[slideshow][Photo by Sheba Vohra/The Gazelle](https://cdn.thegazelle.org/gazelle/2013/10/AUSTRALIANZ-1.jpg);[Photo by Sheba Vohra/The Gazelle](https://cdn.thegazelle.org/gazelle/2013/10/AUSTRALIANZ-2.jpg);[Photo by Sheba Vohra/The Gazelle](https://cdn.thegazelle.org/gazelle/2013/10/AUSTRALIANZ-3.jpg);[Photo by Sheba Vohra/The Gazelle](https://cdn.thegazelle.org/gazelle/2013/10/AUSTRALIANZ-4.jpg);[Photo by Sheba Vohra/The Gazelle](https://cdn.thegazelle.org/gazelle/2013/10/AUSTRALIANZ-5.jpg);[Photo by Sheba Vohra/The Gazelle](https://cdn.thegazelle.org/gazelle/2013/10/AUSTRALIANZ-6.jpg)[/slideshow]

On Feb. 21, NYU Abu Dhabi students flocked to the Downtown Campus to celebrate the food and culture of Australia and New Zealand. According to junior Jeffrey Mei, Australia has its Australian Day, but New Zealand does not, and their motivation sprung from the fact that they wanted people to know more about Australia and New Zealand than just kangaroos and Lord of the Rings.

“The reason why we wanted to have a night is basically because all the other cultures have had their night at this point, so [we thought] maybe [we] should do one too because no one knows anything about our cultures,” said Mei.

The celebration included various traditional performances, piles of homemade Australian and Kiwi desserts, a giant zorb and whales in the DTC pool. The Australians were decked out in bright yellow and green, a few students simply wearing gigantic flags and the Kiwis were supporting the All Blacks.

Sophomore Megan Eloise commenced the night with a Maori welcome. Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. This performance was followed by Ka Mate, a tribal  performance with men in black wearing face paint in the design of tribal tattoos led by freshmen James Gardner and Riaz Howey. The performance consisted of chants in Maori, aggressive movements and hard stomping of the feet.

“The Haka is a traditional war dance,” explained Mei. “Traditionally, it’s meant to intimidate the opposition … which is why it’s so aggressive.”

The Haka was a crowd pleaser, and many in the audience held up their cellphones, recording the performance.

Eloise and senior Jessica Tattersall quizzed the audience on Australian and Kiwi slang, and the audience found out what drongo, sheila and maccas mean in everyday Australian and Kiwi conversations. The prizes consisted of national candy such as Tim Tams, Anzac Biscuits and Red Skins. Senior Joshua Shirley and junior Laura Evans sang “We are Australian” and “Waltzing Matilda.” Another favorite was freshman Joseph Chu's rendition of “I Still Call Australia Home.”

The menu included potato salad, sausages and fairy bread. The dessert table held an impressive array of pavlovas, chocolate cakes, cheesecakes and lamingtons. Apart from the buffet, there was a raffle with prizes like Australian and Kiwi candies and a henna station. A little off the main stage, Mei taught attendees how to braid Maori poi using black, white and red yarn, newspapers and plastic shopping bags.

“It was a pretty decent turnout,” said Mei about the event. “We were very happy.”