Amelie recently had to make the decision on whether to fly home early or stay with her host family, here, in Hokitika.

Our International student, Amelie Fleischmann, from Germany had an interesting decision to make when our country entered the COVID 19 Level 4 alert. Should she continue her programme here in Hokitika during these uncertain times or return early to her family in Germany? 

The German government provided several flights home to repatriate German citizens and Amelie could have used one of these flights to return to Germany but she has decided to stay here in Hokitika. Her host family have been very supportive and have provided a number of fun activities during lockdown such as gardening, cycling, tending to the new chickens, dog walks on the beach and a very kiwi activity, lawn mowing!

Amelie and I (Jane Brownie - International Director) communicate every day and I am impressed with how well she is coping with this strange situation. We look forward to seeing Amelie back on campus sometime soon.