Suren | Lynfield

“I had to take my son for a cultural dancing group over at Pasefika where I had a chance to learn about other cultures. It’s good for us to learn about other cultures, their traditions and how they do dancing and all those sorts of things.

I learned about the  lifestyle and how they’re doing their dancing, and all that. We can learn their community, their style, their life patterns, what tradition they come from. So, it’s good for us to learn about those different cultures. I like the Samoan Pacific and the Cook Islands. 

So, if you are staying in a multicultural city, because we have different cultures, it’s better to learn the other cultures activities and all that stuff. I learn what sort of dances they have in their culture, and how the community works, how they get together and everything.

I was born in Sri Lanka in Colombo, and I came to New Zealand 18 years back. It’s good, it’s a safer country over here, and they look after us very well. So, that’s why I prefer it over here. My family is important in my life. I’ve got two kids, and my father and mother are over here, so I’m the one who looks after them. So, my first priority is my family.”