Our Identity - Students

Nidhi's Story

- Fiji -

Head Prefect 2022, Tieke

Namaste and Bula

My name is Nidhi and I am a year 13 student at Hornby High School. I am a Fijian Indian from the Fiji Islands, but I am of Indian descent. Although I was born and raised in Fiji, I follow the Indian culture and religion. My ancestors migrated from India to Fiji as Girmityas (indentured labourers). They worked in the sugar cane industry until the Girmit Act was banned in 1842. Ever since then, my ancestors have lived in Fiji. The migration of many Indians also explains the large diaspora of Fijian Indians in Fiji and many other Indian diasporas around the world.

I moved to New Zealand when I was five years old. Although I moved at a very young age, I can still remember the ‘Fiji’ life. I also visited Fiji many times after moving to New Zealand. Little things like drinking cha (tea) at 3 pm and visiting the seaside for walks bring back many memories. Memories like sitting in my grandmother's house and watching the sunset on the porch make me very nostalgic. Although New Zealand is where I have lived for the majority of my life, Fiji is still home for me.

Moving to New Zealand was a huge change for me and my family. We left behind many of our family members such as my grandparents and cousins. I mean that’s what many migrant families have to do. They leave behind their families for a better future. This was a huge step for my parents. For that, we as a family are very thankful. We had a few ups and downs along the way, but we finally made it and now we are New Zealand citizens or better yet Kiwis. However, this title did not come easily. When we first arrived in New Zealand, we missed home very much. Talking on the phone with my grandmother -with whom I was extremely close - was not the same as seeing her in person. Sacrifices like this made me miss my relatives very much.

Along with leaving my grandmother behind, other situations such as COVID-19 have made it very difficult for my family. We also call my grandparents every week which is not the same as driving down to go see them as most people would. I am proud to be Kiwi but there are definite struggles that I know students and even teachers can relate to. As a migrant, I am very proud to be expressing my Fijian Indian heritage now, as previously I wouldn’t express my culture so much. I know I am very lucky to have the freedom to celebrate my culture. I say this as many immigrants from all around the world understand the struggle with expressing their culture in a foreign country. They feel as if they need to push it down to fit in. But, I have accepted my vibrant and beautiful culture as it is.

Jerimiah's Story

- The Phillippines -

Kamusta

I am a student at Hornby High School. I am a Filipino from the province of Pampanga. My dad first migrated to New Zealand back in 2014 for a better job opportunity. Two years later, my dad decided to bring us with him to New Zealand as well.

We migrated to New Zealand when I was 11 years old which was back on the 7th of June 2016. I still remember the ‘Filipino life’ that we grew up practising back in the Philippines. Things like playing outside with my friends from after school until the evening. I remember when I came home after playing for a long time, that I would get told off by my mom. Especially when we played with the harvested rice grains and went home all dirty and sweaty from excessive outdoor games. I also remember whenever we bought food at the market, my mom always bartered with the sales lady so we could get items for lower prices. Although I’ve been in New Zealand for five years now, I still consider the Philippines my home.

Resettling in New Zealand was a major change for us. We left our family back in the Philippines -our grandparents and cousins- to settle in this unknown country. Having this opportunity was a huge move. We sold our house in the Philippines just to have enough money to be able to afford the tickets and the visas to be able to step into New Zealand. After we got into New Zealand, we struggled to make ends meet because my mom didn’t have a job. It was only my dad who supported the family both in New Zealand and in the Philippines. However, this sacrifice surely was worth it. Today we can say that we are thankful that we made it through the ups and downs of life that we went through to become New Zealanders.

Nishitha's Story

- India -

Namaste,

My Name is Nishitha. I am 13 years old and I go to Hornby High School. I was born and raised in India till I was four years old when I moved to New Zealand. Although my parents moved to New Zealand in 2008 ( when I was only one). I was raised by my grandparents in a small village, based in a big city. The thought of leaving my country and going to a different country scared me especially because of the big earthquake in 2011. But I didn’t exactly have a choice so I moved to NZ in July 2011. I was three-and-a-half years old. When I was settling in it was very different and difficult in terms of temperature, culture, noise and restrictions. And also because it was snowing. At that age, I had never seen snow up close. It was really cool but it was really cold. Coming from 45꠶ every day to -4꠶ was really hard.

When I was old enough for school, the school I attended was different. In India we had the same systems as high schools; so we had six periods a day and six subjects a day but seven subjects in total. But here in New Zealand, we didn't have that system, so it was quite nice but different. Also having tests every term was stressful; so I was glad that that didn’t happen here. Even though I used to talk to my grandparents via Skype or WhatsApp, it wasn’t the same as talking to them in person. Since my parents had to work, we did go back to India very often. But when we did, we spent a lot of time there. It was like reuniting with my relatives and it was also a holiday break for my parents. Currently, I have only been to India twice since I moved to New Zealand.

