Raro-who?

Well, my mid-semester break started last Friday (a week ago now) and I am forced to face the fact that this study abroad is halfway over. To remedy my grief at that realization, after a mad dash of papers and assignments, I took off to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands with the BU Program. Now for those of you (like me!) who have no idea where this place is, it is longitudinally about on par with Hawaii, but it is latitudinally on par with Northern Australia. The flight from Auckland was about 4 hours long, but we crossed the international date line while traveling which meant that we landed the day before we left. Time is weird. This 5 day trip is part of my study abroad experience through BU, so it was all included in the tuition for the program. I know I've said it before, but it really is nice to be able to see where that money goes. Since it was part of the program, though, we did lots of educational and cultural activities. Our first day allowed for some down time. We had breakfast at the resort with fresh tropical fruit and juices. Unfortunately it was overcast with scattered showers that day, but we still sat diligently on the beach enjoying the UV rays through the clouds. The sun did decide to peak out every now and again which was wonderful for swimming in the lagoon. The lagoon was like a large sandbar where you could walk through the water to the neighboring islands without dealing with waves crashing around you. In the afternoon we took a ride on a glass bottom boat and were given a talk by a Maori man regarding sea-faring in the Pacific. He taught us about the natural techniques used to navigate, the boats used, and other aspects of life on board the two-hulled wakas (canoes). He has spent much of his life traveling many of the distances that the original Pacific peoples would have done in their search of the south pacific. We had a nice break to go snorkeling where I saw so many different creatures. I really enjoyed the bright blue star fish. I had no idea that creatures in nature could be this color! Needless to say, the fish also in the reef were spectacular: orange, purple, green, blue, yellow, and red: quite the oceanic rainbow! After the boat trip, we went out to an island in the lagoon and had a BBQ of steak and fish. The picture at the top of this entry is from that island looking back at Rarotonga.

The next day started with a one hour lecture at the University of the South Pacific, Cook Islands. Bear in mind this consisted of a space smaller than that of my nursery school. The professor taught us about the history of the Cook Islands and expressed how difficult it has been for her to put together a history for the islands because it was so rarely recorded or even cared about. (sorry for the preposition there, Mom). After that we went to the primary school where the children prepared a cultural show of native songs and dances for us. I cannot express how unbelievable this was. Think of yourself in middle school (or younger) and your comfort level dancing around members of the opposite sex. These kids were amazing, though: poised, elegant and fun. They then taught us many native crafts involving weaving and braiding with plants. We taught them a little rain-storm-thing where the group ultimately progresses through making sounds of rain using your hands and feet, tough to put into words, but they realled enjoyed it. We told them they could use this to get rid of the rain that we apparently brought to the islands with us. We left the kids with little tokens of thanks: crayons, stickers, and chocolates. Somehow this didn't seem to be quite enough for all that they had shared with us. They were so friendly, warm, and welcoming.

Later that afternoon we went to the Whale Research Center where this woman, Nan, has set up a facility for teaching the natives about the local humpback populations. She was originally from Maine and after getting some kind of degree in nearly every field, she decided that whales were her passion. She swims with them, films them, and has brought numerous discoveries to the understanding of these creatures to the scientific community. She has been so successful that she's been featured in National Geographic, Animal Planet, and at science conventions worldwide. Amazingly enough, she was a mother of 4 children (well still is, really) before she came down to Rarotonga to pursue this dream of hers. Here's the research center's website if you're interested: http://whaleresearch.org/ .

The next day was a day of such physical activity that my muscles are still aching a bit. We started bright and early with a hike up to the pinnacle of the island. We were guided by a man who used to be a science teacher in New Zealand, but that has now devoted his life to researching the flora of the Cook Islands. His knowledge was baffling in that he could say so much about the native species versus those that had been brought to the island. Interestingly enough, many species are endemic to Rarotonga. Either way, the hike was informative and ended with beautiful views of the entire island. I'll ignore how many mosquitoes attacked my poor legs while on that trip. We also met one of Rarotonga's many roosters while hiking. They are not domesticated in the way they are elsewhere. They still wake you up cock-a-doodle-dooing in the middle of the night, but they also live in the wild and all over the island.

That afternoon we had a bit of free time to shop before getting ready for our dance lessons. We went to the local community center where young children in the beginner group were learning the local dances. We were just thrown in to join them in a large gymnasium. Thankfully we were all together in this learning process, strength in numbers, you know. It was still embarassing how difficult it was to do while these little kids lead you without effort. I guess I understand now what people felt about me skiing as a 2 year old. Try this dance: feet together, wrists on hips, bend your knees, Now, move each knee forward so that it forces your hips to swing to one side and then the other. Now, do this as fast as possible with regular hand movements, spinning, and steps. Repeat for one hour. I was sweating like a fiend at the end of our lesson and my legs and sides were soo sore. It was a lot of fun, though. Thankfully I have no pictures of the whole affair.

To make up for all of the physical activity, we gorged ourselves for dinner. That evening we went to a buffet followed by performances done by a local dance group. You may have noticed that dancing to these people is essential to life. The buffet was good, but the dessert table was phenomenal. Please enjoy this image of Sass after having merely sampled from the dessert assortment. Yes that is a dinner sized plate COVERED in cakes, mousses, creme puffs, and other amazing yummy things. I have never seen so many sweets in one place in my life.

The next day was our last on the island. We spent the morning going to local art galleries and shops to get a sense of the art community there. We did a little bit more shopping, but our main goal of the day was to get some down time in the sun. We spent four solid hours in the sun on the beach. The water was divine, cold enough to be refreshing and warm enough to feel like a bath. The day was pristine: fine white sand, sea-foam green water, perfect blue sky, and a lovely warm sun. Despite all of the activities we did, I still managed in that day to get some of my tan back from the trip to Greece. Let's hope it stays for a little while. I even accomplished some work for school for when I get back. I read three books in my time there! I highly recommend In My Father's Den by Maurice Gee (New Zealand writer). After the beach, we attended a lecture given by one of the professors for our SS315 course on the politics of New Zealand. Cook Islanders all hold New Zealand passports and are closely related in culture and many other ways, so this lecture was open to the public. I learned quite a bit, and it was interesting to see the number of people that came to listen given the quickly approaching NZ election. I can't imagine too many Americans going out to see a politics lecture by a professor in order to better understand an upcoming election.

We left the early the next morning but only after

enjoying a gorgeous sunset and a bonfire on the beach built by Survivor candidates John and Anya (not really, but they should be!). The sky was clear and filled with stars (unlike Auckland!). It is quite strange to look up at the sky and not recognize the constellations. Living in one place all your life, it becomes easy to feel safe in the notion that everyone looks up at the same sky at night. Things are certainly different on the other side of the world. Goodbye, Rarotonga!

Tonight I am going to the All Blacks versus the Wallabies (Australia) rugby game. This is the last one of the season, so it should be a great game. I am going to spend the rest of my morning packing for our trip to the South Island tomorrow and am going to the doctor. I think I am rocking a sinus infection and am hoping to get this cleared up as soon as possible. As always, check my ofoto pictures (the link is on the right hand side) to see the full pictorial account of the trip. I have barely given you a sampling on here!