Day 2 June 9th 2011

New Zealand Culture vs U.S. Culture
Today we went to the Whaka village and learned alot about the Maori people. Whaka village was BEAUTIFUL. In a way, its like the Maori people are still a tribe. From what I have seen, the Maori tend to stick together. The fact that they live in a closed (ish) civilization makes it seems as if they are a closed off group. Also, the fact that they have the ability to give tours and traditional shows gives the sense that people really still appreciate their college. The native Americans don't really get much attention from Americans. We dont see them that often on the streets, but there are still little native american tribes around. I think a reason Americans arent as impressed by our natives is because many of our civilians are part native american. The maori have a more strict marraige policy and i think think they are allowed to have a kid with a non-maori person. The maori culture is beautiful in my opinion. I love that the people preserve it so well. Also every tourist attraction in New Zealand highlights the maori people in some way.  There are little key chains and hanghi dinners everywhere. The native americans dont have many special shows for tourists unless the tourist specifically looked for a tribe.

Which is funny because a lot of americans are part native american. The dinner was interesting. In my opinion, it seemed too commercialized. Yet i still loved the maori stories and songs they shared with us. New Zelanders really appreciate the maori people and want to show them off. The only native american we really put in a good light is Pocahontas. The fact that there are many maori stories that non-maori people know by heart shows how spread the culture is and how cherish it.
Today we woke up at a fairly early time. Before we ahd to leave, many of the kids in the group went outside and saw a beautiful sunrise.

I got some of the coolest pictures of it. Then we went on a duck tour. On it, we saw many sights from Rotorua and learned alot of maori stories. The duck tour was awesome and thedriver was really cool. We went to the Whaka Village. Later in the day we went to a Hangi dinner at the hotel. It was right next to the lobby so we didnt have to get dressed up much. We were there with another EF tour. The dinner was interesting. Their were alot of food options that i have never heard of but decided to try. Many of them were good, but some made me want to barf. The entertainment was probably the most interesting part of the night. The people showed us and told us about the Maori culture.