Returning to Samoa

Talofa! I'm heading to Samoa this evening and will arrive there this morning (returning to New Zealand on 05 August).

Beautiful Day

Wellington's climate is kept mild due to currents of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Some say that this has been one of the warmest years - and today was a perfect day. I woke up early and went to the waterfront markets where fresh produce, meats, breads and the daily catch of fish are sold. Here are a few photos.

water treatment facility tour

One of the audits I am working on requires me to travel around New Zealand to see whether the local government entities are sufficiently planning for future water demand. This can be done either through tapping into new sources of water and increasing treatment and reticulation capacity or by managing demand through encouraging conservation. Today marked my first visit (to the Te Marua water treatment plant in Wellington). On this visit, I saw coagulation, flocculation, separation, filtration and chlorination. Here are just a couple photos of the process.

Where The Hell is Matt?

I thought I was well-traveled, until I heard about Matt Harding. If you haven't seen his website, Where the Hell is Matt, or his dancing video, please check it out... this guy danced in 42 countries with thousands of people - and got paid for it! The smile this video has put on my face - and will likely put onto yours - is well worth it! Enjoy....


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Winter Solstice

Today, at 6:46 pm, marked the Winter Solstice - this is when the Sun is at its most Northerly point in the sky. At the middle of the day on June 21, it reaches its lowest altitude, from the Northern horizon, for the year.

In the Northern Hemisphere, most consider the solstices to mark the first day of a new season. In New Zealand (and some other countries of the Southern Hemisphere), however, the first day of the new season is generally considered to be the first day of the months of the Solstice (e.g., June 1st for winter). I was initially mistaken when I assumed the 21st to mark the first day of winter, as you will notice from blog comments. At any rate, I'm looking forward to days getting longer over the coming months.

Interestingly, Wellington is 42 degrees south of the equator and Boston (my home town) is 42 degrees north of the equator. Despite that, Wellington's maritime climate is remarkably mild with temperatures generally between 40 - 80 Fahrenheit.

Ka Mate, Ka Mate!

I went to Auckland for the weekend to watch the All Blacks play against England. The event started with a re-enactment of a battle which looked something like the Battle of Hastings, followed by the All Blacks' famous haka. The final score was the All Blacks 37 - England 20.

If you would like to try the haka at home, you better learn the words (NB: vowels are just like English long vowels, and the letters "wh" sound like a soft "f"):

Ringa pakia! (Slap the hands against the thighs!)
Uma tiraha! (Puff out the chest!)
Turi whatia! (Bend the knees!)
Hope whai ake! (Let the hip follow!)
Waewae takahia kia kino! (Stamp the feet as hard as you can!)

A, ka mate! Ka mate! ('Tis death! 'Tis death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora! ('Tis life! 'Tis life!)
Ka mate! Ka mate! ('Tis death! 'Tis death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora! ('Tis life! 'Tis life!)
Tēnei te tangata puhuruhuru (Behold! There stands the hairy man)
Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra! (Who will cause the sun to shine!)
A upane! Ka upane! (One step upwards, another step upwards!)
A upane! Ka upane! (One step upwards, another step upwards!)
Whiti te rā! (The sun shines!)



Note: If you are looking for the Gingerbread Haka, watch this:

Matariki - Māori New Year

The Māori New Year just began, and is marked by the rising of a constellation of seven stars called "Matariki". There are two explanations of the name Matariki: mata-riki (small eyes) or mata-ariki (chiefly eyes). In Greek mythology, this same group of stars has been referred to as "the Pleiades" (the Seven Sisters).

For the Māori, the rising of Matariki signaled a time to celebrate and prepare the grounds for the next growing season. In the 21st century, New Zealanders celebrate in a variety of ways, including dances, songs, and plenty of hangi (food cooked in a ground oven).

Yesterday, I went to Te Papa museum to watch Torotoro, a dance troup from Auckland, perform

Soweto Gospel Choir

On Saturday night, Teki and I went to see the Soweto Gospel Choir perform in Wellington. The show was spectacular and reminded me of days spent with Mark and Bridget in South Africa a few years ago.

The Big 3-4

Today I turned 34 years old - but I'm only 5 years old in "southern hemisphere" years.

How Big is Your Footprint?

