Since I came to New Zealand I noticed many signs that were written in two languages and that really intrigued us so we all started investigating. My aunt and uncle were already in New Zealand for some months so they have already learned about this.  They told us that those signs were written in the Maori language. This language was spoken by all the Maori tribes that were spread out through New Zealand (just like the Incas and Quechua). The Maori were conquered by the English and they were forbidden to talk in Maori. This law was removed many years later when the Maori language was almost lost. What Kiwis or New Zealanders are doing is that they want to gain that language again. Now they are teaching them in some schools and there are many signs in both English and Maori to make the language richer and well known.

 Here in New Zealand they are really environmental friendly. We went to a Youth Hotel and they recycled almost everything. When you went to the kitchen, you could see compost containers, plastic bottle containers, paper containers etc. and they recycled all that. The bottles had numbers so they only recycled certain plastics. As we moved on around New Zealand, I was impressed to see no trash on the streets.

                We reached Kaikura which is a beautiful place (one of my favorites in NZ). In Kaikura you could interact a lot with nature, you could go see whales, dolphins albatross and….seals! When I saw the baby seals I had no words. They are the cutest things on earth! The seals were “hidden” in an environment that was safe (like a nursery) from many mammals that could attack them such as killer whales or sharks. This place had a waterfall and many rocks that the baby seals used to move around and rest. You couldn’t touch the seals or get too close to them but it was still really fun to see them play around in the water. The seals are here for protection while their parents hunt for food. When the seals get hungry they have to go down to the beach and wait for their parents to bring them the food. When they are old enough they will do the same thing for their children. Here are some pictures of the cutest baby seals ever.

                The toilets here in NZ are new to me. In one hotel we stayed at, there was a toilet that didn’t flush. It was like the ones in the jungle) you had the seat that was placed in the middle of a metallic rectangle. That rectangle was covering a huge hole that was meters underground so you did your things and then you had a pot with some dirt and you had to put one or two full shovels in the hole to cover the smell.

I think it was a great experience to have that toilet for a few days but to have it as a daily bathroom no. Then in all the places we went except for this one, the toilets have two buttons. One to flush half of the water and the other to flush the whole tank. My bathroom in Peru has that but it was amazing how ALL the bathrooms here have it. Both of this bathroom systems save a lot of water. I think NZ is doing the correct thing and I think that we should do the same thing in Peru.

                 As I said before NZ is really conscious about the earth and this is why they use wind energy to produce a sustainable energy source. NZ has/had the biggest wind farm in the world.

  New Zealand is a really good place to have windmills because there is a lot of wind and space to place the turbines. Talking about air, the other day we decided to go to a place called golden bay which is really beautiful and we all wanted to go to a beach but to go to that beach we had to cross a mountain then a little forest and then some dunes (just like coast, mountains and jungle). When we were in the first part which are the mountains, we got hit by a storm. There was a lot of rain and wind and it was really hard to walk so we had to go back. After the storm calmed down, Wendy (aunt), Jose Ignacio (uncle) and me went back to the path and got to the beach while my grandparents waited in the cozy car. It all went ok. The wind was not so strong and it was easier to walk…until we got to the beach. In the beach there were dunes and the wind was really strong over there…just watch the video.