1 Captions by Julie Taylor. Edited by Tracey Dawson. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017 (RELAXED POP MUSIC) St Johns is a little Auckland suburb lying between old-money Remuera and working-class Glen Innes. The suburb has as rich a history as any. It was named after St John's Anglican Theological College, established here in 1844. But most of the houses were built in the '60s and '70s, when it became a popular place for families. My family and I moved to St Johns from Hong Kong when I was 15 years old, which sometimes makes me feel I live between two worlds. I was old enough to have strong memories of life in Hong Kong, but I spent most of my life here in New Zealand. I love the sense of community here in St Johns. It can be as busy or quiet as you wanna be. And it's surprisingly diverse. I used to go to school with students from a dozen ethnic backgrounds, and that was 20 years ago. So I'm looking forward to hearing some of the stories locals share today. In this episode of Neighbourhood ` we'll discover the treasures of the place that gave St Johns its name. the place that gave St Johns its name. Knowing the story of Rota as the first Maori Anglican priest is really knowing a sense of where you stand in this tradition of Maori Anglican clergy over the generations. A woman from Japan shares the dance that brings her joy. We're gonna perform a new dance today, so little bit nervous, but we'll be fine. (CHUCKLES) We're practising a lot. We'll meet the woman charged with caring for New Zealand's largest collection of fungi. That's the perk of my job, to be able to go out in the bush and look for fungi. And then people are like, 'Great. That's wonderful. So, what do you do for fun?' Well, I go out in the bush and look for fungi. You know, it's part of my job, but it's also part of my relaxation. And a St Johns local explains how confidence can be contagious. I would say St John's Youth gave me two very important things. First is, of course, the hard skills that you learn ` first aid, clinical discipline, communication. It also gave me the confidence actually to come out of the closet. I'm Bevan Chuang, and this is my neighbourhood. (RELAXED MUSIC) I remember arriving in New Zealand and being amazed by the amount of space. Imagine coming from Hong Kong, where there are more than 6500 people per square kilometre, to this. Hong Kong was still a British colony when I left, which meant we celebrated many Western traditions, such as Christmas or even the Queen's Birthday. But Hong Kong people also maintain a lot of traditional Taoist practices, such as offerings to deities, feng shui and Tung Shing, which is the traditional Chinese almanac for fortune telling. I think the mix of east and west made it easier for us to settle here, but there are some traditions I wish we hadn't lost along the way. One of our favourite things to do on the weekend is to go to a reserve that's close by. And I just love taking my daughter. It's a great opportunity to go out and just, you know, start an appreciation of the world around her. You wanna see that? Wanna see the mushrooms? You see them? You see the brown ones over there? Look! I see it. I was born in India, in Pune, and then moved to the US to go to school. So, when I was young, my mother used to take me out. We grew up sort of in a village until I was about 6, and we would always go for walks, and there would be plants and fish and other things and birds. It was an incredible way to grow up, to be so aware that there's so many different things around you. Look at that! Look at that mushroom. Do you want to look at it with the hand lens? Do you wanna look at it close? See how` what it looks like? See how it has all that stuff on the cap? It's pretty cool, isn't it? My eldest sister lived in Papua New Guinea, and we went on a family vacation to visit her, and we were walking in the bush, and I saw these really bright orange mushrooms and was like, 'Huh. I wonder what they are.' And I think that was the first time that I remember looking at a mushroom and wondering what it is, and after that, it has never stopped. So now any time I go out in the bush, I always notice them. So, like, once you start noticing them, you always notice them. So, I'm a mycologist at Landcare Research, and I'm the curator of the PDD Fungarium. Now, a fungarium is a repository where we store dried specimens of different types of fungis. And so what I do is we are trying to document the biodiversity present in New Zealand so we can be more informed about making decisions about biosecurity as well as conservation. New Zealand has been isolated geographically, so we don't fully know very much about the fungi over here. There are probably about 25,000 species of fungi in New Zealand, and we know about maybe 8000 or so of those. So it's incredibly diverse and incredibly important to us, from the bread that you eat in the morning. If you didn't have yeast, you wouldn't have your spongy bread. You certainly wouldn't have beer. But more than that, you know, most antibiotics are from fungi. If there weren't fungi in the environment, then there would be litter basically up to the moon, because there would be nothing breaking down this tremendous amount of carbon that's caught up in leaves. So fungi have this real important and vital role in our ecosystems. And to be a custodian of the dried specimens for future generations ` it's incredible. That's the perk of my job, is