Aroha

(Hongi--sharing breath--traditional Maori greeting)
Good Morning, everyone!
So I'm in a pretty good mood today, wanna know why!? SUN!!!

Yes, the sun has officially come out. No, there's no blue skies, nor warm breezes, but there's a bright sun poking out and it immediately made me feel thousands of times better.

I wrote my Philosophy paper on Homeopathy, and even though it's not fantastic, it's not too too bad. Dickie was a gem and edited it for me, and he's a super tough critic. I'm really excited that I'm done, so I'll print it out today after class and hand it in a day early. Yes, I'm an eager beaver, or as they say here in Kiwi-a-go-go Land:
"Jesus, you're keen"

Yes. I. Am!

I woke up this morning super early and got my shizzle together to work on my Maori Art History Paper. There are two essay prompts that we can pick from or we can make one ourselves. So, of course, being keen, I chose my own essay prompt. Identity as a Medium in Maori Toi and how that compares to all Art. Can Identity be a medium in Non-Maori Art? I say yes! Haha, we'll see how this goes.

So I marched happily, squinting in the sunlight, through the soggy campus, dodging the wormies on the footpath...It was at 10ish when everyone was in class already and there were just the few stragglers racing on their skateboards. Ok, I found my mecca. I love libraries in general, but the Maori Library, Macmillan Brown, is amazing. The technology is really lame, I'm typing on an old school keyboard that's extra clicky (sorry people around me). You can't take out any books, which is also kind of lame, but the resources are slim. It's beautiful in here. I wish I had my camera to take pictures. It has kind of an old school-house vibe mixed with a whare (Maori meeting house). There are exposed wooden rafters and beautiful art work everywhere.

Oh, so for my paper I'm using examples of Maori Identity within the art. Like in Ta Moko (tattoos), contemporary paintings from Maori and non-Maori, and other art (sculptures, weaving, etc)...I was looking in this beautiful book about Pacific Island tattoos and I came across probably the most gorgeous human in the entire world. I'm trying to find a picture of her and these ridiculous tattoos on her belly/legs, but no such luck. Take my word for it. Crazy. Don't worry, everyone, I'm not getting Moko anywhere. First of all, no spanks! Second of all, I'm not Maori and I'd be a gigantic poser. Third of all, I'd like to live to see my 21st b-day and I'm not sure my mom would be kosher with black lips and a moustache-tattoo :)
I don't need Moko to show that I'm strong, passionate, interesting..."I wear mine on the inside" (Stupid quote from a Maori movie...no judging)

Anyway, I've been super duper mopey for the past couple of weeks. Just a lot going on. Unnecessary drama and sadness. But! When I come to Mac. Brown, I just get swept up in the Maori art of Robyn Kahukiwa and David Pearce and I get in the zone. Gotta finish my work!

I've also been thinking about my Junior/Senior Honors Project. I really want to do something about Maori Karakia, or prayers, because they're just so interesting. I stumbled upon a book here entitled, "Grace" about Maori Prayers and how they have changed post-colonization. How can I use Maori poems/songs/prayers and not have it be so narrow? I wish Mass. was closer to Native American Reservations so I could do some comparisons. I guess I'll just exhaust my resources here in my study break before I leave and then check out what Boston has to offer. Hmm...Just brainstorming!

Anyway, I have to run to class now. Three hours in the stacks of Mac. Brown might be a little excessive.

Kisses to everyone, and I'll be home SO soon. 28 days (EEEEK!)
Classes end on Thursday for me. After my three exams back to back to back. Now, that's just cruel. After that, I'm going to try to convince people to rent a car with me because I haven't been to the West Coast yet. I want to do the Pancake Rocks, Cave Rafting, Split Apple Rock, Maybe Franz Josef if I can find someone who hasn't done it...(Boo.)
Yeah, so the North Island was a no-go apparently. I'll explain later. Super Boo. Whatever.

Then I'm going to Dunedin on the 19th for an All Blacks game. The tickets are sold out, but I think I'm going to just watch it in a Pub nearby. Can't wait!

Send me good vibes for this coming up week. It's the calm before the epic storm on Thursday. ::Just Breathe::

I'm sending all my Aroha to you all right now and keep sending sunshine my way!

<3 G