I thought we were buying a chicken

Back to New Zealand today. Specifically the Otara Market, the largest outdoor market in New Zealand and known for its Polynesian influence. I'd read about this and wanted to go, but it starts at 6am (and is most likely packed even then) and I kept putting it off because I'm just a lazy ass and like to sleep late and have breakfast at 11 on weekends.

Our delightful friend, Jenny, asked Laurel and me to go when our boys were going fishing with her boys one Saturday AND she mentioned something about another lovely friend, Victoria, going along and then chickens were also talked about. I thought that would be the coolest thing ever to help Victoria buy some chickens down in Manukau at the Otara Market and we were in. What fun! An Aotearoa adventure for the Americans.

We were so happy to see that Jenny had Uba with her when she picked us up. Uba was at that point a 14 mo. old lab in training to be a guide dog and in need of some socialization around hoards of children, so she was getting her training with Jenny and her hoards of children (she only has three, but it always seems like there are more, maybe because two of them are twins but they aren't even identical OR the same gender, so it must be something else).

The market was only about 1/2 hour from our house in Auckland. We were excited to check out all the different foods, music, and some Tapa, a fibrous cloth made of tree bark and then painted with a design. A common thing to find in the Pacific island culture. There are many people living in NZ, and especially Auckland, from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Niue, and Otara itself is around 80% populated by people of Pacific Island decent. Jenny found this Tapa and was kind enough to let me have it and now it's home in Ohio and ready to be framed! I can't wait to hang it. The lovely woman below made it.

Thought the Americans would get a kick out of the apparent importance of our fabulous national delicacy, the American Hot Dog.

There was soooo much fruity goodness there! Fresh produce of all kinds and colours. A sunshiny feast.

Yikes! I guess it was "vertical produce shots only" day at the market. How'd that last horizontal one get in there?? Kumara are sweet potatoes, btw.

This man is Maori and the facial tattooing is called Moko and the designs are symbols of important events in the person's life. It was traditionally done with chisels made of bone. The guy with the guitar a few shots up also has some Moko going on.

So, where's the chickens right? Yeah, that's what I was saying by now. When are we buying some chickens?? Turns out that Victoria had already just bought some chickens and I had misunderstood Jenny's rambling and Kiwi accent and gotten things all mixed up and there were no chickens. What a bummer! Good thing it was so much fun anyway! And take a look at this adorable little face, Victoria's son, Oscar.

When we left, these women were a few blocks away, packing up their enormous Tapa cloths and let me see them.

And then we took Uba swimming!! She's a lab so we figured she'd want to jump right in the pool, but um...not so much!!

Cluck, cluck, my friends. Hope you all have an eggcellent weekend.
xo, K.