Hangi

Hohonga, nagha-hangi yung mga maoring kapitbahay namin. Ilang araw din akong na-puzzle don. It wasn't until Monday when I went to work that I learned about this maori tradition. Talagang ipinagtanong ko sa mga kasama kong kiwi kung ano ang posibleng ginagawa ng kapitbahay namin.

Hangi is a method of cooking food using super heated rocks buried in the ground in a pit oven. Traditional hāngi food includes pork, lamb or chicken with generous portions of root vegetables like kamote potato, carrot, etc. Di kasama sa recipe ang bata. ha ha ha

Buried 'n Burned

May party sa kapitbahay naming Maori nung Friday night. May mga adults na nag-iinuman sa deck. Yung mga bata naman masayang naghahabulan sa bakuran.

Extended hanggang Saturday yung kasiyahan nila. Doon na ata natulog lahat ng bisita. About 9am, some 6 adult males gathered in the backyard. Yung isa naman may hawak na ilang piraso ng tela (parang kumot). Yung dalawa may dalang pala at mukhang naghuhukay. Di masyadong makita yung actual na ginagawa nila kasi natatakpan ng bakod. Ilang minuto pa, may usok/apoy na galing doon. Tapos naisip ko yung mga bata. bat wala ng naglalaro? bat wala ng maingay? Naku, baka kaya may kine-cremate na sila doon. At higit sa lahat.... ang sampay ko!!! nauusukan!!!

I was in the verge of ringing 111. Bawal kasi yung nagsusunog sa bakuran. Kaso, nakita ko yung malaking Maori na puno na tattoo sa katawan at mukha. Sa loob-loob ko, maaagrabyado si Henry dito. So we just waited for what's gonna happen next.

5 hours later, tapos na ang cremation. Wala ng apos/usok. Tapos tinanggal nila yung tela na balot. Then kinain nila yung nasa loob non. Naku, asan na yung mga bata!!!

Itutuloy.....

Rangitoto trek

Auckland has 49 volcanoes. Rangitoto is largest and youngest one.

Last week, nag-class trip Vince doon. Since I haven't been there and I know it's going to be a difficult task for them, I volunteered for parent help. Marami parents sumama. Almost 1:1 ang parent-child ratio.

From St. Joseph's in Takapuna, a big bus took us to Devonport wharf. From there, we took a ferry boat ride to the island. O di ba, yun pa lang adventure na.

Nagsimula kaming maglakad nang 10am. Nakarating sa summit nang 11:30. Ang ganda ng view na dinaanan namin. May mga formed lava, iba-ibang klase ng halaman/puno, at view ng Auckland. I'm glad I spent that time with Vince.

Redundancy

definition: dismissal from work because a job ceases to exist. Back in the Phil, we call it retrenchment

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May bago kaming kasama sa tranaho. When he started Monday, we had morning tea to welcome him. Nag-speech sya ng konti. 8yrs daw sya sa isang telecomm company. A few months back, na-redundant sya. Tingin daw kasi ng mgmt ay kayang gawin nung bagong pinoy na kasama nya yung ginagawa nya. ha ha ha Iba talaga ang pinoy.

Melbourne Day

Melbourne Day noong Tuesday. Alam nyo bang isa sa mga highlights ng festvity na 'to ay ang Melbourne Cup (a horse race)? Ako di ko alam yon. Pero may kwento ako tungkol dito.

Umaga ng Tuesday, may narinig akong mga kalansin ng coins. My initial thought was someone's selling something for fundraising i.e Salvation Army, Foundation for the Blinds, etc. So naglabas na ako ng $2. Pag dating sa may desk ko, I found out that my collegue was collecting bets for Melbourne Cup. Dahil naglabas na akong barya, nakisali na din ako kahit di ko alam kung ano yon. Pinabunot ako ng pangalan ng kabayo. There are words, numbers and combination of both in there but I didn't bother to confirm which one is actually the horse's name.

Wednesday, nakangiti lahat sa akin. Nanalo daw yung kabayo! Yipeeee!!!! Kinuha ko yung nabunot kong papel. Nahihiya man, tinanong ko sa kanila kung alin doon yung pangalang ng kabayo. Tapos nagtawanan na lahat. I learned that it's actually VIEWED. Nakitawa din ako sa kanila pero mas masarap yung tawa ko. Syempre nasa akin yung premyo - $44. Not enough to buy me ticket to Melbourne so'll just get something to remind me of Melbourne Day.