Euroasia: Language, Culture and Travel

Taste of Japan

The annual Taste of Japan is coming up again. This is a free event where you can experience Japanese culture and food at its best in Auckland City. There will be Japanese food, Taiko Drums, calligraphy, tea ceremony and more. We encourage everyone learning Japanese to attend this event, and certainly a number of us from Euroasia will be there. If you’ve always wanted to learn Japanese, go along to be inspired. It’s the closest you will get to Japan at spring-time in Auckland.

When: Sat 19 Sep, 10:00am–4:00pm
Where: Logan Campbell Centre, ASB Showgrounds, 217 Greenlane West, Epsom

I’ve been to Taste of Japan when it was held at ASB Stadium in Kohimarama, and certainly moving to the Showgrounds is a great idea. At least it solves the parking problem. I really don’t know what the fascination is with shaved ice but there were 50 people in the queue at any one time at a previous festival.  It’s the lowest cost product with the highest margins, and the enterprising guy who passed this off as Japanese food deserves high commendation (as well as the thousands I’m sure he took home for a day’s work).  I will be going along just to sample the authentic Japanese food, although the drummers should be good too.

This is the perfect day out with your friends and family so don’t miss out.

The huge uproar over a Tongan man found barbecuing his pet dog is a demonstration of cultural insensitivity bordering on ignorance and hyprocrisy.  Paea Taufa was found roasting the pitbull terrier-cross in an umu at his Mangere home. “If we eat heaps of… pig you get a (sore) stomach. But when we eat … dog, it doesn’t matter how much you eat, nothing is wrong with the tummy,” Taufa told Sunday News. Major dailies reported this, and today CNN carried the story, citing “the case infuriated and repulsed many New Zealanders.”

The Tongan guy had decided to cook the dog because it was too skinny and had become unmanageable. He rendered the dog unconscious with a blow to the head before slitting its throat. Under the Animal Welfare Act it is legal to kill a dog in New Zealand if the animal is slaughtered swiftly and painlessly.

The SPCA is very upset with Taufa, with the CEO saying “Even though the law says you can humanely kill an animal, you should not be treating any animal like this.” Many people are now calling for a law change, led by the SPCA, petitioning for the eating of dog meat to be banned. Various editorials swiftly condemned the practice of eating dog meat. The Tongan guy was demonised and probably traumatised, and he has since told media that he wouldn’t bbq another dog.

I am opposed to any attempt to ban the eating of dog meat and backyard dog barbecues.

New Zealanders love their meat and is only behind Demark globally (and ahead of the Americans) in terms of per capita consumption, 3.5 times the world average. The average Kiwi eats over 90 kg of meat per year, 65% red meat vs 35% white meat.

What is the difference between sheep and dogs? Some argue that dogs are pets. But some sheep are pets too. So are some chickens. Why ban the consumption of one type of meat but not another?

It is more inhumane for most of the pigs in New Zealand to be locked up in cages for all their lives and then slaughtered for their meat, than for Mr Taufa to kill a free-range dog swiftly. Why did people not revolt against pig farmers, especially after Mike King’s expose on TVNZ’s Sunday?  When told that the cost of pork in supermarkets will rise significantly if farmers moved to free-range farming, people stopped complaining.

Some argue that cattle and sheep are raised specifically for their meat, and dogs are not.  By that token would the protesters be placated if enterprising individuals started dog farms in New Zealand? We export tonnes of horse meat offshore. This means we are killing farm horses in huge numbers. Would horse-killers be regarded as barbaric too?

The argument that we cannot kill dogs for food because they are cute/friendly/small/intelligent doesn’t wash. We don’t see our vegetarian friends getting all judgemental when we meat-eaters confess our love for meat (as long as it’s not from an endangered species). Why can’t meat-eaters afford the same courtesy to dog-eaters? No one is asking you to join them.

SPCA CEO says: “The slaughtering, roasting and eating of a dog or other companion animal is simply abhorrent to our culture as New Zealanders”.  Dogs were eaten in New Zealand long before the Europeans arrived. Taufa himself is probably a NZ citizen. The SPCA is venturing into dangerous territory by becoming an arbitrator of what is culturally right or wrong.

The main thing that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be worried about is exactly that, prevention of animal cruelty. As long as animals are slaughtered in a humane manner, then what people eat should be left up to them.

The law doesn’t need to be changed. It’s the hypocritical mindset of protesters coming from the second biggest meat-eating country in the world that does.

I was at the World Cafe event last night, where social entrepreneur Ray Avery of Medicine Mondiale spoke. This guy managed to bring down the cost of cataract surgery from $5K per eye here in Auckland to $6 per eye in Africa. He also discovered some way of mixing waste products from chicken and kiwifruit farms and created protein extracts for kids. Amazing. Ray is working on a number of projects that will revolutionise the medical arena. Ray demonstrated to us that what is lacking is not money, but bright ideas and perseverence. His products were borne out of necessity.

We have such talent living here, and I’ve not heard of him prior to the event. I’m embarassed. More needs to be done to get these success stories out there. Well done Asia NZ Foundation and AkCity for organising this awesome event.

Our discussions afterwards focussed very much on cultural diversity in Auckland, and how leaders can harness cultural diversity.

