As well, in 2017 more than 6000 students studied Wintec courses off-shore in China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Thailand, South America, India, and the Solomon Islands.

Josephine Makuden came to New Zealand as an international student from India, and she is majoring in communication studies.

Josephine loves to travel and reads books, and is fascinated by the idea of exploring life on her own. Throughout the three months that she has spent in New Zealand, she has passed the phase of hating living here to “being comfortable enough”.

“I hated the beginning stage where everything was new and  I was away from home and my friends,”  Josephine said.

Josephine feels that after coming to New Zealand, her life has less happening. “Back at home I had a lot of friends, I was always doing something with them, busy with work, but now I have a handful of friends and I nothing to do.”

She says  it is not easy to find a part-time job in Hamilton without having  connections into the local community.

She copes with homesickness getting in touch with her family, which means calling them 2 at night (Indian time), and sharing with them her daily New Zealand experiences, such as shopping for groceries.

Josephine  is very aware of the  cultural difference she is experiencing.

“It’s more like the food you eat, the people you hang out with, it is different to what I’m used to. People have  different assumptions on how we should hang out, and I have grown up in a certain way, and I like hanging out in a certain manner.”

“I miss everything cooked by mom, spicy food and street food like ‘Wada Pav’ a vegetarian fast food dish in India which consists of a deep-fried potato dumpling placed inside a bread bun.

“I also miss ‘Pav Bhaji’ a thick vegetable curry, fried and served with a soft bread roll.”

Josephine feels that language has never been a barrier for her in New Zealand. S

“My aim was if I was studying I wanted to qualify in something that I haven’t done before,” said Josephine.

Josephine finds the education system in New Zealand very different. The Indian education system is strict and modules  are chosen for  students while in this country students more freedom on what they want to study.

Josephine loves the Wintec education system because the polytech gives students the freedom to structure their own courses. She likes how teachers and staff of the Wintec are friendly and always ready to help international students.

Jacqi Gao, 19, is an international student majoring in Applied Management. She moved to New Zealand with her parents when she was 12. She loves every moment of her life here, and she thinks that she has adjusted her lifestyle to the New Zealand way.

Jacqi lives with her parents in Hamilton East. She thinks it is good to live with your parents because comparing with other international students; she has  many advantages which others cannot get. Because she is living with her parents things like culture shock, feeling lonely, and depression have not been problems.

However, living with your parents can be difficult sometimes because Asian parents have their own tradition of handling their children which is very different than western culture.

“I have become accustomed to a different lifestyle after living so many years in New Zealand and sometimes living with your parents can be boring,” said Jacqi.

She hasn’t been to China for six years, so Chinese street food, grandparents, friends, Chinese festival are the things she misses the most.

“This is my first year of the management study in Wintec; my mum chose this major for me because she wants me to establish my own business in the future.”

She believes  the education system in New Zealand has more freedom than that in China and said it was easy for her to adjust to  study here.

“In my point of view, I think the education system between New Zealand and China is quite different. Students in Chinese classes usually follow the tutors’ choice whereas there were many free choices such as baking and sewing courses for students to select at my high school,” said Jacqi.

“When I first arrived at Marian Catholic School, I can still remember,  a couple of local students helped me with my studying and shared food with me in the morning tea time,” said Jacqi.

She started her part-time job at Dumpling House when she was 17. She works six days per week and has a day off on Monday to hang out with her friends.

She does not find it hard to balance her work and student lives.

“It is all about managing time and doing the right things at the right time,” said Jacqi.

Jacqi has arranged her own timeline because her classes are usually in the morning and she will work after class in the afternoon then she will focus on her assignments at night.

Jaqui says it is important for international studnets to have friends of their own age.

“That is necessary because international students can talk about their worries with their friends rather than parents because they don’t have the age barrier with you and can offer some helpful ideas from their point of view.”

Debbie Page has been teaching at Wintec for more than 18 years. She is a senior academic member in the School of Media Arts at Wintec. She is the programme manager for the Graduate Diploma in Communication. She has a qualification in Tesol (second language teaching).

Debbie thinks that most of  international students struggle to adapt to the New Zealand way of writing.

“They have the problem with plagiarism, knowing why and how to reference is the big problem for the international students.”

Debbie finds that international and domestic students don’t have huge differences between them as there are domestic students who have English as a second language.

The problem is the cultural difference and their way of learning and the New Zealand way of learning.

Domestic students already know how they are going to be taught but for international students everything is new.

Debbie doesn’t think language is a huge problem for international students because most of them passed their  IELTS test (International English Language Test System). She thinks it is more a cultural barrier than a language barrier.

“I am always ready to help and give advice to international students with their problems and  if they want I will sit down  one-on-one and talk through their problem. Sometimes I refer them to  our international learning services because they have professional people who understand the way they learn in their home country,” said Debbie.

Debbie thinks  international students are as good as domestic students in their studies. However, before writing assignments, they need to understand  the requirements and  check the marking schedule, find out exactly  what the tutor is asking them, so that they can focus on what they are producing and its due time.

Debbie recommends international students choose subjects wisely before enrollment. If they want to remain in New Zealand, they need to choose the subjects that are going to help them get a job in the future. If they’re returning to their home countries, then they should consider the kind of environment they want to go into.

She suggests students use some of the things that are on offer for international students both at the international center and student learning services.

Debbie advicses international students to arrive early at college so that they can familiarise themselves with the new environment, place, and learning.

“I think a lot of the international students arrive the day before teaching starts and I think that overwhelms them,” said Debbie.

“Business studies students come six weeks before the semester and they do a little bit of orientation, they check the library, familiarise themselves with new place. I think that’s what other international students need to do,” said Debbie.