to be able to go out in the bush and look for fungi. And then people are like, 'Great. That's wonderful. So, what do you do for fun?' Well, I go out in the bush and look for fungi. You know, it's like, it's part of my job, but it's also part of my relaxation. (TWINKLY MUSIC) So, the BioBlitz is essentially, you go to a particular location and record all of the species that you can find in a 24-hour period. And it's great because it gives you sort of a snapshot of the diversity of life that's present in a particular location. You probably need a good box, cos you don't want to squish any of the mushrooms. Cos the one thing you don't want to do is put them all together, because then it's really hard to identify them afterwards. We don't normally get to meet very many people of the public. You know, it's a once-a-year thing. So it's nice to be able to talk to them and show them where you can find fungi, cos most of the time, you don't get this in schools. You know, you're only learning about this when you go to events such as this, so just to be able to show people where things are and, you know, what we have out here is really, really nice. what we have out here is really, really nice. We found actually two or three different species. So the thing is, is that when you look at them from the top, they kind of all look the same, but` look at them from the top, they kind of all look the same, but` Like potatoes. Yeah. We had this project last year, and so we went out to three different schools. We went out bushwalking with them, collecting fungi. What we were trying to achieve for this project was to describe a new species with each of these schools. And we found them. We found a new species for each of these different schools. So, these ones are agaric. These are just growing in the wood mulch. They look like umbrellas. These are related to the grocery-store mushrooms. It's so important to be connected to the world around you, to be able to go out and experience nature, to know that there's so many different species in just a small, little patch of bush. It's incredible. And if you're taking kids out into the bush, it really inspires them to take care and protect the environment and the ecosystem, which is really important for us and for them in the future and future generations. We were what they call an astronaut family ` the opposite of a nuclear family. An astronaut family moves for the children's education, but one or both parents spend most of the time back in their home country for work. My father never lived in New Zealand. He just flew back and forth to visit. So my parents spent a lot of time apart. Perhaps it's not surprising that they are separated. As a teenager, I just didn't understand what had happened. Dad stopped being part of our lives. I was devastated. I started having panic attacks. But going through that tough time taught me how to be brave and resilient. Sometimes you learn the life skills you need to get by in the most surprising ways. So, my name is Johann J Go. I was born in Manila, Philippines, and came to New Zealand when I was about 7 years old. New Zealand offered a lot of opportunities that we otherwise couldn't get in the Philippines ` job prospects for my parents. A better education system was also something that we considered. And, of course, learning English was a priority for both my parents and I. Also, I do reflect on whether I would have been able to come out of the closet, actually, if I stayed in the Philippines. Being a very conservative Catholic country, especially 10 years ago, I'm not sure I would have been able to have that confidence, and I'm not sure it would have been an appropriate social context for me to realise who I truly was. One of the issues of being gay in the Philippines is the vernacular. So the word 'bakla' or 'bading' in the Philippines commonly refers to a subculture of gay people who are cross-dressers and transsexuals, transgender, etc. And so that is actually a very big challenge is that initially, when you come out to people in the Philippines, they would think that you actually want to be someone of the opposite sex. Well, of course, these are very different and distinct identities. I think I would have come out, anyway, in the Philippines, but there's the social reaction and perhaps being ostracised would have been real possibilities. Not to say it doesn't exist here, but I think the social context here is very different. (STAMPS FOOT) Divison, fall in. So, this year marks my 10th year of involvement with St John. From tiny, wee, little Johann through to what I am now as a divisional manager of the youth programme. So, welcome, everyone. I hope you had a great week at school. We'll be doing some trauma training, so we'll be doing first aid. We'll be doing some injuries that are quite serious and how to go about treating those. So, I first became involved in St John when I was about 11 years old, and that really was the beginning of many great things for me. It was the first place where I felt I fully belonged within the world, I suppose. It was the first place I was able to be challenged to look beyond what I did in my everyday life, and it was the first chance I got to experience lots of world views and perspectives that accorded with mine, I suppose. Now, why do we put on gloves? Yes, Isaac? Because our hands don't get dirty and don't get bacteria on them. Yeah, of course. We don't want to get blood and other dangers on us. Good. 