International students have finally re-entered New Zealand again after two years of closed borders, and they are loving the opportunity to explore what Tauranga has to offer.

'It's a great opportunity for us to have more diversity in the Tauranga region, our college, and for our domestic students to learn from other cultures,” says Tauranga Girls' College director of international students Linda Clifford.

'The positive interaction between our local students and the arriving international ones is a very special one.”

Linda says 26 students arrived at the end of July, and since then they have been improving their English, exploring the Bay of Plenty and getting to know their fellow students and host families.

German international students Lina, Antonina, Mila, Ann-Kathrin and Maria say they chose New Zealand because it was a great opportunity to be around fluent English speakers.

Tauranga Girls' College international students Mila (left), Yumi, Elisa and Yuka. Photo: Bob Tulloch.

'At my German school they showed us beautiful pictures of NZ and I thought: ‘This looks amazing' and wanted to see how it was here. I also wanted to experience the culture of this country,” says Lina.

'I originally wanted to go in 2020, but with everything else happened, I am finally here now. I've been wanting to do this for a very long time.”

Antonina says another reason for choosing NZ is the unique culture. 'In NZ the culture is so different. You have English speakers, but also Maori culture. I wanted to experience that culture and improve my English and see the amazing landscapes.

Itsuki, who is from the Japanese island of Okinawa, says her favourite part of NZ has been the food and friendly people. 'My favourite food that I've tried here so far has to be fish tacos.”

Tauranga Girls' College international students Itsuki (left), and Anna. Photo: Bob Tulloch.

Mila thought initially she would go to the United States or Canada, but since visiting the US with her family, she chose NZ.

'I couldn't imagine living there [US/Canada], I didn't feel as safe. It was too big and too much. I had a meeting with a lady from the exchange programme and she told me about NZ, and I had a really good feeling about coming here.”

Antonina says coming to New Zealand after Covid-19 felt 'very exciting”.

'The flight took about 23 hours. At first, we were so tired that we had to sleep and adjust, but after that we had a great few days getting to know our homestays before school started.”

Maria says her host family takes her out to Lake Rotomā and she goes in their boat where they show her New Zealand's lakes.

'I feel very lucky, it's amazing to be able to do that and explore the area.”

The students say that one major difference between New Zealand and their home country is the public transport.

'The buses in Tauranga are often not on time and the stops aren't named. Cyclists also don't get treated like they do in Germany on the road. It can make you feel a bit less independent if you can't drive.”

Linda says that in total the school has now about 26 international students which stretch across the world as far as Frankfurt to Tokyo and is hoping to attract even more students next year.

Tauranga Girls' College international students director Linda Clifford. Photo: Bob Tulloch.

'We had loads of families applying to host students after The Weekend Sun's first article. It was fabulous, but we still want more for even more host families for our international students next year!”

To become a Homestay family please contact the Tauranga Girls' College, Homestay Coordinator, Toni Bieleski, phone: 07 5788114 ext. 2168. Alternatively, you can email: tbieleski@tgc.school.nz.