New Zealand food and the restaurants in its cities have obvious influences from all over the world. Especially in big cities like Auckland and Queenstown, a short walk down a main street will feature restaurants of a dozen different types and nationalities. However, certain influences stand out as stronger than others. The strongest influences come from Great Britain, East Asia, America, and New Zealand itself. This leads to a high concentration of foods like lamb, meat pies, fish and chips, sushi, noodles, and burgers. This is largely influenced by the history of colonization and immigration in New Zealand but has also changed recently due to patterns of tourism.

New Zealand’s own traditional dishes are predominantly lamb and meat pies. As one of the country’s main exports, sheep and lamb roam all over the countryside, and just about any local-themed restaurant will feature some lamb-themed dish. It is tender and juicy, similar to steak, but can be a bit gamier depending on the type of cut you order. It is also served with mint sauce, which is an interesting taste for someone who is not used to it. The first place I tried this, it literally tasted like toothpaste, but it has been milder at other restaurants. Meat pies are often featured in these settings as well. They are similar to something like chicken pot pies but with only steak or chicken and cheese filling, usually. In my opinion, New Zealand does not have a strong food identity like you might see with Mexican or Chinese food, for example.

The influence of other countries, mainly due to colonization and immigration, are strongest from Great Britain and East Asia. Great Britain’s influence manifests itself through one dish. The traditional British dish of fish and chips has become another quintessential New Zealand dish; probably up there with pies and lamb as one of the true New Zealand dishes. As you may know, this dish features fried pieces of fish and, as we know them, French fries. However, New Zealand vocabulary features the British word for them: chips. The Asian influence in food here is a bit more diverse and does not focus as much on one specific dish. Instead, that short walk mentioned earlier would likely feature foods from Japan, China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and more. Asian food has become highly popular in the cities of New Zealand, largely due to the large and increasing amount of immigration to New Zealand from East Asia. This started with the gold rush which began in the 1860s and has continued increasing ever since. China and India are currently at the top of the leaderboard for immigration to New Zealand.

The final influence we see is actually from the United States. Burgers, as well as American fast food, have become popular in New Zealand. You can find a Subway, McDonald’s, or KFC just about anywhere, and there are now also New Zealand-style burger chains like Burger Fuel all over the country. This is largely due to increased tourism, as that has recently taken over as New Zealand’s largest export, passing dairy, meat, and wool. The USA sends the third most tourists to New Zealand, behind China and Australia, and the effect of that is now in full force.

So while New Zealand does have its own quintessential dishes, the food scene is largely a diverse melting pot of influences. For that reason, I do not believe the country has the strongest food identity, but instead takes its huge spread of options and often puts its own twists on them. It certainly keeps eating interesting, and you really never know what you are going to get next.

Blog Entry #5: The Food

The history of New Zealand as a colony of Great Britain plays a great role in the sports that are popular here. Cricket was originally brought over by the British, and it gained popularity as a way for the colony to prove itself against Great Britain. There was a sort of little brother complex among many of the British colonies, and often the best way to combat those feelings was to defeat Great Britain at one of its own games. This is how the New Zealand Black Caps Cricket team, and the sport as a whole rose to popularity in New Zealand.

Many people who have never seen cricket (including myself before this trip) think it is similar to baseball. In reality, the two sports are nothing alike. Cricket is played on an oval-shaped field with a central pitch where most of the action takes place. At either end of the long, rectangular pitch are the wickets, which consist of three stumps with two bails balancing on top. There are two active batsmen at any given time, one stands ready to bat in front of one wicket, and the other stands near the opposite wicket, ready to run once the other batsman hits the ball. The bowler is roughly equivalent to the pitcher in baseball. The bowler throws the ball from one end of the pitch toward the wicket at the other end. The batsman’s job is to protect the wicket and score runs. This is done when the batsman strikes the ball and then changes places with the other batsman, running back and forth from wicket to wicket. If the batsman hits the ball to the boundary on a bounce, it is worth four runs and called a Four. If the ball goes over the boundary in the air, it is worth six points and called a Six (Cricket’s version of a homerun). This is where cricket gets complicated.

