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Hi guys! Joy and Leona here.<\/p>\n
Today was full of learning and muddy shoes. We started our day at a Maori clinic – Te Manu Toroa. They all graciously let us enter their environment and taught us about their healthcare system and practices. They welcomed us with a Powhiri. This is where the elder Maori of the group welcomes us in the Native Maori language and then he and the other Maori sing a welcome song. We then sang a song in return named\u00a0<\/span>My Heart Belongs in Michigan<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0written by\u00a0Stephanie Sabatine and MaryAnne Stott from the LSSU Native American Center. We also gave them gifts including the Bay Mills Tribe flag and a medicine wheel of the local Native American tribe in the Soo. Next, we participated in the Hongi, where the Maori line up and we shake hands and touch noses to greet each other. Lastly, the Powhiri was closed with a blessing. It was so interesting to learn that Maori people take ownership of their healthcare, and create programs tailored to the healthcare needs of their people. Their healthcare focus is truly based on a holistic view, including spiritual, biological and behavioral health. This was an experience that not many groups have the opportunity to explore, and we are thankful to Doug (our Kuaka guide), who arranged this for us.<\/p>\n After leaving the Maori Te Manu Toroa clinic we ate lunch at the park and changed clothes before heading out to give back to the environment. We walked through a restored rainforest and learned about each generation of plant life within the forest. These were part of a program created to provide mental wellness to the nature connection. Each of us were then given a 6 year old tree that would eventually grow to be over 50 meters tall and can live over 1,000 years. We then carried these trees onto the bus with us and transported them to an open wetland where they would have room to grow. We thought it was so funny that the cars we were passing wouldn’t have the slightest idea that the bus next to them had 18 trees on board. Hi guys! Joy and Leona here. Today was full of learning and muddy shoes. We started our day at a Maori clinic – Te Manu Toroa. They all graciously let us enter their environment and taught us about their healthcare system and practices. They welcomed us with a Powhiri. This[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newzealand"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa25mL-1F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":129,"url":"https:\/\/lakerblogs.lssu.edu\/studyabroad\/2019\/05\/09\/journey-to-waitaia\/","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":0},"title":"Journey to Waitaia","author":"kberchem","date":"May 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Monday May 6, 2019 Millie and Alison here! After yesterday's pre-dawn wake-up call to climb Mt. Maunganui for the sunrise, today we we able to sleep in a little. 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It is Life!","author":"kberchem","date":"May 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Wednesday, May 8th, 2019 - Rotorua, North Island, NZ Arianna Bishop and Samantha Beaulieu Ah Kia Mau! Today was quite the list of adventures! \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We began our day in the heart of Rotorua, at the Lakes District Health Board, a hospital that deals with both Pakeha and Maori patients. 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Megan and Emma here! \u201cLife is an empty slate, waiting to be written down in conscious state. \u00a0Don\u2019t go by your fate, it may bring you in front of Hell\u2019s Gate.\u201d Our morning began within the depths of the sulfur pools steaming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Zealand"","block_context":{"text":"New Zealand","link":"https:\/\/lakerblogs.lssu.edu\/studyabroad\/category\/newzealand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakerblogs.lssu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/05\/IMG_7048-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":109,"url":"https:\/\/lakerblogs.lssu.edu\/studyabroad\/2019\/05\/04\/making-connections\/","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":4},"title":"Making Connections…..","author":"kberchem","date":"May 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"May 4th, 2019- Tauranga. Jacob and Grant Today was about connecting to the Mouri which exists in all living things, connecting us in ways we are not used to considering in the states. Donna Kerridge, Maori health practitioner and educator, took us through the realization of this connection. We took\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Zealand"","block_context":{"text":"New Zealand","link":"https:\/\/lakerblogs.lssu.edu\/studyabroad\/category\/newzealand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakerblogs.lssu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/05\/IMG_0274-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":160,"url":"https:\/\/lakerblogs.lssu.edu\/studyabroad\/2019\/05\/13\/dolphins-sea-lions-and-whales-oh-my\/","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":5},"title":"Dolphins, Sea lions and Whales, Oh My!","author":"kberchem","date":"May 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi guys, Sarah and Savannah here, Today, we got the opportunity to go dolphin watching in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Kaikoura. 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Once we arrived, we dug holes deep enough to cover the roots and potting soil and then ensured they were securely in the ground by covering the roots with the dirt we had removed. Some of our classmates went further into the area to plant their trees and ended up with mud splashed on their legs and soaking wet shoes! Even though we were muddy, we all had fun helping each other plant our trees as part of this wetland restoration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"