Whanaunga

My Dear Princess and Dear Fellow,

Today was the day I became a Kiwi. 

It was a surprisingly meaningful day. It was a bit like getting married. It felt like a real commitment. 

I think this is because all of the Kiwis I told were so invested and enthusiastic. Everyone at work was really excited. I got lots of hugs. My friends Akasha and Christine who have been teaching me Te Reo were SO happy.

Caro drove me to the venue - a community centre in Raumati, where we met Mo. 

As one of the first friends I made over here, it seemed right that he was my second guest. 

There were about 60 people taking the oath or the affirmation (depending on how religious they were). There were a few families all taking the oath together. There were people from all over the world - Brazilians, South Africans, Germans, Filipinos. There was an Indian woman in a sari and her little girl. She had dressed up in her best pink dress, topped off with Xmas reindeer antlers. 

It was very sweet. 

There was even a New Zealander taking part in the ceremony. I guess that's like renewing your wedding vows. 

Most people took the oath/affirmation in English and as that was a second language for many of them, that seemed fair enough. What was really quite funny to me was how many of them stuffed it up when it came to the phrase, "heirs and successors".

A great many people swore allegiance to King Charles III and his hairs. Including the New Zealander. That's all I'm saying.

However I needed to speak the affirmation in Te Reo. I had promised Christine and Akasha (and myself) a year ago that I would.

“Ko ahau, ko Symon O'Hagan tēnei e whakaū pono ana ka pirihonga ahau, ka piripono ki Te Arikinui Kīngi Tiāre te Tuatoru, te Kīngi o Aotearoa, me ōna uri ake me ōna whakakapi e ai ki te ture, ā, ka aro pirihonga ahau ki ngā ture o Aotearoa me te whakatutuki i āku mahi hei kirirarau o Aotearoa.”

A handful of people did it in Te Reo ahead of me and when they finished, the Kaumatua (Māori community elder) led a group in a waiata and then said a few words about the importance of the language. 

So I was prepared for them to do it with me. What I wasn't prepared for was how emotional it felt.

I held it together.

Caro said my Te Reo was the best and if I do say so myself, she was quite right. My comprehension is AWFUL, but my pronunciation is pretty good. With the words in front of me I was confident and I spoke the words loudly and with emphasis. I felt it was important. 

Caro said I did it with a "flourish". 

"He can't help himself," she added with a roll of her eyes.  

I wore a bone carving for the ceremony. It was given to me by Caro's mum. It was from her mum, and originally was a traditional Shetland design based on a Viking galley. A local bone-carver added a Māori design and I felt a connection, to my friends here in Aotearoa, to Caro's family, and to all the people who wished me well and welcomed me. 

At the end of the event, I was given a little kōwhai tree to plant in the garden, and Mo gifted me a bottle of New Zealand whisky. He's a very thoughtful man. 

The past six years have not always been easy. And there have been times when I've been desperately homesick. But today felt like coming home. 

S.