Attempting to order a Big Mac with no patties in te reo Māori is just one of the challenges Shaquille Shortland has already faced this month.
There has also been looks of confusion, friends who don't reply to his messages, and family who message him even if they are in the same room.
The Whangārei man is taking part in Mahuru Māori - an initiative that challenges people to only speak te reo Māori for the month of September.
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"It's a very lonely challenge, especially if your family and close-by friends don't really speak Māori, same in the work environment. I suppose the best place is Facebook because there's dedicated groups for people doing the challenge. So I put up in Māori 'we should change the name to Mahuru Mokemoke' which is lonely September," he said.