There are 11 ways to get out in cricket, (getting out is called a wicket as well; an inning consists of 10 wickets) and most people can only name about five. I will start with the most common and easiest ways to understand. If the bowler’s throw hits the stumps and a bail or bails fall, the batsman is out. This is why the batsman must protect the wicket above all else. If the batsman hits the ball in play and it is caught before hitting the ground, the batsman is out. The cricket field works in a 360-degree manner, meaning the batsman can hit the ball in any direction to try and score runs. Finally, if the fielder uses the ball to knock the bails off of the wicket while the batsmen are still running, the batsman running toward that wicket is out. Once a batsman is out, he is replaced by the next of the 11 total batsmen in the lineup. These are the most common ways of getting out, but as stated, there are many more that are less important to know.

Cricket has three different types of matches. All of them rely on a certain number of wickets/innings or overs. An over is six consecutive legal balls bowled by the bowler. Once an over is completed, a different bowler bowls for an over. The original format of cricket, called Test Cricket, consists of two innings (each inning consists of 10 wickets), if necessary, and lasts a maximum of five days. That is correct, it is a five-day match. 90 overs are bowled every day, and play then continues the next day. Whichever team has the most runs after two innings or five days of play wins the match. This is where perhaps the biggest issue with cricket originated. People lost interest in watching the same, slow-moving, conservatively-played cricket match for five entire days. Thus was born One-Day Cricket. This format features limited overs at 50 per side. Once 50 overs or 10 wickets are reached, the teams switch sides and the other team gets 50 overs and one inning of their own to outscore the first team. This certainly helped with the popularity of cricket, but it was still not enough. In 2003, another new form of cricket was introduced: Twenty20, or T20 cricket. This format features a 20 over and one inning limit per team. It lasts about three hours and has proved successful at increasing popularity and generating larger crowds in domestic and international competition.

T20 cricket is the format of the match that we attended between the New Zealand Black Caps and Sri Lanka. It was very entertaining, in my opinion, and the production crew did a great job of engaging the crowd, playing good music, and keeping people interested in general. These matches tend to feature more aggressive batting which makes for more entertaining cricket for most spectators. For this reason, I believe T20 cricket could gain popularity in the United States, and continue to gain/keep popularity in other countries if given the necessary exposure, and I would certainly like to continue watching cricket in the future.

Blog Entry #3: The Sport

Piha Beach is a beautiful beach about 40 minutes outside of downtown Auckland, New Zealand. It features natural rock formations (specifically, Lion Rock), gorgeous views, great surfing, and perhaps its best claim to fame: black sand. Piha Beach was one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. The moment you catch a glimpse of the beach from the winding mountain roads that circle down to it, it is obvious why this place is one of New Zealand’s most famous beaches. The sand really is black; originating from a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago, and Lion Rock really does look like a lion (from the right angle with a bit of imagination; shown below). But, believe it or not, there is actually more to Piha Beach than meets the eye. This location, again with emphasis on Lion Rock, carries with it a great deal of significance.

Lion Rock was once a Maori defensive settlement, a pa called Whakaari, that belonged to the iwi called Te Kawerau a Maki, which once laid claim to most of what is now Auckland. This is evidenced by a structure, called a pou, at the highest accessible point on the rock which is dedicated to an ancestress of the iwi, Ngati Tangiaro Taua. This pa was the last bastion of this Maori citadel. Once the colonial settlers took over New Zealand, and the Maori fell out of dominance, this area lost its significance as a stronghold and instead became what it is now: a beautiful beach with a largely forgotten past. However, in order to reach the most beautiful views that Piha Beach has to offer, located near the top of Lion Rock, you do have to cross the path of multiple instances of evidence about the former purpose and inhabitants of the rock.

