Adin | Papamoa, Bay of Plenty

“I was born and raised in Bosnia, overseas, and so I guess the first time I felt like I was at home here was probably intermediate, when I made some friends, hung out for the first time. I felt like New Zealand was my home once I made some friends here. 

Bosnia is a little country in Europe. My parents moved over to New Zealand for Dad’s work, we lived in Hamilton for a wee while, and then we moved to Papamoa, where I’ve been living for the past five, six years. I just found a job, went to uni, and then now we’re here.

When I first got here, I obviously didn’t have many friends, didn’t have any family, didn’t really have anyone around here. And then a week or two at a New Zealand intermediate I found some friends, and then started becoming happy and stuff. I think home to me is friends and acceptance, basically. 

I think home’s a hard concept to grasp. Home for me is being in Bosnia with my family and coming here I guess they kind of made a second home, that’s like friendships and all that sort of stuff. 

My definition of home would be family, spending time with cousins, grandparents, everything. In Bosnia, family is a massive thing. It’s part of our culture. Everyone lives down the same cul-de-sac. You see everyone every day. So, it’s a bit different coming to New Zealand and seeing your aunty and uncle who live in Auckland, your grandparents live in Wellington. It’s a little bit different here. You make home friends, I guess. In New Zealand it’s a little bit different.”