As part of a series of articles we are running at the Herald on people learning te reo, I have heard the same piece of advice: whakamāori to ao - make your worldview Māori.
So that is my challenge for this week. Every conversation I have, will start and finish with a Māori greeting.
To complement the challenge I will spend 30 minutes a day practising at home with Scotty Morrison's latest book Māori Made Easy 2, and explore other mediums of learning.
A key part of learning a language is immersing yourself in that environment.
Before starting at the Herald, I worked at the Gisborne Herald, in a community that was close to 50 per cent Māori, and 50 per cent Pākehā, with a few other nationalities mixed in.
Speaking te reo was not a novelty. I interviewed many people whose first language was te reo. I took te reo courses there both out of interest, and necessity.
Moving to Tāmaki Makaurau was a cultural shock.
It is a multicultural city but, at least in the spaces I move within, still very Pākehā (and subsequently English) dominated.
Partly out of laziness I stopped speaking Māori, and my reo has dwindled. But no more.
I will be sharing my daily experiences here, and I hope you will join me.
Kia pai tō rā!