May

Walking New Zealand

by Joyce McGreevy on May 29, 2018

Glenorchy in New Zealand’s South Island is a gateway to many spectacular hiking trails.
© Joyce McGreevy

The Wordplay of Pathways

Everyday English reflects the wordplay of pathways. We speak of “getting off track,” or taking “the path of least resistance.” We express disappointment as being “led up the primrose path.” We tell new friends, “I’m glad our paths crossed.” For me, however, while walking New Zealand, I learned an entire new vocabulary.

Glenorchy’s wooden pathway leads into the wetlands and is a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Glenorchy’s boardwalk takes birdwatchers into the wetlands.
© Joyce McGreevy

In New Zealand, a walker’s paradise, pathways crisscross language and the land like skeins of light. Ancestors of the Maori walked the entirety of the country naming landforms and waterways. Today, walking is the Kiwi way, from short local bush walks to the 1,900-mile Te Araroa (“Long Pathway”).

Kiwis Walk the Talk

Here, walking is no mere footnote. Surveys show that for New Zealanders of every age and ethnicity, walking is the most popular recreation—by ~~a mile~~ kilometers.

Walking pathways around Waiheke Island’s beach and bush are a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Waiheke Island offers serene walks through bush and beach.
© Joyce McGreevy

The origin of the word path is itself a kind of path. It begins, as many pathways do, with clear signposting: “Take Old English back to Old Frisian, then hang a right at Middle Dutch and keep going until you reach Old High German.”

These early words for path evoke footsteps: paþ, pæþ pat, pad, pfad. But the ultimate origin for path has disappeared into the forests of time.

A walking pathway in Mangawhero Forest Walk in Tongariro National Park is a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Mangawhero Forest Walk in Tongariro National Park meanders through
Rimu, Matai, and Kahikatea trees.
© Joyce McGreevy

Step Right Up

Let’s go wandering through the present. From the mainlands of North Island and South Island to smaller islands like Waiheke, pathways beckon.

A short path says, “Come on in! Plenty of views, no waiting.”

Walking pathways in Devonport’s Victoria Hill are a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Devonport’s bucolic walks are just a 10-minute ferry ride from the city of Auckland.
© Joyce McGreevy

A steep path says, “Not so fast. Good things happen in steps.”

Steep wooden steps along a walking pathway in Queenstown challenge visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Queenstown’s topography is truly on the up and up.
© Joyce McGreevy

Urban pathways are keen to get you where you’re going. “Hurry along! Hurry along!”

Island pathways are more laidback. Sun warms them, breezes ruffle their grasses and your hair. They whisper, “Wherever you’re headed, here’s nice, too.”

Grassy path toward Waiheke's Te Motu Vineyard is a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Waiheke’s Te Motu Vineyard is a gentle 20-minute stroll from Onetangi Road.
© Joyce McGreevy

Sometimes you meet the perfect companion, and if you’re lucky, you’ll walk the same path for a while. As people in New Zealand like to say, “Sweet as!” (Sweet as what, you ask? Just “sweet as.”)

A friendly Paradise duck takes a step along a path in Te Anau inspiring visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

At Lake Te Anau in NZ’s Fiordland, Paradise ducks and other birds tag along with hikers.
© Joyce McGreevy

The “Ara” Variations

The word for path in Maori is ara, and New Zealand’s first people have many other names for pathways. There’s ararātā, the path of native Rata trees, and ararimu, if the trees are Rimu. Or you may come to two paths, ararua; a blocked path, arapuni; or the pathway’s end, arapito.

In New Zealand’s mountains or along its coasts, one may encounter the sacred path, or aratapu.

A stone plaque at Queenstown Hill inspires visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Queenstown Hill is known in Maori as Te Tapu-nui, “the mountain of intense sacredness.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Some paths possess deep patience. After a long solitude, they welcome a lone hiker with birdsong.

A walking pathway in the New Zealand bush invites visitors who are walking New Zealand to listen to the bird songs. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Put away the earphones. Even when you cannot see native birds, you’ll hear their songs.
© Joyce McGreevy

Some paths begin gently and rapidly become challenging. A Maori proverb says, “If you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.”

Walking pathway in Queenstown Hill’s rugged terrain challenges visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Queenstown Hill is a steep, demanding, and ultimately rewarding hike of several hours.
© Joyce McGreevy

“Basket of Dreams,” a public sculpture by Caroline Robinson’s graces a walking pathway and delights visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Persevere until you reach the “Basket of Dreams,” a sculpture by Caroline Robinson.
© Joyce McGreevy

Mindful Walking

A path can be metaphorical, even when it’s literal. What’s better than a long walk for sorting things out in one’s mind?

