Hello again!
Lucy here, by the way, forgot to sign my name on my last blog. We have been enjoying our time on the Marai so far. We arrived late Monday night and met the members of the Marai who have been so welcoming and generous. On Tuesday we hiked through the magnificent mountain ranges surrounding our new home to go down to the river. We stopped among a forest to play like monkeys on the vines and picked up abandon peacock feathers as we went. After our hike a Maori women Ameria taught us how to weave flax. We all made little woven fish and boxes. We've been spending a lot of time enjoying the people and the surroundings and doing some hiking, journaling, and playing games.
Yesterday Willem, Gordon, Ryan, and I hiked the hills across the road and took some epic shots of Gordon in his Blazers jersey for the Portland Wear in the World contest. We also went eel hunting yesterday morning with some of the men from the Marai. We trekked through the river slipping our hands under rocks to feel for eels. We all enjoyed hopping along the rocks on the beautiful sunny day and some of us rested on the river banks to read and journal. After many bends in the river Gordon, Dylan, and the two Maori men finally caught our prized eel. Today we are going to check out the Maori exhibit in the local museum and drive along the Whanganui river. Everyone sends their love back home and I'm hoping to get some personalized bits and pictures on here soon!
