How Kiwi Live: Sisters Duda and Bruna, international students from Brazil, are creating their second home in Aotearoa

Duda: I came to New Zealand five years ago [when I was 16] and stayed with a homestay family in Auckland. Two years later I moved to Wellington to go to university and then not long after that, Bruna came over. After a year with her homestay family in Wellington I thought, I'd love to live with my sister again. It had been six years since we’d lived together. I feel grown up now because I'm basically responsible for her, but she's also an adult. It was a good opportunity for us to get a decent place, not a student flat so I took that advantage. Even though we scrap and fight, she's my sister at the end of the day.

Bruna: I came initially for an exchange. I was going to stay for just one year. I wanted to experience staying with a host family [rather than moving in with Duda straight away] and getting to know their culture. At the end of the year, I decided that I was going to stay in New Zealand. I felt like I had experienced the homestay and got everything I could from that. It was time to live something new.

[My host family] were so nice to me but at the same time living with them, it's different because somehow you always feel like a guest even though you're part of the family, you're not the family. You feel like you're at home, but it's not the home that you’re used to.

Duda: I remember when I was growing up my mum would tell us stories about when she was travelling as an exchange student in America. I thought, I need to do that when I'm old enough. As soon as it was my time to shine, I thought, I'm grabbing this opportunity and I'm holding on to it.

Bruna: I think it's not just a place where you can relax but also a place where you can feel loved and are around the people you love the most. Somewhere that you can be yourself and that will be enough.

Duda: Home is a place where I can relax and be myself. Unwind and not worry about the chaos of the outside world. When I'm home I like to chill and take that time for myself. Put my uggs on and feel peace. It’s my little personal retreat.

Duda: I would say that I probably feel more at home in New Zealand than my sister in a way. Just because I've had more time to build my life here.

Bruna: It's funny because we have to create our own family here so we find the people we love and that we want to have close to us but they're not related to us, which is even nicer sometimes.

Duda: We were looking for a place that was convenient for getting to uni, work and school. There’s a bus stop right outside so we can leave home at the time of the bus. We basically wanted something that would be easily taken care of. It’s pretty lush. It’s a new flat, built in 2020, so it's super well-insulated.

Duda: Simple, cosy and cute. I love when we put the blinds down and pull out the couch bed and have a movie night, it’s so cosy. It's also very minimalistic because we don't have a lot to decorate it with.

Bruna: It's very small but that's all we need for now.

Duda: My room. It's probably because I've taken the most time to make my room look cosy the way I wanted it opposed to the rest of the home. My room is my space. I love the big window.

Bruna: Mine is also my room. It's a really nice place to sit with my own peace and relax. When we first moved in, I didn’t have a bed and I couldn’t even see the floor in my room [because there was so much stuff]. I sat there and cried but everything has happened in the best way possible, you know? It's nice to see how far we've come.

Duda: Also, she turns on her little light that is like a little sunlight and leaves it on. Her room looks so cosy.

Duda: Mine is my little perfume collection on my chest of drawers. There's also a mirror on top with all my jewellery. That’s my favourite. It’s not one singular item, it's like the whole setup. Every time I’m drying my hair I sit there and look at it.

Bruna: I'll say my lights because they change the whole vibe. I only have one light in my room that’s attached to the ceiling. It's just so bright, I feel like it’s too much so I like to turn on the other ones and then I can relax.

Duda: When we got to this place we didn’t even fight to see who was going to get each room, we just instantly knew. It was meant to be so that’s why we love our rooms.

Duda: I'd love to live in a house instead of an apartment because I've lived in an apartment mostly my whole life. I think houses are so gorgeous. I really want it to have a fireplace and candles everywhere. I want it to look a little bit rustic, kind of boho but also modern.

Bruna: I don't know what I want in my house because it's still so far away from my reality. But of course I think about it. I just want it to be a place that I can start a family because I've always had that dream. I've always wanted to be a mum and I know I don't want to be a mum now. Stop laughing at me Duda! Somewhere my kids will feel safe and loved. That’s all I know right now.