What it means to be a Kiwi

New Zealand have just won back-to-back Rugby World Cups.  As a Kiwi abroad for this phenomenal achievement I loved to see literally every post on my Facebook newsfeed directed towards the All Blacks success.  Either staying up until, or waking up for kick off is an achievement it itself due to the time difference.  This got me thinking about what it means to be Kiwi, so I decided to compile a list of what makes us, us.

1.) The All Blacks
It goes without saying really. New Zealand loves rugby. We love the All Blacks.  Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith; they're all household names.  The majority of Kiwi kids could name more rugby players than politicians, and to be honest most adults could probably do the same.

2.) Australia
The sibling type rivalry between New Zealand and Australia crops up whenever the two countries encounter each other on the sports field.  Every Kiwi has been the target of a "sheepshagger" joke at some point.  And every Kiwi likes to remind the Australians of how their underarm bowling style in 1981 was a disgrace to sport.  I wasn't even alive at the time, but still know exactly how the incident went down.  Following the most recent Rugby World Cup success, New Zealand has the upper hand, for now.

3.) Kiwi tucker
From pineapple lumps to L&P, pavalova to mince and cheese pies, not to mention Watties tomato sauce and marmite, Kiwis have a unique range of food.  Anyone who comes to our country should be made to try hangi, some favourites from the Edmonds Cookbook, a whitebait fritter and of course some hokey pokey icecream.

4.) Maori
Even if you aren't fluent, you probably know a few basic words in te reo. Kia ora, kai, whanau & ka pai are among some of the words you should expect to hear during everyday conversation.  If you went to school in New Zealand it's quite likely you would have participated in a powhiri and probably know most of the words to Tutira Mai Nga Iwi.  Most Kiwis can sing the Maori verse of the national anthem and know most of the actions to the haka.  Even if you aren't Maori you're proud of the culture and watching the All Blacks do the haka before a game fills you with pride.

5.) Sheep
Ask anyone from outside of New Zealand what they know about our country and the answer usually includes 4 key aspects. The All Blacks, the Lord of the Rings, Lorde and sheep.  Oh and it's really beautiful.  Considering there is a few million sheep scattered all over New Zealand it's unsurprising really.  We even like to post videos of them participating in political rallies.  We really are a strange people.

6.) We have a but of an accint
Contrary to popular belief, the Australian and New Zealand accents are entirely different.  Most Kiwis have probably been teased by a foreigner about their accent at some point, particularly if they've done a bit of travelling.  The people I know here in Ireland enjoy asking me to say the phrase, "I had the neighbourhood kids around today to play on my deck", or alternatively, "My neighbours wife loves my deck".  It isn't my fault my pronunciation of the letter 'e' is slightly skewed.
We also have some words of our own that make foreigners look at us like perhaps we aren't speaking English at all.  For example, "Can you chuck my togs and the chilly bin in the ute while I look for my jandals so we can head down to the bach?"  And we are ridiculously lazy so therefore cut down any word we can get away with. If it can be abbreviated, it will be abbreviated. Electricians are sparkies, ta can pass for thanks, McDonalds is maccas, at Christmas we give Chrissie prezzies as opposed to Christmas presents.  We have a biccy with our cuppa (biscuit with our cup of coffee) and if that biscuit is chocolate coated, it's a choccy biccy.  Even the word definitely is shortened to defo. So yeah, by now you should defo be getting the point.

7.) Kiwi and proud
For a little nation we've achieved a fair bit over our short history, and as Kiwis we're pretty proud of that.  Most of us think NZ is the best country in the world.  We love talking about Sir Edmund Hillary, who knocked the bastard off.  Every Rugby World Cup we replay the phenomenal tries scored by Jonah Lomu.  If anyone is talking about basketball we chuck in our limited knowledge through watching Steven Adams.  Some of our Olympians have competed and won against the very best; Valerie Adams, Sir Mark Todd, John Walker, Peter Snell, Barbara Kendall, Mahe Drysdale, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond to name a few.  Lorde took the music industry by storm.  The Lord of the Rings franchise brought the New Zealand film industry to the forefront.  We love reminding people that New Zealand has produced some pretty great people, and is pretty great in itself.

Kiwis are a pretty laid back type.  We love our country and are proud of where we are from.  We're a little bit odd and defo unique, and that's how we like it.

Ring of Kerry, Co. Kerry

Today I participated in an International Society trip to the Ring of Kerry and surrounding areas, taking in Kenmare, Ladies View, the Torc Waterfall and Killarney National Park.

