So yesterday we got up really early in order to go to market. That said, a lot of us took a while to actually get there. It was pretty cool: there were dancers and music there, and lots of vendors. I got myself some t-shirts (I had forgotten to bring enough wioth me thru a brain fart), as well as a gift for Elana for her birthday which I think I'll end up posting from New Zealand, and a souvenier of Rarotonga for myself. This happened to be a small carving of the local god, Tangaroa, who is a bit lewd (he has no pants and is rather...well-endowed). Lewdness and idolatry aside, it is a uniquely Rarotongan piece of art, and I think it's a cool souvenier.
I also bought myself some chicken curry for lunch. Unfortunately, I had to wait to eat it, as we had another activity happening: this happened to be going to a taro patch to plant taro. It turned oput it was only a tiny part of the patch, but it was still muddy work. First we had to turn over the soil and make sure there weren't any holes for weeds to grow up in, then some people hadf to wade out into the bog around the patch to stake down a tarp to further prevent weeds from sprouting (this was the muddiest part of the activity,and one I did not participate in), then coconut palm leaves were put over the tarp (again, this kep weeds from sprouting). Finally, we got this huge heavy pounder thing to punch holes in the tarp and dirt to put the taro shoots in. There was also a coconut husking competition. Apparently some of the people that did it were hitting their coconuts in the wrong place, as one of the shapr sticks that you use to husk got blunted so it couldn't be used. The taro farmer who was showing us what to do also demonstrated that yes, you can in fact husk a coconut with your teeth.
The next activity was an arts and crafts one. First of all we made tie dye (fold fold dye, as nothing was actually tied) sarongs that all, miraculously, turned out beautifully. I rather liked mine, which I took pictures of and shall post when I get back to NZ. The next activity was weaving coconut palms into plates. I understood the fundamentals, but a small girl basically redid my plate after I did it. The girls then made headresses out of banana leaves, while us guys made these warrior streamers that one puts over one's shoulders. Then the girls and the guys were taught different hakas. I was kinda shy, but retrospectively I enjoyed learning the haka and how to dance like a Cook Islander, altho I still haven't mastered it (you need to both wiggle your knees and move your legs at the same time, while also moving your hands. It was TOUGH, and I kept getting embarrased.)
The next activity was easier and more pleasant. We went out to the beach, put our sarongs in the salt water (this would fix the colors apparently) and then played in the water. A lot of people did canoe paddling, but I wasn;t interested in that (althoough apparently they found some octopuses and played with them, and I regret missing that). The lagoon we were in had a serious current and I had to paddle to stay in one place. Although I missed out on the octopuses, I did get to play with sea cucumbers, so that was fun. At the end of the time a bucnhof us made a really elaborate and cool sand castle. Eunice accidentally gave us a lot of volunteers when she said that everyone that wasn't doing the sandcastle had to help put up the boats, and suddenly we had more volunteers than we could use.
That night we had a dinner prepared by the people who had showed us the arts and crafts. We used the plates we had made, watched the Cook Islanders show off their dances, and then we showed them our dances. Then there was a dance competition where the best girl and guy in the IES group got a CD. I, inevitably didn't win. It was still fun to watch tho.
Today we went to the Sunday service at the local Cook Island Christian Church. It was nice to see all the colorful hats and shirts that the churchgoers were wearing, but it was hot, the entire service was in Cook Island Maori, and I wasn't Christian, so I spent most of it kinda bored.
This afternoon we have free time. A lot of people are biking around the island, but I think I'll just walk through town and then vback. I think I'll try to get a picture of Parliament.
Tomorrow we go on the Cross Island Walk, and hopefully I'll be able to get away during our free time aftert that to update the blog on that. Hopefully it'll be exciting.
Anyways, hope all my readers are well, and hopefully more tomorrow.
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