Stiffany Adanza and her daughter Allie Valiente stroll to Milverton Park in central Palmerston North.
Stiffany Adanza and her daughter Allie Valiente stroll to Milverton Park in central Palmerston North.
At six in the morning, Philippine time, I received the news. Our visas have been granted - New Zealand, here we come!
I woke up my 7-year-old daughter with tears in my eyes, saying, “We have our visa!” To my surprise, she looked disappointed and uttered words that caught me off guard: “But Mama, I don’t want to live there! I just want to stay there for 10 days!”
I was at a loss for words. Obtaining our visas had been a challenging process because I have chronic myeloid leukaemia. Seeing my daughter’s lack of enthusiasm, I began questioning whether I had made the right decision.
Life in the Philippines had been fairly comfortable for our family. But when I was diagnosed with leukaemia, I decided to invest in myself and step out of my comfort zone, and applied to IPU New Zealand for a Master’s course.
Fortunately, I got accepted, received a scholarship and was included in the fourth cohort of 5000 international students with a border exception, granting me the opportunity to study in New Zealand for a year.
So, we packed our bags, dedicating one large suitcase to summer clothing as we were arriving in late November. After a 26-hour journey that included two six-hour layovers, we finally landed in Palmerston North. Stepping off the plane, the Palmy wind blowing through, my daughter once again exclaimed an unforgettable sound byte: “It’s freakin’ cold! I thought it was summer!”
And she was right. I always joke the Philippines has four seasons - rainy, hot, hotter and hottest. Summer meant temperatures not dipping below 30 degrees. The Palmy summer was definitely not what we expected. I suddenly thought, ‘Which was the suitcase that had the jackets again?’
Stiffany Adanza and her husband Johanne Valiente at Missoula Day last November in The Square. It was their first day in Palmerston North.
The next day marked our official introduction to Palmerston North. Naturally, we went to The Square. We have the Circle – the Quezon City Memorial Circle, a huge park with a tower in the middle. A few steps and I saw a tower which was almost similar at the centre. More walking and we hear music.
There was a hotdog eating contest, and then my daughter saw one attraction after another - a giant slide, a bouncy castle, hot-rod rides, popcorn and icecream. What a welcome, Palmy! Instinctively, she took off her shoes like a normal Kiwi child and gleefully played.
“Mama, I changed my mind, let’s stay here for 300 years!” It seems Palmerston North has its persuasive powers over children.
Allie Valiente enjoys an icecream on her first day in Palmerston North last November.
My daughter’s school is a 500-metre walk from our house. These walks have become precious memories for us, as well as the 100m strolls to Milverton Park. Such walks were a rarity back in the Philippines, and I cherish every moment of our silly chats as we stroll along streets lined with lush trees, breathing in fresh air.
Driving in Palmerston North has been a pleasant experience for me. For one, my husband doesn’t use the car horn as often as he would when driving in the Philippines. The streets are wide, and traffic jams are few and far between.
I used to drive a bigger car in the Philippines because when you always get stuck in traffic, you don’t want to be in that little vehicle while all the other cars around you are SUVs or jeepneys, making you feel like they’re all looking down on you, your privacy being violated. Here, I drive a cute Honda Fit, and with traffic jams being a rarity, it - pun intended - fits.
Sometimes, I do miss the City of Stars, Quezon City. We lived in a sixth-floor condominium surrounded by restaurants and bars. It’s busy and noisy. Palmy is tranquil and laid-back.
Every so often, my daughter asks me how long have we been here. “Definitely more than 10 days!”
Stiffany Adanza is a Master of Contemporary International Studies student at IPU New Zealand.
