Can YOU handle the JANDAL?

"No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" is a familiar phrase that many Americans see hung on signs outside of grocery stores or at the local Seven-Eleven/Piggly Wiggly/Wawa (take your pick). Why is this "no shoes - no service" rule such a widely accepted paradigm? I seem to have grown up accepting the fact that the only time barefootedness is permitted is when Mom just washed the kitchen floor or while walking on the beach (Although I did go through a phase of social embarrassment when I wore oh-so-fashionable water shoes to avoid the crabs at Ocean City. Those pre-teen years were not my best times).

Here in New Zealand, it is perfectly normal to stroll the street with bare feet. I'm not sure if it is to enhance the idea of clean, green, 100% pure New Zealand or to reinforce the laid-back, relaxed kiwi lifestyle where hippy meets beach bum. Either way it is a societal norm, even during the dead winter in the largest city in the country.

But there comes a time when a kiwi may not feel so liberated and needs slightly more reinforcement, this is when we meet "The Jandal."

Some say jandals gained popularity in NZ in the 1950s from Japanese influence. The word itself supposedly originated from the term "Japanese sandal." But no matter where it came from and what it means (flip-flop, thong, sandal, etc.), it is a staple of the NZ wardrobe in all climates

Jandals can also refer to any type of breezy footwear. Whether it be the durable Rainbow, the rubber Havianna, the rugged Chaco, the more modest, but still breezy with heaps of conveniently placed holes: the Croc, or the Birkenstock (Disclaimer: even while worn with tube socks by the most fashion savvy tourists, it is still considered a jandal).

So if I have not made it clear already, kiwis love their jandals and they even celebrate National Jandal Day on December 4th to support surf lifeguards throughout both islands.

If you take away anything from this post, please remember that you should never enter New Zealand without packing your jandals. Also, do not be be alarmed if you hear AUT International students implementing the word incorrectly. For example: "That's so jandalous!" or "Mmmm... Jandalicious!"

A view from the top

Auckland is such a busy city packed with towering buildings and traffic-filled streets; it is amazing to think that the whole place sits on a potentially active volcano field.

Mt. Eden was formed over 20,000 years ago and is not expected to erupt, so therefore it serves as a great hilltop to view Auckland.

I went with my friend Frederik (Germany) on a nice afternoon to climb the steep hill to the top of Mt. Eden. The weather was warm so we took our time enjoying the view and snapping a ton of great pictures.

Noho Marae

"Tuia I runga

Tuia I raro

Tuia te here tangata

tena koutou katoa"

The Maori people are the original settlers of New Zealand. Although the traditional Maori culture is mainly endorsed today to attract tourism, it is still a largely respected aspect of Aotearoa (NZ). The country even recognizes the Maori language along with English as the two official languages of the country.

This past weekend I attended the Noho Marae hosted by the uni's International Student Support Services. About 130 international students from the school met on Friday to begin celebrating the weekend. On campus, we have a Marae which is a complex of buildings and open space to fully accommodate a community and its Manuhiri (visitors). On Friday evening, we took off our shoes (a traditional Maori custom) and piled into the Wharenhui (meeting house), the focal point of the Marae. There, we were formerly greeted by the Maori who taught us a few basic things about the culture and encouraged us to meet one another. After brief introductions in small groups, we headed to the Wharekai (dining hall) for dinner. Each student brought a traditional dish from their culture, so the whole place was filled with an abundance of great food. I basically tried one of everything. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to make anything to bring because I was with a travel agent all afternoon (I'll explain this later). After eating way too much food, we all met at Vesbar, the on-campus bar, for a few drinks and live music. Kenneth Holt, the international student advisor, play bass in a band that performed for us. They play a mix of classic rock and more modern songs and we all danced and sung along. I love how we come from all over the world and speak different languages, but we can still sing along to the same music.

Enjoying the food at dinner

 

My new Swedish friends will full plates

Lisa, Alma, Martina (Sweden) Mariann, Elina (Norway)

and me (USA!) at Vesbar

We arrived back at the Marae early on Saturday morning to learn more songs, meet new friends and of course eat more food. We learned a variety of different songs throughout the day because music is a large part of the culture. We were also taught "The Stick Game" which is a hand-eye coordination game to be played with a partner. Elin, from Sweden, was my partner and we struggled to stay on beat and kept missing instructions because we couldn't stop laughing.

The boys and girls were also split up so the boys could learn the Haka and the girls the Poi dance. We made a Poi, which is essentially a ball at the end of a piece of string, with yarn and dacron stuffing. We were taught a dance that involved hitting and twirling the Poi to the rhythm of a song while moving your hips to the beat. I was absolutely awful and kept accidently hitting the girls around me with my poi.

At the end of the night, we performed our songs, games, and dances to a group of AUT faculty and headed back to the Wharekai for a hangi. A hangi is a traditional maori feast of many different meats (the lamb was the best), potatoes (kumara, a type of sweet potato might be my new favorite food), pumpkin, stuffing, salad, stew and more.

The girls learning a song

(I stick out in the front row with my bright green socks)

Some of the group learning the stick game

Anna and me 

Elin and I probably messing it all up as usual

The girls dancing the Poi

Some of the boys getting ready to perform the Haka

My table at the hangi.

