Hello. I'm Rinse Okiyama, a 3rd year student at the International College of Technology, Kanazawa. I'm currently studying abroad in New Zealand. Here in Dunedin, the weather is gradually warming up as spring approaches. Since arriving, I've been learning a lot every day through language study and cultural exchange. Living in a different environment isn’t easy, but it's full of new discoveries, and I can truly feel myself growing each day.

While people in Japan were diving into the sea, I was diving into the snow on the ski slopes of New Zealand. My friends and I took a bus and rode for an hour. Outside the window, lush green hills and flocks of sheep stretched out before us, revealing one beautiful scene after another—views unlike anything we’re used to seeing in Japan. Dunedin, where we live, is a suburban area, so we don’t often see farms, making the scenery feel refreshing.

We arrived in Roxburgh and had lunch at “Jimmy’s Pies,” famous for their meat pies. Next, we headed to “Puzzling World,” a mysterious space where you can enjoy a maze and optical illusion art. We got completely lost in the maze, feeling like little kids again. It was quite a challenge, and we ended up walking around for hours, but we finally made it to the end.

After checking into our accommodation in Wanaka, I took a walk with my friends to a nearby lake. Along the way, we discovered a stylish café and enjoyed some ice cream. After exploring the town on the first day, we returned to the lodge and enjoyed a warm dinner that our teachers had prepared for us.

The next day, we left our lodge early in the morning and took a bus to the ski fields, enjoying the sunrise along the way. Whether it was the driver’s rough style or the poor road conditions, the ride was bumpy the entire time. When we arrived, I was worried because there didn’t seem to be much snow, but the ski slopes were actually well-covered. Since I had just skied at Hakusan earlier this year, I got used to it quickly and had a great time.

Japanese ski resorts are known for their convenience, with abundant hot springs and lodging facilities. In contrast, New Zealand’s major advantage was the chance to experience the grandeur of nature itself. The scenery was totally different, featuring numerous courses with exposed rock faces, vast treeless slopes, and majestic mountain ranges stretching across the landscape.

At night, I went to a restaurant and took a walk around the lodge with my friends. Later, back at the lodge, we all gathered together as if we were back in the dormitory at Hakusanroku Campus and played a quiz game. It felt like those nostalgic and fun times were back again.

The third day was all about activities. Arriving in Queenstown, we took a gondola to the summit and looked down on the town. The view of the blue lake and surrounding mountains was stunning in its beauty. After that, we tried the Luge, a thrilling activity where you race down a steep slope at full speed. We all enjoyed it.

For lunch, we bought the tastiest burgers, known as “Fergburger.” Unfortunately, our schedule was packed, so we didn’t have time for sightseeing. At the final destination of our trip, three classmates challenged themselves to bungee jump. After jumping, they looked proud and relieved, having overcome their nerves. After that, we headed back to Dunedin, and the fulfilling three-day trip finally came to an end.

This ski trip was a valuable opportunity to deepen bonds with my friends and experience the differences in nature and culture firsthand. I want to continue challenging myself in various ways and make my study abroad life even more fulfilling.

Rinse Okiyama

 

 

About 350 years ago, on July 13th, the famous poet Matsuo Basho wrote the haiku:
“How still it is here—
Stinging into the stones,
The locusts' trill.”

But according to the news this year, because of global warming, people in many places said that cicadas did not sing even after July began. Now, one month later, Japan is still in the grip of a very hot summer, I believe. How are you all doing? From the other side of the Earth, I am Rintaro Kamoshita, a 3rd year student at International College of Technology, Kanazawa.
Our life in New Zealand is very different—almost the exact opposite—from the summer in Japan. Every day we burn firewood in the fireplace to fight the cold. Today, I would like to tell you about my “unusual daily life” here in New Zealand, especially as the person who is sometimes called the “subculture manager” of our school.

First, I know you may not be the same, but for me, a day usually begins with solving a math problem, and ends with solving another math problem. When I was in Japan, at ICT, I did not have much time for such study, because I was busy with Robot Contest preparation and with many assignments. Only on holidays could I do math freely. However, after coming to New Zealand, my life changed a lot. Simply put, I gained “more than 24 hours of free time in one day.” Because of this, I could make a new style: at night, I study math for two or three hours and choose one problem, and then I try solving that problem the next morning. Thanks to this, I now have a lot more time to think about math in my daily life here.

On holidays, I often go to Otago Polytechnic. There, I write a math problem and its process of solution on a whiteboard, and leave it there before going home. It was like creating a secret code that only those who love math could understand—much like the one in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Dancing Men. Recently, one math teacher saw my problem and we were able to talk about it. Some people say that “math is a language.” I felt that it was really true, because at that moment, we crossed the boundary of ordinary communication by using the language of math.

