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....
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