Entering cultural spaces at home and abroad

I'm very driven to understand the world from other people's points of view. It's why I learn second languages. It's my reason for choosing books and podcasts canvassing life experiences far different to my own.

Shaking up my notions of what is 'normal'

What I love about travel and periods living overseas is getting out of my everyday cultural context. Observing and being part of new ways of doing, being and understanding the world. Shaking up my notions of what is 'normal'.

There's so much opportunity to re-think what you take for granted and how things might be done differently.

The other side of this coin is developing your empathy and understanding. In a foreign country you're often unfamiliar with the language, appropriate ways of behaving, and, quite, literally, the lay of the land. If you're cognizant of your place as an outsider and respectful of the place you are visiting you may go on a cultural journey you wouldn't if you simply stayed in your own familiar space.

Seeing your own cultural space through the eyes of another

Through this experience, with an open mindset, one can begin to empathise, to some extent, with what it's like to be someone experiencing your world as unfamiliar. You begin to see the beauty and absurdity of your own culture through the eyes of another.

I recently had a conversation with a Japanese friend in New Zealand. She spoke of how during the festival of Obon, family ancestors are welcomed home via the symbol of a horse made of cucumber, and depart on an eggplant cow, lovingly crafted and placed on the family shrine. I had to think this seemed no less of a 'foreign' idea than a bunny bringing children chocolate eggs or a fairy exchanging teeth for money.

Entering new cultural spaces in Aoteroa

Currently, I can't travel overseas. Yet through my work, as a contractor at Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori development), I'm having the experience of (re-)entering a new cultural space - Te Ao Māori.

Here are the demographics for the Ministry: 325 staff 74.3% Māori, 7.2% were Pasifika, 3.4% Asian and 15% other ethnicities including New Zealand European.

Now that's flipping the usual demographics - 74% of staff are Māori. It's a warm and amazing place to be. You feel pretty stupid if you don't say 'Mōrena' at the start of the day and 'Ka kite' at close of play because using te reo Māori is normalised in this space.

The privilege (and occasional out-of-depth) feeling of being there gives me pause to think about Māori navigating a predominantly Pākehā world and the major inequities still arising in all social areas for Māori . This, in turn, underpins the drive for the mahi being done there.

Learning my pepeha

My next challenge as part of this mahi is to learn my pepeha:

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ko Anita Perkins tōku ingoa

Nō Ingarangi, Kōtirana me Aerana ōku tūpuna

No Otepoti ahau

Kei te noho au ki te takiwā o Hataitai ki Te Whanganui a Tara

He Kaikirimana ahau ki Te Puni Kōkiri

Tēnā koutou katoa