Acerca de Nueva Zelanda

Referencias

• After a 32 hours flight from Frankfurt over Hong Kong and Auckland I finally arrived in Wellington. My host mum Sue picked me up from Wellington Girls College and drove me a further 45 minutes to Stokes Valley, where my home for the next 6 months was.
  Sue introduced me to my little host sisters …

  After a 32 hours flight from Frankfurt over Hong Kong and Auckland I finally arrived in Wellington. My host mum Sue picked me up from Wellington Girls College and drove me a further 45 minutes to Stokes Valley, where my home for the next 6 months was.
  Sue introduced me to my little host sisters Ashley (15) and Casey (13) and their dog Coco. So I stood there with these strangers and totally exhausted from the long trip and didn’t know what to do or say or…. I didn’t have a host dad, too, which was a bit a difference for me. But during my time on the other side of the world I got to love my host family.

  At the beginning it was hard to understand everyone probably because some New Zealander have a little wired English and they often speak very quickly. But after a while I got used to it and the “normal” British English sounds wired to me now. All in all I don’t think the language is that much a problem and by the time you go home again your English is going to be nearly perfect.

  After a one week prep-course and two weeks of holydays there was the first day of school at Heretaunga College in Upper Hutt. I was so excited but nervous as well. At the beginning I felt with to walk around with the school uniform but as I got used to everything else I got used to it, too. My first best friends were two other german girls but all the other pupils were friendly and always helpful, too. And soon I had a lot of international and kiwi friends.
  Heretaunga College has a lot of sports to offer and I signed up for most of them. But I couldn’t take part in all of them because most of the trainings and games where at the same time as others. So I ended up playing tennis and basketball, which made a lot of fun. I also participated in another big school event called Stage Challenge. That is a competition between different schools where each school presents an 8 minutes long dance-show. Our chance to win wasn’t that big but the whole day was so funny and exciting and the atmosphere was just amazing!

  Of cause there was a time when I felt homesick, too. After about 3 months I had a quiet bad time where I was in a bad mood and could cry nearly every day. Since my host mum had to work at the weekends and my host sisters had to visit their dad every second Friday to Sunday I was alone at home during this time. These days where the kind of dangerous days for me because I didn’t know what to do and didn’t have any distraction. So I tried to spend them with my friends, which worked out pretty well.

  During the School holidays after the first term I went to Rotorua. That is one of the most famous cities in New Zealand and there are lots of attractions for tourists. N to Z organized me a host family there and asked another girl to come with me. It is pretty easy to take a bus to travel in New Zealand and you can see some really interesting areas if you don’t fall asleep. I really enjoyed this short trip and with the hot pools it was definitely worth it.
  My school also organized a south island trip for us internationals. We went from Wellington with the ferry down to Picton where we got a minivan. Two teachers drove with us and lots of stops down the west coast, through St. Arnaud, Greymouth and Franz Josef to Queenstown where we went snowboarding and I did a bungy jump. Then we went back up the east coast with stops in Christchurch and Hanmer Springs. And all this in only one week!
  I have to say that Heretaunga College supported us internationals very well. Our Dean had answers to every question and helped us with all our problems. I can only recommend this School for everyone who wants to take part in an exchange.

  Thanks to two other internationals, which made it in the ball committee, the school ball was a few days before most of us exchange students left. Everybody was so excited and a month before the ball there was nothing else to talk about than how your dress or shoes are going to look like, whom you are going with or how you are going to make your hair and make-up. The ball itself was like all the balls you might have seen in some movies. We had grate food and everyone was so pretty. It was so good that the hours from 7-12 pm seemed like 30 minutes to me!

  And sooner than I thought it is going to be my last day in New Zealand was there. I always knew this day was going to come but I couldn’t realize it until I was sitting in the airplane. It was really hard to say goodbye to all my friends and of cause my host family. I was very surprised that even my host sisters started to cry and my mum seriously didn’t want to let me go!

  Now that I’m back at home it all seems like the greatest dream I ever had. But there is no day going past that I don’t think of the people I got to know in New Zealand. I’m always wondering how they are or what they are doing at the moment… Of cause I’m glad to have my germen family and friends again and I’m sure that these six months all the way down there changed my life forever.

  Lena B – Germany.

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  Lena B – Germany.

• It is a pleasure working with NtoZ, they are well organised and extremely good at communicating the needs of agents and students to our school.