At Euroasia, we believe one way we can better understand people who are different from us is to learn their language. As it happens, Euroasia is putting on some free taster lessons next week. Feel free to tell your friends.

Tuesday 7 July: French, Japanese, German
Thursday 9 July: Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, Italian
Time: 7.40-8.40pm
Venue: Euroasia, 10 Titoki Street, Parnell (next to Birthcare) – plenty of parking at Auckland Domain or along Titoki Street.
No prior knowledge necessary.

Register online for free lessons.

Vancouver

Economist Intelligence Unit just announced their list of most liveable cities in the world.  Vancouver came out tops. The City of Sails was ranked the 12th best city to live in. Wellington is ranked 23rd. This is a poor showing for Auckland compared to the April 09 announcement by Mercer that Auckland is the 4th most liveable city in the world. According to Wikipedia, the EIU and Mercer surveys are the most authoritative surveys of liveable cities.

When Mercer announced the list of most liveable cities for 2009, the Aussie paper Daily Telegraph headline was “Auckland beats out Sydney in Worldwide Quality of Living Survey“. If there is one thing the Aussies hate more than losing, it’s getting beaten by the Kiwis.  Anyway, the latest survey from EIU released this week will surely make the Aussies happy.  Their 3 major cities, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth all rank within the top 10 list.

These most liveable city surveys look at factors like stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, infrastructure etc in deciding the rankings.

I think most people choose to emigrate to New Zealand because of one or both of these reasons:

1) Clean and green environment, generally safe ie. great quality of life

2) Children’s education

Auckland

As more and more people get burned out living in the larger European and Asian cities, I’m sure the appeal of New Zealand will only increase. Most migrants end up in Auckland, largely because it’s a good compromise. Auckland may be the big smoke in a South Pacific context, but not really if compared to the major European and Asian cities.  1.4m is approximately the population of an average Shanghai suburb.

Living in Auckland is about getting the best of both worlds.  Easy access to some of the most beautiful spots in the world, reasonable climate, and generally good quality of life. These reasons will surely keep people coming.

Immigration policy should focus on facilitating easy access for skilled migrants. We also need to define skills pretty widely. Smart people may not have university degrees. In fact the majority of the self-made billionaires on the Fortune Magazine Rich List don’t either. Current immigration policy makes it difficult for people who may not be well qualified but could add a lot of value to New Zealand to be granted residency.

EIU’s list of most liveable cities in the world 2009:

Auckland ranked 12th

Drake Jazz at the Rotunda
From Auckland City Council, this is a series of 12 weekly jazz concerts performed at the Auckland Domain band rotunda. All concerts take place on Sundays between 2pm and 4pm on the following dates:

Sunday 1 February: Kim Patterson Quartet
Sunday 8 February: Carolina Moon Vazz Group
Sunday 15 February: Pete Barwick Quartet
Sunday 22 February: Foghorn
Sunday 1 March: Grant Winterburn Experience
Sunday 8 March: Brian Smith Quintet
Sunday 15 March: David Edmundson
Sunday 22 March: Neil Watson Three
Sunday 29 March: Grand Central Band

For further information on this concert series look here.

Culture Garden series
From Auckland City Council, The Culture Garden is a series of concerts with a number held at the Wintergarden in the Domain, from 4.30 – 6pm on the following dates:

Sunday 1 February: Nigel Gavin
Sunday 8 February: npme
Sunday 15 February: Baroque on the Rock
For information on this concert series look here.

Summer Tea Dance - Parnell Thursday 26 March, 2-4pm
Dove-Meyer Robinson Park, Gladstone Rd. Featuring Bretts New Internationals. Be dazzled by a 16-piece jazz and dance orchestra with nifty beats from the 1920s, get in the groove to ‘Trad jazz’, or warm up to well-loved tunes by greats like Duke Ellington and Paul Whiteman.

I wonder how many people are aware of the sheer amount of money generated by the cruise industry using Auckland as a hub. I received an email from my local business association highlighting some opportunities for the local retailers. During the 2007/08 cruise season, Auckland received $123.8 million of total cruise industry direct expenditure, about 60% of the national spend. Approximately 89,600 passenger days were spent in Auckland, around 21% of all passenger days spent in NZ. The forecast for the 2008/2009 cruise season estimates the Auckland region will see direct spending of $128 million. How many industries can boast of such a significant economic contribution?

For those interested, the ships in town soon include:

Friday 21 November: Volendam arrives and has a full exchange of up to 1,440 passengers – who are likely to be mainly American, plus 40yrs. This ship is rated 4 stars. With a full passenger exchange, expect awaiting passengers in town from around Wednesday, and former passengers to linger for a few days afterwards.

Sunday 23 November: Millennium arrives. Another full exchange of up to 2,449 passengers. She also has a crew of 1000. One of the bigger ships to visit this year. Passengers are mainly Americans over 40.

If I was in the retail business I would certainly try to hone in on this market. Businesses that would benefit include those selling luxury goods or health products to baby boomers. What an awesome way to tap into a captive audience of wealthy consumers. Probably far more effective and far cheaper than embarking on a mass marketing campaign in California.