Reflections

Before I came here, I was very nervous. Nervous about the school, my host family, if I would find friends at school and how my life would change. But after a few days, I calmed down. My host family was the best I could get, school was way less strict than my school at home in Germany and I found great friends already on my first day. My life changed in many ways: I’m living in a way smaller home than in Germany, my host mum is a single parent and of course I’m speaking English all day. My parents are on the other side of the world and I couldn’t just walk in the next room to talk with them. I must wait until I can reach someone on Skype. But my life changed in many good ways as well: school starts between 60 and 80 minutes later than in Germany, I have way more freedom, I matured, and I experienced so many adventures.
Adventures are a big point of my stay here. I went to Auckland twice, I went to Wellington, Hamilton, Taupo, Waitomo, Rotorua, Tongariro National Park, Tiritiri Matangi Island and so many other places. I did White and Black water rafting, speedboating, hikes ... New Zealand is one big adventure. Here in New Plymouth I’ve done some cool stuff as well: surfing, driving up and around Mount Taranaki, hanging out with my friends and having fun parties. But even small or less important things were little adventures for me: going to the supermarket for the first time, driving through the city and looking around the shops in centre city. Everything which was completely normal for my host family or everybody else was totally new for me.
My stay here was rather spontaneous. My mom brought up the idea of a stay in another country. I had just come back from a four-week-stay in the United States. She made the suggestion I could go for half a year or a year away. At first, I was not very enthusiastic. In my opinion, a year or even half a year was way too long. My maximum at that time was 3 months. But my mom convinced me to do 5 months. And I’m now very thankful for that. It’s amazing how time flies here.
In conclusion, these five months were the best I’ve ever had. It was not always perfect, I had ups and downs, good and bad days. It wasn’t always easy, it’s not always as perfect as it seems. But the clue is: do the best, YOUR best! And never give up. And if you have a bad day or a bad week, don’t worry. Times get better! Talk with your host family or your family at home, your friends here or at home or with your teachers. Don't let yourself get dragged down and look forward. Take all chances and opportunities you can get. Be positive and your stay will be great!
Anthea 2018