O – “ I was born in Iran and at 6 months old my parents moved to Sweden. I guess to find better opportunities as things were rough in Iran because of the war so they took a chance and moved. They had an education but when they came to Sweden they had to be re-educated with the language and everything. I think they struggled a bit in the beginning but eventually they managed to get jobs. I grew up in the north of Sweden until I was 6 or 7 and then we moved to where we live now which is Gothenburg. I am an only child. I have only been back to Iran once when I was about 6 as most of my family now live in Sweden or other places. One day soon I want to go back but it is a process.
S – It is much harder for Omid to go back than it is for me to go as a tourist because he has double citizenship.
O – They could keep me there if they choose to. It’s a small risk I think.
S – “ I was born in Gothenburg in Sweden and when I was 1 year old we went to visit my Grandma and we got stuck there. My parents bought a house and wanted my siblings and I to grow up out in the country. They wanted better possibilities for work so I grew up in the middle of nowhere with cows around. At school we were just fifty students in Grade 1 to 6. It was a very cosy school.
I moved to a bigger city called Skovde when I was 16 for my education. I lived by myself and stayed there till I met Omid. I knew Omid’s Aunt who is the same age as him. She was studying to be a Goldsmith. Omid and I met at a surprise party for her.
O – “The party was mixed with friends and family and I actually went there with another girl. It was the first time she had met my family and we had only been dating for a very short period. Eventually she left the party, I don’t know why. We hadn’t done anything but she left anyway. After that Sandra and I started talking and I guess we had a good connection.”
S – “Absolutely! I had to leave from there which was an hour and a half by train. The next weekend I went to visit my Uncle in Gothenburg and to visit Omid (laughs). After that we started to see each other every weekend. I also went to Gothenburg after my work by train and then back again.”
O – “She actually just came into the train station and hugged me for a few minutes and went back again.”
S – “Omid lived with his parents and I was nervous to meet them properly but one night he sort of sent them away.”
O – “I just asked them to leave for a night (laughs).”
S – “After a couple of weeks I met the whole family and they made me so welcome and it’s lovely. Omid is very close to his cousins because he has no siblings. This was October 4 years ago. We found an apartment together very quickly which was so lucky. Normally very difficult in Gothenburg but we are still there.”
O – “Part of my education was to go abroad and study and I knew I wanted to travel. At first I thought I would go to Denmark or Europe, maybe somewhere close to Sweden. Then I thought I would go somewhere where I may not have the chance to otherwise go and I’ve always wanted to go to Australia. My own University had a partnership with Southern Cross Uni so it was my first choice. I didn’t know if I would get here but I got lucky and now we’re here. I’m doing 2 Sociology units and another unit called Sustainability and Professional Ethics in Planning. Back home I’m doing Social Science with a major in Politics and a minor in Economics. I’m here till the 1st November.”
S – “I have come over for 3 weeks holiday from my job in Human Resources in Sweden. I have a really good boss so we planned ahead. We did much googling as to where to stay and that’s when we found your place. Omid is on campus normally. It’s a great opportunity for me to see everyday life on the other side of the world.”
O – “Before I came over I met with my Aunt who is the jeweller a few times and we secretly organised a ring that Sandra would love. They had many conversations about rings she loved without letting on prior to that.I’ve been planning for a while to ask her. The ring wasn’t ready when I came to Australia so I had to devise a plan. I ended up telling Sandra that I had a friend here who was having a birthday and I wanted to give him something from Sweden so my mum wrapped the ring in a pair of underwears and made it into a present. I told Sandra it was a t-shirt and she brought it over with her luggage. We were in Melbourne then the Gold Coast before we came to Lismore. I waited till we were here. I’d been carrying the ring everywhere with me in my backpack but I wanted to be spontaneous and ask her at the right time.
We went to Byron, had a little bit of breakfast and sat in the grass field where there was guy standing on his car singing Bob Marley songs. We walked to the lighthouse, walked down to Little Wategos which was totally empty, had a picnic, swum and talked about how amazing it was that we were in Australia. I thought this is it, snuck the ring out of my bag without her noticing, went down on my knee and proposed. She was shocked because sometimes I joked around with Sandra and pretended to propose (laughs).”
S – “I said yes immediately because I saw the box and then I said ‘Is this for real?’ I was in shock.”
O – “We like Lismore a lot. It’s a really nice city with a community feeling. A lot of people take the time to know each other. There’s a lot of things going on and it seems to be a very cultural town, more than you would think.
Sandra – It’s really amazing that it’s so full of life here. We will love to come back one day. This has been a great opportunity to feel like we are living in Lismore.”