Sing, Sing, Sing

Tēnā Koutou!
Kei te pēhea koutou i tēnei rā?

Kei te ngenge au.

Hello everyone!
How are you all today?
I am tired.


I've noticed that Kiwis say 'Aye' as much or more than Yoopers say 'Eh'.

They say it as a confirmation, as in saying 'yes' and making sure you understood their question, they use it to ask 'what?' if they didn't hear you, and sometimes they just say it after random sentences. I learned today that it's actually spelled 'Āe' [pronounced "ah-eh", heavy on the "ah"] and it means 'Yes' in Māori. Makes sense, eh? Or... āe?

Here is where I wait for the bus to get to school. Public transportation is free for Massey students!

Here is Tika visiting me in my room, little cutie

Also, I found a jazz band to play with! It's a big band with mostly older community members - similar to the Keweenaw Swing Band that I play with at home. I went to one rehearsal so far and it was a lot of fun! It's funny to me that trombone players have the same personality around the world :) Well, at least in the US and NZ. I'm borrowing a trombone from one of the band members who used to be in the New Zealand Army. He acquired the horn when he was in Singapore and sort of "stole" the trombone when he left the army. So it's been around! It definitely has character.

Here is what rehearsal looks like

And here's another Māori song that we learned in my class. This is a video that someone from a previous class recorded of my professor: 

Ngā Iwi e

Ngā Iwi e                                                                    All you people
Ngā Iwi e                                                                    All you people
Kia kotahi rā Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.                          Be united as one, like the Pacific Ocean.

*Chorus*
Ē  Ī  Ā  Ī  Ē
Whakarongo, tautoko!                                              Listen, Support!
Ē  Ī  Ā  Ī  Ē

Kia mau rā                                                                 Hold on firmly
Kia mau rā                                                                 Hold on firmly 
Ki te mana motuhake me te aroha.                            To your inheritance, and to compassion.

*Chorus*

Wāhine mā                                                                All you young women
Wāhine mā                                                                All you young women 
Maranga mai! Maranga mai! Kia kaha!                     Rise up! Rise up! Be strong!

*Chorus*

Tāne mā                                                                    All you lads
Tāne mā                                                                    All you lads  
Whakarongo, tauoko, kia kaha!                                 Listen, support, be strong! 

*Chorus*

E tama mā                                                                All you children
E tama mā                                                                All you children
Tama tū, tama tū, tama ora!                                      Stand up tall and live like men!

I have some exciting things planned for the near future, so keep an eye out for that :)

Kite koutou ano,

See you again,

Katie