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.