when music was

so friday night i decided to go to this concert. i met this english sista in the park on thursday and she was teaching me to poi (long chains with balls -sometimes on fire- on the ends that you swing and dance with) when we were approached about this concert. the flier grabbed my interest so i decided to go.

the flier said 9:30 which of course means much later…but i knew if i waited until later then i’d be asleep…not to mention i wasn’t sure if the “rule of tardiness” was the same here. and wouldn’t it suck for me to walk all the way down K street and find this spot only to discover i missed them.

so anyway, after sorting out the details of where i needed to go i tromped down K street – past the street i needed – but evenutally found it. the group, or some semblance of the 9 of them, was playing. very jazzy funky stuff. the room wasn’t very crowded and those gathered weren’t very enthusiastic. but the music was interesting and, well, actually music. there were horns and guitars and drums. and the singer…imagine this…he had a voice that could melt ice in the winter…i mean he had a set of pipes.

so a few songs later they said thank you and departed.

i missed it.

only they were just goofing off and the real show hadn’t started yet. a half hour or so later there was an organized dance opener (did i mention that this city is full of folks who can dance…i mean everyone…or almost everyone since i live here now!). then came a showing of the freshly finished video for sunshine day. brilliantly fun.

then came the spacifix !

9 people on stage having a great time. and the crowd, though not huge, was definitely enthusastic. singing along, dancing. it was at once exhilerating and relaxing to be sitting there listening to them.

turns out they are zed’s youngest professional group. and they were VERY professional.

this was their last perfermance at galatos for a while…they are headed to LA to gig, among other places. but if you like singing…without all the extra help, if you like instruments and seeing the people who are ACTUALLY playing them, if you like reggae, funk, hip hop with a little classic feel from the likes of sinatra and ray charles…well you can’t get any more specific than spacifix.

look what one of my friends discovered…you rock man!

2 entries found for Nauruan.
Na·u·ru   Audio pronunciation of “Nauruan” ( P )  Pronunciation Key 
(nä-r)
Formerly Pleasant Island.

adj : of or relating to the island republic of Nauru or its residents
[syn:
Nauruan] n : a native or inhabitant of Nauru [syn: Nauruan]

NWA…it was walking past me at a clip and I couldn’t resist but to reach out so I could get a better look. The guy wasn’t European…maybe pacific islander – I’m not clued in yet on who looks like what except that apparently I look Fijian.

Anyway, below the bold letters, white against a black shirt, read nuerians with attitude. I couldn’t contain it, I reached out gently in his general direction and asked what a nuerian was…I’m not even sure I’m spelling it right…no matter he said he didn’t know.

So here I am days from home – literally – and I find  t-shirt that has ceased to be what I thought it was…despite the exact same font and coloring…this is my new Zealand…the zed, as I’ve started referring to it.

Today’s adventure…after sleeping late to recover from last night’s (more later on that) was the market down on queen street. Stalls filled with the usual. The usual in a zed context anyway. Lots of clothes that, while possibly interesting to look at, rather uninteresting to wear. Buttons and purses…crafts.

There were some maori crafts that were actually being sold by maori. There was jewelry made from native materials. And of course there was food.

Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, sweet roasted nuts (new york style) and the sort. And just sitting around taking in the sites I ran into some Americans who moved from Hawaii, an Ethiopian who has made zed her home, a brasilian and company playing the instruments for capoeira.

Wandering from there into the streets abuzz with weekend shoppers I finally succumbed and bought a phone while managing to avoid the very cheap massage place in the mall (my funds are currently messed up as the result of a misunderstanding with rotary). A full day and it isn’t even 5 yet.

I was informed that there is a symphony or something gong on tonight up the hill (one of many) toward the museums. Tired as my feet are…I may try to see what is going on there tonight…or I may pace myself for the coming week…I’ll see how I’m feeling.

