My Mum was born in New Zealand, New Plymouth. She moved to
Auckland when she was 9 with her parents and her younger
sister in a car.
My Mum had a happy childhood though it was sometimes hard
being the only brown girl in her school. When she
was 14, my Mum moved to Australia with her family but they
moved back shortly as they missed the beach and felt
isolated as they lived in a small town.
My Mum is and has been a Catholic for all of her life.
Religion has had an extremely large impact on her, and
she says it gave her something to remember from a very
young age like going to mass. Religion taught her about
values, respecting others and treating others the way
you wanted to be treated. As time went on, her Dad
taught at Rosmini as a Non-Catholic but still went to
church and he got baptised a few years before he died.
Because her parents grew up in Hindu and Muslim families
she was exposed to those religions too.
My Mum likes having a relationship with God and
strengthening it, and when her Dad passed away, having
a relationship with God was extremely important. She ended up
marrying someone who wasn’t Catholic but who had amazing
values.My Mum knew her husband didn’t care about being married
to someone who was Catholic and knew that their children would
go to a Catholic school. My Mum also likes that my Dad goes to
church as well.
My Dad was born in Japan, Fukuoka and came to New Zealand
in 1981 in a plane. My Dad's Mum is Japanese so she had
never lived in NZ before but his Dad had. My Grandad's
side of the family came to NZ from England in boats.
My Dad doesn't remember much about life in Japan
(mostly just the delicious food!) but he says that
his childhood in NZ was so much fun, especially since he
had an abundance of cousins to play with.
My Dad isn't associated with any religion but as he married
a Catholic and has Catholic childrem, religion has had a
definite impact on his life. Raising Catholic children has
meant that my Dad goes to church with the family and
celebrates Catholic traditions. His children also go
to Catholic schools so religion has been a major part
of his children's upbringing.
My Nani was brought up in Fiji, Suva, in an Indian
family and came to NZ in 1970.
She travelled to NZ with her husband, Yunus, in a plane.
My Nani was the first of her family to ever come to NZ
but she had visited NZ many times a child while on
holidays.
My Nani's childhood was filled with happy memories
of spending time at the beach and hanging out with
her friends. Since she lived in Suva, bad weather was
a common occurrence.
My Nani is a proud Catholic and has been for many years.
She was brought up in a Hindu family but since transferring
to the Catholic faith, she has been extremely happy.
My Nani says that if she didn't have religion in her life
she wouldn't be able to cope with the up's and down's.
She also feels that being a Catholic has helped her to connect
God, especially when her late husband died.
- Some of my Mums hobbies include:
reading, playing make-believe with sister,
outdoor games like elastics and hide
and seek, indoor games like knucklebones.
When she was older, running, gym and reading.
And after having children doing hip-hop
and community theatre.
- Some of my Dad's hobbies include:
sports, tramping, hammer throw, athletics, judo,
scouts, camping and cooking.
- Some of my Nani's hobbies include:
sports, dressing up, sewing, making parties, singing
and dancing.
- My Mum's earliest memory she has is going to Grandmas
house when she was 2 in Fiji. She remembers her Dad
holding her while her Grandma opened the door and her
Grandma’s house having blue walls.
From her childhood, My Mum remembers her Dad holding
her hand all the time and going for walks on the beach
together. She recalls going to the school he taught
at (Rosmini college) and seeing it. My Mum also
remembers her Dad being able to
go to all her activities,the beautiful food her parents
cooked and both parents working equally in the home.
My Mum was always very excited to see her graandmother
on Dads side. Her parental Grandmother made my Mum's
first ball dress and used to stay with them as she
was living alone and she was loads of fun. My Mum's
maternal Grandparents loved her very much especially
as she was the first-born but they disowned my Nani
because she married someone with a different religion.
Thankfully when the grandchildren were born, all was
forgiven.
- My Dad's earliest memory he has is when he was three
and it was snowing in Japan while he was at home with
his family.
My Dad remembers the holidays and spending Christmas
and new years with his family and friends. Back then,
in his family, Guy Fawkes was a big deal because
they had a huge family (he was 1 of 16 grandkids).
- My Nani's earliest memory she has is living near
the seaside in Fiji and enjoying the sea breeze.
There was a jetty which she was frightened to walk
on because it had gaps and you could see the water
underneath you.
My Nani remebers her parents sometimes getting
fustrated with her, as she was a very happy
person and her parents couldn’t tolerate that
(since Indian girls were't supposed to be happy
and cheerful all the time). A special memory is
that she used to go out on a lot of trips and
outings with her family.
- My Mum thinks that the world of
today is more accepting to races,
religions, sexuality and more. Bullying
and being unkind was common when she was
younger. Nowadays, you can express
yourself in different ways and it is
easier to be of a different race (people
find it interesting).
- My Dad thinks that things are
too busy now. He thinks that Kids do too
many activities and there is too much
technology which some kids spend time on
instead of spending time outside.
- My Nani thinks that these days, children
can make up their own mind they seem to be
more straightforward in the sense that they
can tell you what they want and are allowed
to go up against and speak your opinion
to your parents.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Riley (younger brother),
Shalini (Mum), Skyler (me) and Chris (Dad)