Im going to start with Tukorehe, I can't say I know of a marae quite like Tukorehe, it is a busy little place that has such a warm, cosy, home feeling about it. Every time I pull into the drive a feeling of safety and home always comes over me. The journey this marae has experienced over the last 10 months has been somewhat of a hurricane and the physical impact can still be seen today. Ngati Tukorehe was challenged with tangi that seemed to ever lasting. The iwi geared up and battled some atrocious weather and conditions and displayed manaakitanga, kotahitanga, whanaungatanga quite uniquely and managed each event in it's stride. We had a few noho off site throughout this time and too right the marae too needs rest. Months later it was lit up for our night display and it was absolutely stunning the word picturesque comes to mind. Tukorehe, Ngati Tukorerhe ko koutou a runga!Moving on I will go to our tutors. Tipi what can I say, you are one amazing human being! I love how you stand with pride of knowing who you are and where your come from, the way you articulate in words the connection you have to the land and your connections to each of us. Your display of Tukorehetanga is one I envy, the way you flutter around your marae like a tirairaka from being able to be a kaiwero to a kaikorero, to helping set up or re-set tables, vacuuming the marae, setting up the kohanga, down to mopping and cleaning on top of that your stunning artwork with tā moko as well as wielding you taiaha in the ways of old down to wanting to be a better husband and father. E Tipi you are the epitome of the teachings of our whare, 'tiakina te wheneua, tiakina te wahine' I value all the teachings you have shown and continue to show me. For every lesson I am grateful, for every experience you have given me I am grateful, I am grateful to have you as a brother ko tō manawa ko tōku manawa.
E Kara e, may I say it has been a pleasure to watch your growth over the last few years. The growth you have had under the parirau of your uncles has shaped you into a wonderful young gentleman. The way you stand with confidence in being a kaiwero to being able to stand as a kaikōrero as well as sharing karakia you totally expel the essence of your uncles and it is a lovely sight to witness and listen too. I can't say that I have enjoyed your lessons as they have been psychically taxing on me but I did learn a lot to which I am grateful for. E Kara, ko tō manawa ko tōku manawa.
Kai tautoko
I am thankful for Yvonne and all the work she does behind the scenes and keeping us organized and update with information, I extend my gratitude.
To our ringawera, the kai was just amazing, cooked with love and tenderness and presented beautifully we were so spoiled I thank you all.
Oku Tuakana, Oku Tungane
At the start of this journey I can say that I felt I knew most people quite well, Some I hadn't met and some I sort of knew. I can say I know my brothers and sister even more so. I have loved connecting with the brothers and taking the piss where ever I can, having some good laughs with the sisters. I have enjoyed getting to know people outside of our course and taking time to have some kōrero as I see people up town or passing by. Building relationships has been a real highlight off being on this course. I had to open up and share a bit more of myself which was healing for me too, yet another lesson that I am grateful for.
Having to open myself up to my brothers and sisters on this journey in turn I was able to reflect on my experiences and share the similar experiences with some people I know. I have been able to communicate better with my work mates, relatives and friends and this has been so helpful in my personal and professional growth.
Kemu
I loves games as I referred to in one of my previous posts I just dont like Kara's card game. lol.
Rugby against the men would have to be my highlight through.....we smashed them!!!! Tuesday night netball was always fun too. Getting fit by playing games is always good.
Karakia
Writing a karakia with the nohis even through I still cant remember it to this day, actually come to think of it most of us cant and we turned that karakia into a waiata, a haka, a dance and a hula.....geez getting old pea? oh and I love tapping into the creative juices and going a bit out the box its soooo much fun it reminds me of the crazy cool stuff I did growing up .
Assignments
Although some may disagree I found the assignment to be a positive. It made me ask how much I know about our own whare and that was a challenge. I think I know a lot about the taha māreikura but am still in the dark with some parts which made me ask questions and seek answers.