Wild mushrooms growing along a forest pathway on Queenstown Hill symbolizes mushrooming troubles that visitors who are walking New Zealand can consider and even resolve on mindful walks. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

If troubles seem to mushroom . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

A tree stump by a walking pathway on Queenstown Hill symbolizes problems that may have visitors who are walking New Zealand stumped. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Or you’re totally stumped . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

Tree roots on Queenstown Hill symbolize how visitors who are mindfully walking New Zealand think through issues and get to the root of a problem. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

. . . a mindful walk in the woods can help reveal the roots of an issue.
© Joyce McGreevy

A tree branch on Queenstown Hill serves as a symbol to visitors who are walking New Zealand that they may be grasping for the wrong things. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A path may drop hints: “You’re grasping for the wrong things.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Other Pathways

The path along a mountain ridge is called arapae, a path for the brave. But not all pathways are on the land. The horizon is a path for the eye, the sky a path for imagination.

A view down Lake Wakatipu to The Remarkables mountain range in Queenstown Hill is a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Hikes in The Remarkables mountain range offer tranquil views of NZ’s longest lake, Wakatipu.
© Joyce McGreevy

Shadows and the rays of rainbows form pathways, too. And then there is aramoana, the sea path.

A view of a vintage sailing ship seen from a walking pathway on Devonport’s Victoria Hill is a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The views from Victoria Hill above Devonport in NZ’s North Island are pure storybook.
© Joyce McGreevy

What Pathways Do You Walk?

We’re all on some kind of path. We may choose it, stumble upon it, change it, or create a whole new path.

And oh, I see now, after the beauty of walking New Zealand, if we keep our eyes open, whatever path we’re on can become aratoro—the path of discovery.

In the wordplay of pathways, it happens one step at a time.

A view from a walking pathway toward Glenorchy Lagoon is a treat for visitors who are walking New Zealand. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A walk to Glenorchy Lagoon is the surest way to inspiration.
© Joyce McGreevy

Special thanks to Cleone Blomfield and Annette Caswell for their insights and hospitality in Queenstown and Glenorchy.

To explore New Zealand on foot, start here.

Comment on this post below.

Joyce McGreevy 9 Comments

Language & Culture/Nature Discovery/New Zealand/On Foot

May

Ten Fun Facts About Chocolate

by Meredith Mullins on May 21, 2018

Mexican chocolate, showing the cultural traditions of chocolate and the cocoa bean and fun facts about chocolate. (Image © Viennetta/iStock.)

The appeal of chocolate . . . worldwide
© Viennetta/iStock

Cultural Traditions of a World Favorite: The Cocoa Bean

There is nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate.—Linda Grayson

Chocolate is high on the favorite list of many people. It soothes stress, is a weapon against depression, heightens awareness, elevates mood, and rouses passion. It is the choice of many as the answer to “What one thing you would take with you if stranded on a desert island?”

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Worldwide Sites

May

The Lucky Language of Fortune Cookies

by Meredith Mullins on May 14, 2018

Man's hands opening fortune cookies, revealing proverbs and sayings that can change your life. (Image © Comstock/Stockbyte.)

What wisdom can a cookie bring?
© Comstock Images/Stockbyte

Can Cookie Proverbs and Sayings Change Your Life?

We are often drawn to a peek at the future, whether fueled by fact or fantasy, proverbs or sayings, instinct or reason.

We shake the Magic 8 Ball to answer our important YES/NO questions and get answers such as “Signs point to yes,” “Outlook not so good,” or the annoyingly evasive “Reply hazy. Try again later.” (Was this a forerunner to sassy Siri?)

We sit in silence between worlds with our Ouija board and call on the spirits to guide us. We have our palms read or consult our horoscopes.

Tarot cards, ouija board, and magic 8 ball, all ways to tell the future in addition to the proverbs and sayings of fortune cookies. (Image © DrawbyDar/iStock, Pablofdezr/iStock, Montego666/iStock.)

Many ways to glimpse the future
© iStock

We study the colorful tarot cards for a glimpse of meaning about the past, present, and future, with messages from The High Priestess, The Hermit, The Magician, or The Wheel of Fortune.

Perhaps the most common oracle in the U.S. comes in the form of a cookie—the fortune cookie that arrives at the end of a meal at American Chinese restaurants or with every order of Chinese takeout.

We crack open the folded cookie and pause for a moment, wondering how the words on that tiny piece of paper might have meaning in our life. Or are they just a nice way to end a Chinese meal?

fortune cookies filled with proverbs and sayings that could be life changing. (Image © jerkaejc/iStock.)

Is our personal fortune likely to find us?
© jerkaejc/iStock

The Words of Fortune

The tweet-like messages range from poetic to practical, from vague enough to be true for anyone to specifics that can seem eerily prophetic.

