April 30–May 6, 2008, Number 185
A Week for Remembrance
Welcome Back Everyone,
I heard a funny rumor that it's still snowing up there in Houghton. I suppose that makes me feel a little better considering how little I have gotten to enjoy my vacation this week. I have been working almost endlessly on essays and catching up on assignments that I've put off for the last few weeks, ok months. Nonetheless, there are a few tidbits to tell you all.
First, I want to explain a bit about the culture of New Zealand. In the recent weeks, I have attended several twenty-first birthday celebrations. Now, these have almost no comparison to the usual American twenty-first, except for the fact there is "partying" involved. What I would compare them to is a high school graduation party. They involve some of the best parts of grad parties: friends you haven't seen since grade school, tables full of tasty food and lots of relatives that trap you in awkward conversations. Oh, and the wall-of-photos, better known as "the shrine." Just like for graduations when I had a stack of eight invitations for parties that I had to attend and spent the afternoon, twenty-first celebrations often involve party hopping throughout the evening. I attended one for a friend (...of a friend...) that had a hugely elaborate R2D2 cake. It was SO awesome. The thing stood about two feet high and was decorated down to the last detail: buttons, craters and all! The best part was the hard white chocolate hiding between the marzipan and the chocolate cake. One thing that is really different about these parties is they feature the beloved speeches. I think that this is a tradition that needs to be brought back to the states. I mean, honestly who wouldn't want their family or friends to tell everyone else all their best and most embarrassing memories? I'm sure that my little sister would have come up with some dirt about me, despite my angelic past. Unfortunately, being a newcomer, I couldn't really bask in the joy of old memories, but it made me wish that I could have done that for some of my friends.
Back in the daytime, it has been an exciting week on campus; well at least for some of us. Wednesday morning began for me with several hours of essay writing, and by the time I got to campus I was starving for some kebabs. This is one of those cultural "false cognates." To my dismay, I learned when I arrived in New Zealand that these items do not come on a stick. Nor do they involve a tasty array of grilled vegetables and hearty meats. Instead, they involve lettuce, tomato, meat, and a variety of sauces all wrapped up in pita bread. The word "gyro" comes to mind for me, but apparently not for these silly kiwis. In any case, when I showed up on campus, I found that the fire alarm was going off and several of my friends had been evacuated from their lectures (what a shame!). As I walked past the buildings in question, I realized the source of the commotion; there was water from the sprinklers pouring out of the kebab stand. So much for my tasty lunch! Apparently there was, in fact, a fire in the small restaurant, resulting in lots of smoke and then some very soggy Indian employees (kebab stands are notoriously owned by Indians). I spoke with another friend of mine as we watched the fire truck pull up to the campus. She told me that there had been a car fire earlier that day in the campus parking lot. She also pointed out her extreme disappointment that none of the firefighters looked remotely like they had just stepped off some steamy calendar. Sorry Anita, no Mr. February here. Well like I said, it was an exciting day for some of us.
Two days later, we were excused from class for the entire day. No this was not in response to the fires; it was in honor of the national day of remembrance, ANZAC day. The day is set aside to remember the sacrifices of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I. Our fantastic weekly magazine, Satellite, told me a bit more about it. April 25, 1915 was the first day of the Allied invasion of Gallipoli in Turkey. The nine-month battle and eventual retreat resulted in over thirty thousand Allied fatalities, many of them New Zealanders. The day is honored here by dawn ceremonies and people camping on public lawns to attend them. I sadly, could not manage to get myself up for any of these dark and drizzly occasions. People also show their national pride by wearing poppies (made of plastic and fabric) on their lapels. This tradition dates back to the 1920's, as I have been informed. One of the tastier trademarks of this celebration is that of ANZAC biscuits. I guess I don't really mind not calling them cookies since they are quite hard and crispy, but they are very yummy. The hard biscuits were popular with soldiers since they were nutritious, kept well, and were a sweet indulgence. They are generally made using golden syrup, which I discovered is similar to molasses and treacle, but lighter and sweeter than both. The day as a whole was similar to our own Memorial Day, but it didn't have the added bonus of being the first state holiday of the summer. Plus there was significantly less Red-White-and-Blue to be seen for some odd reason. At least in my case, it gave me an opportunity to do a bit of relaxing before buckling down to homework for the remainder of the weekend.
This week seems to have the makings of some more sleep deprivation. At least there's no snow, is all I can say. However, I will be extremely jealous of all of you in a few weeks when you begin your summer break. As it turns out, I am about halfway through my touring and studies here, so all of those essays and projects I have been avoiding are now staring me in the face. And this at the moment when all of my friends are enjoying all their freedom, and I keep itching to do some more exploring! Don't worry though friends, I will always have stories to tell you, even if I have to make them up! Until next week, I bid you goodnight and farewell.
-
Yours Under Pressure,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885