But since I am supposed to talk about subculture, I should now speak about my “card game life” in Dunedin. First, let me tell you something surprising: in New Zealand, there are no shops that sell single cards. You may think “so what?” but for card gamers, this is almost like a death sentence. What is worse, in Dunedin, there is only one card shop in the whole city. Because of this, I had to spend three months without playing card games. This was maybe the first time since I was five years old.

However, in mid-July, something changed. One Saturday, I went skating with my friends at the southern ice rink. On the way back, I found a card shop, because I saw a sign with a very famous Japanese character. I went inside and looked at the card products. Then the shop owner talked to me, and told me that every Sunday they have a tournament. The next day, I joined the tournament with my friend, and I had my first international card game exchange.

There, I found something surprising. In general, New Zealand people are very free, and their way of thinking is different from Japanese people. But in the card game community, everything was almost exactly the same as in Japan. For example, if someone used a very strong deck, other players did not like it. And if someone was very unlucky and already almost losing, other players tried not to attack too hard. On the internet, I often saw people saying “foreign players act just like Japanese ones.” I found out that this was true.

Now, I want to finish my journal with a message to the students in the Hakusanroku Campus, and also to junior high school students who are thinking of entering our school. What I want to say is this: English ability is not the most important thing. …Okay, maybe I exaggerated. What I really mean is: communication ability matters much more.

I don’t play popular games, or popular sports. Also, I do not enjoy speaking with young people very much. In other words, I have some serious handicaps. But even so, I can still “fight,” thanks to two things I learned in Japan: the skill of talking with teachers, and the skill of talking through card games. These two skills have a special power: they automatically create a moment when the other person listens to me. So I recommend that you also make a strategy about how to communicate in English before you come to New Zealand.

For example, I live in a homestay with a Japanese family, so in daily life I do not use much English. But still, compared with other students, the amount of English I touch is not any less. That is, I can say I won by strategy. Dunedin is truly a wonderful place. So I hope you can make it not a place of suffering and homesickness, but a place of your own growth.

P.S. Actually, I am from Shinshu, so I wanted to start with Kobayashi Issa, not with Matsuo Basho.

Rintaro Kamoshita

Hello, I’m Ruuna Nakazawa, a 3rd year student at ICT. Right now, it's the middle of winter in New Zealand, and it’s as cold as in January in Japan. Because of that, warm outerwear like a down jacket is essential when going outside. Today, I’d like to share a bit about my daily life here in New Zealand.

I’m staying with a host family that includes a host mother, a host father, and two host sisters who are around my age. When I first arrived, there were also two other housemates, but one of them recently returned to her home country. I had a lot in common with her, and even though we only spent a short time together, we became very close. I don’t talk with my host family extensively every day, but they all have a great sense of humor, and simply spending time together in the living room often brings lots of laughter. There's also a large dog at home, and I often play with it.

 

The house is located on a hill, and from the living room I can enjoy a wide view that includes the sea. One night, when the aurora appeared, I was able to watch the beautiful display right from the balcony. The house also has an electric piano and a garage with a dance floor, creating the perfect environment for me to fully enjoy my hobbies—playing the piano and dancing.

I have fewer classes here than I did during my 1st and 2nd years, and there are more holidays as well, so I now have more free time. Thanks to that, I’ve been able to spend plenty of time on my hobbies like piano, dance, and drawing. Speaking of dance, I’ve joined a dance club at Otago Polytechnic and take weekly lessons to improve my skills. I’m also taking an online course about AI, using my free time to deepen my interests.

One unique feature of New Zealand is its rich natural environment, and I’ve been going on hikes regularly to experience it. Dunedin has many well-maintained walking tracks managed by the local government, and I choose where to go by checking the city’s website. Each location offers different scenery and plants that I wouldn’t find in Japan, which makes each hike fascinating. As a dog lover, I also enjoy encountering dogs out on their walks.

While I’ve been enjoying these peaceful and fulfilling days, I also face some challenges. One of them is my English ability, especially speaking. Although I’ve gotten used to being surrounded by English, I still lack the confidence to actively start conversations on my own.

Now that a third of my study abroad experience has passed, I want to continue making the most of this warm host family environment and the free time I have, taking on new challenges little by little, and continuing to grow as a person.

Ruuna Nakazawa

Hello, I am Mitsuki Ohta, a 3rd year student. I have been studying at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand for about two months now. I am blessed with a wonderful host family and I am living a fulfilling life. I would like to introduce some of the things that have happened to me in New Zealand.

