Don't do homestay in NZ warns Chinese student director

A sausages and potato salad diet and an unsuitable bed is the reality for foreigners learning in New Zealand, rather than the country being the best place in the world to study, a Chinese educationalist says.

Under the headline "I don't want other students to suffer like my son", the latest copy of iBall - an English language newspaper aimed at the Chinese community - an international student director says she would no longer recommend New Zealand as a place for foreigners to go to school.

Shu Ying Jiang told iBall co-editor Lincoln Tan that she took an agent's word how good life in New Zealand was and sent her son to study here rather than Canada, a decision she now regretted.

Madam Jiang, the former director of international students at Shandong Teachers University, said the family her son stayed with did not give him proper food or a suitable bed.

Her son, who was not named, was given a spring bed without proper back support and a diet of "two sausages and potato salad every night for dinner". He lost 10kg in six months.

"When I saw my once chubby and happy son looking so tired and sad, I cannot believe it," Madam Jiang said.

Tan told the Herald he did not believe all the mother's complaints were justified, as a lot of students were not mentally prepared before coming to a new country.

"They come here with false expectations and that's where the problem lies."

However, the one child policy made a Chinese child very precious, so their care and wellbeing was a vital issue for parents, Mr Tan said.

"What I think is lacking is an orientation programme, because a lot of homestay parents they just take on students from Asia not knowing anything about their culture at all. Some form of training programme - it doesn't have to be formal but some sort of orientation, would be good," he said.

"But it needs to work both ways. I understand from this woman that countries like Canada supply videotapes to potential students so they would be able to view a typical homestay situation, the type of food they eat and the lifestyle, before embarking."

A 2003 Ministry of Education commissioned study of overseas students and their experiences in New Zealand found 83 per cent of students reported no problems with their homestay.

Although students were mostly satisfied with their relationships with host families, the amount of interaction with them was modest.

"The most commonly reported problems were: difficult family members, lack of freedom or privacy, problems with food, and lack of communication with host family members," the survey said. "While a range of problems were cited, in all cases they were rare. None of these problems were cited by more than 1 per cent of the students in homestay care."


Culture shock

Ministry of Education advice to Chinese students:

* A homestay may also be a new experience for your host family. Talk to your hosts about any worries you have so that any misunderstandings can be avoided.

* Be open-minded and try to remember that New Zealand is a different country to China. People will behave in ways that may seem to you odd or even rude, but you must try to avoid judging New Zealanders by Chinese cultural standards.

* New Zealand culture, like any culture, has positive and negative aspects. Remember that there is always someone or some service available to help you.