Study in new Zealand

Time:2011-11-30 08:49:59 Clicks:

Having been studying in Massey University for three semesters, my bachelor life abroad will soon come to an end. From the tough life at beginning to the regular life now, it has brought me endless fun and has also served as a catalyst for my increased maturity and self-confidence. All kinds of thoughts would flash in my mind everyday, for the experience of living and studying in New Zealand is so eye-opening that it has contributed to my developing a more sophisticated way of looking at the world.

Personal Growth
As the first group of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics(JUFE) students coming to Massey, our life was tough at first. Although we were curious and excited about everything there, it was still a different and unfamiliar country to us. With no one's help, we have to learn to deal with a lot of stuff ourselves. Unlike in JUFE where we could just care about our studying, in New Zealand, we have to learn to settle down and blend in as well. At the first several weeks, we have to learn to cook, to go to supermarket to buy necessities, to get ourselves banking account, phonecard and internet card and so on. These were some priorities before we could focus ourselves on studying. Complicated as they appeared, we are both pleased to find how mature and confident we are after learning, experiencing and exploring in this different culture.

As we can always watch in most of foreign movies, students would work part-time while studying full-time in university. Such is the case for Massey students, that the majority of which choose to work during weekends. It is mainly due to their culture that parents cease to support their children as long as they become 18 years old. Impressed by how independent foreign students are, I also found myself part-time jobs. Working during the semester, I have learned to allocate my time properly between study and work. Tired sometimes, I am pleased to gain those precious work experience. I still clearly remember how excited I was when I received my first pay, for it was the first time that I worked and made money. With the money earned, I could afford most of my living cost such as rent, power fees etc. Since then I felt like I have indeed become an adult.

Intercultural development
Flatting with local people has helped my better understanding of New Zealand culture. As we know, different nations have cultural differences in their view to life, living habit, mode of thinking and rules of action. It is necessary for us to know the differences between ours and theirs, thus removing the barriers in intercultural communication. For example, we were confused when we heard most of New Zealanders called themselves "kiwis". After getting to know their culture, we found that this country is famous for kiwi birds which is like pandas to China. As being acknowledged by the majority, living with locals is the most effective way to learn their cultural. During the second semester of studying there, I chose to flat with local young people instead of living with Chinese. My flatmates are both Christian and they are really friendly and kind to me. Even though my English is not 100% fluent, they would listen patiently to me and tried to help me to improve it. It was they who introduced me to their friends, took me to parties, taught me how to cook New Zealand food and bake local desserts, etc. Being Massey students themselves, they both have part-time jobs. Their maturity and self-confidence has left a deep impression on me. Benefited a lot from this experience, I believe that it will continue to exert a positive influence on my interactions with people from different cultures.

Academic development
Our main goal of being in New Zealand is to improve our major study. With the biggest business college in New Zealand, Massey university is famous for its excellent standard of teaching and has a strong national and international reputation. Having different educational philosophy, Massey emphasizes more on improving students' ability of applying theory into practice than merely testing their theoretical knowledge. For us business students, we have at least two assignments to do for each course. These assignments are as equal important as final exams as they account for around 40 to 50 percent of total marks. They help reinforce our commitment to our academic and language study. For example, case study makes us aware of what happened nationally and internationally and learn to apply what we learned into the cases. Essay assignment leads our attention to the recent journal articles written by economists. Presentation improves our self-confidence and enhances our competence of expressing our ideas in decent English. All in all, each assignment aims at enhancing our academic knowledge and practical abilities.

Another difference is that Massey exerts great importance to online teaching. With approximately 36,000 students, more than half of whom are extramural students study only through online learning environment - Stream. Most of Massey papers have integrated it with conventional learning resources to enrich the distance learning experience. Stream makes it possible for us to get access to study notes, recent journal articles, podcasts, online presentations, interactive excecises and activities, and tests and quizzes. It allows us to share and exchange ideas with fellow students and the paper coordinator. We are all encouraged by lecturers to make regular and focused use of these online learning services. It is really convenient and helpful to our daily study. Even if we miss the class unwittingly, we could still sign in on Stream and download the study note or video to catch up with other students.

Overall, studying abroad has positively and unequivocally influences my personal, professional, and academic life. It has become one of the defining moments in my life and I believe it will continue to influence my future life. Few other experiences in life have proven to net such a positive and sustainable impact. With it offering so many enduring and life-changing academic, intercultural, personal benefits, students who meet the requirements could consider studying abroad when searching for a college and during their collegiate career. In the end, I want to thank JUFE for providing this great opportunity to me and hope it will provide this opportunity to more students.