I’m Otayto Otoma from the Konso Tribe. I am a seller. I sell cultural gifts such as bracelets and necklaces. I am seventeen years old. Next year, I’ll be eligible to throw the stone over my head to show that I’ve matured enough to get married. 

In our tribe, the family chooses the bride; I’m sure my mom will choose a suitable girl for me who is beautiful and hard-working. 

I have two brothers and three sisters; I’m the second one, and none of us have been married yet. I learned English at school. I’m an 8th grader now. In the morning, I go to school, and I sell jewellery to the tourists in the afternoon.

When I finish my schooling, I want to be a tour guide. I hope to enter the exams, pass them all, and help the world to learn about my people.

Otayto Otoma
Gamole Walled Village, Ethiopia, 17 November 2018

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My name is Keire Salia, and I’m 50 years old. I have eight children. Except for one, all of them are married. I have two grandchildren who are living with me. I am happy with my life, thanks to Allah.
 
We grow different types of cereals and corn. We bring water from the nearby stream bed with donkeys. But now, I want to buy a cattle, İnşallah.

Keire Salia
Butajira, Ethiopia, 18 November 2018

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My name is Frank. I am 70 years old. I live in Jambiani, Zanzibar. I moved here about 7 years ago and make a living by running my own guesthouse and restaurant called Cool Runnings.

My first visit to Zanzibar was 25 years ago. It all started when I volunteered in a wild life project on the mainland. Year after year, I went back and forth between Europe and Zanzibar, as I am from the Netherlands. Finally, it was 7 years ago when I came to this place, bought an old house, and rebuilt it and turned it into a small guesthouse with a restaurant. It was about 3 or 4 years ago when I met my lovely wife Jackline, who came here looking for a job. So now, I am living here permanently and doing a little business.

Living here in Zanzibar is completely different from where I came from originally. However, I never think of going back again. Home is here now. 

The majority of the people here in Zanzibar are very nice. They are always helpful, warm, welcoming, and kind. The funny thing is that nearly everyone here thinks that I am rich. Coming from a different culture and race, I sometimes find it hard to tell them that it was the riches and wealth that I actually ran away from.

At Cool Runnings, we always try our hardest to ensure that every single one of our visitors feel like they are at home, and at peace. That’s why we have done our best to renovate it in such a way that it is sincere and cozy, just as how I wanted it to be.

Frank
Zanzibar, 16 June 2018

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I came to New Zealand from Fiji Islands in order to have a better life when I was 23 years old. I have been living in Auckland for 15 years. My spouse is a gardener from New Zealand. I work as a sales representative at the only store of Colony co.ltd. in Auckland which sells bee related products.

I love my job and bees. Working closely with the bees has helped me to understand these little creatures' importance beyond making honey. The peaceful way of working of the bees that holds the whole ecosystem together must be an example for all of us.
I think my mission as a happy person is not only taking care of the bees but also helping the society that I live in through healthcare, art and culture.

Actually life is so simple and short. Life flows away in its own rhythm with our choices. It is also our choice that not to forget being happy and embracing life.

Suragni Sharma 
Auckland, New Zealand, 24 October 2018

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My name is Sally. I was born in 1941. My father went to war and I never saw him until I was 3,5 years old. My mom was pregnant when he left for war. I had two older sisters so there were girls. After the war my parents had a little boy so they were very very happy. But my story really starts with the First World War.

My grandfather had been a doctor in England but he had come out to live here. When the First World War broke out he said to his wife he would never forgive himself and he would never look in the eyes of his children again if he didn’t go to war. So he enlisted in the army and arrived in Cairo but two weeks later he died from sickness when my grandmother was pregnant with number five. It is a very sad story for us and of course for my grandmother. Her husband never came back. He never saw his youngest child. My grandfather was very fine man and he was very famous here. He was the first surgeon in New Zealand.

So I lived here for most of my life. I was married. My husband has passed away. I have three sons, one of them is a doctor here, other one is a business man in Australia and the youngest one is a banker who he lives in Tokyo, Japan. I also have nine lovely grandchildren.

I think I have been very lucky in my life. I had a lovely husband and a lovely family with two sisters and a brother. I am very lucky that I have traveled around the world. I have been to Istanbul twice and I loved the mosques. We sailed up to Bosporus. It was great. So I am a traveler too and I would like to say thank you for coming our country and listening my story.

Sally
Auckland, New Zealand, 24 October 2018

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Hello, my name is Viktorija. I am 27 years old, and I am from Lithuania. I have been living in Australia for 2 years.

I came to Australia when I was 25. I've met and eventually fell in love with a Turkish guy, whom I met in Lithuania a year before I came here. I moved to Turkey with him and lived in Istanbul for almost a year. I like Turkey and Istanbul very much. I had lots of friends there, and thanks to them, I learned a little bit of Turkish, too, but after a while we broke up and I returned to Lithuania.

After I came home, I started to work again, and suddenly, out of the blue, a friend of mine came up with the idea of going to Australia. I said yes, and a week later we were in Australia.

The guy who took care of our paperwork at the tourism agency told us that Australia is a very beautiful country, and that we could easily find a well-paid job and will be very happy there, but at the beginning, it was far away from the truth.

At first, I struggled very much. I didn't know what to do, I was kinda lost. Eventually, thanks to my travelling experiences, I got myself together. Now, I work as a waitress in order to make my living. Also, I began to design jewelry. I am selling them online. In addition to these, I am taking dance lessons.

Moving to a cosmopolitan country like Australia from a small country like Lithuania improved me and my vision enormously. Istanbul was a very big city too, but it wasn't as cosmopolitan as Australia. If I stayed in my country, I would know only European culture, but in here, living in a multinational and multicultural society gives me happiness and excitement at the same time. 

If I have to express my world-view in one sentence it would be, "It is now or never."

Viktorija Bockute
Sydney, Australia, 9 October 2018

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