Student Experiences

CIAO!

I am Anna, I'm 17 years old and I come from Italy. I've been here for one month and I still have another one to know better about Kiwis and New Zealand. As far as I am concerned this experience is what I had been hoping to find for months: I've always wanted to improve my English and meet people from another country, make new friends and become more self-confident and easy-going.

I couldn't get along better with my family in Italy and with my friends, too: they are very special to me and here I came to realize it even more. That is the first reason why I came here: if you feel like you are having a great time at home, just try something else to colour your life even more. Trust me: this is the best way to improve your personal skills and to know yourself better. Spending some time far from home can help you a lot. And even one month or a few weeks can help you, so if I had to suggest someone going abroad to make this type of experience, I'd tell them that no matter how long it lasts, as long as you live there -I mean LIVE- every single day.

In the first days, I literally fell in love with Whanganui. You will say "in Italy you have a lot of beautiful cities: Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome… . Why is Whanganui so special to you?" I will tell you: you have awa, you have the lake and the ocean, you have the mountains and you have a lot of green areas. I'm inclined to believe that this is the reason why I liked this town from the very beginning: just nature, and different culture, of course. I'm interested in other cultures, and especially in one of the cultures of the furthest place from Italy. I think just being on the other side of the world, 19 thousands kilometres from home is awesome. You should give it a try! It took me a month to get used to school here, though. High school in Italy is very different and way harder; I got bored easily in the first days, but it was just a question of time. I learnt that there is no point in comparing things and tell which one is better: it is just different and I came to appreciate it. I'm trying to make the most out of this experience.

First rule: friends and host family make it better. I think that I am very lucky to have met such a great family: they include me in whatever they do and they organize many trips for me. I went to Wellington, to a rugby game and to their 'bach' (holiday house) at Mokau, a piece of paradise. Moreover, I have long talks with them and this is the best way to share opinions and improve your language. Friends are friends: whenever you feel good, they are there to share happiness with you; when you feel sad or you are homesick they are there to support you and to make you feel better. No matter if they come from Europe, Asia, Africa, America or if they are Kiwi. Just make friends!

The best time I had was on a 3 day North Island trip. We visited fantastic places (Hobbiton was my favourite one) and I spent all day long with my international friends. I couldn't ask for more for my last week here. Thank you, Anna, for driving us there and for being so nice to us!

2020 is a special and unusual year for international students, though: the corona virus has messed up all our plans and flights, that's why many of us have to fly back to our country earlier. As for me, this fact made my experience even more interesting and challenging. Latest: I have to take 4 different flights and 1 train, just to go back home! It's challenging, isn't it?

Last but not least: the international stuff is awesome. Nobody could do their job better: they organize thousands of trips for us and whenever we need them they are available for a talk. I don't think that all the international students of the world have as many possibilities as we have here at Wanganui High School. It's like being in a big family where everybody cares about you and about your concerns. You are doing a great job and you made my experience the best ever. Thank you!

As a graduate of WHS, I’m so incredibly proud of us. Because of WHS, I am at where I am today. One of the great things that I’ve learned from my time at WHS was this; “Dream big and always chase dream!” in which lead me to travel to the USA to complete my master’s degree and working towards my ultimate goal to become an entrepreneur one day. With what’s happening the world with racial injustice, social reforms and pandemics, situations are not easy.

As an immigrant, we came to a new country to experience great things and achieve our goals to be successful and, with what’s happening, I can totally understand how frustrated and stressful it can be. It’s hard but we aren’t defined by the virus. There isn’t a stamp on us with the label “coronavirus graduate or coronavirus student”. We’ve fought through more than that. We entered a new country and came out as different people now completely different world. If anything, we can handle almost anything thrown at us.

Everything that you are experiencing, learning and accomplishing will change your life. Have faith and always dream big! Anything is possible for those who believe that. Work hard and seek towards your dreams. Because you are worth it!

Kia Ora, Hello or Guten Tag!

Hey, My name is Kyra. I am sixteen years old and live next to Frankfurt. That is a city in Germany. I live with my mum, sister, step dad and my two cats.

