This last weekend I spent at Umupuia Marae, in Maraetai right next to the beach. It's a new course of learning that I'm taking with fellow colleagues of mine of whom invited me to join their class in teaching a similar course, mine with a research emphasis and theirs with a language focus.I think the highlight for me, apart from meeting new classmates and going through the class exercises, was being by the sea/ocean/waters which I've always had an affinity with. It was neat to learn things about how the Maori culture is unique and yet similar to Samoan culture in many ways.
I also discovered that perhaps the word 'tikanga' in Maori is similar to the words 'tu ma aganuu' or customs and traditions in English. It's been great to be in a forum where we can discuss some of the things that are happening for Maori and then I get to consider it from a SamoaNZ perspective.
Definitely good food for thought, and as my journey continues in discovering so many different interesting and important ideas for our next generation, it makes me consider what I need to put into place for our next generations...
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