Submitted by Dervla Doherty on the 2020 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences…
My time in New Zealand has only helped me to grow as a person and after today, I feel that my realm of culture has expanded greatly. I visited the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, just outside of Christchurch, and I was able to truly experience and appreciate the native wildlife and people that make New Zealand the great country that it is. We were introduced through a cultural immersion experience and after learning about different social and cultural aspects of the native Maori people, it has changed the way that I perceive things. As I watched the men and women dressed in their native clothes perform the Haka dance while speaking in their language, it made me realize how different my lifestyle and way that I grew up was different to them. However, I saw it as different in a beneficial way and I appreciated how welcoming and warm these people were because they just wanted to share their culture with us and educate us about their lifestyle.
The moment that really made me appreciate this lifestyle was when the women of the Ngai Tahu tribe invited me on stage and showed me how they perform ceremonial dances with the poi and I was able to learn and dance alongside them while my peers watched. This moment brought me so much pure joy and illustrated that although we grew up in such different cultures on opposite sides of the world, I was able to keep up on stage alongside them and I felt like I was included. The mixture of seeing all of the birds native to New Zealand, including their prideful kiwi, with the experience of standing alongside the Maori people and learning their culture expanded my perspective on the world and allowed me to deeply appreciate the country and people.