Shannon Mihaere. Rangitane o Tāmaki nui a Rua. Ngāti Porou. Ngai Tai ki Tamaki. Waikato Tainui.
I acknowledge the land I am living on as that of the Mapuche people who through their lived realities of colonisation have noticeably felt absent from the hustle and bustle of this wonderful city. I look forward to this next month of learning from your histories, purakau (stories) and ways of being.
As we landed in Chile, we descended between the mountain ranges. We were in awe of their prominence. In Aotearoa we see maunga (mountains) as tipuna, it felt very much like the Chilean tipuna were welcoming us to their land. Later that week, on our visit to the Pre-Columbian museum we learnt the creation story of these maunga, the Mapuche people relate the mountainous lands to a conflict between two enormous reptiles – Cai Cai, ruler of the seas, and Tren Tren, ruler of the land. Angry because the people scorned the sea’s riches, Cai Cai smacked the water with his tail, flooding the land. Seeing the terrified people fleeing, Tren Tren ordered the hills to rise up against Cai Cai’s floods. Their ongoing struggle ravaged the land with tidal waves and earthquakes, shaping Chile’s landscape into its present form.
Chile is a place of immense warmth – in more ways than one. From dusk till dawn you are wrapped in the warmth of the sun. Each morning Ra finds its way to us from our home of Aotearoa, which sits somewhere in the future 16 hours ahead. In someways, though the warmth can be uncomfortable, it brings me peace knowing that my whanau felt these same rays before me.
The Chilean people are another source of warmth. They are very patient with our group as we stumble through our Spanish and attempt to expand out into various kupu hou (new words). It has been challenging but I’m proud for being able to order a meal, understanding our lectures given by Spanish-speaking health professionals and directing a taxi to a destination. Making connections with the people of Chile has been wonderful and one of great importance to understanding the context of health care and how Chilean people see the world.
After one week I can confidently say I have borne witness to a proud people who we are blessed to learn from on this month-long exchange. After all Chile is the best country in Chile (if you know you know 🇨🇱).