Skanky but respectable

Haka face
The butts of the All Blacks doing the haka in front of the

South African rubgy team.
The haka on the big screen, SA would soon

find out they should be scared.
At my new fav bar called the Library, first

off you know how I love libraries, second the bar is filled

with books, and handy enough, a bathtub.

Perfect place to finish off my skanky but respectable evening. In order to achieve this difficult combo, I matched Forever 21 sequin dress (skanky) with a jacket from au Paris (respectable), and

leggings given the frigid temps of sitting outside for 3hrs

In the name of cultural exchange, and to honor the mission of Senator Fulbright, I decided I had to get tickets to see the All Blacks play South Africa in the only game in Wellington all season, even though they are priiicey and as I've established in earlier posts there's a bit of a Deepwater Horizon shooting cash out of my bank account. Also you may have heard of a small film called Invictus. Although it is mostly about race relations in South Africa, it also features the Rugby World Cup where New Zealand (All Blacks) lost to SA by one point. Now this is not in the movie, but it is a fact (by NZeders at least) that the team was poisoned by a woman named Sally who had been paid off by some British betting agency. So this is not only a rugby game, this is part of a historical grievance. Last weekend the All Blacks beat SA fiercely, and at the Wellington game, they did it again, including a bit of a fight in the first two min. We bought the cheapest tickets, and somehow that translates to front row in the end zone (try line in rugby speak), so front row for the haka - or so I thought....it was really front row to their butts doing the haka, still not that bad. Additionally, Alice (my roomate in case you're new to this blog) suggested that dating/pashing an All Black would be pretty high up there in terms of cultural exchange for me while I'm here. Not one to balk at my cultural Fulbright exchange duty, I consulted Alice on how this could best be accomplished. She suggested going out after the game to one of the bars that the All Blacks frequent and dressing "skanky but respectable" so that I have an edge over the other ladies in want of their attention, who would be more of the skanky variety. Hmmm, I feel like this is sort of like when you receive an invite for an event that says "Smart casual". I also had to somehow fit "skanky and respectable" into an outfit that I could sit outside in in the freezing rain and wind....Never one to step down from a wardrobe challenge I managed to put something together, although Alice and Aaron were encouraging me to be skankier. In the end, we never tracked them (the All Blacks) down....but it did provide me with some insight on NZeders and celebrity....

So in previous posts, I've mentioned that NZeders don't "Do" celebrity. Well I now reckon they actually DO. Example one, people lining up for autographs at the All Blacks game. Example two, the radio is constantly full of gossip/updates about American celebrities. I think that NZeders in their ultimate hipsterness (aka too cool for celebrities) and their Tall Poppy Syndrome (something very foreign for us that claw and scratch at each other to get ahead, here if anyone excels too high, they cut them down, hence egalitarian/don't do celebrity culture) that they think they don't do celebrity, when they actually do when it comes down to it.

On the note of cultural exchange, I've mentioned previously that I'm pretty removed from the international news here. I've decided that this will probably make my eventual return to somewhere back in reality more difficult, so I've started reading the Economist at my office and occasionally the NY Times when I can't sleep. Each time that I take this foray, I'm reminded how depressing the news outside of New Zealand is. Just to give you a comparison - the big news in New Zealand in the past two weeks:

-Moko the dolphin passed away from natural causes. Moko was a somewhat socially retarded dolphin who swam up a river in the East Cape and played with and befriended all the locals. Sad news, but a totally different kind of sad.

-The National gov't has decided not to explore mining in national parks because (get this), the New Zealand public doesn't want them to, AND THEY LISTENED.

- If you call in sick to work now, you'll have to show a doctor's note if your employer asks for it (I know, crazy)

-Napier is making a bid to get pandas here to attract more tourists who may be bored by just the art deco and wine tasting that they have to offer (umm, that sounds good enough to me, but throw in some pandas, sure I'll take it)

-A Kiwi invented a device for quadriplegics that enables them to stand and walk around

-Being gay/lesbian is in, and now teens are just saying they're gay/lesbian to fit in and clubs are popping up at high schools and they have to turn people away

-Oh and yeah, the All Blacks are trouncing South Africa

So hopefully that gives you a bit of what I'm living in and the vast difference in news and reality. Now I know that the reverse culture shock is going to be fierce, but I don't think I can even begin to prepare for it.

This week I'm at a conference on sustainable futures with Maori lands - yes perfect for my research. I was originally supposed to present at it, but given some iwi drama, I'm not. The conference is pretty pricey, so I applied for a scholarship to attend the conference by designing a poster - AND I got it, even though I'm graphically a bit slow and this poster is a bit second graderish. And they're paying for me to stay in a proper hotel. Funny the juxtaposition of my situation now with a year ago. A year ago I was traveling around the world on the Bank's dime and presenting under the Bank's name, staying at swanky hotels often in my own suite with way more than I would ever need. Now I stay at backpackers in a bunkbed with 10 other ppl in the same room, and pack my own food to cook in the communal kitchen - oh how far I've come. So you can imagine my excitement being in a real hotel room, to myself, with cable tv (6 Channels!) and free internet! Its like a whole new world.