As I only had school, I did not have much to do after school apart from being a couch potato or doing my homework. But I didn’t have much homework so I’d finish it quickly. So, I decided to start a sport. As we always went for walks around the park on the weekend, there were always people playing a sport. I asked my mum what they were playing and she said “I don’t know.”

I was really keen to try the sport but I was too shy to go and try it out. But there was a lady coaching her grandsons who saw me walk past, and she decided to approach us to ask if I wanted to have a go. So eventually, after a lot of persuading from my mum, I did. Apparently, the sport was called tennis. When I tried it out it was really fun but very complicated. She said I have natural talent so she passed me on to a different coach who was more experienced. To this day I still take coaching from him. But I have two coaches because he moved to Auckland.

Lovely's Story

- The Phillippines-

Head Prefect 2021, Tieke

I, Lovely Tabuena, have been living in New Zealand for four years now since I moved from the Philippines. The thought of starting a new life in an unfamiliar country and away from my friends scared me as a 13-year-old girl. I grew up as a teenager in Christchurch and it has been the best so far. I found a local community church full of friendly and caring Filipinos.

My parents enrolled me in Hornby High School right away, only one week after arriving here, which was crazy. But it was a good thing after all! I made friends and adapted to this new place quickly. At first, it was hard to understand the Kiwi accent, so the first week in school was a struggle for me.

The New Zealand education system is also very different from the Philippines, from the school hours to the workload and the grading system. Since I was in primary school, I have always been excited about learning new things at school, doing creative projects and performances, joining theatre and journalism clubs, and seeing my friends at school. I loved joining different competitions such as photojournalism, news writing, maths and science quiz bees, declamations, reading recitals, science experiments, etc, right through to high school.

I’ve had a lot of leadership roles in the Red Cross and student councils both in Primary and Secondary school. I attended Victoria National High School until year 8 back in my hometown. It has a huge campus for juniors and seniors; with more than 3000 students because each year level has about 15 sections or form classes. In the Philippines, the different sections have their own classes with faculty teachers; whereas in my New Zealand school, students from different form classes could be in a different class for each subject. We mostly just stay in our homeroom which is like a form classroom and wait for our subject teachers to come to us.

In the Philippines, I did a special exam before high school started for the special science class (this is a top STEM class each year level has) and I got in at the top. We cleaned our own classrooms and had groups assigned each day (called cleaners). We had a general school assembly every morning at 7 am where we did prayers, national anthem, national pledges, hymns, and physical exercise. Interestingly, we all needed our ID’s before we could get inside the campus, otherwise the security guards would not let us in. Lastly, our school finished at 4:30 pm and most students stayed until 6 pm due to extracurricular activities like scouting, club meetings and practices. With the huge differences in my new school in New Zealand, it took me a while to adjust to this new system. School hours are shorter, with no daily short quizzes, weekly long quizzes, and monthly exams for each subject. Extra-curricular activities are also less and school work is structured differently. On the bright side, New Zealand has other opportunities to offer like more practical work, especially in science and technology subjects; and we are able to choose our subjects in preparation for tertiary study.

It’s awesome to see my culture in growing Filipino communities, too. I am part of the Filipino Youth Group at school and have been an active member since Year 9. In the Philippines, each town has its own festivals and cultures which are celebrated annually. We also speak different dialects even though we are all Filipinos. My mother is an Ilocano and my father is a Bisaya but I can only speak Ilocano because I mostly grew up in my mom’s hometown. For every fiesta, households cook their signature dishes and many other Filipino dishes. The streets are decorated with banderitas (flaglets) and parols (lanterns). Expect that there will always be street parades with cultural street dances and bands. My favourite holiday in the Philippines is Christmas, because everywhere is just filled with lights and colourful handmade star parols, and children sing Christmas carols at your doors. The streets are always filled with people and the plaza (the town square) is filled with different kinds of vendors from foods to clothes and random things you can buy. Honestly, I miss how we celebrate things in the Philippines. Although New Zealand may not be as much fun as what I had in my hometown, I still enjoy our small gatherings and celebrations with other people. I recently participated in a Filipino Theatre Performance showcasing our cultures and festivals. It was a wonderful experience because it felt as if I had flown back to the Philippines for one night.

Of course, New Zealand and the Philippines have very different climates and weather. In the Philippines, we only have rainy and dry seasons. There, it is very humid and hot which is why beaches and summer places are very enjoyable. I have not explored the Philippines that much yet but I’m sure I will when I have the chance. New Zealand has a lot to offer in beautiful natural scenery and I have always enjoyed going for walks in the parks, public gardens, and on mountain tracks. The Philippines and New Zealand have their own unique beauty and I cannot compare the two.

