Life as an International

Madoka Yamaguchi

Kia ora!! I’m Madoka from Yokohama in Japan. I came in January and spent unforgettable times for 10 months. I’m trying to speak English in New Zealand. I love dancing so I’m dancing in New Zealand as well.

Japan and New Zealand have really similar shapes but the population between those two countries is so different. In Japan, in the city like my town Yokohama, there are lots of people and the stations are always busy but in New Zealand, the population is less than Japan but it’s nice and quiet!

It took about 12 hours to fly to New Zealand and we can’t fly directly so it’s a long way. I got on the airplane with my Japanese classmates so I was really excited to get started my NZ life at Auckland. However, when I finally arrived at Christchurch airport, I couldn’t believe that I came overseas without my family at first. I was getting so nervous because I had to go alone from there to my host family’s house. I had no ideas what they were talking about and what to respond to my host family’s questions, then I realized that I still couldn’t speak English so I was worried about my English but these feelings made me much stronger.

In my host family, there is just my host mom but she has three grandchildren in Pegasus and a few more grandchildren in England. The grandchildren are still very young from 1 to 4 years and come to our house to see my host mother sometimes. It is a lovely time for me because they always come to me like “Madoka!!! Come and play with me outside!!!” Some of them can speak so it is also a good opportunity to improve my English.

My host mother does many things for me. For example, she took me up to Hanmer Springs with my friend and she made my birthday party.

My best day in New Zealand was the semi-formal because I don’t have this kind of thing in my Japanese school. It was my best experience ever! We danced a lot and took a lots of photos with my friends. I wish we had this in Japanese school as well.

I made many friends in New Zealand who are from Thailand, Germany, Korea and kiwi friends.

English is a very tough language for me so I got nervous to speak every time but I tried talking to them a lot so I could feel achievement about my English ability. In New Zealand, people were so friendly and kind so I learned it is fun to communicate with everyone from my friends.

I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll go to university or not but I want to keep learning English and other languages if I can because I love to know about foreign cultures and history. I love dancing as well so I’m planning to get a job which I can use English and dance skills. If I get an opportunity to travel overseas again, I hope I could speak English more. When I go back to Japan, I have one more year of high school so I will take some English exams like TOEIC to help prepare for my future. 

The New Zealand Experience

Thanh Phúc

Hi, my name is Thanh Phúc but in New Zealand, all the people call me Patrick because it's easier to pronounce. I came from Vietnam and I have been here for 3 years and 3 months.

My first impression of Rangiora High School is that it was completely different from schools in Vietnam. I came here when I finished middle school. Rangiora High School is on a big section of land with a lot of rooms around the school, not like in Vietnam. My school in Vietnam is only ⅓ of the size of this school and each classroom here is bigger than the classrooms in Vietnam. One classroom here is almost as big as two classrooms in Vietnam.

Rangiora High School is very different in other ways. Firstly, the big difference is infrastructure, the schools here are a lot better built here than in Vietnam. Secondly, I would like to comment on the education levels and how we are taught in New Zealand compared to Vietnam. In my opinion, some subjects like Maths are a lot easier here in New Zealand compared to Vietnam. In Vietnam the work is a lot harder and more intense for the students, so that is the reason why students are forced to take extra classes outside of school at the end of the day. The subjects here are very diverse and plentiful for students to choose from unlike in Vietnam, the subjects are told what to learn and are determined by the school. In Vietnam, we cannot study subjects like in New Zealand, for example: Economics, Business, Hospitality, etc. The uniform here is the same as in my country, a white shirt, and trousers but one thing that we do not have in my country is the Mufti day. I still have a lot to say about the difference between my school and the school here, but I think the above could show that the school here is very different.

What I like most about Rangiora High School is the level of education and the way teachers teach. In addition, the time we start classes is not too early and the time we finish school is not too late. In addition, I also love the mufti day here in New Zealand that is different for me.

I also like the teachers at Rangiora High School because the teachers here are very friendly and have hilarious humour. They always help me when I have problems.