International Dept
The new school year has kicked off to a record start for the Mount Hutt College International
Department. This term we are hosting a record 32 students from Brazil, Japan, Korea, Thailand
and Switzerland; which is our biggest increase since we restarted our international programme
after the covid pandemic. Students stay for a variety of times, from a few weeks to a term or even
a year. Several of our current enrolments are staying for several years in order to complete their
college studies in New Zealand.
This week we traveled to the Ashburton District Council to meet Mayor Liz McMillan and councillor
Tony Todd. The students’ identified their highlights so far as being learning about a new culture
and food, with hokey pokey ice cream and fish and chips leading the way for favourites.
Mayor Liz McMillan told the students she knew first hand what being an exchange student is like,
from her experience spending a year at a Japanese school while a teenager. “It is challenging
learning a new family, a new language and a new culture.” Liz saying, back then we had no
cellphones or internet so I spent a lot of time writing letters home and could only talk to my family
once a month. “I still have my school friends from Japan who I have visited again, or have come
out to New Zealand to visit me.”
Councillor Tony Todd also acted as a host family for a Japanese student from Hakone many years
ago. That student is now grown up with his own family, but they still keep in touch. He urged the
MHC international students to make an effort to build those friendships with their kiwi classmates,
as they can end up being lifelong friendships.
As always, we are thrilled to have international students join our school community. This broadens
the perspectives of our Kiwi students by exposing them to different languages, traditions, and
global viewpoints, which helps develop global citizenship in an increasingly interconnected world.
