I am a Dutch born Kiwi, arriving to this incredible country when I was 4 - when we first arrived, we were forced to drop our mother tongue to learn English. But the first 4 years was enough for me to hold on to the basics until my late teens when I went to search more for my roots. Time went on, life's highs and lows. . . milestones and challenges. . . . then when our own children started to learn Te Reo, and both became proficient with it. . . it put me to shame that I had never taken up the same journey. The last ten years I have become more confident with attempting basics, especially with pronounciation of place names and learning the why, how and because of so many things - historically and present. I am approaching 50 years in New Zealand, and have never felt so much aroha with identifying as a New Zealander - and am grateful for the chance to learn the most incredible language, block by block. . . . it is definitely a journey. . . .