*lets begin with some definitions shall we.

boob in the first context refers to my ample boosom.

bras in this case refers to the shopping excursion for, shall we say corrals for said ample boosom, that i shopped for before i departed for nz.

boob in this context is an idiot.

that straight let me share a little story.

so i’m walking to a party at the pub last night. it is bright daylight although we’re nearing on 8pm. and i come to an intersection on queen street that is teeming with folks heading for food or fun or whatever.

i look around becasue i love looking around this place…it is still so new…and this man in a leather jacket and sunglasses looks me in the face and says, “are they real?”.

i’m taken aback. i have encountered countless sexual advances and inappropriate conversqations and touches in my life, in multiple countries but this one seemed out of the clear blue sky. i looked at him squarely and wodered if i should answer…it was a fleeting thought and i looked in another direction assuming that was the end of it. but no.

a moment later when i checked the light he inquired again, quite earnestly…”are they yours?”

now, the background to this, for me anyway, goes back to my shopping excursion the day before i left texas. oprah apparently did a show on undergarments and how most women are wearing the wrong sized bra. my sister took to this and went out and bought herself some new bras (and it does make a huge difference).

for my part, she decided i should not depart the country without better fitting underwear. so we spent well over an hour in some store trying on no less than 50 bras (i’m so not kidding) and flashing the bra expert (bless her heart she was AMAZING) to find 2…count them 2 bras.

and so now the girls sit up pretty high and perky. that said, i guess i can’t be too surprised that they garnered a little more attention then they used to.

Today was a lounging kind of day. Different from the last few in that I’ve actually been in my room for a few hours – in that I plan to cook dinner for myself. Even so, it has been event filled.

I rode my first bus. I don’t know why that is a big deal to me, but it always has been in. in south Africa it made more sense because there was a language issue…but even in ny my pulse quickens just a bit. Buses aren’t like trains – held to some preconceived idea of where I should go…instead they roam free and if I am not careful I roam free as well.

But today’s adventure was less adventurous. I made it to the store to find a converter. Like every other store they were out. Disappointed I gathered a few other things and headed to the $2 store. Alas…I love the $2 store. My converter – no packaging – no proof that I was its first user – but – $2!

So, at long last, I am charging my iPod (it has been charging for more than an hour now!) and my computer for that matter. I finally got my internet active in my room. I’m enrolled in all four classes. I met a friend for a quick chat. I went to a lecture (very funny guy) about nz politics.

Not bad for a “leisurely” day.

in all I am ever fascinated by nz. At once so international but like America, preoccupied with the idea that so many people from so many places have converged.

I must admit it has been interesting for people to assume I am Fijian instead of black American. I find myself watching folks and trying to guess…I don’t know why I care…but I guess it is that good ole American preoccupation.

so, today my adventure was with a papau new guinean, kenyan, and a french by way of portugal and cape verde. it started with a useless orientation, but i made friends and hung out all day and had good food (and the cheapest sushi EVER). ulitmately i am still smiling for no good reason.

to top it off – my roommate rocks. she is chinese and we talked for a few hours last night about pretty much everything. things are feeling great. now, if i can just meet some kiwis to round out my new found friends i will be on top of the world!

there are few things as comforting to me as a big steaming hot pot filled with rice, raw egg, vegetables and bits of beef. a korean dish, i thank my friend kathy for introducing me to a world of flavors that insist on partying on every taste bud.

i’ve been not quite under the weather so much as my allergies and body are adjusting to a new world. as such my sinuses are acting like spoiled two year olds and my body is demanding sleep at the most inopportune moments.

after my host family dropped me at my new flat (information will be forth coming) i decided i needed to find an adapter – after walking around the hills of auckland to no avail i did come acros a korean restaurant. i was straving and tired and a little out of sorts so i sat down and ordered.

a few moments later an array of opening dishes – including a delicate soup, seaweed and pickeled cucumbers and an array of other things i can’t begin to name – crowded my table. another moment and a sizzeling cast iron pot was set before me.

all at once my sinuses began to clear. i was sweating but it was a good sweat responding to the eat coming from my food. i drank clear cool water and retrained myself on korean chopsticks (the hardest of all chopsticks with they’re thin metal rods that slip food like slick floors). it was wonderful. even sitting by myself (something i usually hate) listening to random amierican hip hop in the background, i was at once soothed and at home.

i do believe i will have to hit that place up at least once a week.

