An update on how our new International students are settling in

Pat Arounsakul

My life at Columba College and NZ has been amazing. I live in the hostel and I have made lots of friends. I have lots of chances to talk to them, and my English is getting better from our conversations because they talk so fast.

The weather in Dunedin was bad in the first week that I arrived. It rained every day and was freezing cold, but now we have a lot of sunny days. In fact, sometimes I feel hot and want to take a cool shower even though I came from one of the hottest countries in the world.

When I first arrived here, I was shocked by the stairs at Columba College and the steepness of Dunedin. I've never walked 3 kilometres from the town back to the school. I have never felt tired like this before.

What impresses me every single day in this school is the view of Columba College in the morning. I am an early person so I wake up and see the library in front of the beautiful sky every morning. Also, I see Monty the cat every morning as well. This cat is amazing, it can make people’s hearts flutter with a single ‘meow’.

I have started to explore Dunedin at the weekends. I recently went to the Dunedin Botanic Garden and saw ducks and seagulls; they are so lovely. I like looking at flowers and trees, but unfortunately it was still too cold for many of the flowers to be in bloom. I found the trees in Botanic Garden made me happy, so I would like to visit there more often and I am looking forward to the flowers that will start to bloom in spring.

Jeanne Liu

I have been enjoying life at Columba College. I have been able to meet the friends that I haven’t seen since Covid started and meant I couldn’t return to New Zealand at the start of 2020. I have still got a lot of work to catch up on for each subject, but I am finding it way better than doing it online.

When I first came here at the end of the last school holidays, I almost turned into an ice block because it was SO cold. The temperature difference between Dunedin and my home town was almost 40 degrees Celsius!

I really like living with my homestay family. They have showed some really nice ways of kiwi life. The best part is looking at the sun rising up when you get up early at the weekend. There are also a cat and a dog in the homestay, which I love because I don’t have pets back in China. I enjoy life with them except when the dog stole my meal twice and sometimes the cat scratches my face, but I know she doesn’t mean to. I forgive them because they are lovely and bring me happiness.

Vanda Chungcharoen

So far, I have been settling in great. School has taken a while to adjust to due to catching up with my peers on the current topics we’re learning, but I’m glad that there are friends and teachers always looking out for me.

At first, getting around the school was confusing like a rabbit warren, but eventually I got the hang of it and things didn’t seem all that hard anymore. I made many new friends at this school - the international students, my roommates from the boarding house, and people with whom I shared classes.

At the boarding house things have also been going well. My roommates are beyond helpful and are so much fun to talk to. During the weekends I go to town or other places with my friends and the boarding house also organizes trips. Although I do miss a lot of things back in Thailand, I’m grateful and excited to have this chance to come to New Zealand.

Oil Pathchotinont

My life in Dunedin is better than I thought it would be. I have made some friends and I have made friends with another Thai student in the boarding house. We are not roommates, but we spend a lot of time together after school and at prep time. My life in the boarding house is good because my roommates are all really nice and tell me about all the rules in the boarding house.

At the weekend the boarding house sometimes has special outings like going to see the see penguins and we went to ice skate - that was so fun. On the weekend, I sometimes go to town with my friends to some snacks and supplies.

One week after I arrived at Columba College, I got to play QUAD in the senior badminton team. That was a really great opportunity for me and our team won! I am interested in learning new sports and I am excited to play squash soon. This will be my first time playing in a squash match.

Dunedin is a beautiful city and I went to the Dunedin Botanic Garden. It is the most beautiful garden I have ever been to. The weather in Dunedin is not too cold for me. The food in New Zealand is very different from in Thailand. I really like to eat fish and chips but I do miss having fresh papaya salads.

I like living in New Zealand but I sometimes miss Thailand too.