"It's a bit primitive, what we do."

“Uh Oh,” I thought to myself when Murray told me what tramping would be like. He and his wife Brigid came over to my flat yesterday to inspect my gear and let me fill me in on the itinerary for our upcoming travels. (They’re the family that Kate put me in touch with before I came over here.) Anyway, Murray approved most of my gear and advised me to make sure I pack enough clothes for all sorts of weather conditions. Unlike the weather in the States, the weather here is unpredictable, and it changes quickly. There is no Birmingham here in New Zealand to look to for tomorrow’s weather. So Murray told me that if I was comfortable clothes-wise, I’d love the tramp. Otherwise, he said me casually, “You’ll hate it.”

He did say that the views would be spectacular if the weather is good, so I’ll take my camera and hope for the best. I’ll be wearing my tramping boots around the flat until I leave, seeing as I have only worn them twice before—and gotten blisters both times. Besides the whole boot-and-blister problem, there is the issue of the actual tramping. I have this little rosy memory problem about the tramps I do. While I’m climbing uphill, I wonder how I became deluded into thinking that particular tramp was a good idea. Then, after I get to the top of the hill or finish the tramp, I instantly forget the pain and effort it took to get there and think tramping is a wonderful thing. I think I was in one of those enthusiastic and delusional moods when I committed to this tramp . . . I hope the enthusiasm will return by the time we reach the base of the track!

**We’re doing the Routeburn Track, which is located in the
southwest corner of the South Island near Milford Sound. Its 32km total, and we’ll do it in three days and two nights. It is considered one of the “Great Walks” of New Zealand and is supposed to be “easy.” But, “easy,” here means that, most likely, you will survive. At least this tramp is not “moderate,” which indicates that survival is not a given. Assuming I survive the tramp, I’ll be back next Sunday and will head up to Wellington via train and ferry on Monday.

I am carrying all of this on my back for 3 days?

Back in Flat 42, drama continues. The sign I posted in the kitchen about cleaning dishes has not yet had an effect on the cleanliness of the kitchen. Mia turned 24 yesterday, and I woke up Thursday morning to find two random girls in the toilets. I never saw them after I left for bike volunteering that morning. There is some good news to report though: German Maria and her boyfriend Stefan made noodles from scratch and invited me to have lunch with them yesterday. They even let me help scrape the noodles into the boiling water! After the noodles cooked, they combined them with cheese and sauteed onions to make more sophisticated version of macaroni and cheese that is traditionally German. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and compared the geography and culture of our home countries. It was delightful!

Click to see the album!

In Flat 47, however, I somehow managed to start a debate among the Kiwis there about the culture and identity of New Zealand. I was working on my Religion essay there, and I asked my friend Moana to read a bit because I was curious about her opinion. From the books I’d read in my research, I had learned about New Zealand’s lack of national identity and their related lack of art and literature. In lectures, Mike (the lecturer) emphasizes frequently that the only culture that New Zealand has is that of the Maori; he insists that the Pakeha (the white people here) have no culture of their own. After reading about this point in my essay, Moana vehemently disagreed; from her perspective, the Maori and Pakeha are a blended, dual culture and together produce plenty of so-called “culture.” Richard, another member of Flat 47 and a Kiwi, felt that New Zealand Pakeha have no culture of their own. He and Moana did agree, however, that New Zealand literature has little worth in itself and that they prefer books from other countries to those written here.

Moana also got angry when she read I wrote about the relationship of many New Zealanders to the land. From what I’d read and heard from Mike, New Zealanders market their landscape as “100% Pure” to foreigners, find their identity in nature, and sometimes practice a kind of pagan land-worship. Mike claims that New Zealanders who find their identity in the land but don’t actually go out in nature—which he says is the case for most Kiwis—are hypocritical. Moana, on the other hand, sees nature as an integral and true part of New Zealand identity for each New Zealander, whether or not he or she spends time in nature.

The next day, Thursday, I went to my Religion lecture a bit more confused than usual. To further complicate matters, Mike moved on to the topic of Lloyd Geering, a “prophet” of New Zealand who has been central to religious life here. He talked about Geering’s life and especially his trial for doctrinal error in 1967; Geering, head of a theological college, had denied the existence of the immortal soul and the resurrection of Jesus. Mike, a supporter of Geering, presented a biased view of the trial, and then he criticized Christians for opposing Geering. His lecture about Geering grew into a rant about Christians, and his tone became increasingly condescending as explained that Christians are deeply anti-Semitic and heretical. Most of the class laughed mockingly and in agreement at his conclusions—despite the fact that they didn’t understand some of the core tenets of Christianity. Some of my classmates had earlier made sweeping generalizations about Christians and false assumptions about Christian theology.

In this mostly secular country, the general attitude toward religion is this: God is illogical. Therefore, if you believe in God, you are illogical. I’m still surprised that my classmates, mostly religious studies majors, don’t see the need to respect religion—not only because it’s sacred for many people, but because it’s the subject to which they’re devoting three years of study. This course, called “Pakeha Prophets: New Zealand Christianity and Pakeha Identity” ignores, for the most part, the theology of the Pakeha here; instead, it focuses on the cultural and historical aspects of Christianity here and examines the ways that religion has shaped life—not how the religion is important in itself. Many students consider religion fascinating, yet silly. I’m still wondering how to engage in a dialogue about religion or defend my views in class if they consider me illogical before we even begin to talk.

After this confusing and frustrating week, I’m ready to get away from Christchurch for a bit. I’ve been here almost two months, but it seems like much longer. Last night, I said goodbye for three weeks to my friend here; it’s strange, not seeing them for three weeks, when we’ve only known each other for seven. Tomorrow morning I’m heading out with the Simmons family, still frustrated about my religion course, curious about New Zealand culture, but ready to be happily deluded in the mountains . . . the time has come to be primitive!