Seven months ago, I just stepped in my dream postgraduate University. Although I do like the free study environment and experienced and admirable teachers there, I don’t like the city. That city is known for being extremely humid in summer and cold in winter. I didn’t want to bear the terrible weather for too long, so I decided to escape from that city for a period of time. At that time, there was a notice that said we were welcome to apply to do our internship in New Zealand next year. When I first saw the message, I knew this was my chance. After several rounds of competition, strict training and going through a series of formalities, finally I got the chance. I have to say I didn’t know that this decision would make such a big change to my life. ![]() The first city I met here was Christchurch, where the Confucius institution is located. We had more training there to help us adapt to the local teaching model. I still remember the last day when the training finished, the mandarin learning assistants (MLA) who were based in Christchurch got picked up by their homestays one by one. My friends and I helped to put their luggage in their homestays’ car, at that time I was so worried about the homestay I would face tomorrow. I thought they wouldn’t welcome me too much, because I didn’t get any message from them until the last day before I arrived Dunedin. I found I was totally wrong. After a long bus ride, I arrived Dunedin at a sunny afternoon. My homestay and his two kids were there waiting for me, my lead teacher was there too. Those are first bunch of wonderful people I met who have made this year so amazing to me. What the most moving thing is for me is that my homestay chooses to share their life with me and treat me as part of the family members while they don’t have to. They bought me to all kinds of family activities. The most impressive one is Sunday morning breakfast with all family members in Dunedin, through which I see the passing down of love and care from one generation to another. To be honest, I was not an outdoor person, but they are totally an outdoor family. With them, I saw lots of beautiful sceneries around this area, and they also teach me what a good parent should be like through their actions I see every day. There’s no word can describe how lucky I am to stay with them. The only thing I think I could do to reward their kindness is to be a kind person and care about people around me. There is a saying goes like “the world is a book, those who don’t travel read only one page.” During my spare time, I traveled around the country. Because I can’t drive in New Zealand, I always travel by bus. It’s impressive how intercity drivers drive. They can drive while introducing passengers the places of interest all the way! They would stop and let you have a short visit at some of the scenic spots along the way as well. I think that most of the history of New Zealand I have learned from those knowledgeable drivers. When you travel, you will see this country is full of natural beauties and people here really cherish it and have done a great job to protect the environment. Certainly, they get paid back, people from every corner of the world pay lots of money to see the beauty of the country. People value honesty and transparency so much here. There’s not such a thing like compulsory tips for waiters, guides, or drivers, because they think it’s their employer’s duty to offer them a decent salary rather than the people who use their service. Several month ago, I left my kindle at a backpacker by mistake in Te Anau. I thought I must lost it, but the receptionist contacted me as soon as they found it after they cleaned up my bed, and only charged me 5 dollars for post fee. In a word, living in this country, you will have a strong sense of security for people trust each other. The cultural diversity also makes it a very unique country. Beside strong European culture, Maori culture is also highly valued. Once I had an opportunity to experience a Marae trip with year 10 girls in our school, we slept together on the floor with our sleeping bag at night. When all lights were off and everybody stopped talking, the sound of sea wave miles away got so soft and clear in the air. The Māori teacher started to tell us the story of early Māori settlers. The culture inheritance process was so natural and solemn, which inspired me a lot. There are lots of things make me feel great to stay here of which I can’t list them all. People say thank you to bus drivers when they get off the bus, people say hello or smile to each other when they meet on the road, supermarkets offer free fruit for kids, drivers always give way to pedestrians, and animals are also equally respected and protected as lives who share the living environment with us ect. If I have to give a title to this country, I would say it is a distant utopia in my mind.
~Betty Pu
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June 2019
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