New Zealand: A Learning, Teaching, Rewarding Experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

While attending school at Waikato, the professors were very accommodating to my needs as a student, and as an international student. The professors along with the feeling of the school was a laid back kind of atmosphere, which took me a while to adjust to once I came back home. The classes I took were different from just attending lecture and listening to the professor. Students were told to read the material, and then come to class prepared to teach each other and discuss the readings. While school back in the states, as an undergraduate you come to class and just listen to the professor lecture.

On-site administration of your program

The group that I went with was small, there was a total of 17 students from all over the States. When I landed, I was met with my in-country program advisors and greeted with great joy. Our in-country coordinators were very friendly and accommodating to our needs. They made sure to provide us with an itinerary of the program overview. After the 3 days with them, they dropped us off at the school and went back to the airport to pick up the next group. To have that will to learn something new, helped me have an open mind to learning new things, helped me accommodate and adjust my body to the new country. Also help me rule out my expectations if they weren't met in the way that I wanted them to.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The dorms were closely located to the campus. They are fully furnished, sheets and bedding was provided by the dorms and were often cleaned every week on a daily bases. The rooms would also be vacuumed twice a week, the cleaning ladies were very friendly and always respected your privacy when you didn't want your room to be vacuumed. While living in hostels, I paid rent weekly, by fortnight. Also depending on where you find your hostel site, it may or may not be furnished. Also depending on where you are flatting, it may be a few minutes away, or may be an hour away depending on where you want to be located. The flatmates that I lived with were really friendly and soon became like family. Being Asian- American, Hmong, was hard to explain to the natives of New Zealand, because I had an American accent. However, my flatmates were always friendly, and after the telling them about my culture they disregarded it and made me feel like family, instead of a stranger.

Since I lived in the dorms, food was offered by the dormitories. There was a great variety of food offered, however, after a while it started to become repetitive and it became sort of cafeteria like food. When I was flatting I had to prepare my own food and buy my own food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Being able to attending a 3 day orientation before the start of the school year, helped me become familiar with the area, and become adjusted to the time zone. However, I would say that what lacked was the actual interaction with the natives on a personal face to face level. Although the program provided us to attend activities that were offered to tourists in the program, it was hard to connect with the natives on a personal level without the tourist attraction. While at school, I was invited to attend a pacific islander dance competition that one of my kiwi mate was in. It was a great experience! This made me realize how passionate they are about their culture, and how passionate they are about teaching others about their culture. With this personal level of connection not only was I able to learn by myself, but it intrigued me by wanting to learn more about their culture. While traveling on my own, I didn't become a tourist and visit all the great tourist spots. I went to small towns that my flatmates lived in and made a personal connection by meeting the locals that lived in that town. I don't regret not being able to go bungy jumping, or surfing on my own. I feel more connected to the New Zealand by learning that I have met some people who had an impact on my life, by not only teaching them about my culture and ethnicity, but also learning more about the kiwis as well.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The town was really safe. They are really strict about their laws, and are really strict about drinking while driving. The campus was also safe while there at night. I felt safe walking to my dorm by myself at night, however, I still always made sure that I would walk home with a friend and never a stranger if I was to go anywhere. I still made sure to remember, "Stranger, danger" even if the stranger was really nice. Having allergies at home, I was in for a surprise when spring approached in Hamilton. During the spring in Hamilton, my small irritation of allergies became hay fever. I was congested the whole spring time. During this time the doctors, clinic on campus made sure I was taking the right medicine, and was always accommodating to my medical needs. They also were very concerned about my health, and if there were other health problems that I didn't think would matter, the doctors would still address my needs. The doctors never rushed me out of their office and made sure I had all my questions answered before I left.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Select all that apply

• Hostel
• Dorm

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• International Students