Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #8 Thursday 25 October 2012€¦ · Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #8 Thursday 25 October 2012 Its nine weeks now since I arrived from my mother land,

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #8 Thursday 25 October 2012

Physical Address

Manawatu Multicul-

tural Council Inc. (MMC) Community House

77-85 King Street PO BOX 2031

PALMERSTON NORTH

E-mail: Manawatu @newcomers.co.nz

Administered by Family and Community Services

Greetings,

Spring is here! For some it is the best season of the year

while for others isn't because of wind and rain and unpredict-able weather that often causes cold and flu. Anyhow, spring

brings life to nature after winter and it is this time of the year to go out and enjoy the outdoors. Palmerston North has a

great variety of tramping and walking tracks. Manawatu River walkway is my favorite as it has beautiful views and it is

easy to walk. This time of the year is also a good time to go out in the gar-

den and grow vegetables. Gardening is fun and is a meaning-ful exercise. It also provides healthier and tastier food for the

family. For this reason the Women's’ Group will meet on Wednesday the 7th November from 1-3pm for an afternoon

of spring organic gardening. Please let us know you are going

so we can organize transport. We will leave the Multicultural Centre at 12.30pm for us to go together so please do not be

late.

It was wonderful to see many of you at the Potluck Dinner at Te Manawa last month. The venue was great and the chil-

dren enjoyed playing. We also received a lot of positive feed-back from those who came. Te Manawa kindly offered to host

our Potluck Dinner every two months. The October Potluck Dinner is on Friday the 26th and will be held here at the Mul-

ticultural Centre at 6pm. We thought it would be good to cel-ebrate spring, so come dressed in your most colourful outfit.

Bring along your family and friends and a plate to share.

The Coffee Morning group is on every third Wednesday of the

month. On the 17th October we had new arrivals to P North, Delphine and her son Baptiste from France, Ana and Vicente

from Mexico and Catherine and her daughter Dominique from Columbia and Joseph from Uganda. Carrol as always brought

in her delicious home made cheese cake, Yuuum!! Thanks Carrol.

The MMC Annual Dinner is on Saturday the 17th November at

Chinatown Restaurant from 6-9pm. It is an opportunity to meet and socialize with a wider range of people. Tickets are

available at the Multicultural Centre, please ring Christine or Noorangi on 358 1572 to book your tickets on time.

Christine.

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #8 Thursday 25 October 2012

Its nine weeks now since I arrived from my

mother land, the pearl of Africa, may God bless its inhabitants and visitors. When I arrived at

Auckland Air Port it was drizzling, windy and damn cold. My partner’s grand parents were

there to receive me and off we went to have a cup of coffee. Then after two hours I had to

board a plane coming to Palmerston North. Right from the airport to home, the wind was

strong enough to disorient my movement counts. I wondered in my heart that if the

weather is so bad and hostile to foreigners like me, how bad and hostile will the kiwi.

In my first week I meet Anne, a Kiwi married

to a Nigerian, she is so friendly and motherly.

Is it because she is married to a Nigerian or because we belong to the same church? I asked myself, surprised by her warm heart. She introduces me to a few other ki-

wis and later on she directs me to the Multicultural Centre where she says she serves as Vice President. How will I go and bump in to Centre to introduce myself? I

am reluctant at giving it a try. But I convinced myself that I will go there one day which I did. I found Christine a Rwandan, my God she was very welcoming and

again I felt at home in this cold country. But Christine is my neighbour back home could this have triggered her behaviour towards me? Wondered again. She intro-

duces me to Vicki, the coordinator of the Centre my God, this lady is down to earth and the first day I talked to her I made a conclusion that although New Zealand is a

cold country, its people have warm hearts.

To all you new comers, do not get bored in your houses, there is a home away from home where you can have some one to talk to and advice you where neces-

sary. Come to the Multicultural Centre, you will always be a few miles away from

home. The Centre is doing a great job, ever since I went to the centre I have gained much confidence and discovered more warmth in working with and socialising with

Kiwis.

Now am volunteering at Trade Aid and Willard Rest Home, where am working with a team of warm and understanding Kiwi managers and supervisors.

In general I have found the Kiwi to people welcoming and ready to help.

Joseph Bwanika

A COLD COUNTRY, PEOPLE OF WARM HEARTS!!!

Thank you Joseph for sharing your impressions about our Newcomers

Network.

We trust that all newcomers feel welcome when they call in and see us here at the Centre for the first time. As Joseph says it can be hard some-

times to make the first move, but when you walk through the door and meet everyone who comes here, you will know it was the right move!!!!

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #8 Thursday 25 October 2012

Potluck Dinner at Te Manawa Museum

September Potluck Dinner was fabulous. A great number of about 70 people came

and brought in delicious dishes. The potluck was organised in conjunction with Te Manawa Museum.

