Ka Pai te Wiki (A good week)

Wow, what a week it has been. It's hard to know where to start, but here goes...

To begin with, Stacey has accepted a position at Meridian Energy! She got news of it just last week, and will be working in their communications division. To be completely honest, I am not exactly sure what her job duties will entail other than it's involved in print comms, so for details I suggest you ask her. At any rate, she is very excited and will be starting this coming Monday.

Stacey's earlier career counseling moments

She'll be working in their new office building which is sitting literally right on the waterfront down near Queen's Wharf. We had a walk down there to see it today and it's looking pretty impressive. She'll be able to step outside and be at the water's edge.

Looks like Stacey's 'work environment' is gonna be pretty crappy, eh? Meridian's building is the one with the angled rooftop straight ahead.

The office itself looks very cool, and is getting a lot of attention because it's going to be one of New Zealand's most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly buildings. This fits very well with Meridian's overall focus on renewable electricity generation and sustainability, enabling it to be the only energy provider in New Zealand that can claim a carbon-neutral status. This was the reason we chose to use Meridian for our utilities when we arrived here.

This Tui beer billboard (part of a series) seemed appropriate given this week's subject matter!

I'm very happy for Stacey, and although it took a bit longer to find something than she might have liked, I think the wait will be worth it. Many people have commented that Meridian is a great company to work for. I am also very proud of both of us that we've managed to land jobs in two progressive organisations that are key to conservation/environmental efforts here in New Zealand. It makes you feel good about going to work.

In other news... On Friday, I returned from a week at Papawai Marae in Greytown, in the Wairarapa. I spent 4 days on the marae as part of a wananga (learning course) provided by Department of Conservation called Te Pukenga Atawhai. During the course, staff are welcomed onto the marae and spend four challenging and mind-expanding days immersed in Māori language, customs, culture, beliefs and conversation.

Papawai Marae; In the foreground is the waharoa (gate) and in he distance is the wharenui (Hikurangi) or ancestral meeting house. Papawai is historically significant as the birthplace of the Maori parliamentary movement in the late 1800's

In our line of work, an understanding of these things is not just helpful. It can be absolutely invaluable. Iwi are increasingly engaging in management decisions relating to conservation land in New Zealand, and understandably so. For us as employees of DOC, it's really important that we are not only attuned to Māori concerns, but also capable of interacting in a manner that is both respectable and appropriate according to traditional customs. For me as an American newcomer to New Zealand, this knowledge has special value, but I dare say that many native-born Kiwis would benefit from the experience just as much.

A waka (canoe) at the marae. The carvings feature freshwater eels, among other things, which are a staple of the cuisine from Iwi in the Wairarapa.

I was not sure what to expect going into it, to be honest. I was enthusiastic and eager to learn, but was a little worried about how I would perform in terms of speaking the language. So far, my pronunciation of te reo Māori has been pretty poor, hindered by the fact that no one here (including Kiwis) say Māori words with anything resembling consistency. After having completed the course, I can see why they are so miffed about the mis-pronunciation of their words--we are getting it all wrong! I had just about given up trying to get it right on my own. Other concerns... I had been told there was going to be lots of singing (waiata) and group roleplaying activities, both of which made me nervous as I have an aversion to them. Lastly, I had some silly reservations about the idea of staying in a meeting house with all these people I didn't know very well. The introvert in me was anxious.

Speaking of them, our class consisted of about 45 people who came from several different functional areas and DOC offices. There were also a two guests from Sweden who were there to participate and observe, related to researching a project of their own. Several people came from Head Office, including my immediate supervisor.

The palisaded fence line of the marae features carvings of figures. Normally, all of the carvings face outwards. In the case of Papawai, however, only the four large pou on the corners face outwards and all of the others face inward. Papawai is the only marae where this is the case.

To give you an extremely condensed version of events, the course started with a powhiri (a formal welcoming ceremony) to commemorate the arrival of our group to Papawai Marae. I remember being both excited and pretty clueless as we passed through the waharoa (gate) into the marae. Speakers went back and forth, a koha was presented, waiata were sung, and noses were pressed in greeting (hongi). As the songs, speeches and procession moved along, I didn't really have a firm grasp of what was going on. I felt like an outsider. Not unwelcome, mind you, but not really understanding what was happening. In the days following, we would learn in great detail what the powhiri is all about, and even have the opportunity to welcome visitors onto the marae playing the role of the 'home people'. I would also come to understand the significance of our being there and how special it was, both to us and to the tangata whenua.

Wharenui Hikurangi, the ancestral meeting house at Papawai.

Our course content included an exploration of the Māori world view, including creation stories and the pantheon of gods that form the basis of those beliefs. These stories are closely tied to the value systems that Māori hold dear, and it explains a great deal about their relationship with the land. We also learned about terminology regarding social structures and organisation. This was most informative, since I had been quite puzzled about the differences between terms like tangata whenua, iwi, hapu and whenua. It also shed light on just who to talk to when you needed to seek consultation with Iwi. Another valuable session was about the Treaty of Waitangi, the 1840 document signed between the Crown and most(but not quite all) of the Māori tribal leadership. The Treaty still forms the basis of Māori-Pakeha relations in Aotearoa and is the source of much confusion and many problems. You only need to read a bit about it's history to see what I'm referring to there.



The absolute best sessions (IMHO) were those that taught us about relationships and interaction with Māori. Much of this involved language and protocol. The culmination of our efforts on this front would be the writing and presentation of our own mihimihi. There was a lot of anxiety about this, as all of us wanted to do our best and tried hard to deliver the speech from memory. Here is my mihi, as spoken to the group on the final day of the course:

Tihei mauriora!
E te whare
E te marae
Tena korua, tena korua, tena korua.
E nga mate
haere, haere, haere
E nga rangatira, te iwi kainga
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.
Ko Wiremu ahau. Ko Kennesaw taku maunga.
Ko Mississippi taku awa. Ko Cahokia taku wahi rangatira.
E mahi ana ahau kei te tari a te Papa Atawhai ki Poneke.
He kaimatanga whakarite ahau mo te tari matua.
Kei te tino koa toku ngakau.
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa

Me, delivering my mihi

Words cannot really express how challenging and enjoyable this experience was. All of my earlier concerns faded away as they days went on, and I came to feel more comfortable at the marae. Even so, there was heaps to absorb and little time to do it. We started at 7:00 a.m. each day and often ended after 9:00 p.m. Perhaps it's just a mild case of exhaustion at work, but by the completion of te Pukenga Atawhai you are feeling quite emotional about the whole thing and about life in general. Your 'classmates' become like extended family. We had grown so much and you could really tell it. It's not an easy thing to do, but I would recommend this experience (or one like it) to everyone who has the opportunity.

In the end, I not only came away with a better understanding of Māori, but I also feel like I've come away with a better understanding of myself. Some of this was renewed affirmation of why I came to New Zealand in the first place.

I will be forever grateful to my family at Papawai and to our Pou Kura Taiao instructors for sharing their knowledge with us, for their patience as we struggled to find our way, and for DOC for making the programme available. As promised, they created a non-threatening environment in which we could expand our horizons way beyond where they were originally. In return, I pledge that this information will not go to waste and that it will not be the end of my journey on this particular waka.

I close with this shot of Makara Beach, about 25 minutes northwest of Wellington. We visited there this past weekend to do the coastal walk. In the distance you can see the South Island. This place, like so many others in New Zealand, is at the crossroads of the past and the future. An ancient Ngati Ira pa site sits very close to where this photo was taken, while the hills nearby are soon to be the site of a new wind farm that will soon provide power to Wellington.