Jiggy Jiggy

Friday night was our last night in Kerikeri and more importantly Keri Central.  I hope it's clear to our readers that Keri Central was awesome and made Kerikeri, a small town in the middle of nowhere, genuinely special. 

In honor of it being the weekend (and let's be egotistical and say because Brian and I were leaving) the hostel hosted a party/BBQ.  In preparation for the event, Brian and I purchased a "few" beers and made a playlist for an American Power Hour.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a power hour is, basically you select 60 different songs that will play for a 1 minute interval. When a new song comes on, you take a shot of beer. If you're drinking a mixed drink or an RTD we suggest you don't take a full shot.. or you'll die :)  RTD- "Ready To Drink". New Zealand has a large selection of mixed beverages all ready to be purchased in 6 pack cans or bottles (i.e. bourbon and cola, vodka and soda etc) 

We had the power hour and we played "Ring of Fire" or the American version, "Kings".  I know my mom and dad are unfamiliar with the game so skip ahead if you are familiar. Kings is played with a deck of cards spread out, face down, into a ring with a cup, known as the King Cup, or a beer in the middle. A rule is made for each card. For example, the '2' card is generally "you".  So if you were to draw a card (without breaking the circle) and you grab a '2', then you must pick someone to drink. The cup in the middle is for the king card. If you draw a King you put some of your beverage in the cup. The last person to draw a King card has to chug or "skull" this cup.. gross-- if you break the circle you are supposed to chug the cup as well. Often times people place a can of beer in the center and each card drawn is slipped under the tab.  The person who fits a card under the tab and causes the beer to open (you know that sizzling sound) must chug the beer.  

SO! The Kiwi "Ring of Fire" is the same concept as "Kings" with different rules. Thus in the spirit of backpacking and sharing, we played a version of "Kings- Ring of Fire", a collaboration of rules from both sides of the world. Excellent. We also played "Up and Down the River" but I can't explain it.. the Kings explanation wore me out..

Following our power hour, Everson, one of Colin and Alicia's friends, performed a traditional Haka.  Everson went to military school where he learned the traditional Maori warrior chant used to both welcome and warn visitors of the tribe's strength and readiness, if necessary (the national rugby team, the "All Blacks" do the Haka prior to matches). The Haka is a combination of aggressive facial expressions (bulging the eyes and sticking out the tongue) and body movements, including vigorous stomping, chest pounding and grunting--all while chanting Maori phrases. Brian and I were lucky to have witnessed the Haka and its incredibly intense expression from a local in Kerikeri (we took a video where you can hear Everson chanting-- hopefully we figure out how to link that). It is nearly impossible, for either of us to explain the dynamic energy shift in the space we were in when Everson began to perform the Haka... you could feel the power- so cool.

Brian and I also attempted to bring Beer Pong to New Zealand:

Problem 1: no Solo Cups or cups the size of Solo Cups.  Problem 2: lighter ping pong balls.  Although it was a bust, we tried and that's what counts.

Now it's time for Brian's two cents!

- Cent one: I performed a traditional hongi, a Maori greeting comprised of a handshake and the touching of noses, with Colin.

- Cent two: Ana and I beat Mai and Federico at NZ beer pong.

Paihia & Boil Up

Tuesday (19th) started early for us, as we took a bus to visit the beaches of Paihia.  The beach itself was fairly small and the water was nice and calm in the bay at Taiputuputu Pahi beach.  We slept, we peppered (marked Paihia on the ball), and we swam in the warm waters.  We came home to find our hostel host Alicia cooking a traditional Kiwi boil-up, the contents of which are bacon bones, potatoes, and watercress (the Kiwi version of spinach) all in a boiling pot of water.  Serve it in a bowl with a side of fried dough and butter and you have a tasty Kiwi meal! 

We have also concluded that Mai may have contracted fleas from the innocent looking orange cat.  We will further investigate said claim.  ("i've decided i have not contracted fleas, just that i'm very attractive to all mosquitos within a 1 mile radius"- mai)




Wednesday in Kerikeri was a cloudy one, so we again spent the early afternoon in the public library.  After much debate, we purchased an unlimited bus pass from Naked Bus to ensure the rest of our travels about the islands of New Zealand (Mai may or may not have accidentally bought two, and then had to send them a panicked e-mail pleading that she only needed one).

