Diary of a German exchange student

As it appeared in the New Zealand Herald - College Herald, June 2010.

When I first arrived in New Zealand I was with a big group of German teen­agers. A show was put on for us about Maori culture, which impressed me by how close the people were to their culture. They showed us how to dance the kapa hake and explained a lot about the history. I really like Maori culture because it is different to anything else I have seen.

I went to a marae camp and we stayed in the wharenui. The arrival was very warm but how they greet each other, with nose on nose, that was a little bit strange for me the first time. But I am used to it now and respect it. I learned how to dance with poi and a group did a haka for us.
Kapa haka is an amazing dance. It is so different to other dances — you don't have to look pretty. How they sing, how they move and how they use the power in their voice — it seems really strong and it repre­sents power. It is a very impressive way to dance and the music is very important for the Maori culture.

In Germany we have a lot of differ­ent cultures but nobody is really inter­ested in them or participating in them. We don't have a common outfit or com­mon songs which we are singing or wearing. So I never developed a love of my culture. I am very impressed with Maori girls from my school who do a lot for and with their culture.

The Maori language is quite hard for me to learn and to understand. But, for example, if the school sings the son "He Honere" (if I have the text on a paper in front of me), I really enjoy singing in that language and I always sing it loud and very proud, even if I'm not a Maori girl. To hear everybody singing that song it just sounds so great I want to be part of it, even if I can't really under­stand what I am singing.

And then there is the hangi, a very popular meal, which you have to cook in the ground. You dig a hole in the ground and heat up stones for a while with a large fire, then place baskets of food on the stones and cover every thing with earth. After a couple of hours it's ready to eat. I tried it but its not my favourite meal.

I like studying Maori culture but to be actually involved in the culture, have friends from that culture and to see what they do, how they speak, how they dance, how they sing — and to actually see it for myself -- are probably the best experiences I can have in New Zealand.

German exchange student Sabrina Schlesselmann, Year 13, New Plymouth Girls High

Click this link to see how a hangi is made
http://www.natasha.aupouri.com/other/hangi.html