"Documenting the life of the Hungarian community in New Zealand"
- Az új-zélandi magyar közösség lapja.
A few weeks ago, on the 23rd of November I received my New Zealand citizenship at the Wellington City Council chambers. It was probably about time that I applied for it as I had moved to New Zealand over 14 years ago as a five year old with my parents and older sister. After I had received my citizenship I started to wonder as to what I should call myself now. Should I tick the European or the New Zealander box in surveys and forms asking what my ethnicity is? What ethnicity did I belong to now and what role should my Hungarianess play in that?
When I moved to New Zealand I learnt the English language by being thrust into school and learning it by total immersion. My sister and I were also helped by the friendly characters and puppets on “Sesame Street” and “Playschool” as well as by our mother. As I attended school I started to participate in all the things that New Zealand children did. I played netball, cricket and touch rugby in the playground. I learned about Maori culture and New Zealand history. I read New Zealand literature by Alan Duff and Witi Ihimaera in high school. I ate marmite. I picked up New Zealand idioms like as “sweet as”. I enjoyed the typical New Zealand Christmas in the summer. However in doing all of these things I never forgot about my Hungarianess.
When I first moved here my family and I used to attend Mikulás, St Stephen's day celebrations, sing Hungarian carols and participate in Hungarian folk dancing. Not all of these things were done so willingly at the time; however I am still glad that I took part in them because I learned about my culture, something that other children who are descendants of New Zealand – Hungarians may not have gotten the opportunity to do and it has also helped me retain my language. Today, of these activities, folk dancing plays the most important role in my life. I have been a member of the Wellington Hungarian folk dancing group almost since it began. It is something which I have enjoyed immensely over the years and something which has kept me in touch with my Hungarianess.
The question of what my ethnicity was used to be a very simple answer. I was a Hungarian. Over time the feelings I had about being a Hungarian started to change. At the age of nine or ten my family moved back to Hungary for about half a year. It was then that I realised that perhaps I was not as Hungarian as I thought I was or at least I realised that I would struggle to live in Hungary. I found it hard at first to interact and communicate with my cousins and peers at school. My ability to speak Hungarian and my awareness of Hungarian culture was not as great as someone else of my age. Over the years as I got older this knowledge did not really increase although I could probably be blamed for this as I never put much effort into learning more about the great Hungarian authors or about Hungarian history.
I have to wonder though would I still be so in touch with my Hungarian side if I had not had the opportunity to participate in any of those cultural events like dancing as a child. If I had not had the opportunity to be friends with other Hungarian children. Certainly it has gotten harder over the years as I find there are less and less Hungarians my age with whom I can converse. I also became aware of other aspects of Hungarian culture and attitudes that I did not necessarily understand or agree with. Maybe it is this that makes it harder for me to associate with what it means to be a Hungarian today, what it means to be a Hungarian to my generation. Thus as I got older the question of my ethnicity became vaguer. I have now lived almost three quarters of my life in this country and have come to feel a closer affinity to the people and culture of New Zealand.
My Hungarianess still plays an important role in my life and it may not have been so important to me today if I had not moved to New Zealand, who knows. It is still a part of my background which I would like to remind my younger siblings, my nephew and one day my own children about. Perhaps what I feel can be summed up best by what the mayor of Wellington, Kerry Prendergast, said in her speech to those receiving their citizenship that day in November. While we embrace our lives in New Zealand, this country's heritage and culture, we should not forget or renounce our origins and our own culture. So maybe I can have an affinity with more than one culture, maybe I am now a Hungarian – New Zealander.