She didn't notice how much she had improved until she looked back at her Year 10 and 11 essays. "English comes quite naturally to me now."
Last year, Van also studied biology and chemistry. The international student juggled her studies with working at a takeaway shop in Kelvin Grove.
This year she is doing a Bachelor of Science majoring in psychology at the University of Auckland. Van says psychology as a discipline is not as developed in Vietnam as it is here.
She enjoys reading and peering into characters' mentality, why they think and behave the way they do. "I'm always interested in how people behave."
Van is also interested in mental health and wants to help improve young people's mental health.
Before coming to New Zealand to study she had visited here, the United States and the Philippines on summer camps. She decided New Zealand's weather and friendly people suited her. She likes Aotearoa's slower pace and that it is laid back compared to Vietnam.
In Palmerston North, she can always see the blue sky above her and there are trees everywhere.
Van has a younger brother and sister who she hadn't seen for two years because of Covid-19.
"It does get a bit lonely but you get used to it I guess."
She hopes to visit Hanoi at the end of this year.
Van, who turns 18 next month, feels lucky to be in New Zealand. She says her teachers, friends, and everyone she's encountered have been so kind to her. When she first arrived she made eye contact with a stranger at the airport and they said hi. "People are just nice and open to each other."
Van likes how New Zealand is multicultural. She was a bit shy when she arrived but never felt excluded by other people.
"I never felt singled out, I never felt different just because I'm an international student, that's been a big thing for me."
