Dina Arakelian

My name is Dinara, but everyone calls me Dina. I was born in Novkuznetsk, Russia. Before coming to New Zealand in 1996, I lived in Novosibirsk. I have been to St Petersburg, the same year I left for NZ and I love that city. I live in Auckland with my mum, brother, sister, a doggy - Juliette, a cockateil - Jojo - and a mouse - Mikey. I'm the eldest in my family, 23. My brother is 16 and my sister is 10. I'm very close with my family, especially my mum. She's my best friend. Last year my granddad passed away, he also lived with us and that was very hard on me and my family, so now our family is smaller without him. I am majoring in Media Design this year at Unitec. I love design, fashion, especially accessories!!! I'm quite a social person, though being in the last year of my course does make it a bit hard to go out, most of my weekends are spent on the computer designing work, but I love it! I finished grade 8 violin a few years ago, have done drama and have really enjoyed it! - did some hip hop dancing!

I only travelled once since I've lived in New Zealand and that was to Cape Town in South Africa. It was an AMAZING trip. It was an unforgettable experience, a beautiful country. I think that's it for now. Thank-you.

Dina Arakelian/Khametvaleeva.