Since this was our first time outside our premises, it was amazing to see so many

of you coming and enjoying the beautiful venue. Adults enjoyed chatting with each other and

playing Ti Rakau or stick games( an important part of Maori culture). The children had fun at

KIDS SPACE, exploring the place and playing games.

Te Manawa offers free admission to a range of

new interactive semi permanent galleries and a continuing programme of temporary exhibitions

in the art gallery. The co location of the rugby

Museum offers an additional attraction for visi-tors.

Last year Te Manawa had over 150,000 visitors,

so join the queue and make sure you go a long at some time and see what they have to offer. Its

worth it. Its also important to support our local Museum. You can also hire their spaces . Check it

out!

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #8 Thursday 25 October 2012

How to find out what’s on in Palmerston North

Mexican Day of the Dead

Come and visit the Day of the Dead altar on display (for the week of 2 to the 10 No-vember) at the Central Library and enjoy the lively taste of authentic Mexican choc-

olate and food! On Friday November 2 watch a classic Mexican film, 'Macario!' On Friday November 10 there will be a presentation 'Death and Loss in Mexican Culture'

by Mexican critic and curator, Claudia Arozqueta. Fri, Nov 2, 6:00pm Sat, Nov 10, 5:00pm

Date: Nov 2, 2012 to Nov 10, 2012 Location: Palmerston North Central Library

Website: http://citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz/ More info: Eventfinder

Hi all,

There is no doubt in our minds that if you want to be busy and have a busy and in-teresting time here in Palmerston North, you can. The variety of events has really

increased in the last few years and there are not many weeks that go past where there isn’t something special happening either in the arts, music or the theatre.

There are lovely walks close by ( the river walk or the gorge walk for starters ) and the shopping and café scene has loads of variety. Not to mention movies.

If you don’t receive the Tribune or the Guardian Newspapers, then there are a number of online opportunities as well.

Check out the new PAGE Magazine http://manawatunz.co.nz/

Also view the what’s on the today this weeks and this month http://manawatunz.co.nz/whats-on/?date=2012-10-27

Also don’t forget Awesome Awapuni Day Saturday 27th

Join us for a free family fun day! Featuring Pancake Attack - the play performed by the Awapuni community. The illustrator of Pancake Attack, Dave Gunson will be

there all day to autograph books. In the tents: face painting, fancy dress competi-tion, free sausage sizzle, healthy eating options. On stage: live entertainment,

kapa haka groups, Light Years band, The Magic Man, Palmerston North Youth Brass Band, Speaking with Hands. On the field: Mission Impossible inflatable confidence

course, family sports competitions, many other games, free giveaways... and

much, much more! An annual community celebration of Awapuni. Walk to Alexan-der Park (behind Awapuni School) so get together with your friends, your neigh-

bours and your family to enjoy a free day of fun. Live entertainment on stage and games on the lawn. Some free food provided on site or bring a picnic to share with

the whanau. Hosted by the Rotary Club of Awapuni. This is a smoke-free & liquor-free event. Sponsored by: PNCC, Sunsmart, Smoke free, PN Safety advisory Board,

NZ Police. And then watch out for

Roslyn Have a say day on November the 24th

Its all go Who says nothing happens in Palmerston North !!!!

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #8 Thursday 25 October 2012

November 2012 Calendar of Events and Activities

Friday 2nd November and every Friday of the week Shared Lunch from 12 noon

@Manawatu Multicultural Centre Community House

77-85 King Street Contact Noorangi or Christine

Friday 2nd November and every Friday of the week

Art and Craft from 1-3pm @Manawatu Multicultural Centre

Community House 77-85 King Street Contact Christine or Noorangi

Monday 5th November and every Monday of the week Multicultural Playgroup from 10am

Senior Citizens Hall 323-325 Main Street Palmerston North

Contact Christine or Noorangi Wednesday 7th November

Women’s Group from 1-3pm. Organic Spring Gardening @Manawatu Multicultural Centre

Community House 77-85 King Street

Contact Christine or Noorangi Saturday 17th November

MMC Annual Dinner from 6-9pm @Chinatown Restaurant 150 Cuba Street

Palmerston North Contact Christine or Noorangi

Wednesday 21st November Coffee Morning from 10am @Manawatu Multicultural Centre

Community House 77-85 King Street

Contact Maria, Carrol or Christine Saturday 24th November

Women Only Swimming Night from 6-8pm

Freyberg Community Pool Call Freyberg community Pool on 06 354 3856

Friday 30th November Potluck Dinner at 6pm @ Te Manawa Museums

Main Entrance Foyer 326 Main Street

Palmerston North Contact Meriam, Christine or Noorangi