N E W S L E T T E R
April 2020

NOTICE - 2020 Sister Cities New Zealand Annual Conferencein Ashburton (30 April - 2 May) has been postponed.

From the SCNZ board
Kia ora koutou katoa
Warm greetings fromNew Zealandare identified as “Rugby Angels” and their dedication andkindness are appreciated. Great community spirit!

Wherever you are in the world
I hope you are coping wellunder the extremely difficult
environment
affectedbyCoronavirus Pandemic.

I appreciate more than ever before how fortunate I am good health, family, and warm and caring people aroundme. I also appreciate the modern technology so that we
can maintain communication and support each other.

In New Zealand the Lockdown
commenced on 26 March andwe have been living under strict
guidelines since then. Other thangrocery shopping at the local supermarket, I go for a walk,my only other outdoor activity. Every time I go for a walkI’ve found that people interact from a distance, by saying“Hello” “How are you?” and “Have a nice day!” or simply
smiling at each other. That’s nice.
It’s a heartfelt story that a group of young players fromPorirua’s North Rugby Club have stepped up doing runsfor Meals on Wheels as most drivers are elderly who needto stay home under the level four alert. The young players

I’ve been shopping for my neighbours who have been selfisolated since they got back from Australia.

I’ve been worried about the safety of former SCNZ YouthSubcommittee members who have been travelling overseas
and I am pleased to have managed to get hold of them, Bing
Lou in Hungary and Michael O’Neil in Taiwan. They are safe
and well, and I’d like to share their stories with you.
The life in this emergency situation is not easy, but
it reassured me that the genuine people-to-people
connection, locally and internationally, will never change.
Stay safe and well. Kia kaha!
Ngā mihi,
Warmest regards,
Hiromi Morris
President

Life as a Backpacker in a Pandemic
By Michael O’Neill, former SCNZ Youth Subcommittee member
For many of us, Covid-19 has
totally upended our normal lives.
For a wanderer (or some may say“digital nomad”) like myself, whohas spent most of the part twoyears backpacking from country
to country, it’s forced me to stayin one place, which is something
I’m rather unaccustomed to.
That place, however, is not New
Zealand. Back in late February,
my Taiwanese friend and I had
planned to visit Myanmar together.
At the time, things weren’t quite as Michael contemplating at Shwedagon Temple

desperate as they are now, so we
decided to just go and hope for thebest.
Travelling across Myanmar andmeeting the pious and extremely
generous Burman people, I
couldn’t help but be awed by thisoft-overlooked Buddhist country.
It may not be as developed, butanyone looking to escape theoversaturated tourism of South
East Asia would find it a real landof adventure (once travel is again
possible, of course).

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April 2020

About ten days into the trip, however, as we were in thelush and mountainous north of the country, I checked
the news one morning to discover that several countries
in Asia were suddenly announcing total border closures.
After evaluating our options, we decided to high-tail itto Taiwan, which is where my friend is from and is also
the probably the place that has best managed to control
Covid-19.
We couldn’t board our original flight, which transited
through Kuala Lumpur, as Malaysia announced a total
entry ban for foreigners starting the day before it (barring
even airport transfers). Worried that we were running outof options, we then immediately booked a direct flight toTaipei for the next morning, March 18th, which we could
only just make by taking an overnight bus back to Yangon,
the main city of Myanmar. While we were on that bus,
Taiwan announced their total foreigner entry ban starting
March 19th. Had the flight been a
day later, I would have quite literally
been stuck in Myanmar (a thoughtthat I dreaded, given that Myanmar
has the worst ranked health caresystem in East Asia).

most part, goes on as normal. Schools, shops and cafes areopen, and people are commuting to work. It would be hardto guess that there is a global pandemic if it were not for
the fact that everyone is wearing masks (perhaps they dohave some efficacy after all).
I intend to remain here until my visa-free stamp expires inJuly. I count myself extremely lucky to be one of the few
New Zealanders travelling overseas who managed to avoid
getting trapped in a country that’s under a harsh lockdown
or lacks the resources to deal with what’s probably tocome.
For now, all we can do is wait and wish for the best. To
all the friends of Sister Cities, I hope you and your family
are looking out for each other and finding ways to cope.
I’m proud of New Zealand’s handling of the crisis, and I’mconfident that our country will come out of this in better
shape than many others.

Thankfully, we made it just in the nickof time, and after two weeks of homequarantine at my friend’s place, I’m
now put up in Tainan, a quaint oldtown in the south which I find quite
comfortable. Life in Taiwan, for the Ancient pagodas in Bagan, Myanmar

Chillin’ in Taipei

Self-isolation in small-town Hungary
By Bing Lou, former SCNZ Youth Subcommittee member
Who knew 6 months
back, while we werepacking up our lives inNew Zealand for a new
European adventure,
we would end up selfisolated in small town
Hungary.

Bing at Christmas markets at
Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin

My partner and I
left New Zealand inNovember last year.
Our plan was to visit
his family in Hungary,find work, and settle
somewhere in Europe
to start the next chapterof our lives.

