February 20, 2009

We’ve officially been gone one week and yesterday was another day of experiences. First, the department had its Powhiri. The event typically is held outside, but it was raining, so it was held in the campus Maori cultural center. The returning students and faculty officially welcomed the new students and faculty (and the Erskine Fellows and wives) by singing in Maori and then giving us a Maori greeting (touching foreheads). That was followed by a BBQ-type lunch. Last night, we attended a cocktail party at the home of a colleague Kenn knows from ASHA. Her house is nearly new (2 years old) and very modern. We really knew only Gail (never had even met her husband), but we had a great time meeting new people (mostly department heads and professors from Education). All were incredibly friendly. It was quite the affair: hired servers, fancy appetizers, any kind of drink you wanted…. The main challenge was trying to understand everyone with their accents against all the background noise of the party. We both felt like we were ready to leave after 3 ½ hours; our ears were tired! Speaking of accents, Kenn was told by a waitress that she liked his accent. Who knew we had accents! Today will be spent checking out downtown Christchurch (farmers’ market, arts center). More to come!