'So, I would say St John Youth gave me two very important things. 'First is, of course, the hard skills that you learn ` first aid, clinical discipline, communication.' It also gave me the confidence to actually come out of the closet, as I have told a lot of people. I was very fortunate growing up, having two openly gay regional youth managers. My clinical training manager was also openly gay, and so I had a lot of gay role models growing up within St John. But also the confidence that comes from being able to do skills that other people don't have. That gives you a sense of achievement and a sense of confidence, and it means that you feel that little bit less scared about the world. I also knew from St John that I had a very supportive group of friends, of colleagues, of managers, and that whatever happened when I came out to anyone else, I knew that I would always have the support of St John, and in particular, St John Youth. We've got an impalement injury, but there's a lot of bleeding. What's our first priority here? Blood, um, lungs. So she's got her airway, breathing, circulation. 'By being openly gay and able to mentor and support young people, 'I hope to be giving back to an organisation that has given me so much.' When I first came out publicly as gay and Johann messaged me, offering support, and that was really, really, really great. So he was one of the first people that I did tell. It made me feel like I wasn't alone. I had someone else to talk to and someone else that knew what it felt like. JOHANN: An organisation that is inclusive and diverse pushes that out into the treatment that they give to patients in diverse communities, which then translate to good health outcomes and good practice throughout the organisation, and, indeed, throughout the community. I always tell people that diversity is about being invited to the party, but inclusion is about being asked to dance. And I think in a similar way is that we have to not only be diverse but inclusive. And I'm very glad and very proud to be part of an organisation that puts this at the forefront of its culture. My grandmother has been a very important person in my life. She could be tough, but she brought up five of her seven grandchildren, including me. She was born into money, but her family lost everything in the Second World War and the Cultural Revolution in China. My grandfather wasn't a great husband, so my grandmother worked very hard to be the breadwinner of the family. Even in her 90s, with serious dementia, she was still the queen of the rest home. Her feisty personality is one that I admire, and I wish I could be just like her. Her stories give me a strong connection to the past that, in turn, will influence my future. I teach at St John's College in Auckland. My role is to support Maori students coming into the college to train for Anglican ministry. For my theology, I studied at St John, so I came into the college as a student. My first impression when I arrived is I was entering into something very sacred. The college has been here since the mid-1840s, and so, if you can imagine, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. The Brits didn't muck around. They sent a bishop out very quickly. So by 1841, a man by the name of Bishop George Selwyn had come over, and what he wanted to do straight away was to establish a training college. So the college has been here since the mid-1840s. I feel a great sense of history as I walk in the door of the chapel. 1846, to me, is a long time ago, and I just have memories of how many students have passed through this college in that time; how many have then moved on to serve not only the church but the wider community. I have warm memories of a spirituality ` not so much grounded in the Church; it's probably grounded in my family. The seed of spirituality when I was growing up, that safe place, that comforting place, was actually the family home. I reached the stage where you finish school and then you have to make a decision about what to do. I did my Bachelor of Arts, but then I felt called into practising law, so I did a law degree as well. I practised law for some years, but what I found is that as I was working with my clients, there was this slow movement over some years of realising that I was doing more social work than legal work at times. And that sort of suggested to me that maybe my calling was actually moving into a different area. The reaction from my family was mixed, I think. My father wanted me to stay in law. My mother was very, I think, accepting of it. But I think overall, generally, everybody was accepting of it, which was nice, which was good. The first Maori priest was a man called Rota Waitoa. And he befriended Bishop Selwyn, and he came to the college and trained for ministry. So, the important thing, for me, is that this really is the start of a tradition` of quite a significant tradition of Maori coming into the Anglican Church to train for ministry. One of the oldest rooms we have at the college used to be the old kitchen, and we've set that aside as a meeting room, but we've also renamed it the Waitoa Room. We have placed his picture and a carving of him in that space. There's symbols here that speak to us of Christianity ` you know, Rota holding the cross. This is an important piece of history, as well, that's been passed on to us and the Church. When Bishop Selwyn first came here to this country, one of the very first