New Zealand has very strongly promoted a "green" image, and I have been generally impressed by the development of renewable energy resources, including wind, hydro and geothermal energy production. Regrettably, Prime Minister Helen Clark just scaled back her commitment to a carbon emissions trading scheme (perhaps she is concerned about the reaction from the agriculture sector in an election year). Clark's decision was a disappointment to many.

On a more positive not, I found inside of a box of breakfast cereal a paper showing the cereal company's CO2 emissions per Kg of production, broken down by emissions source (electric, gas, land and air travel). This paper also contained a list of ideas for the consumer to make his or her home more sustainable.

Catching Up, Ten Years Later

I just re-connected with a friend of mine from Samoa (Petelo). We met in 1998 in Apia and haven't seen each other since. Only recently did I learn that he is living in Auckland.

Over the past 10 years, Petelo lived in Los Angeles, Seattle and Wellington. I lived in Boston, Indiana, and Washington DC. Meanwhile, a lot has changed in Samoa (some positive and some negative). Over dinner, we talked about those changes and laughed at some of the things that haven't changed. We also talked about the people and places we both knew. I'm looking forward to returning to the islands this July.

Oxfam Trailwalker

We did it, thanks to help from lots of friends and family!

Here are photos of the start of the walk, dawn, dusk and the morning after (when we finished). The final photo is of our support team, without whom we would not have finished!

We completed the 103-KM track in under 30 hours, and we raised $4347 - more than twice our original goal. Thanks to the following friends and family members who donated (in addition to several anonymous donations):

Angela An, Christian and Jennifer Bolanos, Gina Bonifacino, Victoria Dew, Nina Dillon, Andy Evans, Anne Marie Healey (Mom), David Healey and family, Susan Welch (sister) and family, Joe Healey and family, Mark Healey and family, Evan and Jenny Haas, Josh Hall and Joanna Kind, Jennifer Jansen (in Australia), Katie Kaku, Robert Mann-Thompson, Caryn Muellerleile, Ernesto Muñoz(in Ecuador), Enrique Paulin, Andrea Salzburg, Fatai Shieh, Jeremy Shuman, Tricia Gorland Siaso, Phillippa Smith, Bruce Taylor, Lola Toppin, Jimmy Valentine's Lonely Hearts Club (neighborhood bar in Washington DC), Jessie Watrous, Ryan Wells, and Anita Williams.

To give an idea of what your donations may have accomplished for people in need:

(1) nutritional meals for 21,735 children (at $1 per group of 5 children)
(2) 725 chickens (at $6 each)
(3) 869 ducks (at $5 each)
(4) 4,347 planted trees (at $1 each)
(5) safe water for 2,717 people (at $1.60 per person)

Thanks for being a part of this fundraiser!

Auckland Museum

On our final day, we visited the Auckland museum and Botanical Gardens.

Mom's Visit - North Island

In addition to a few days in Wellington, we went through Tongariro National Park to Lake Taupo and Rotorua (home of the largest goethermal activity in the Southern Hemisphere). We spent the last couple days in Auckland.

Taonga Mata Ora

Dinner at Te Papa's Taonga Mata Ora, with Maori, Samoan and Tahitian performances.

Mom's Visit - South Island

My mom has been jet-setting around Australia and New Zealand and decided to pay me a visit. After she visited Melbourne, Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney, she came to New Zealand to see Queenstown, Milford Sound, Mount Cook and Christchurch.

We met in Christchurch and went to Akaroa (an early French settlement), Karikoura (for crayfish and whale watching) and Nelson, where we visited the goegraphic centerpoint of New Zealand (although this probably does not take the Chatham Islands into account).

Dragon Boat Races

Earlier today I went to the Wellington Harbour to watch dragon boat races. The weather was ideal and plenty of people were out - some swimming in the harbour, others showing off tattoos.

Summer in the City

I am wrapping up an enjoyable summer weekend, having walked nearly 60 KM in the sunny, breezy days of Wellington's summer. Here are a few photos of sculptures along the waterfront.

Women's Day

While studying in Ecuador several years ago, I learned that March 8th is International Women's Day. Although I don't think New Zealand did much in recognition of the day, it's worth mentioning that New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow women the right to vote.

Newtown Festival

Newtown is my favourite area of Wellington for its racial and socioeconomic mix, its Maori and Pasifika representation, and its interesting historic buildings. The festival brought people out by the hundreds to enjoy music, food, games and fabulous weather!