Listening to Te Utanga break down his whare was inspiring and made me want to learn more. I am grateful for the teachings that assignment gave me.
Reflection
The biggest positive for me was doing this reflection diary, I was put into a position where I had to stop and think about what is going on in my life. It became a mirror that I needed to see, it and made me question and ponder on what was going on I have totally appreciated this exercise.
Commit
Moving into the bad my biggest gripe would have been the level of commitment students gave. It became a hoha to turn up to weekends and only have a handful of us there from the start to the end. Personally, when I commit to something I give it 100% and be there from start to the end. Sadly I let myself down once but I have paid for that and I will make sure it doesn't happen again. It frustrates me that I pay for my hapa however others just come and go as they please, turn up when they want leave in the middle of something, don't complete set tasks and then have the audacity to moan about the course content. If they showed up like it was asked of them then maybe we would have done more, it gripes me that the actions of others took away from my learning.
I was so excited about doing the next level of Tu Taua I had expectations of learning how to fight with these moves that we have learned over the years. I had visions of us sparring to the point of contact. I was hoping to be put into 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 fight positions so that I know that I can use the rākau in fight mode. I had expectations of learning new things however my expectations didn't quite get met in terms of the rākau. When we went to see Te Utanga's roopu they displayed all of my expectations and I was in awe of what I saw. I continuously pictured myself in the position of the fighter and envisaged what I would possibly do knowing what I know. I want to learn how to fight I want to use the rākau for its intended purpose. I don't want hurt people I want to defend myself and fight what I surrounded by. My expectations of Toi Paematua were not met in terms of the rākau and what I wanted. I do believe we spent more time on fitness then we did learning moves with our rākau and or footwork. A suggestion that maybe next year look at incorporating the rākau into the fitness.
As I reflect on my reflections I am honored to have been given the opportunity to be a student of this pilot program, I understand that we all went in blind and felt our way through the year. Although my expectations of rākau may not have been met I wouldn't change the journey that I experienced. I have met some amazing people and got to know my brothers and sisters even more then I ever did. He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!
Reflection
The biggest positive for me was doing this reflection diary, I was put into a position where I had to stop and think about what is going on in my life. It became a mirror that I needed to see, it and made me question and ponder on what was going on I have totally appreciated this exercise.
Commit
Moving into the bad my biggest gripe would have been the level of commitment students gave. It became a hoha to turn up to weekends and only have a handful of us there from the start to the end. Personally, when I commit to something I give it 100% and be there from start to the end. Sadly I let myself down once but I have paid for that and I will make sure it doesn't happen again. It frustrates me that I pay for my hapa however others just come and go as they please, turn up when they want leave in the middle of something, don't complete set tasks and then have the audacity to moan about the course content. If they showed up like it was asked of them then maybe we would have done more, it gripes me that the actions of others took away from my learning.
I was so excited about doing the next level of Tu Taua I had expectations of learning how to fight with these moves that we have learned over the years. I had visions of us sparring to the point of contact. I was hoping to be put into 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 fight positions so that I know that I can use the rākau in fight mode. I had expectations of learning new things however my expectations didn't quite get met in terms of the rākau. When we went to see Te Utanga's roopu they displayed all of my expectations and I was in awe of what I saw. I continuously pictured myself in the position of the fighter and envisaged what I would possibly do knowing what I know. I want to learn how to fight I want to use the rākau for its intended purpose. I don't want hurt people I want to defend myself and fight what I surrounded by. My expectations of Toi Paematua were not met in terms of the rākau and what I wanted. I do believe we spent more time on fitness then we did learning moves with our rākau and or footwork. A suggestion that maybe next year look at incorporating the rākau into the fitness.
As I reflect on my reflections I am honored to have been given the opportunity to be a student of this pilot program, I understand that we all went in blind and felt our way through the year. Although my expectations of rākau may not have been met I wouldn't change the journey that I experienced. I have met some amazing people and got to know my brothers and sisters even more then I ever did. He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!