That night was action packed indeed.  What do you do if you have four Argentineans, two Americans, and one girl from Holland?  Give them a deck of UNO cards and watch the hilarity ensue.

Cultures Collide...

After such an epic adventure, Sunday (17th) became our day of rest.  We engaged in conversation with Alicia and began to compare the New Zealand and American cultures.  The first topic of conversation was a no brainer: drinking games.  Beer pong exists here only in the movies.  How tragic.  We plan to remedy that.  There are many similarities in our drinking cultures, however.  For example: Ring of Fire = Kings, with pretty much all the same rules.  And in New Zealand, you do not "chug" a beer; you "skull" a beer.

There is one NZ tradition that should absolutely be adopted in the U.S.  On one's 21st birthday, they are given a large key to life ("Hey mum, where's my key to life?" - Mai) and they are required to drink a yardy ("Hey mum, where's my yardy?" - Brian).  A yardy is a yard long glass that holds 16 or more beers.  In Australia, if the person cannot finish the yardy, they hand it off to their family and they help finish.  This is not allowed in New Zealand.  One must finish the entire yardy themselves.  As displayed in the video, even if they vomit into the yardy, they must continue.  Another person holds and spins the yardy so it doesn't spill all over, but that's the only help given.  Solid.

Another language lesson!  The word "hori" is a derogatory term used to describe someone of low class or someone who is dirty .  Who knew?  Also, Mai and I played with an orange cat that Mai named Charlie.  He is a stray that Alicia started feeding, so he comes by every so often.  There may be more to that cat than meets the eye...

The first half of Monday (18th) was spent in the Public Library, catching up with loved ones and doing some research using the free wifi.  Upon arriving back at the hostel, we found the puzzle (a gift from m'lady, Amanda) that we started the night before had a large portion put together!  For the rest of the night, almost everyone staying in the hostel helped out here and there with the puzzle and come one in the morning, it was completed!  And I was able to read the wonderful message on the other side.  Afterward, we all watched a show together.  A show of epic proportions.  A show capable of crossing all cultural and language boundaries.  A little show called... Family Guy.

Sweet Az

Welcome to Kerikeri.  About a 4 hour drive north of Auckland, Kerikeri is a small town part of the Bay of Islands.  Keri Central Hostel, our home for this week has a vastly different atmosphere than our previous stays (doesn't feel like a dorm at all!).  The hostel is managed by Alicia & Colin (a 23 year old couple). We're sharing a room with three Argentineans, who also have a few friends in the area (Spanish speaking abilities would be so useful these days).

The first day (Friday, Jan 15th) Mai had a moment of inspiration as we peppered the brand new AVP volleyball in the front yard of our hostel.  Each time we peppered the ball in a new place, we would write the location and date on it.  Brilliant!  That night consisted of much cultural exchange.  Although Mai may not agree, I learned from Juno (a native New Zealander or "Kiwi") that putting butter, ketchup, and sweet chili sauce on a slice of bread equals... DELICIOUS!  (Brian is CRAZY.  No one likes ketchup sandwiches... except maybe Greg).  We also learned New Zealand phrases like "Sweet as" while explaining to one of the Argentineans that the word "brand" in "brand new" didn't mean a company brand or to mark something.  

Quote of the night:

"How do Americans greet each other?"

"They go, 'Hey baaaabes' right?"

Mai and I: "Haha, no, not quite." (or not at all). 

On Saturday, the 16th, Mai and I decided to go exploring.  We walked down to New Zealand's oldest stone building, the Stone Store (top).  and also saw the oldest wooden building, the Mission House (bottom).  We also went in search of the nearby "fortress" called the Koroipo Pa and found that not only was it not much of a fortress, it no longer existed!

To get over our disappointment, we went for a walk in the nearby forest.  It was destined to be a good walk considering right before it, we saw two Eastern Rosella birds fly by!  The first thing we came across on our walk was a set of small waterfalls, followed closely by the Fairy Pools.  We journeyed on and after another 30 minutes, we finally reached the enchanted Rainbow Falls.  After marveling in their beauty, we decided to conquer them by traversing the jagged, slippery, moss-covered rocks until we were under and engulfed by the falls themselves.  Clearly this picture below, isn't documented proof of our conquest per se (we couldn't bring Mai's expensive camera under the falls!).  However, there are two random travelers somewhere out there who took it upon themselves to photograph our joy and jubilation as the falls rained down upon us.