Kenmare

Holy Cross Church, Kenmare

Scenery shots from the various lookouts

Torc Waterfall

And the All Blacks successfully qualified for the Rugby World Cup final so, great day all round.

Galway

Solo travel is fantastic.  Seeing new places is great.  Combining the two together and you're in for a wonderful time.

On Sunday I caught the train to Galway for a wee little day excursion.  I haven't seen much of Ireland despite having been here for around 7 weeks, but Galway is by far my favourite place so far.  The weather was spectacular, the cathedral is beautiful, the stores and waterfront are great areas to explore.  I even went to an aquarium which was more like a glorified pet store as it lacked turtles, sharks or anything more exciting than seahorses.  And to add to the excitement of a solo adventure to Galway, while I was there Ireland played France in their last pool match of the Rugby World Cup.  The pub I watched it in called The Skeff was packed; standing room only which made for a great viewing atmosphere.

There are a few places I want to go back to in Galway, so I will be making a return trip.  Mostly to try some more of the cafes and restaurants the city has to offer. Food will forever have my heart.

Weekend Adventures

What a whirlwind the end of September - start of October has been!

On Friday 25 September I departed Dublin airport at some ungodly hour of the morning headed for Edinburgh, Scotland.  Such an awesome city with a cool vibe.  From Arthur's Seat, to Edinburgh castle, all the old buildings, pubs and monuments, Edinburgh has a lot to offer.  Not to mention A CAT CAFE!! Highlight of my weekend.  I'd love to go back at some point and see other parts of Scotland as well.

The Scott Monument - 287 steps to the top.  Built in the 1840's.

Edinburgh castle

Haggis - was actually really nice much to my surprise

Life advice outside the World's End pub

Arthur's seat - the mini mountain right in Edinburgh.

  Cat cafe. Need I say more?


October 1 the UL Wolves went to the greyhounds.  It was a fun night. Always good to put a cheeky few euro on a dog so you can yell at something as they come down the straight.  I literally know nothing about dogs so picked off their names and had zero luck.  Probably not the best technique available.

Last but certainly not least, October 2 I went for an excursion to Wales that lasted less than 24 hours! But all for good cause as the All Blacks were taking on Georgia at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.  What an atmosphere.  All day you could feel the excitement wandering around the city as anticipation built for that evenings match.  The pubs were full of supporters.  Millennium Stadium itself is huge, and with the roof closed the atmosphere inside was electrifying.  Despite some uncharacteristic missed kicks from Dan Carter and some painful dropped balls from the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand came away with the win which was celebrated late into the night by the supporters, many of whom had adopted the All Blacks or Georgia for the evening but were from all over the world.

Am I still in Palmerston North?

Limerick is so similar to Palmerston North it is like being in the same city, accept the people talk funny.

The campus is outside of the central city.  The grounds are open and green with plenty of trees and outdoor spaces which leads to inevitable jogs through the rain to get from one lecture building to another.  This seems to be a slight flaw by planners when the city, like the rest of Ireland, is known for rain.

Limerick city itself doesn't really offer much in terms of entertainment besides pubs and sport.  But from Limerick it is only a short distance to a number of awesome spots.  I feel like I haven't left the Manawatu.

So far the lectures themselves have barely contained any real content because it's only the first week.  But I have successfully found every lecture building on time so that's a win!

One of the coolest things about Limerick which Massey Palmerston North doesn't really offer is a huge range of clubs and societies that people are actually passionate about.  The recruitment drive in the sports centre was really popular with clubs and societies ranging from equestrian, rugby and hockey to tea appreciation and the international society.  I'm excited to get involved in events offered by the equestrian club and international society this semester.

On Saturday 12 September I went on a trip to the Aran Island's, specifically Inis Oirr the smallest and eastern most of the islands.  The island has been inhabited for more than 5000 years so consequently has a rich natural and cultural heritage.  If you want somewhere quiet, small and beautiful to explore Inis Oirr would be perfect for you, assuming you don't mind a rollercoaster of a ferry ride to reach the island.  The photos below show some of the amazing scenery and also showcase the tendency for the island to witness 4 seasons of weather in one day.

Limerick

Hickory dickory dock,

the mouse ran up the clock;

the clock struck one

and down he run;

hickory dickory dock.

It seemed appropriate to post a limerick considering my current location.  I departed New Zealand on July 14th and have finally made it to Limerick, the original reason for coming to Europe at all.  Only took a month and a half.

Compared so some of the other vibrant cities I've encountered on this adventure Limerick is a lot quieter, smaller and due to the continuous cloud cover, a lot more dull.  However the city isn't without a certain sort of charm.

