Marieanna | Devonport, Auckland

“Home is where your family are, your close family, friends and a happy, loving environment, and I believe you can have more than one home.

I’m from Ireland originally, and that is my first and foremost home and I have lots of family there, but I’ve made a new home here with my immediate family and great friends. 

We are teachers, so we are here just checking out the library. We have a new teacher who’s joined us, so we’re showing her around, and just getting back into the swing of work after Christmas. 

I’m originally from Dublin in Ireland. I left when I was quite young. I trained to be a primary teacher originally, and then I ended up sailing. So, I sailed around the world, and one of the ports I pulled into was Auckland, and I fell in love with it, decided to make it my new home, and I’ve been here on and off over 25 years since. 

I think it’s important to feel like part of a community, to fit in. To feel the warmth of a community, can make your home an easier place, or a new home especially for people that come from other places. I think it’s really important to live in an environment that has some connection with maybe your old home, as far as the people, or the personality of people as well. If they’re similar or have similar outlooks and sense of humour. I just think it’s really important that it’s an environment that you can connect with, that perhaps has a connection with your original birth place as well.”