I arrived in Whanganui in October and I will stay until April. Now I am in year 11 but I will be in year 12 for the last three months. In my opinion, the school system in New Zealand is much better than in Germany and it is definitely more fun. I live in a big host family and I am very happy to live with them, because they are so lovely. My host parents always care about my well-being and my two younger host sisters are like good friends.

I already have been on trips. You can’t imagine how much fun this is. My favourite activity was a slide called “Swoop”. It was like a slide in the air in the adventure park in Rotorua. It was 45 meters high and I was so scared. I screamed so loud but I am happy that I did it because it was so much fun.

I spend most of the time with athletics training in school and competitions. I really enjoy it and it is so much fun. I love my team! I am looking forward to the national secondary school championships in December. I am very honoured to represent the school in such a high-grade competition.

I am enjoying my life in New Zealand and I believe it is the best time in my life. I am very happy that I can stay for longer, because most of my German friends have to leave soon.

Thanks for everything! <3

Hi !! I am Rin !! I think you all doesn’t want to know where I came from or how old I am cause those aren’t the most important contents. The most important thing is how I ‘ felt’ in this country. First of all, the reason why I decided to come to NZ is to challenge myself. I just wanted to know how I will live without my family, how good my English or what kind of influence I could give to other people.. I arrived to NZ on 27th of January. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t that scared or nervous but instead I couldn’t imagine myself living in this country for about 8 months. I couldn’t visualize how I will interact with other students or with my host family. The first person I met in this country was my host mom. I could still remember the nice smell of shampoo coming from her red hair and her friendly smile towards me. She took me to her house and I went to bed as soon as possible because it was already midnight (Because the flight was delayed ) and I had to go to school the next day!! I thought there would be 1 or 2 holidays before I go to school, but seems like it was a no, so I went to bed to rest my body from a long journey from Tokyo. The next day, I met my host siblings. Two host brothers and one sister. It was the first experience to have a younger sibling or a sister because I only have one elder brother. Both brothers and sister were kind to me so I was relieved, but not fully relieved. The biggest challenge this day was ‘the school’. Anyone would be nervous on the first day of school, but the nervousness faded away quickly than I expected. I was able to make a friend!! She was in the same geography class with me and she looooved Japan. (haha the luck was on my side lol) She introduced to me her friends so I was able to make many friends on the first day!! As the time passed, I got used to school and I loved WHS more than my school in Japan. But one thing I missed was my family. I really missed my family. My host family was so kind to me and I loved them yet I missed my family. I used to dream a lot about my family. The brother who always used to tease me, the mom who was always by my side, the dad who always used to watch TV but liked to tell jokes, I missed them a lot, yes I was home sick. Do you know how I conquered it?? Actually, if I was alone, I couldn’t have conquered it. My friends helped me. Especially my international friends. They knew my feelings because they also have experienced it. All my friends from China, Fiji, Japan, India, England, Sri Lanka, Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, all have felt anxious when they came here.

Kia ora.

I’m Rin. I’m a year 13 student. I come from Ibaraki in Japan. I love being here in Whanganui, because I met a lot of wonderful friends here and a wonderful homestay. I really like my home stay. I have host mom and one host sister. I love the people. Host mom is very kind and she is funny. I’m happy to come to this home stay. My host sister is a international student too. Her name is Ploy. She’s so cute and kind, and she has a lot of many good things. I like playing volleyball. I had been playing volleyball for 6 years in Japan but I played volleyball in Whanganui. It was a good memory. I will never forget that I played volleyball in Whanganui. It was awesome for International team. My favourite class is CNZ class, because I had a lot of experience in Whanganui. I have trip every Friday. I leaned something Maori culture or native tree, bird, food. I enjoyed CNZ class. My best thing is Tongariro crossing. It was awesome trip. I liked the view and watching nature. I like to breathe the clean air. I felt was like a calm. I like here in Whanganui. New Zealand is so good country. I am happy to stay in Whanganui. I will never forget the special time I spent in Whanganui. I am grateful for many things. Thanks for lot of encounter, thank to friend, thanks to teacher, thanks to host family, thanks to my family. It is full of many thanks. I love Whanganui in New Zealand.