Outside the Hunt Museum are two colourful horse statues. That's a winner in my books with zero effort.

I'm pretty certain every village, town and city in this part of the world is obliged to have at least one architecturally impressive church.  Limerick is no exception.  Multiple church steeples break the landscape around various parts of the city.  I went into the St Mary's Cathedral which has beautiful stained glass windows.  The church was founded in 1168.  Considering Abel Tasman didn't sight New Zealand until 1642, and James Cook didn't visit until 1769 it puts into perspective how young New Zealand really is.

King John's Castle sits alongside the River Shannon.  The site of the castle dates back to when Vikings lived on the island, but the actual castle was built during the reign of King John in the 13th century.

This semester I am living in one of the universities residential villages, Plassey Village.  Move in day made me feel a little sad because everyone was arriving with their families and unpacking their car loads of stuff, similar to how I was in first year in Wellington.  And I arrived by myself in a taxi with my suitcase and backpack. Sigh.

My room set up, ft. NZ pride

Monday of orientation started with a coffee morning with other international students.  I met two girls from the Netherlands and a girl from Canada who I spent to remainder of the day with.  In the afternoon we took the bus provided for international students to the Parkway shopping centre where I purchased a few essential items like a pillow and duvet so I could return the ones Plassey Village had lent to me.

In the evening we went to the campus bar, The Stables Club and had a few ciders to end a good first day at UL.

Orientation week is nice and relaxed here at Limerick University.  International students are given plenty of time to make friends and find their feet in a new university environment, as well as in a new city and country.  So far I've had a great experience.  The people I've been meeting are awesome!  I have roommates from across the world (Canada, Germany, Finland, America and France).  Looking forward to attending some lectures come Monday!

Auschwitz

When I got on the bus after leaving Auschwitz I immediately jotted down some bullet points about my experience. The first point reads:

- Literally the most fucked up place I've ever been

And if that doesn't concisely summarise what it is like to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp then I'm unsure what could.  Not only did this place operate as a concentration camp, but an extermination camp.  An estimated 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz prior to the 1945 liberation.

The lane between buildings - Auschwitz I

The initial tour starts at Auschwitz I.  As a group you are lead through room after room of photographs of victims and items confiscated from them upon arrival.  Shoes, clothing, suitcases, and most shocking of all hair.  Literally piles and piles of human hair shaved from the heads of the prisoners as they entered the camp.

Suitcases taken from the victims

A small portion of the shoes

Pots, pans and plates. If you knew you were going to die you wouldn't pack any of these items? People thought the concentration camps were work camps.  They thought they would be starting a new life.

Cans from the poison used in the gas chambers.

Another area contained rooms used for punishment.  One room had standing cells which were less than 1 metre square. Four people would be forced to stand within each tiny cell.  There were also starvation and suffocation cells. The starvation cell was used for prisoners who would not receive any food.  The suffocation cell was closed so as to prevent occupants from receiving enough oxygen.

Outside in the courtyard was a wall against which prisoners stood for execution.

In the corridors filled with victim photographs, each picture was captioned underneath with a date and place of birth, occupation, date of arrival and date of death.  Many were lawyers, teachers or doctors prior to entering the concentration camp.  A number of dates of death were mere days after the date of arrival at Auschwitz.

While the initial victims were photographed upon arrival the practice was soon stopped.  Not only was photography expensive at the time, but documenting peoples appearances was pointless when weight loss was so immediate and extreme people were unrecognisable almost instantly.

A gas chamber and crematorium remains standing at Auschwitz I.  Walking through that door was the most chilling feeling.  So many people died within those walls.

Auschwitz II is on an unbelievably massive scale.  The barracks were spread over a wide area and were more numerous than I anticipated, without counting those which were built of wood and subsequently destroyed by fire so only the chimney and foundation remains.  The living conditions must have been horrendous.  It is no wonder many died of disease.

The main entrance to the extermination camp.

The gas chambers at Auschwitz II would have been much larger than the one still standing at Auschwitz I, but there had been an attempt to destroy the buildings prior to the liberation.

Remains of the gas chamber.

Auschwitz II has a memorial to all those who were killed.

In summary, Auschwitz is one of those places you can't explain to someone who hasn't been there.  Hearing numbers thrown around like 1.1million killed really hits home when you see the mountains of possessions and walk through a gas chamber into the crematorium room.  I don't think I would ever go back.  Once you've seen Auschwitz once there really is no need to return because you will never forget.  The human race is messed up.  It is scary to think people could do this to other people.