The language of the fortune cookie is intended to be universal—inspirational proverbs and sayings, thought-provoking riddles, humorous comments on contemporary culture, and translations of traditional Chinese philosophy.

Paper strip with one of the proverbs and sayings of fortune cookies, You Will Become Great If You Believe in Yourself. (Image © EKaterina79/iStock.)

The writing strategy at Wonton Food, the largest producer of fortune cookies in the U.S., sheds some light and provides some “Oh, I see” moments about the fine art of fortune writing.

The company ships nearly 5 million cookies a day to Chinese restaurants all over the U.S. They have a simple goal. They want people to finish their meal with a positive message.

Proverbs and Sayings about love appear in fortune cookies. (Image © Angela King-Jones/iStock.)

Donald Lau, the sole Wonton Food fortune writer for decades has passed the pen to a new writer. But his philosophy is still at the heart of the messages.

“When they eat their fortune cookie, I want the customers to open the fortune, read it, maybe laugh, and leave the restaurant happy,” Mr. Lau says, “So that they come back again next week.”

The company has experimented with more “cautious” messages—reflecting the ups and downs of real life— but feedback from customers sent them back to more positive messages.

Fortune cookies with "Your taxes are due" is not one of the proverbs and sayings one wants to get. (Image © Robeo/iStock.)

Messages like “There may be a crisis looming—be ready for it,” “Your luck is just not there— attend to practical matters today,” and “It’s over your head now. Time to get some professional help” were a bit of a downer.

The company also retired the iconic “You will meet a tall, dark stranger” as it sounded a bit too ominous.

Now, the fortunes are more philosophical than predictive. Some messages include a Chinese language lesson (an easy way to expand your Chinese vocabulary), as well as a string of lucky numbers.

Fortune cookies with proverbs and sayings like "Don't just think, act." (Image © Nicolesy/iStock.)

The lucky number sequence can be used in many ways—most often for lotteries or gambling investments.

Wonton Food still remembers providing winning Powerball numbers in one random fortune number sequence in 2005. The 110 winners who shared $19 million in prize money had all heeded the lucky numbers of their Wonton Food fortunes. They will long remember that happy ending to a Chinese meal.

Fortune cookie with money inside, a new version of proverbs and sayings for fortune cookies. (Image © Photodisc.)

Fortune Cookie History

The origins of the fortune cookie are murky. Some say the original idea came from China during the Ming Dynasty, when warriors delivered secret strategies inside tea cakes. Others trace the roots to Japan where rice cakes with fortunes inside (called tsujiura senbei) were sold near shrines.

Most everyone agrees that Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the U.S. in the early 1900s brought the idea to America and popularized the concept at Chinese restaurants.

One theory is that Makoto Hagiwara, with the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden, created the cookies in 1907. Another theory gives credit to David Jung, who distributed the cookies from his noodle company in Los Angeles in 1916.

Fortune cookie with "I don't have the answer." as one of the proverbs and sayings. (Image © Robert Kacpura/iStock.)

Whichever the origin, fortune cookies gained popularity in the U.S. after WW II and became a staple at Chinese restaurants throughout the country.

And, while you will occasionally spot fortune cookies in the U.K. and Europe, they are a decidedly American phenomenon . . . and, ironically, still rare in China.

Cute boy with row of fortune cookies, looking for the right fortune from all the proverbs and sayings. (Image © Yeko Photo Studio/iTunes.)

Lasting Memories from One Smart Cookie

Most of us have had a fortune cookie saying that stays with us. Either we carry it in our wallet because it was so inspirational or we remember the cookie moment and the people with whom we shared the special fortune.

Here are some of my favorites:

The fortune you seek is in another cookie.
If you look back, you’ll soon be going that way.
Do not mistake temptation for opportunity.
If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is it naked or homeless?
Don’t let statistics do a number on you.
You will be hungry again in one hour.
That wasn’t chicken.
Actions speak louder than fortune cookies.
Patience will find you this week. Wait for it.
Why not treat yourself to a good time instead of waiting for someone else to do it?
Ask not what your fortune cookie can do for you but what you can do for your fortune cookie.
Confucius say: If you think we’re going to sum up your whole life on this little bit of paper, you’re crazy.

Perhaps the best of all the proverbs and sayings is found in Iris Smyles’ New Yorker list of creative fortune cookie messages:

One day you will think to yourself, If only I could meet someone who understands me as well as this fortune cookie does.

Don’t worry. All signs point to YES.

Thank you to the New York Times article by Jennifer 8. Lee, to the Time Magazine article by Olivia B. Waxman, and to the New Yorker article by Iris Smyles. For more information on the making of fortune cookies, visit the Wonton Food website.

Comment on this post below.

Meredith Mullins 3 Comments

Language & Culture/Proverbs & Sayings/USA

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