I started the day leading our Waiata Group. We gather together to sing songs once a week. My shy introverted younger self would never have imagined doing this as an adult. Public speaking is one thing, but Public Singing is a whole other level of stage fright. Feel the fear and do it anyway. You’re probably wondering why a Chinese guy was leading everyone in singing songs in Te Reo Māori I did it because someone has to and I think it is an important thing to do. We had various members of our teams, from clinical and non-clinical departments, joining in song. None of us was actually of Māori descent. Today we were joined by three special tangata whenua guests. One of our Māori patients and their whānau joined us singing:
We were not pitch perfect and our Spotify playlist still needs some work. That was not the point though, we were there to learn and to culturally connect. The smiles in the room spilled out into our main corridor, and people passing through were disappointed to have arrived at the end of our 15 minutes of fun and fame.
A few minutes later I noticed a Superman shield tattoo on another patient’s hand. We ended up talking about Superman and his greatest weakness Kryptonite. The supervillain we were trying to defeat was Mamahi-Man who had caused severe pain over too many long weeks. I hoped that my medications would lead to Mamahi-Man’s downfall. I also asked about the stories behind the other tattoos on his knuckles. He said they had been chosen by each of his children, and each one represented other superheroes. Mamahi-Man doesn’t stand a chance when we have the whole Justice League/Marvel Cinematic Universe and many others on our side.
palliverse.com 