A mix from Sweden, Norway, Germany and the US

A brief lesson on New Zealand culture

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." -James Michener

New Zealand culture isn't too different than that of the U.S., but I notice new things every day that are unlike what I am accustomed to. For example, I asked my Kiwi flatmates if they had any Neosporin and they had no clue what I was asking for. I've tried to put together a short list of other differences I have picked up on in the past month that many Americans don't know about. So, enjoy you're brief cultural lesson:

• New Zealanders drive on the left side of road in the right side of the car. And in manual shift cars, the driver shifts with their left hand. (This one was pretty obvious but I'm even left handed and I find it so strange!)

• They have “give way” signs instead of yield signs

• It is not necessary to refrigerate your eggs. The rumor is that American eggs have hormones in them that require us to keep them cold so they won't spoil.

• Dinner is commonly referred to as “tea” even though no drinking of tea is involved.

• When you buy a common loaf of bread, you have two options: toast or sandwich. Toast bread is just slightly thicker... this baffled me because when you're at the store looking at the loaves of bread, both look completely the same. I had to ask myself, "Do I eat more toast or sandwiches?"

• Peppers (as in red pepper, green pepper, etc.) are called capsicums.

• You don't need to tip anyone... for anything!

• Restaurants don't have ketchup, but instead have "Tomato Sauce." It's thinner and has a little different flavor than our typical Heinz 57.

• Eggs are not just for breakfast, kiwi's put fried eggs on basically everything: steak, chicken, etc.

•  A kiwi is not a fruit. It's an endangered bird or the slang term for a New Zealander. Taking a bite out of a kiwi will most likely be frowned upon. A "kiwifruit" is a fruit. 

• Bathrooms and restrooms do not exist... only "toilets." It's not impolite, it's just how it is.

• They have no coin less than 10 cents. Everything gets rounded, except when you pay with a debit or credit card.

• Most stores will not let you return anything. If they do have a return policy, it will be very strict such as items can only be returned within 48 hours of purchase.

A typical week in Auckland

July 27th - August 2nd

It was tough returning to Auckland for a week of class after such an amazing weekend getaway, but it managed to be a good week and gave me the opportunity to do more exploring in the city.

As for class, I'm pretty happy with my schedule and the courses are all interesting so far.

Intro to New Zealand Popular Culture

This is a communication class that meets twice a week. On Mondays it is an hour-long lecture with about 2oo students and Thursday a smaller group of about 25 meet for a three-hour tutorial. It generally analyzes the cultural development of New Zealand's society. Although it hasn't been too exciting thus far, I'm hoping it will liven up once we finish covering the basics and start looking at modern culture.

Te Ara Poutama (Maori Leadership)

I have a feeling that this course will turn out to be my favorite. It meets on Tuesday's for three hours and there are a little less than 20 students enrolled -- half of them international. So far, we took personality tests to identify certain characteristics to learn about our tendencies and how we interact with one another. I'm not quite sure what comes next in the course, but I have a feeling it will be worthwhile.

Professional Wine Studies

I needed another elective and I wasn't too disappointed when I learned that a wine tasting class was the one that worked with my schedule. It's a bit ironic, but I think this will be my hardest class. It meets on Tuesday evenings and I missed the first day because I enrolled late. When I arrived for class in Week 2 I was extremely overwhelmed. They had already covered the basics (like how to hold, swirl, sniff and sip your wine) and the professor had to continuously correct me. After listening to our guest speaker, the owner of West Brook Winery, explain the wine-making process, we sampled four different wines: three rieslings and one chardonnay. But we didn't just gulp the wine, we had to smell it, taste it and spit it out multiple times before taking a sip. In Week 6 we get to have a four-course meal and I'm hoping we don't have to spit that out too! Our big project during the semester is to create an extensive menu pairing foods with a wine which will be somewhat difficult. It may be a very time-consuming course, but in the long run I think it will be good knowledge to have so I can pretend to be sophisticated.

New Media Journalism

On Fridays, I meet with a small group of students and we run Te Wahu Nui, the university's online publication. We've split up into three groups: editors, audio visual and text and images. I joined the text and image team so I can get more writing experience. I'm the only international student in this class and I think I may struggle to find story ideas, but I'm glad that I have the opportunity to get published. 

Fun Fact: The professor, Myrddin Gwynedd, was voted the #1 blogger in New Zealand! Check him out at the New Zealand Herald. 

Other than class, I have been discovering the city and experimenting with Auckland's impressive nightlife. I have also been attempting to meet more international students and got the opportunity to go out for drinks on Wednesday with some new Swedish friends. They taught me a few Swedish swear words and how to say cheers. They even promised to teach me Swedish drinking songs soon.

On Friday, my flatmates and I went to a toga/foam party at the on-campus bar (yes, we have a bar on campus!). It was unlike any party I have ever been to and the walk home in a soaking wet toga was not too fun, but overall we had a good time.

Hopefully this coming week will be just as good as the last.

My flatmates Samantha (New York), Lynnelle (NZ) and Jess (NZ)

dressed in our togas before the party

A few friends enjoying the foam

Covered in foam and smiling!

Out on the town with Emily, Roberta and Annie

Audrey, Roberta, Mads, Me

In the flat with a few friends