Having explored the InDesign software and figured it out, I've discovered ways to place my pepeha into it. I enjoy highlighting different parts of the text, with red in my work having different meanings where it shows its significance in the work where it shows how the pakeha language is less than the Māori language where the red colour also means blood. the size of the text is an important part of it where the pakeha text is smaller than the Māori text to show the significance and how the Māori text is more important in this country, so I use colour and size to show that.

Kia ora tātou (Greetings to all)

Ko Maungawhau te maunga (Eden is the mountain) Ko Mission te awa (Mission is the river) Nō Tāmaki ahau (I am from Auckland) Ko Zhao tōku whānau (Zhao is my family) Ko Raewyn tōku ingoa (My name is Raewyn)

Kia ora, Hola, Hello, Pialli,

Ko Chiapa te awa,  ko Sumidero te maunga,  nō Mexico ahau,  ki te taha o tōku mama ko Ngati Nahua te iwi,  ki te taha o tōku papa ko Ngati P’urhépecha te iwi,  ko Diana Albarrán González tōku ingoa.

In Aotearoa, Māori people introduce themselves saying their pepeha, this is mine.

My name is Diana Albarrán González, a Native Latin American from Mexico. This online portfolio documents my journey into secondary teaching training in Aotearoa New Zealand. The stories and reflections on this site are evidence of my development as a teacher in Technology combining the Standards of the Teaching Profession, Tātaiako, New Zealand Curriculum Key Competencies, my cultural background and my previous experiences as a design lecturer and researcher. 

"Muchos dice que rescatan la cultura, pero la cultura nos rescata a nosotros" El Coyote, danzante Mexica.

"Many claim they rescue culture, but culture rescue us" 

I have often appreciated the traditional Maori way of introducing yourself (pepeha).  Anyone who knows me in a professional context would probably make a comment about how I’m a sucker for a good framework - and they’d be right!  But pepeha is more than that.

I am particularly fond of the way in which it seems to encourage connection to a sense of place.  I’m also a big fan of anything that helps you describe your identity from multiple perspectives, and in terms that are meaningful to you and the people close to you.  All of this helps us understand each other better, and the world could do with a bit more of that, I think.

So, I was pretty pleased to stumble upon pepeha.nz - a non-profit site that allows you to create a beautiful representation of your own pepeha.  In the interests of encouraging the aforementioned understanding, here is my pepeha:    

and following correct protocol, here is my waiata!

Nga Puawai O Ngapuhi (the flowers of Ngapuhi)

composed by Piripi Cope

for my maori and NZ followers, so that you can know who I am and where I connect to, coz i don't have an "about me" section. (also i'm kind of useless with macron placement, please forgive me)

Ko Ngahina-I-Te-Ao toku ingoa