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.
Grant - When you go to Lima, just make sure to keep track of your stuff at all times. I was in Lima, but when I traveled outside of Lima to Chincha, the "landscape" definitively got poor and very quickly. Just be careful. Glad things are going well!
ReplyDelete--Fred M