TURNING A NEW PAGE

A week ago I departed from the United States and made my way to New Zealand. A week ago I had never left the States and here I am, now, sitting in my new dorm room at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Our first night in New Zealand was spent in Auckland! One of the biggest cities in the world, and its totally breathtaking. As soon as we got off the plane, having only traveled for 26 straight hours, we were whisked away to the top of a dormant volcano with a 360 degree view of the city. Completely awe-inspiring. You could see the city, the famous Sky Tower, turn 180 degrees and see mountains and hills with tiny houses sprawled upon them. I'm not sure if it was from my lack of sleep, or total shock, but I was completely speechless. Everyone was.
The rest of our first night in Auckland consisted of hanging out in ACB, Auckland Central Backpackers, hostel. We went to do the harbor, went out to dinner at a beach-front resteraunt, and walked around the city. It's a perfect combination of Seattle, Hawaii, and San Francisco...with a little extra unique feel. I really loved Auckland.
The next morning we departed to Rotorua where we stayed at an awesome hostel called KiwiPaka. The drive there was stunning; it was nice to get out of the city and see the landscape that New Zealand is famous for. The green is so vivid you can barely stand it. That day we learned the Haka, which is an extremely powerful Maori war dance used to intimidate their enemies. It was really an awesome experience to learn something so unique and important to the Maori culture. We even got to dress in "traditional" outfitting for a performance of it. After dinner, delicious Fish and Chips, a group of us walked down to Rotorua Lake, ate ice cream, and watched the sunset. New Zealand has black swans, they are really gorgeous animals. Of course the night proceeded with excessive drinking of wine and NZ beer. Both are totally delicious by the way.
The next day I went white-water rafting. This was totally bad ass. I can't even explain how awesome it was to be rafting down a Grade 5 river, completely surrounded by trees and brush, and beautiful water. The guides were absolutely hilarious, you could tell they loved their job. Their briefing of what we we're about to do consisted of this: "Well, uh, you sit here, you row like this, and when I tell you to get down, you get down and hold on. Alright? Oh, and we're going over three waterfalls, one of which is 20 feet high." TOTALLY B.A. The guides would throw us out of the raft when we weren't looking. Everyone here has this "give it a go" attitude, where nothing is a big deal and nothing is worked up. Its unlike anything I have ever experienced in the US; and I love it. Going over the falls was totally awesome, I cant even explain what was going through my mind. I was scared shitless and totally loving every second of it. After the rafting we went to a Polynesian spa which consisted of about 15 natural thermal pools that looked out over a wildlife preserve. It was amazing; so relaxing and beautiful.
On the 16th some students went over to the Rotorua Boys High School to help give out some reading tests to the kids. When we arrived the older boys performed a Haka for us in their auditorium. It was the most powerful thing I have ever seen, and felt. The entire floor was literally shaking from their foot stomps, and I'm completely convinced you could of heard their chant 4 blocks away. It was so intimidating, walking into a new school and being greeted by yelling high school boys with bulging eyeballs as they hit their chests and legs. The thing about the Haka is that it is extremely important to the people, its a sign of great respect for another person. The fact that the boys did a Haka for us was really something special. After the opening prayers in the Maori language, we performed a Hangi with all the school's office workers and representatives. This is when you touch noses with another person, while simultaneously breathing out; sharing the breath of life. It was something I had never done before, but it gave me such a warm feeling. The people of New Zealand are so welcoming. Volunteering was a really great opportunity to meet the local kids and get to know them. I loved every second of it. We also played rugby with the boys and got a tour of their school which was really incredible. Four of their students have gone to the Olympics; and its a public school. For dinner we went to a mock Maori Village and witnessed what their tribes used to be like before civilization. I felt really uncomfortable for the majority of this. It made me sad that the people had to explain to the tourists from all over the world that laughing at the performance of the Haka was really discriminatory. I felt sad for the people, whose culture was looked at as entertainment. I wasn't really sure how to take it in, or how to accept it. Yet, after a tour of the village we we're invited inside to eat a Hungi. Holy shit, it was the most delicious food I have ever eaten. A Hungi is a traditional way for the Maori people to have a feast. They cook mass amounts of food in a pit layered with heated rocks. Lamb, chicken, stuffing, potatoes, carrots, and bread. You could literally taste the fire in the food, it was so delicious. This was when I accepted what was going on. I learned that night that the Maori people are extremely proud of their culture and completely willing to share and cherish it with anyone who is willing to listen. I really respect their values and morals, they are a great people. After dinner we all, about 200 people, sang songs, held hands, and danced. It was such a great time. Our bus driver was absolutely hilarious, he could say "Kia Ora" which means well-being, health, and happiness, in over 52 languages and dialects. That night really changed my perspective on the commercialization of the Maori culture.
Finally, yesterday I went spelunking in a cave in Waitomo. This was legitamately one of the coolest things I have ever done in my entire life. We we're down there for 3 hours, in a cave that was over a mile long. Inching in and out of tiny crevasses and cracks. We actually turned our lights off and used only our hands and legs to navigate through a tiny crawl space where we had to belly crawl to move forward. The cave was full of water, so deep that you had to swim through parts of it which trying to fit through small cracks. There were also eels in the cave, totally fucking freaky. I never saw any, but apparently there are two monster eels in the cave that are about 4 feet long and about a foot tall. Gaaaaahhh, so freaky. But the best part of the cave were the glow worms. I cant even explain how magical this experience was. In certain tunnels, the entire ceiling of the cave was splattered with tiny little fluorescent green lights; like the night sky but within reaching distance. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen in my entire life. We actually toobed through a pretty hefty section of the cave, holding on to each others feet and and singing along the way. We even got to do cannon-balls in the cave by jumping off a 6 foot ledge while holding the tube behind us and slamming into the water. Epic fun. When we got back to Rotorua a bunch of us went out to the Lava Bar. That point on what just a blur of dancing, drinking, and laughing.
I think its safe to say I LOVE NEW ZEALAND.