First Week of Classes

Kia ora e hoa ma! (Hello, all my friends!)

Again, I apologize for not posting in a while. So much has been going on that I've been super distracted with everything I need to do.

Classes started a week ago and I'm already swamped with work. Dear NZ, whatcha thinking?

I'm in four classes: Philosophy: Science: The Good, the Bad, and the Bogus. It's basically Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories; Intro to Maori and Indigenous People; The Continuum of Maori Art; and Conversational Maori for Absolute Beginners.

It's pretty sweet so far. My phil. professor is probably the smartest man on the planet. He brought in a 200,000 year old hand axe that was proven to never be used as a tool. It was the first object used to show prowess and skill without words. These were used 100,000 years before language began. (He asked if there were any linguistics in the class who could explain how we know when language began and I shakily raised my hand...Ugh. That was the scariest minute of my life trying to not stammer about stupid lingy stuff) Anyway, this dude has been on Stephen Colbert, which obvs means he's a baller :) He also had dinner with Bill Gates and a handful of "other millionaires" (himself included?). AND! He wears suspenders. Anyone in suspenders shoots up the kick-ass-ometer...I <3>

The prof asked a question about physical vs. logical impossibilities:

Physical impossibility: cow jumping over the moon.

Logical impossibility:

(bear with me...)

If God is omnipotent, can he create a stone so heavy that he, himself, cannot lift it?

...if he can't make it, he's not omnipotent

...if he can't lift it, he's not omnipotent

So I left class with my mind completely blown. Gah. All I know is that it's gonna kick my ass, but I'll love it every step of the way.

Ok, next, Intro to Indigenous People? The coolest bloke in the world. He's a big, tall, soft spoken Maori with an amazing twinkle in his eyes. He's silly and has a hilarious, dry sense of humor. He wears cargo pants and black blazer with a black baseball cap every single day. And he's no-nonsense. The hour-long class is full to the brim of useful information. Again, this class is gonna kick my ass, but it's gonna be so interesting.

The Continuum of Maori Art called for a prerequisite but no one has caught me yet, so fingers crossed they wont find out. My professor, Jo, (PS. Joanna is a Maori name) is a beautiful Maori woman who teaches Art History and decided to branch out and specialize in traditional Maori "toi." Toi is creation of any kind. One thing I love about Maori culture is that any type of creation is appreciated, from the Mona Lisa, to a child's doodle you put on the fridge, to having a baby and creating life. There's a distinction between toi, just as toi, or expanded and appreciated by society, which makes it "taonga." Is all toi taonga? No. Some people create sketches and toss them immediately away, but the second your mom puts a great, messy doodle of you and your pup on the fridge, it becomes taonga. Toi= creation. Taonga= creation appreciated by someone. Again. love this class. and again. Ass kicking is guaranteed.

Finally, my favorite class. Conversational Maori for Absolute Beginners. First of all, my class is taught by a young bloke. Probably 24? 25? And he has the most amazing mullet I've ever seen. AAAAND is tatted up. From the front, he's totally adorable. From the back, and his uber party hair, oof, I just have to remember I'm in NZ. Think Chilean mullet with a shaved head. It's a sight to behold. But I love him anyway. So he taught us the Maori alphabet which is sung to a song MUCH better than the ABC's. Ok, I wont go into all of it, but it's to the tune of "Stupid Cupid." I learned it that first lecture and all the Americans are kind of scared that I remembered it, but seriously, it's fantastic. Alrighty, the beginning goes a little like this:

A Ha Ka Ma, A Ha Ka Ma Na Pa Ra Ta Wa Nga Wha. (wh=f)

E He Ke Me, E He Ke Me Ne Pe Re Te We Nge Whe...

I

O

U Hu Ku Mu, U Hu Ku Mu Nu Pu Ru Tu Wu Ngu Whu!

Awesome.

Yeah so that's class so far! I'll definitely update more about my profs and assessments and stuff, but that's just a little taste.

I'll talk to you all soon and I have to have to have to have to write about my crazy weekend. Cliff jumping, ridiculous hiking, camping on the beach, and tsunamis :)

xoxoxo Miss you all so much and thanks for reading :) It makes me so happy to see comments!