of Parliament. The group was only about 20 in total, with Italians, Swiss, Israelis, Japanese, Scots, Australians, and a few others. The tour began in the Beehive which is quite pretty on the inside, even if it is one of the uglier buildings in Wellington on the outside. The next stop on the tour was the Parliament Building itself. Inside, we got to see the Debating Chamber, the Arcade, the Maori Special Committee Meeting Room, and countless corridors of power. It was all very exciting, especially getting to stand in the room where New Zealand policy is made. We also went to the basement of the building to discuss the Base Isolation system, which keeps this mostly stone structure stable in Wellington's earthquake prone area. The same system is in use at Te Papa, and is a cool solution to the problem.
From there, we moved on to the Parliamentary Library, which was constructed in the 1880's and looks very much like a cathedral from the exterior. Inside, it is all warm native wood paneling and plaster mouldings. Its a very inviting place to have a read, but alas, it's only open to the members of the Parliament. As I went on a Saturday, we got to go further inside the building than most tour groups, which was neat. After the tour, I went for another stroll, and found a place for lunch called Wholly Bagels. There, I had a New Zealand classic, L&P, which stands for Lemon and Paeroa and is a soft drink which is "World Famous in New Zealand." It was quite tasty.
After all that activity, I finally checked-in to the YHA hostel. By that point I was really tired, so I took a long nap. I woke up for a brief time to go have dinner at a pizza parlor, then conch back out.
Sunday, May 16
I woke up today with a sour stomach and a headache, which did not bode well for the remainder of the day. After stumbling around the hostel in a sorry state, I set out for some breakfast. I had some sashimi and a lamb pie from the supermarket, and went for a walk around town. Settling down in Courtenay Place (which is a shopping district) I had a cup of coffee and relaxed for a little while to let my body feel better. In a short time, it did, so I was off again. I went to Wholly Bagels again for lunch and spent some time reading the local paper, the Dominion Post. Apparently the local rugby team is called the Hurricanes, so my hoodie has been a hit with the locals. After lunch, I was finally feeling human again.
I took a stroll down Cuba Street, which is Wellington's alternative shopping street. At a second hand bookshop I picked up a copy of Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad," which I felt would be a good travel book to read. I then went on a long trip to see Old St. Paul's Cathedral. It's a very old church in Wellington which has since been replaced for parish purposes, but remains for historical ones. In essence, it's a Gothic cathedral, but in a unique twist it is constructed out of timber in place of stone. This gives it a very strange appearance, but one I find to be very heartwarming. It has quickly become one of my favorite churches. As an interesting aside, Old St. Paul's has a connection with the US Marine Corps, from when they were deployed in Wellington during World War Two, and there is a large USMC flag hanging from the rafters inside.
After I left it started to rain, which made the long walk back to the hostel a bit unenjoyable. I dried off and took some time to read a bit of my new book. I went out to a Malaysian restaurant for dinner and had some delicious lamb soup. Afterwards, I came back to YHA and passed out.
P.S. I know Lord of the Rings is fictional, but I am beginning to notice some similarities between the locals and the hobbits that are portrayed in the films, such as the propensity of many Wellingtonians to walk about without any shoes, the very low placement of door knobs, and the fact that there is a law firm near the hostel whose door has its handle in the direct center.
More to come!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Flying!
Hey all,
I woke up in Miami on May 13, and boarded a plane to Los Angeles. The flight was uneventful, just boring and a bit on the long side (which didn't bode well for the next flight, which was more than 2x as long in duration). I got to LAX with plenty of time to spare, so I had some dinner and checked in. The ticketing counter lady was a kiwi, which provided me with my first real moment of recognition of what I was setting out to do. It all sort of hit me at once, to be honest.
Once all that was squared away, I got on my Air New Zealand flight from LAX to Auckland. It was a 12.5 hour long flight, but that wasn't a problem at all. After dinner had been served, I conched out and woke up wit about 2 hours left in the flight. It was a really nice feeling. Also, as a quick side note, due to crossing the International Date Line, Friday May 14 did not exist for me. I feel a little slighted.
Upon landing in Auckland, I was a little rushed to catch my connecting flight, onto the capital city of New Zealand, Wellington. The customs agents slowed me down by insisting on inspecting my sneakers, as they might have had foreign soil on them, which could potentially devastate New Zealand biosecurity. After that was wrapped up, I had to get to the domestic terminal. The walk between the two terminals is quite long, and would have been refreshing had I not been in such a hurry to make my next flight. Fortunately, I did make it, and was boarded with about 15 minutes to spare.
This flight too was uneventful, and before I knew it I was in Wellington, ready to explore.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Before Departure
Hey everyone,
I just finished my last exams of the semester today, so now my whole focus is on the trip. I took some pictures around campus to help myself get in the travelling mood.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
More updates!
Seeing as there is now only one week until I leave (which is insane enough when you think about it), I thought it would be a good idea to give you all my itinerary for the summer. The travel within some countries is still up in the air, so this might be not as accurate as it could be. Without further ado, here she is:
May 13 - 15: flights from Miami to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Auckland, and then Auckland to Wellington
May 15 - 29: New Zealand
May 15 - 21: Wellington
May 22: travel from Wellington to Gisborne
May 22-25: Gisborne
May 25: travel from Gisborne to Auckland
May 26 - 29: Auckland
May 30: travel from Auckland to Sydney
May 30 - June 17: Australia
May 30 - June 5: Sydney
June 5: travel from Sydney to Canberra
June 6 - 11: Canberra
June 12: travel from Canberra to Melbourne
June 12 - 16: Melbourne
June 17: travel from Melbourne to Sydney
June 17: travel from Sydney to Singapore, Singapore to Mumbai, Mumbai to Delhi
June 18 - 29: India
June 18 - 29: Delhi, with day trip to Agra
June 29: travel from Delhi to Mumbai
June 30: travel from Mumbai to Johannesburg
June 30 - July 15: South Africa
June 30 - July 5: Johannesburg
July 5: travel from Johannesburg to Pretoria/Tshwane
July 5 - 8: Pretoria/Tshwane
July 9: travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town
July 9 - 14: Cape Town
July 15 - 16: travel from Cape Town to London
July 17: travel from London to Paris
July 17 - 31: Paris
August 1: travel from Paris to Geneva
August 1 - 3: Geneva
August 4: travel from Geneva to Madrid
August 5: travel from Madrid to Lima
August 5 - 15: Peru
August 5 - 11: Lima
August 12: travel from Lima to Cusco
August 12 - 15: Cusco and Macchu Pichu
August 15: travel from Cusco to Lima
August 15: travel from Lima to Fort Lauderdale
August 16: travel from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando
August 16: drive from Orlando to home!
That's the plan for now, folks. Wish me luck.
P.S. there is a slight chance I go to Brussels at the beginning of the time I have given for Paris, but that all depends on my ability to get a meeting with representatives of the European Union
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
