Night at the Marae

    To finish our time with Kuaka, the local Maori people host us at their Marae for the night.  We arrived in the afternoon and our leaders spoke about our trip.  We discussed the impacts we have had on New Zealand and the impacts this program has had on us.  This really made me realize how great an my experience this has been here.  We walked down to see their waka (a huge traditional Maori boat).  They made dinner for us, which was delicious.  Afterwards they perform for us; they all sing and play guitar.  They men do the haka (the traditional Maori war dance), they were so good and it was an awesome thing to see.  They also taught the men in our group the haka, they were not very good.   Some people in our group had to act out the Maori story of creation.  Afterwards, we had to preform.  We sung "Stand By Me," and did a little skit about our experiences here; it turned out good.  At night some of us played a little rugby with one of the Maori guys.  We all had mattresses laid out on the ground in the Marae.  In the morning they made us breakfast and we had a farewell ceremony.  A few people spoke and thanked each other.  The Maori people we met are the friendliest, most welcoming people I have ever meet.  This experience was the perfect wasy to end the first two weeks.