HAPPY HANGI!!

Yesterday was the greatest day ever! Jules’ brother was celebrating his engagement to his girlfriend and the whole family hosted a hangi – a traditional Maori dinner. Jules went over in the morning to help get everything ready and into the hangi and we got to come and watch the process. So cool! A hangi is basically an underground oven; it’s a huge pit that is 2-3 feet deep. A fire had been going since 8:00 a.m. so the coals were super hot. The women had been preparing lots of the food the night before and had been chopping and seasoning all morning. They put all of the food in white sacks (possibly made of coconut fibers) that they soak in water and then ring out before putting the food in them – this is to create more steam to cook the food. We had the traditional hangi food – kumara, pumpkin, potatoes, stuffing, chicken, pork, and lamb. They place them in huge metal trays and put them in this underground “oven” to cook for about 4 hours. There is no way to check to see if the food is done, so everyone just crosses their fingers and hopes that the food is cooked enough after 4 hours. The men then have the job of cooking it all. I noticed all of them getting heavy boots on and one guy made something to put over his head and neck….It was 11:00 a.m. and blazing hot outside. But I finally realized they were getting ready to do the deed. They started digging out the pit of hot, sizzling coals and were working fast and hard. Jules’ grandson, Mosiah, had the water hose job – completely spraying down all of the guys from head to toe to help protect them from the intense heat. Once they shoveled out the entire pit, they layed watercress over the bottom for more of a smoky flavor to the food. They then layed the trays of food in and completely covered them with more special cloths and burlap-type material that had been soaking in big bins of water. Everything was buried under the dirt again as fast as they could go. Several of the guys came away with blisters and burn marks. It’s a lot of work to do a hangi, which is why it only happens once or twice a year. It was so neat to watch the entire process. Mekelle and I did our part by helping to blow up some balloons for decoration, as well as swatting the flies away from the food……

The hangi was held at Jules’ sister’s house (Tam and her husband Kiwi (that’s literally his name)). It was so much fun to meet all of her family – her other sisters and a couple of her brothers, as well as some other close friends and family members. One lady I especially loved because she was in love with our American accents. She told me to just keep talking so she could just listen. She also asked us to say “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.” She got a kick out of that. I told her I loved her accent too, so we should just talk back and forth all night. Haha, so funny. Everybody is just so warm and welcoming. I felt like part of the family.

We left a little after noon to head back home and get some things done before the actual party and festivities started at three. My goal was to finish some more of my homework….but I didn’t get much done. We headed back over to Tam’s house around 2:30 and several people were showing up. One of the girls there, Tory, was so sweet and just took us under her wing. She brought us drinks and made sure we were taken care of – she is 16! You would never know it. She was so interested in what America is like and wants to go there with a youth camp program the U.S. does. I really like her a lot. We chatted for quite a while until they were ready to bring up the food! The same process basically happened again (just in reverse) – they dug in the dirt and pulled the trays of food out. There was an immediate assembly line – people starting preparing the food on table trays and cutting up the meat. It smelled soooo good. There were heaps and heaps of food and fizzy drinks. Hangi food is a little different because it has a real smoky taste to it – but it was absolutely delicious. Especially the meat and of course, the kumara, which is my favorite. People had brought rolls, potato salads, salmon, and other dishes as well. Breanna and Ashley finally arrived with Monique and so it was fun having them there too. Our little American posse.

Here we are with Kamaea (my sis):

Here they are taking the food out:

After a while of eating and chatting, the newly-engaged couple had a slideshow they had created from the past few months they have spent traveling overseas – they went all kinds of places: All around Europe, Africa, they rode an elephant, did exotic things, etc. It was fun to see their pictures. Some speeches were made and then they brought out the dessert. There was a cake, as well as ice cream (Kiwi’s have the best ice cream) and pavlova – the national dessert of NZ. I made one on Christmas Eve back in South Dakota which looked similar – but theirs tasted so much better! People have no sense of time here, so they just come and eat and stay forever.

Some of the pavlova:

There were a bunch of kids jumping on the trampoline, and we had wanted to jump all afternoon - so finally we decided it was “big kid” time to jump and we went to take it over. The little ones left for a while but wanted to come and join in on the fun. We spent the next hour or so playing with them on it and taking HEAPS of pictures. The kids were mostly the ones taking pictures and they had a ball with it. It was so much fun – we were all laughing and giggling as much as the kids were.

A bunch of us headed to Farran and Monique’s house a few blocks away to hang out there and play some guitar hero. Jules came and picked us up on her way home about 10:30 p.m.

It was such a great day and I’ve decided that I’m going to have a hangi when I am engaged too. =)

Today was just a typical Sunday - eat, sleep, and worship. We had pancakes and ice cream again for brunch, and Jules said she is going to make some more tonight! YES. Breanna and Ashley are going to come over and get some too. Jules makes the BEST pancakes - almost as good as grandpa Homer's causey cakes....

Me and Beau before church. Isn't he handsome?