Jenny | Takanini
“The place I call my home I think is Auckland, but I am from Beijing and I’ve in New Zealand for the past 16 years. So, I would say I have two homes. So it’s Beijing and Auckland. I’m from Beijing so I speak Mandarin, so I’m from the Chinese community and last time I felt really connected to my culture is pretty much every day.
I am interpreter so I work with people who don’t speak English on a daily basis, and I interpret for them at hospitals for their appointments. So, this way I’ve really felt I’m helping them to actually get settled and get seen by a doctor and then really help them through their life.
I stay with my parents who doesn’t speak English, and so every day we are having Chinese cultures at home, and in our communities, at church, like we have lots of people from Mainland China, and we speak to them. So, actually I really like Auckland. There is really multi-culture, and people here really happy, and then I try to help them as well.
I grow up in Beijing, really close to the Capital Airport. My parents work for the airline companies, so um I was there until 14 years old. Ah, I stayed and did my junior high school, and I came here to New Zealand. I did high school and university, and ah, my parents they, they are really happy now here, settled in New Zealand and living with me, looking after my kids. So yeah they’re very, very like New Zealand as well.
Chinese culture is very conservative and we very, really friendly and kind to people. So we try not to have arguments or anything with people. We normally celebrate New Years, all the festivals, we have really nice food, and we also try to, say from my generation and also my next generation, like my kids, we try to keep them to how our Chinese heritage. To know the language, be able to speak and write, and that’s what we try to teach to our children, and I get my parents to help me, and also tell them about the values. Like, Chinese really have values with family. We tend to stay close to families, and looking after the elderly. So those are the values, and I try to teach my kids about this.
I try to take him home maybe you know when he’s older, take him back and actually see where I’m from, to see the Chinese culture, and never forget he actually has a Chinese face, even though he live in New Zealand. I feel like it’s really, really important, because everyone here, no matter where you’re from, you actually call this home. You call Auckland home. So you’re from China, you’re from India, you’re from all sort of countries.
It’s important we understand each other’s culture and actually respect them, not to say something offensive or try to be happy and say the nice things. Say the right thing. Because I’m an interpreter, I tend to, you know, some language I accepted as certain culture like Kiwi culture, and some languages just not acceptable. You can’t say a darling to a really elderly lady. She probably won’t accept you, just like a stranger to call her darling. So yeah, very important and I like the culture here, everyone from different backgrounds, and languages and you see where they’re from, and meet them.”