as for everything else – new zealand is interesting. folks seem to feel ok about speaking ill of the maori. not quite horrible things – but things that i question that they’d say if a maori were present. at the same time, america is here and not here. there are golden arches of course, but also wendy’s, dominoes, pizza hut and burger king. and blockbuster.

on the other hand south africa is heavily represented. complete with amarula (eat your hearts out SA4), nanodos (eat your heart out dad), ceres and wheetabix. bizzare to see so many of my worlds crashing together.

thus far my expereinces have been limited. but getting settled in and going to orientation tomorrow should begin to change that.

oh yeah, i did my first rotary duties. my first full day (saturday) i woke up bright and early to lay concrete as part of one their projects and then went to the opening of a bike park they sponsored. next week i’ll go to meeting – the speaker will be a palestinian speaking about the conflict in isreal…i can’t wait.

never try out a new bra when you will be in it for two days. otherwise you will discover that it pokes you right in the fleshy part of your boob and the tender part of your underarm when you can’t do anything but suffer through it.

in other news…today was eventful…i spoke to professors, got to know part of the campus (not my part but that is neither here nor there). i think i found an apartment – it even has a phone where folks can reach me and internet where i can try the phone thing through cyberspace.

it is possible that i will move in as early as tomorrow. it is also possilbe that i will go to a rotary function bright and early at 8am tomorrow. i want to – i have to see if my body is willing. given that i have not slept since the wee hours of this morning…and that my body is about 21 hours off from my usual time…and that i walked EVERYWHERE ALL DAY TODAY…let’s just say i’m a little on the tired side. of course being so far south it is 8:15 and the sun is just beginning to think about setting…gotta love the summers here.

the weather was beautiful, the city international, the people friendly, and i am ready for bed.

more later when i can think.

so…as i suspected, 12 hours is not too rough a patch on a plane. i made it here with minimal issues (except you will get ticketed at LAX if you don’t move along like the signs say!). folks have been friendly. i’ve been at the university all day long trying to sort out classes and living arrangements and banks and any number of details that i was unable to do while sitting comfortably in texas with nothing else to see or do.

the weather is beautiful – the city seems walkable. i made my first friend and she loves dim sum…so we’ve decided once i get settled i’ll give her a shout and off we’ll go to eat and rave (i told her i’m too old and she told me she is too – 28! so there…i’m old and i’m going to rave!).

i had alll these funny tidbits in my head i wanted to share but they are gone for the moment…once i get more info i’ll let you all know. in the meantime – know i am safe, my sponsor was there smiling with his wife, and i am trying to make things happen this side.

smooches!

by the by, in NZ fanny means the front side not the back…just thought you might want to know.

no big surprise to anyone who knows me…i have an opinion…about pretty much anything. my most recent inclination is to try to curb – not the opinion so much as my need to express said opinion. don’t get me wrong…this is my space here and people decide to visit so i am ok jumping atop my soapbox or linnea spectacles and taking a look at the world around me. what i am talking about is a fine line between lively conversations that i enjoy and something else.

i want two things from this.

number one…a few weeks ago i was sitting with friends and we got into a conversation about movies. someone brought up king kong. i have no and have never had any desire to see the movie…any of them. but my reasons are soundly planted in the idea of a huge ape running amuck in new york just to speak to me – no biggie. i could have just been silent. instead i took up a strain of conversation about the various “arguments” that the movie is actually a subtext about (keep in mind this is someone’s theory) black man’s love of white women and their eventual demise as a result…or something to that effect.

whatever.

the point is that i really don’t care that much about the theory or the movie itself. so why bring it up. mildly interesting…maybe…but why did i feel the need to add that little detail. life would have gone on fine if i had just nodded when someone asked about king kong and answered, “no, i haven’t seen. you?”

the other is just the idea of giving someone the space to say what they mean. or what they feel. or what they want to say. even if i agree. even if i have a story that fits. i want to practice the art of sometimes – not always – but sometimes just smiling and enjoying whatever i was privileged to hear.

of course if you bring up abortion or abstinence only hiv/aids education please know that i cannot be held to a smile and a nod.