KI MAI KOE HE AHA TE MEA NUI HE TANGATA, HE TANGATA, HE TANGATA A group of forty enthusiastic first-year student teachers from the Auckland Teachers College spent six days in mid-August as guests of Ngati Hangarau, the people of the Bethlehem Marae in Tauranga. The aim behind the visit was to give potential teachers the opportunity to meet our people at close quarters and to learn more about the Maori way of life. For most of the students, it was a ‘first’ on a Marae, let alone sleep in one. The students heard invited speakers and held forums to discuss, among other things, Maori education, the influence of the Marae, culture, welfare, and regional ethnography. The atmosphere of the visit is best summed up in the students own words: Michelle: One of the highlights of the trip must surely be the trip to the summit of Mt Maunganui or Mauao with Mr Turi Te Kani. Admittedly, the prospect of dragging our weary bodies to the top was a forbidding thought, but after meeting our entertaining guide, the climb was fun. Pride in themselves is reflected in the heart of the Ngai-te-Rangi people in their saying: “Ko Mauao te maunga Ko Tauranga te moana Ko Ngai-te-Rangi te iwi.” Averill: On Saturday evening, we assembled in the wharenui to listen to three speakers on the subject of ‘The Role of the Maori Parent in New Zealand Society’. By this time we knew the routine and made ourselves comfortable with rugs, pillows and mattresses up against the carved poupous. This gave us the chance to converse with the local people in an informal atmosphere. Susan: I find it hard to specify what the trip meant to me. Perhaps it is easier to view the whole experience and say that I have new understandings of the Maori people, their culture, and their tremendous hospitality. It reminds me that the most important thing in life is a human being — not a Maori, not a Pakeha, not a woman, not a man, but a human being. Ki mai koe he aha te mea nui He tangata, he tangata, he tangata! Allan: The trip has given me greater confidence as a teacher. Although I realise that I have hardly scratched the surface of all things Maori, the trip has increased my Na Haare Williams i mau atu nga tauira o te Kareti o Akarana ki te marae o Ngati Hangarau i Tauranga. Na ratau i werowero atu nga kaupapa e pa ana ki nga ahuatanga Maori i roto o te ao hou.