Author: Hope Herrington
On this day, we got to sleep until 7:45am. We usually have to wake up earlier so this was a good change. After eating breakfast, we drove to this women’s house who was an expert on herbal medicine. She told us all about ways we could heal ourselves just using the plants around us. Whenever I am sick, I often just go to the doctor so learning about this other form of medicine was incredibly interesting. We started off the morning going over what kind of herbal medicine we take ourselves. After going around the room, she gave us more information about the medicine that we take. We had the opportunity to walk around her garden and find the plants that we talked about. It was interesting seeing what the plants actually looked like. Usually when you get medicine, the plant is not in its original form so it was cool seeing what the plant actually looked like. We were also able to earn how medicine has changed over the years and had time to ask her questions. One problem that we have had this trip was the mosquitoes. The majority of us have a lot of itchy bug bites so we asked her what kind of medicine would help. She was very nice and offered to make us something just for our group.
After, we did some yard work. We pulled out a lot of weeds and I got to cut down giant garlic plants. Suzannah, one of our leaders, created a competition with who could find the longest weed. The game was a lot more fun than it sounds. Our group is very competitive which made the day fun. The winner of the competition was Arianna. After working, we got to go back to her house. She had prepared us some tea to drink, and we got to reflect on what we learned about during the morning.
After this activity, we had some free time. Most of us decided to walk around town. Downtown in Raglan is about two blocks of stores which makes it easy to get around. Even though it was a Tuesday around 3pm, the majority of the stores were closed. In town, we were able to do laundry. Like our yard work competition, this activity was a lot more exciting than it sounds. For the rest of the afternoon, I walked between the limited stores that we open.
Later that night, our group also got to learn another song. We had learned a song a few days ago and we were all excited to learn a new one. The song was about five words so you would think it would be simple. It was not.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauatamateahaumaitawhitiurehaeaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
Yes, this is one word. Some of you might be looking at this word and won’t know how to pronounce it. Don’t worry. We practiced for a while and I still don’t think I am saying it correctly. You might think that this is the most complicated part of the song, but it was not. Once we were able to pronounce the word, they wanted us to sing the song in rounds. One group would start singing, and at a certain point, a second group would join in. While this was a little confusing, our group stayed positive and it was a lot of fun.
Later on, the family joined us for dinner. After dinner, we got to ask them about their culture and traditions. They showed us some of their traditional clothing and we got to ask them a lot of questions. At the end, Kimo and Maddie performed a haka which was super awesome. I have met so many amazing people throughout the trip and each person we have has not only taught us about their culture, but welcomed us.
At the end of the day, we went over our highs and lows. My high was the hike the previous day. Even though it was tiring walking up, the view at the top was completely worth it. At the top of the mountain, we got some time to reflect on parts of our trip. During this time, I sat at the edge of this cliff overlooking the water. I have been fortunate enough to travel a lot growing up, however, this was one of the prettiest views I have ever seen. The sun was coming out through the clouds and the only thing I could see was the ocean and mountains. My low was the fact that I now consider waking up at 7:45am sleeping in. While waking up this early is not ideal, I know it is because our day is packing with different adventures so in the end it is not that bad.
After going around saying our highs and lows, Maddie, one of our friends we met on the trip, told us a very frightening story. This story was about how the Mari that we are on might be somewhat haunted by a young girl. I would say more details about this story; however, as soon as she mentioned this I covered my ears and refused to hear any more. Based off of people’s reactions in the room, I knew covering my ears was the right decision. The majority of us were on edge after the story. The ghost was said to be friendly, but no one wanted to take any chances. She could have just been joking; however, the hallway definitely seemed like a place that would be haunted. There was a room where we were staying that that was said not to be haunted that a small group of us were staying in. After this story was mentioned, many collected their things and came our room. Despite this stressful end to the day, it was still a good day. We have had a lot of experiences that I will never forget and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip will bring.
Mom, Dad, Henry, and Greta I miss you guys!! Give Eddie and Felix (our puppers) a big hug for me and make sure they are getting enough attention. See you soon <3