  It is a pleasure working with NtoZ, they are well organised and extremely good at communicating the needs of agents and students to our school. Their database ensures that dealing with them is an absolute joy. NtoZ students are brilliantly prepared for their stay after their orientation programme. NtoZ act as very strong advocates for their students. Their pastoral support of students in the students 1st language is second to none.

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• After a 32 hours flight from Frankfurt over Hong Kong and Auckland I finally arrived in Wellington. My host mum Sue picked me up from Wellington Girls College and drove me a further 45 minutes to Stokes Valley, where my home for the next 6 months was.
  Sue introduced me to my little host sisters …

  After a 32 hours flight from Frankfurt over Hong Kong and Auckland I finally arrived in Wellington. My host mum Sue picked me up from Wellington Girls College and drove me a further 45 minutes to Stokes Valley, where my home for the next 6 months was.
  Sue introduced me to my little host sisters Ashley (15) and Casey (13) and their dog Coco. So I stood there with these strangers and totally exhausted from the long trip and didn’t know what to do or say or…. I didn’t have a host dad, too, which was a bit a difference for me. But during my time on the other side of the world I got to love my host family.

  At the beginning it was hard to understand everyone probably because some New Zealander have a little wired English and they often speak very quickly. But after a while I got used to it and the “normal” British English sounds wired to me now. All in all I don’t think the language is that much a problem and by the time you go home again your English is going to be nearly perfect.

  After a one week prep-course and two weeks of holydays there was the first day of school at Heretaunga College in Upper Hutt. I was so excited but nervous as well. At the beginning I felt with to walk around with the school uniform but as I got used to everything else I got used to it, too. My first best friends were two other german girls but all the other pupils were friendly and always helpful, too. And soon I had a lot of international and kiwi friends.
  Heretaunga College has a lot of sports to offer and I signed up for most of them. But I couldn’t take part in all of them because most of the trainings and games where at the same time as others. So I ended up playing tennis and basketball, which made a lot of fun. I also participated in another big school event called Stage Challenge. That is a competition between different schools where each school presents an 8 minutes long dance-show. Our chance to win wasn’t that big but the whole day was so funny and exciting and the atmosphere was just amazing!

  Of cause there was a time when I felt homesick, too. After about 3 months I had a quiet bad time where I was in a bad mood and could cry nearly every day. Since my host mum had to work at the weekends and my host sisters had to visit their dad every second Friday to Sunday I was alone at home during this time. These days where the kind of dangerous days for me because I didn’t know what to do and didn’t have any distraction. So I tried to spend them with my friends, which worked out pretty well.

  During the School holidays after the first term I went to Rotorua. That is one of the most famous cities in New Zealand and there are lots of attractions for tourists. N to Z organized me a host family there and asked another girl to come with me. It is pretty easy to take a bus to travel in New Zealand and you can see some really interesting areas if you don’t fall asleep. I really enjoyed this short trip and with the hot pools it was definitely worth it.
  My school also organized a south island trip for us internationals. We went from Wellington with the ferry down to Picton where we got a minivan. Two teachers drove with us and lots of stops down the west coast, through St. Arnaud, Greymouth and Franz Josef to Queenstown where we went snowboarding and I did a bungy jump. Then we went back up the east coast with stops in Christchurch and Hanmer Springs. And all this in only one week!
  I have to say that Heretaunga College supported us internationals very well. Our Dean had answers to every question and helped us with all our problems. I can only recommend this School for everyone who wants to take part in an exchange.

  Thanks to two other internationals, which made it in the ball committee, the school ball was a few days before most of us exchange students left. Everybody was so excited and a month before the ball there was nothing else to talk about than how your dress or shoes are going to look like, whom you are going with or how you are going to make your hair and make-up. The ball itself was like all the balls you might have seen in some movies. We had grate food and everyone was so pretty. It was so good that the hours from 7-12 pm seemed like 30 minutes to me!

  And sooner than I thought it is going to be my last day in New Zealand was there. I always knew this day was going to come but I couldn’t realize it until I was sitting in the airplane. It was really hard to say goodbye to all my friends and of cause my host family. I was very surprised that even my host sisters started to cry and my mum seriously didn’t want to let me go!

  Now that I’m back at home it all seems like the greatest dream I ever had. But there is no day going past that I don’t think of the people I got to know in New Zealand. I’m always wondering how they are or what they are doing at the moment… Of cause I’m glad to have my germen family and friends again and I’m sure that these six months all the way down there changed my life forever.

  Lena B – Germany.

  Read full testimonial

  Lena B – Germany.