Along came COVID-19.
The global pandemic has certainly thrown our lives, likemany others, into disarray. Travel plans went out thewindow, future arrangements were put on hold and jobhunting became much more difficult. All the while being
forced to stay indoors and socially interact via a digitalscreen.

My partner and I were lucky to have immediate family
to put us up when Europe began closing its borders toforeigners. I feel for those who are currently far fromhome or don’t have anywhere to go. If COVID-19 has
taught us anything, it’s to appreciate what we have andnot take anything for granted.
Surprisingly, Hatvan feels like the perfect place to bunker
down. A small, quiet countryside town just 60km outsideof Budapest, and a population of around 20,000. There
are shops, bakeries, supermarkets, a gym even and an
iconic hunting museum just a short cycle away. It has
everything one needs, including the world’s best cheese
pogacsa (a traditional Hungarian scone).
The Hungarian Government has yet to introduce a fulllock-down like the one in New Zealand. However, physicaldistancing measures have been enforced, including
restrictions on certain businesses, closure of schools
and universities, a ban on visits to retirement homes, andmandatory quarantine and testing for those who are ill.
People have been encouraged to keep their distance fromothers and work from home wherever possible. Various
economic relief packages have also been announced forbusinesses affected by COVID-19.
More recently, Hungary passed a state-of-emergency

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April 2020

Visit to the iconic hunting museum in Hatvan pre-pandemic; biking around a nearby lake; Parliament building in Budapest

law. This gives the Government authority to bypass legal
processes and make urgent legislation and decisions tocombat the pandemic. There has been some controversy
surrounding the law within the European Union (EU), due
to it having no end-date. However, the Government has
defended the law as an emergency response to COVID-19.
Despite all this, life seems to go on as usual. We still get
our groceries at the supermarket, armed with facemasks,
gloves and Dettol wipes, and keep to ourselves during
outdoor ventures such as bike rides along the local lake,
and walks through the nearby forest.
Recently, we also celebrated Easter or ‘Husvet’ as it isknown in Hungary. It is usually a big celebration whereboys go around reciting poems and throwing water (orperfume these days) on girls in exchange for chocolate,money and the famous Hungarian spirit called ‘Palinka’.
It feels like us females drew the short straw on that one.
However, in light of the pandemic, people were confinedto celebrate in their own homes. I woke up from adousing of cold water by my partner, which did not end
in his favour.
Families would usually come together to cook, eat,drink and be merry. Husvet literally means ‘meat taking’,
symbolising lent and the fact that people usually give up
meat in the lead up to Easter. Think Christmas dinner,served with a hearty meat soup; mouth-watering meatballs
wrapped in soured cabbage, paprika and other aromatic
herbs and spices; finished with a generous helping ofsweet homemade bread and jam, as well as traditional
meat skewing over an outdoor firepit. Hungary anyone?
This year, our Easter celebrations were confined to ahousehold competition of egg racing, archery and ballthrowing in the backyard, along with a generous supply of
pork meat from a traditional Hungarian ‘pig slaughtering’.

The tradition has been rooted in Hungarian culture for
centuries, and usually takes place during the winter seasons.
Although, I don’t think I could stomach such an event.
One thing I have vowed to take on from Hungarian culture,is their enthusiasm for outdoor firepits. Hungarians
are masters of delicious stews, soups and other hearty
meals, and the secret seems to be cooking in a smoky hotcauldron over an outdoor firepit!
Aside from learning Hungarian and having time tofinally finish that book I’ve been meaning to read overthe last two years, the silver lining in all of this is being
rewarded the time to reflect on the things that truly
matter. From seeing and hugging your family, to grabbing
coffee with friends, or simply sitting at a park, we will
no longer overlook the things in our lives that bring us
joy. Moreover, we will forever be grateful to those whoare putting themselves on the frontline of this pandemic,
helping millions overcome illness, loss and fear.
The impact of COVID 19 truly hit close to home when afriend told us of the passing of a loved one. For many,
the impact of this pandemic is profound and personal,
and will continue to change perspectives, lives and theworld as we know it. The road ahead will be hard, longand unpredictable. But we can all do our bit by listening
to the advice of experts, staying at home, getting tested if
necessary and keeping our distance to protect ourselves
and those we love.
Although isolation isn’t entirely a choice, I remind
myself that I one-day I will be able to say that I survived
COVID-19 in a country full of history, tradition, intrigue
and heart-warming people.
Five facts you probably didn’t know about Hungary:• It invented the Rubik’s cube and ballpoint pens.
• It founded escape rooms, and is thebirthplace of famous illusionist Harry
Houdini.
• Its landmass is one third the size of
New Zealand but its population size isdouble.
• The only two languages in Europe thatare similar to Hungarian are Finish andEstonian.

Traditional meat skewing over an open firepit, a typical Hungarian breakfast spread andcooking in a traditional Hungarian cauldron pot• It is home to the world’s first official
wine region, the Tokaj region, which
has been producing wines since the 5thcentury.