- Name Daniel Pelletier
- Destination New Zealand
- Home country Canada
- School year 2004/2005
An exchange year away from friends, family, home and everything that is familiar. Emotions build up, and thoughts go through your head that you might not have ever thought could be on your mind. “Will they have Kraft Dinner?” As I was preparing for my year abroad, I was looking forward to a year that would change my mindset, views, maturity and respect for a whole new culture. This new culture that I was going to be immersed in, was the Kiwi culture; clean, green, beautiful New Zealand.
I didn’t quite know what to expect from this country. I had little to no knowledge about New Zealand other then the Lord of the Rings was filmed there, that they played a lot of rugby and it had heaps of adventure sports. As my time got closer and closer to departure, I was becoming extremely nervous. Questions were running through my mind. Was I going to miss my family? How was I going to adjust to making new friends? Was my new family going to be friendly? These questions were answered as soon as I settled into my new life in New Zealand.
My family was extremely loving, friendly and family orientated. They treated me as if I was their son. For the first half of my stay, I did not have any host brothers or sisters. My host parents decided that after Christmas, they would enjoy having another student in the house. They decided to host a girl from Brazil. They asked me if I agreed. I didn’t think twice before I said: “ YES!” When you’re on an exchange nothing is ever predictable and you take life as it comes.
New Zealand is a very unpredictable country. The weather could change from raining to sunny and from hot to cold all in the span of a couple of hours. New Zealanders often say: “Oh look dear we’re having all four seasons again today.”
The Kiwi lifestyle is extremely relaxed, caring and friendly. The people are amazing and they also lend a helping hand. The friends I’ve made in New Zealand were always friendly and they were always saying: “ She’ll be right mate.” In Canadian that’s: “It’ll be alright.” Friends were easy to come by because they were amazed that I was from Canada. I had a lot of fun with them too!
When I thought New Zealand, I thought adventure capital of the world. I dreamed of bungee jumping, snowboarding, surfing and just enjoying the great outdoors. The funny thing is all of my dreams came true. Not only did those dreams come true, but there are even more amazing things that I’ve done: I visited the Hobbiton film set from Lord of the Rings; I attended a week at the National Youth Drama School and was instructed in stage combat by the Fight Styles Choreographer from Lord of the Rings, Tony Wolf; I went snowboarding on an active volcano; played on the school field hockey team and landed a major role in the school production!
Looking back at my time in New Zealand, I’ve learned so much it’s sometimes hard to comprehend. I went as a young, maturing teenager and I came back a much older and wiser teenager. I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons in life and this exchange really helped me grow as an individual. During an exchange you do not only learn about another’s culture, lifestyle and values but you learn a lot about yourself and who you want to be. I’ve gone, I’ve endured and I’ve had an amazing experience that will never be forgotten by me or by those that I have met along the way. Thanks EF for an unforgettable year!!!
