by Maringi Kete

Kia ora atu i São Paulo! E rua ngā wiki e noho ana mātou kei kōnei. He whenua ātaahua, he tangata ātaahua hoki. Nōku te waimarie i tūtaki ai rātou ko taku rōpū, ko te iwi taketake o te whenua nei hoki. 

As I searched for some notes taken down from today I came across this little note I had written when we first landed here:

“Wow, that was the most travelling I’ve done in my whole life. Two flights – totalling up to 24 hours –  geez that’s a lot.” In all honesty, I feel completely shattered and am currently dreaming of lying on a bed with my whole body stretched out. Talk about ‘it’s the little things’. 

Travelling to the hotel via a private bus has allowed for some reflection time. All I can think is – how crazy is it that I am in another country!

My final thoughts are with my loved ones. I wish my whānau could see this and be given the same opportunity to explore Brazil. Many have not been on a plane, let alone another country, I wonder, how can we get more Māori to apply and be recipients of this scholarship?

Fast forward two weeks. I still feel a huge amount of gratitude. Grateful that we have already learnt so much from the Guarani people, from Talita and from each other. It has been so pōuri to hear what the indigenous groups of Brazil have suffered for the past five centuries. I want to take the time to acknowledge all those who have contributed to the resistance against colonialism in this country and am immensely inspired by the communities who are currently working to protect their land, their culture and their language. 

My biggest takeaway, so far, is the relatability of it all. Like even though we are thousands of miles apart we, te iwi Māori from Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu, can connect to the indigenous peoples we have met. Things such as colonialism, resistance, having an intrinsic connection to the environment, the cosmology and creation stories, the need for language revitalisation, protesting for land and protection of resources…..list goes on…. all I want to end on is:

tāua tāua  me whaiwhai tonu!