New Zealand is a completely different place but it has its own rich culture and wonders that I want to explore. Meeting new and different people coming from different parts of the world and sharing our thoughts and exchanging good deeds is what I enjoy the most. Change is not always a bad thing.

Khaylanie's Story

- Samoa -

Hi my name is Khaylanie and I am from Samoa, but currently live in New Zealand. I moved to New Zealand at a very young age and I didn't really know what to expect, but I was definitely excited to move. One of the struggles I went through after moving to New Zealand was learning how to not only speak English, but to also keep on speaking Samoan. At the time English was not my first language so it took me a little while to learn the language, but over the years I have reached my goal of knowing how to speak both English and Samoan fluently.

Another one of the struggles I had was getting used to New Zealand. By that I mean: getting used to the weather, roads, people and more. In Samoa, the weather was quite different to New Zealand; because Samoa was hot and New Zealand was the exact opposite. I didn’t really like the weather here at first because cold was just not my thing, and I didn't really enjoy it as much. Now, however, I can really see a difference in myself and I am liking cold weather a lot more.

This is the end of me explaining what I felt like when moving to New Zealand and also some of the struggles I had. Thanks for reading.

Alyana's Story

- The Phillippines-

Prefect 2021

Kamusta!

My name is Alyana. I am 18 years old and I was born in the Philippines. My family and I have been in New Zealand since 2016. My family’s story is a very familiar one to every immigrant family. When my parents had me as their youngest, my father decided to go overseas to support us back home. Since then, my father worked in Saudi Arabia for almost 15 years, which resulted in him missing out on things when we were growing up. He eventually decided to come back home to spend more time with us, when an unexpected opportunity to work in New Zealand was offered to him. After the devastating earthquakes in Christchurch, the city inevitably needed a helping hand to rebuild everything from the ground up. My father was one of those builders. After a year of living and working in New Zealand, he decided to bring my Mum, then lastly my brother and I into this beautiful country. Settling into a different kind of environment was not an easy task. New Zealanders not only drive on the left side of the road but also the fact that we weren’t familiar with the accent as well as the kind of English we speak here, was a bit of a challenge too! Enrolling into high school was no different. But luckily Hornby High School had a very supportive environment when it came to new students. The school also had an established Filipino Youth Group (FYG), focused on honing skills and specifically supporting Filipino kids. I vividly remember how this group made me feel like I was still in the Philippines. With various activities throughout the year to celebrate our culture, such as our yearly tradition of a Filipino Salu-Salo (get together), filled with performances, games and of course food!

Little things like this helped me forget my homesickness for a while. Being surrounded by our Filipino community helped me remember and not forget my roots and culture. This plays a big role for me as I embark on my adventure into the real world. I am certain that there will be times that I’m going to feel lost in this big world, but as I hold on to my identity, who I am as a person, my values and my culture, this would serve as my guiding light. Knowing that, so far, it has definitely helped me to become the person I am today. Leaving everything behind back home was hard. I will always consider the Philippines my home, but I am not taking everything for granted knowing that we live in this beautiful country. I can proudly say Aotearoa is my second home!

Xij's Story

- The Phillippines -

Riroriro Prefect 2022

Kamusta, Hello

I am Xij. I am a year 13 student at Hornby High School. Cavite, Philippines was my first home and where I was born. My dad found a job opportunity here in New Zealand and migrated here first around early 2012. My family followed 2 years later. We arrived in New Zealand around February 2014.

When my family migrated to New Zealand, I was around 9 years old and didn’t know how to speak English properly. Everything was new to me, from the weather to people and their culture. In the first week of migrating here, my parents enrolled me in primary school. Watching my parents talk to the staff made me anxious since I barely understood what they were talking about. I remember my first day of school to be quite scary. Because of how my name is spelt, everyone was coming to me almost every time to ask how to pronounce it, which made my first week at school quite overwhelming. Although I was overwhelmed by how many people came to me, I felt somewhat happy because I made new friends through it.

Growing up here in New Zealand, I still retained my Filipino roots: speaking Tagalog, playing traditional games, and other things like using the gesture ‘Mano po’ to pay respect to elderly people. Apart from speaking Tagalog, I still used the gestures ‘Mano po’ and ‘opo’ and ‘po’ as I grew up here in New Zealand. The gesture ‘mano po’ and the usage of ‘opo and po’ in a sentence is a common tradition in the Philippines for young people as it pays respect to the elderly.

As much as I like living here in New Zealand, sometimes I miss the Philippines and I want to go back for a vacation. Because my family moved here to New Zealand, we had to leave my grandparents and cousins behind. Fortunately in 2018, my family were able to take a vacation in the Philippines for 3 weeks and I was able to see my grandparents and cousins, which I was grateful for. Now that I am a New Zealand citizen, I still am a Filipino at heart and the Philippines will always be a special place for me.

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