things he did was he toured the country and made connections with those clergy who were in different parts of the country. And when he was in the Wellington area, in Kapiti, he came across Rota Waitoa. I think what I find interesting about Rota's story is just this idea of someone who's decided to, uh, make a decision to move away from his home area. And he was away from 1843 until his death in 1866. And it wasn't until very late in that period when he became a priest. So there was many, many years, I think, of education here at St John's College. Knowing the story of Rota as the first Maori Anglican priest is really knowing a sense of where you stand in this tradition of Maori Anglican clergy over the generations. I belong here. But I belong here because of what this person did, and it's been not only recognised by the Church, but it's something` It's almost like you're standing in a long line of generations of priests as well, when you walk into that room, so it's a special place for me, definitely. I write and advocate for the rights of migrants and refugees in New Zealand. I'm particularly interesting in situations of people, like myself, who came here as children. We are not first-generation arrivals, as we spent much of our adult life here in New Zealand, but we aren't second-generation either, as we weren't born here. I think the 1.5 generations struggle to find acceptance in our own ethnic communities and society as a whole. Writing helps me process that struggle. Coming to New Zealand and being an ethnic minority, people often ask me so much about my culture that, to be honest, I realised how little I knew. That experience encouraged me to learn more about my heritage and value it too. My name is Ayumi Sugimoto. I was born in Sapporo city in Japan. So, when I was in Japan, I worked for a few years at the same company, then I thought, 'Oh, it's a good time to go somewhere,' because I love, you know, travelling. Then I found a working-holiday scheme. So, I` Actually, I tried my family just goes to New Zealand for six months and coming back. Then I started doing my dancing team, then I met many friends here and comfortable to stay here. So decided to stay here longer. Then now I'm living here 15 years now` 16 years now. (CHUCKLES) I'm living in St Johns at the moment with my husband. When I was looking for a place to live, we found here, and loving living here. When I was in Japan, I performed this Yosakoi Soran dance. So I thought, 'Oh, it's a good opportunity to do the same thing in New Zealand, not only Japan.' So I'm organising the Yosakoi Soran dance. It's not very, very traditional, but it's a very new dance. Yes, I think opportunity to show, like, new, modern Japanese culture to New Zealand. It's good for people to know Japanese traditional style, but it's good then to know, like, new culture, new Japanese culture. Yes, our costumes are made by a Japanese woman who is living in New Zealand, so we asked her to make all the costumes, so it's all, you know, handmade. (BOOM!) (POP MUSIC) Today we're gonna perform Japan Day, which is a cultural Japanese festival. So, we're gonna perform twice today. I'm the leader of Southern Stars for 15 years now. I call our team a Southern Stars family because, you know, I'm coming here by myself, my family's in Japan, but many people came to New Zealand themselves, so I thought, 'We are a family here. Not lonely. We can take care of each other.' So that's why I love doing, you know, our dancing group. In Japan, many, many teams do Yosakoi Soran dance. So, a few teams are using Japanese drums, so I thought it's a good idea to bring the drum to New Zealand. So when I went back to Japan, I brought one Japanese drum, which we call a taiko, so I brought one taiko here. Now we have five taiko, five drums. (SPEAKS JAPANESE) We're gonna perform a new dance today, so a little bit nervous, but we'll be fine. We're practising a lot. MAN: Please welcome Southern Stars on the stage! (APPLAUSE) (MAN SHOUTS IN JAPANESE) (TRADITIONAL MUSIC) Normally, people think a Japanese dance is very slow movement, you know, like, wearing a kimono and very slow, but this Yosakoi Soran dance is very, you know, energetic and very quick movement. (TRADITIONAL MUSIC CONTINUES) In Japan, we dance, like, from 3 or sometimes 2 years old, so they join and dance together. It's good for everybody. (SINGS IN JAPANESE) Because we are not English speakers, sometimes we have, you know, a language barrier, but for dancing, we don't need to, you know, speak each other's` I mean, we do speak, but, you know, we don't need to think about it, so we can, you know, break the language barrier, which is very nice. (UPBEAT TRADITIONAL MUSIC) (MAN SHOUTS IN JAPANESE) I feel like in Japan and here, both of them are my home town now. I'm not lonely, because I have many friends and from our team as well. We are like family, so we take care of each other. (APPLAUSE) (GENTLE PIANO MUSIC) I remember someone once telling me that multiculturalism isn't about assimilation and becoming a melting pot, where all distinctions are blurred, but becoming integrated and knitted together like a kete, that we are all unique individuals coming together like separate strands to form a basket of knowledge and influence. I don't believe we need to become someone else for New Zealand to be truly multicultural. Captions by Julie Taylor. Edited by Tracey Dawson. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017