Sanne | Mt Eden
“My name is Sanne and I call home Mt Eden. My first weekend I arrived here in New Zealand, in Auckland actually, I went to a dance weekend and I met Ashleigh, and she’s lovely, and we become friends instantly.
Because our personalities are quite similar and she just invited me; that if you ever need it, you can give me a call and sleep on my couch, because you’re always welcome, and then after I travelled a bit of New Zealand I came back to Auckland and I didn’t really have a place to sleep and didn’t feel like being in a big crowd at a hostel room, so I called her, and she said, of course, you’re welcome. We just met for two days, but I knew she meant it, so it was really a friendship from the beginning. I went to her house, and I was welcomed in her little family with her baby, and I slept on the couch for three days or two nights, but it was lovely, and I really felt that warm friendship that she offered me, from a true heart.
I grew up in the Netherlands. And I lived there still one year ago, not even, only some months ago.
What I value in life is connection really from person to person, in a true way from the heart. I think I’m looking for that in my personal life with friends, but also from humans I meet during the day, or when I work with kids, or parents. I’m always looking for this connection from person to person, like who are you, who am I, and how are we going to meet today, like what is it going to be? It’s really an adventure for me, and I love playing a bit in that field. So I think connection is what makes me tick, and what I like to explore and play with. Not only from the mind but also from the body, so using movement; let’s see what we can do with that.
For me, friendship is very important, just to relate to other people around you. To give a sense that we’re all connected in a way, and in friendship, you can share lots, maybe with words or without, but you can also learn a lot from each other because in a way you’re each other’s mirror. I think it’s important to have it as social support, but also to share or develop yourself in life. In that way, friendship is important to me.”