Across the road from a basketball court where teenagers shoot hoops in South Auckland, Mariam Arif and her two younger sisters escape the darkening sky and head through the sliding doors into Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Māngere.
Every Monday evening, Ms Arif has to get herself in the zone for her weekly two-hour total immersion reo Māori class.
"Ko Mariam Arif tōku ingoa - nō te Rāwhiti Waenganui ahau, no te ao Aripi," she introduces herself proudly. "Kei te aroha au i te ao Māori me ōna tikanga."
The 27-year-old has been learning the Māori language for a year now and adores it. The Māori culture reminds her of her own, she said, having moved to New Zealand from the Middle East, 20 years ago.
She considers herself a staunch advocate for te reo Māori becoming a compulsory subject at school.
"I feel like I missed out as a New Zealander, having to pick it up as an adult... And because language is married with culture, you naturally understand an entire people by learning that language.
"The fact that Māori are so misunderstood, in a lot of aspects, and people just do not listen to their needs, essentially that is because no one bothered to learn their language."
Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland | Auckland | 2010-19 | Education
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