Mum was educated in New Zealand under the Colombo Plan, and met my father at teachers' training college. I grew up in Te Ānau, where my parents were teachers—or rather, as is typical of small towns, dad was my high school principal and running coach, and mum was my English teacher and debating coach. Mum and dad were always on duty for the school and for their students. Years later, as a doctor, their professionalism guided me whenever the phone rang in the middle of the night because a patient was in danger.