Lion Rock also has ties to other sorts of struggles, specifically, those of the first World War. At the base of Lion Rock, just before the stairs leading toward the top of the rock, is a plaque dedicated to the men of the Piha State Sawmill. These men were some of the earliest to enlist into the war effort from New Zealand, and many of them paid the ultimate price. Over half of the mill’s workforce enlisted, 16 were killed in action or died of disease while overseas, and many more returned with injuries that deemed them unfit for work. Fred Farley, one of the few who made it back, headed the project to construct a memorial Roll of Honour on Lion Rock in memory of the men of the sawmill who served in the war. It still stands today, hard to miss, on the most recognizable landmark at Piha Beach.

So while Piha Beach is obviously stunning in its own natural state, it also carries with it a complex and interesting history. From a Maori stronghold, to a WWI memorial, to a famous beach and surf spot, Piha Beach has certainly earned its fame. It was truly a blessing to have the opportunity to visit a place like this, and I hope to be back again someday.

Blog Entry #6: The Public Historical Marker

Welcome to my New Zealand Study Abroad blog! The main purpose of this blog is to document a variety of experiences, things I learn, people I meet, and so on, while I am in New Zealand for the next three weeks. To start it off, I will break down a few things pertaining to the trip, including what I know currently about New Zealand (specifically sport culture), something I am excited about, something I am nervous about, and something I hope to learn. Let’s get started!

The academic focus of this trip is on the sport culture of New Zealand. Most of the knowledge I have on this topic has come from the various readings assigned before the trip. Before those, I had almost no knowledge of life in New Zealand at all, except for the fact that they play Rugby. The big thing I have learned already is that Rugby is sort of a way of life in New Zealand (albeit less so in recent years). The All Blacks (the national men’s team) are a source of national obsession and pride, and the sport itself represents what it is to be a New Zealander for many of its citizens. The Black Ferns (the national women’s team) has also had incredible international success in recent decades but receives much less respect and coverage than their male counterparts.

However, for women, the big sport is Netball. An adapted sort of basketball, netball began as a more “feminine” sport that was more “appropriate” for women than rugby. Women have embraced the sport, taken it over, and grown it to a popular national sport today. Soccer is also growing more popular in New Zealand. This is related to unfortunate stereotypes held by some of the Paheka population (New Zealanders of European descent) against the Maori (indigenous people of New Zealand) and the Indonesian population. This stereotype is that the Maori and Indonesian populations are more athletically and physically gifted, making them naturally better at rugby. Therefore, the Paheka population has migrated more towards soccer. While rugby is still the leading sport in the nation, soccer is now close behind.

Something I am very excited about on this trip is getting the opportunity to watch, learn about, and learn to play the various sports that are popular in New Zealand. This includes rugby, netball, cricket, and much more. We will get to visit with basketball teams, the All Blacks, netball teams, and more to learn about their sport, their strategies in management and marketing, and their role in New Zealand culture. I am very excited to learn about this part of the culture from first-hand accounts and experience the atmospheres and cultures of New Zealand sporting events.

Something I am nervous about is making the best of my time in New Zealand. This is a once in a lifetime trip, and in a country that has so much to offer in terms of exploration and new activities, I want to make sure that I can make the best of it. There are opportunities for hiking, canyoning, surfing, trying new food, bungee jumping, skydiving, and so much more. I know no matter what, there will always be more that I want to do. My main goal in this regard is to take advantage of the opportunities I have and to do and see things that I truly cannot do or see anywhere else. I do also plan on bungee jumping once we get to Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. This experience is something I am really looking forward to, and I want to make the best of it.

Something I hope to learn from the program is the role of sport in everyday life in a new country and culture, as well as how the passion related to sport in New Zealand compares to the passion in the United States. Here, we have four or five major sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer) that obviously transcend their respective stadiums and arenas. People wear their teams’ branded clothing, jerseys, and accessories everywhere they go, people talk about sports in a wide variety of settings, and sports make their way into the national media and are advertised everywhere. I am very interested to see if this is the same or similar in New Zealand. From what I have read so far, it seems that rugby in New Zealand will be similar to football here. People make a point to follow the team and watch the games. It is very interesting to me that with extremely different countries, cultures, and sports, the dynamics around them can still appear the same.

I am very excited for this trip and truly cannot believe that it will begin in only one more day. I cannot wait. Stay tuned for more updates!