'Honor'able mention: discovering New Zealand
Chris Brittain
Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: News
|
Students were able to learn a great deal about his life outside of the United States.
Ormond described some interesting tidbits about the culture of New Zealand and differences between the current british population in New Zealand and the native culture.
He mentioned facts about population, healthcare, religion, sports and the frequency of earthquakes.
Ormond centered some of his humor around these unfortunate natural diseasters that come too frequently in New Zealand.
"When you hang a picture in New Zealand, you can't just use a hook. It has to be circular or it'll just pop off because of the constant eruptions," said Ormond.
Ormond's dry sense of humor kept the audience interested for the entirety of the presentation.
His comments, such as, "You get used to waking up and thinking there's a huge chicken outside stomping around," would make the audience giggle throughout the entire presentation.
The Maori were native to the islands until British imperialism contributed to the current British population in New Zealand.
Ormond briefly noted the difference between the British and Maori customs.
"If you're sitting at the dinner table with a British family and you spill milk, you'll get verbally punished. If you're with a Maori family, you'll get slapped across the head and no one says anything," said Ormond. "You have to process this and be aware of the concepts that they're trying to instill in you."
The Honors Program normally hosts two to four speakers each semester.
Topics for these events are anything ranging from atheism and homosexuality to more global-themed topics about the conflicts in Ireland, Kenya and South America.
"It was really interesting," said Sarah Andersen, a first-year student in the Honors program. "At first, I thought it wouldn't be that great because it was about New Zealand, but the way he presented it was very entertaining."
Ormond made light of the Maori legends of how the islands and mountains were formed.
"The secret is that the north and south islands got there from volcanic activity. Don't tell a Maori that," he said.
"Supposedly a Maori was fishing on his canoe, the south island, when he hooked this massive thing and it was the north island. There's even a lake in the middle of the island, from the hook. If you can't believe that, well, you can't believe anything," Ormond said.
"The story about the mountain turned out to be really funny," said Amanda Fromm, a first-year student in the Honors program.
"We pick a theme every semester for our speakers," said Caroline Sweeney, student associate director of Admissions, "We normally try to make them broad enough to encompass topics about nearly anything. This semester's theme is Global Cultures."
Matt Connor, a native of Lock Haven University, will be speaking to the program on March 10 for the first time in several years.
Alisha Rasp-McMichael will also visit to talk about the Peace Corps on April 20.
Be the first to comment on this story