Helping with a Rally

Soon after I arrived in New Zealand, I received information that my friend’s host father was participating in a rally. First of all, a rally is a car race held on various natural roads, such as unpaved roads and mountain paths. Unlike regular racing, rallies are not held on circuits where you drive multiple laps around a fixed course. Instead, they take place on ordinary or unpaved roads (gravel, snow, mud, etc.) in timed sections, where drivers compete for the best time. Rallying is particularly popular in New Zealand, and I had wanted to see one ever since I was in Japan. When I heard that my friend’s host family was involved in rallying, my friend introduced me to them, and I was able to help out at the event.

The rally was held in a place called Timaru, about a three-hour drive away. The weather was sunny, and the natural scenery was beautiful. It was exciting to see all the rally cars from different categories gathered in the service park. My friend’s host father's car got a crack in the part leading to the turbine due to an impact while driving, which caused a loss of power. To fix this, the engine had to be lowered, so it couldn’t be repaired in time. My goal was to help them finish the rally event, but I was only able to assist with refueling at the service park. Still, I was happy just to be involved in a rally for the first time. It was a memorable experience, and I am very grateful to my friend and their host family.

Sports

In New Zealand, I mainly play volleyball and do downhill mountain biking. At first, I planned to play badminton when I came here, but I haven’t been able to because of the high price of shuttles and the lack of availability. At the gymnasium I usually go to, there aren’t many people who are better at badminton than me, while in volleyball and basketball, there are many skilled players. Volleyball also requires communication, so I play it to make friends. I'm still not very good at it, so I practice by playing with local people who are skilled, or with members of the local community introduced to me by my host family.

Another sport I’ve started here is downhill mountain biking. I began last month after hearing from friends and Philip-sensei that there was a mountain bike track at Signal Hill. Unlike road biking in Japan, using your body and shifting your center of gravity on the bike is especially important. The fear and thrill I feel when I manage to turn a corner quickly is exciting. I’m hooked! I haven’t had any serious injuries yet, but I do slip and fall easily and get thrown off, so I’m trying to enjoy it safely and be careful not to get seriously hurt.

 

I am getting used to life in New Zealand, but there are still times when I encounter language difficulties, and the stress of studying abroad can get me down. Still, I am truly glad to have this experience that I could only have here. I will enjoy the remaining nine months of my stay in New Zealand, never forgetting to appreciate the people around me.

Mitsuki Ohta

Hello! This is Hiroko Takeda, a 3rd year student who loves shimaenaga (a bird called long- tailed tit). It is now the middle of the 1st semester. I am getting used to the classes. There are no serious science subjects such as math yet, so I am spending my days at a fairly relaxed pace. In this journal, I would like to introduce a little bit about my life in New Zealand.

 

Letter to Grandma
Getting used to life in New Zealand, I decided to send a postcard to my grandmother and went on a little journey to find one that would give her a sense of New Zealand. First, I went to a souvenir shop. However, I could not find any postcards that caught my eye. I also visited another souvenir shop, but I couldn't find anything there either. Then I went to a bookstore, but still could not find any. Finally, I found a postcard with cute illustrations of a kiwi and a fantail (New Zealand birds) at another bookstore called “Paper Plus”.

After I finished writing, I took the postcard to the bookstore where I bought it, and the staff helped me by putting a stamp and a blue sticker on it. Then I put it in the postbox in front of the store, and that was it!! It hasn't arrived yet, so I'm still waiting eagerly.

Green! Birds! Sore muscles!
I went to the Dunedin Botanic Garden, which is a little north of the school. The first place we went to was the greenhouse. It was really interesting to see plants that I don't usually come across. My favorite area was the one with the cacti lined up.

After that, we sat on a bench with a nice view and ate lunch. The sun felt warm, and it was one of those moments that made me think, “This kind of holiday is really nice.”　Then we decided to go to a place we found on the map that was supposed to have lots of birds. There were many colorful birds there, and I remember feeling very uplifted. I forgot the names of each bird, but I’ll post some photos of my favorites.

After walking for a long time on a road with lots of ups and downs, I ended up with sore muscles. It made me realize that I’m not getting enough exercise. Walking takes time, but it’s the one way I can always rely on to get around. I want to build up my stamina so I can walk for longer periods.

The Way to School
If someone asked me whether I prefer dogs or cats, I would answer “cats” without hesitation. However, the pet at my homestay is a dog. That made me a little sad, but I often see cats on my way to school, which is really soothing. I got so excited that I started taking pictures on the spot, but some people saw me and I felt a bit embarrassed… Maybe I should tone it down a little from now on.
Actually, a friend told me that there are wild hedgehogs in this area. I haven't encountered one yet, but I really want to see one.

There have been many things I’m not used to, but I’m surprised at how well I’ve been managing. I’ll keep doing my best from now on, too.

Hiroko Takeda