Day 2: Haka in Rotorua

FUN FACT #1: Kiwis have an obsession with this condiment called "Marmite". Apparently, they put it on their toast for breakfast. (It's nasty, I don't recommend it-- don't believe was Rocket Power tells you as a kid) New Zealand's Marmite factory needed serious repairs after the earth quake here last year, and Kiwis have had to rely on Australian "Vegemite" instead. According to them, the Australian version is terrible. But I suppose that is very similar to us saying U.S. bacon is better than Canadian bacon. Anyways, Marmite comes back on March 25th, or so my Kiwi friend keeps telling me. Oh so exciting...

I had my first run in with Vegemite this morning, and lets just say it was less than pleasant. But shortly after, we left for Rotorua, which is a town/city in the lower part of the North Island. It was about a 4 hour bus ride which was accompanied by magnificent views of the New Zealand country side. I saw more cows and sheep than I ever have in my life (which is saying something considering I'm from Vermont).

FUN FACT #2: New Zealand has no O-Zone Layer. In other words, you burn to a crisp in 10 minutes without sun screen. Many girls on the trip learned this lesson the hard way.

After arriving in Rotorua, we were met with a very distinctive aroma... that of rotting eggs. Conveniently outside our hostel are geo-thermal pools. Very cool to look at: they are pale pale green and bubble constantly. But they also smell like crap. No joke, you can always get away with farts in Rotorua. Always. Okay, moving on...

As we were still jet lagged, our first day in Rotorua was met with more information about our "Bridging Cultures" experience. We learned about New Zealand geography and some travel options after we had a barbeque.

FUN FACT #3: New Zealand ketchup, otherwise known as "Tomato Sauce" is absolutely disgusting. After our first week in Rotorua, we were so desperate for real ketchup we were stealing handfuls from McDonald's and Wendy's at every opportunity. Luckily, Heinz does exist here. Although it costs you an arm and a leg, it's definitely worth it. We now carry bottles around with us to barbecues like Vermonters bring syrup to brunch in other states. Classy huh?

When our information session was finished, we were taught the "Haka". The Maori people are the native tribes of New Zealand. They make up about 15% of the population here today. Maori tribes were constantly fighting over land before the Europeans arrived. They would perform the "Haka" as a dance before they went to battle. It consisted of painting your face, clapping, singing/yelling, and protruding your eyes and sticking your tongue out at people. The intent was to scare the enemy enough that they would yield and retreat so that no blood was shed. Today, the famous New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, perform this dance before games.

Every tribe sings a different version, but most sound very similar (at least to me). We were dressed in Maori fashion and painted our faces and did the Haka. It was very cool, and very intense. There was a lot of screaming and yelling involved, but our group did it well. 

Afterwards, we headed back to the hostel. Being a party pooper, I stayed in for the night and slept early. Next day was our DAYYY OFFF ADDVEENNTTUURREEEE!!!!!