Submitted by Alexandra Diamond on the 2020 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences…
This past week, I had the opportunity to learn about the Maori Culture here in New Zealand. We began by going to the wildlife reserve where we were able to see all the native birds including the Kiwi. Kiwi are nocturnal, so we weren’t able to take flash photos, or be very loud when trying to spot them. They have a lot of similar animals to us like cattle, horses, and even black swans. However, they had some native birds that are only found in New Zealand like the Kea and the Kiwi. Later in the night, we watched a reenactment of what the Maori culture was like back in the day. There was cultural dancing, speaking, and at the end we were able to enjoy a meal cooked by the Maori people. It was very interesting to learn about a culture different from my own.
Today, I was able to go to the International Antarctic Center where we were able to pet husky puppies, see penguins, and learn about how climate change really is affecting our wildlife. Being a pre-veterinary major, I take environmental impact seriously and seeing how the little penguins are in danger broke my heart. I found it interesting that to go to the International Antarctic Center you had to enter customs again in Christchurch, in order to get back onto U.S. soil. It was confusing to understand that you could still be on U.S. land in another country. However, the United States and New Zealand are very close partners in the Antarctic Treaty and work closely together to help maintain the ecosystem. Finally, I’m very excited for the week to come and to learn about a culture different from my own.
