Eighteen-year-old Keren Qian or “Co-Co” has been at Macleans College for one week and already seems settled in.
She has made a number of friends and has classes in Mathematics, Economics, Business Studies and ESOL.
In Co-Co’s room.
She lives with homestay hosts, Tracey and Darren Mercer, in the popular sea-side resort of Eastern beach which is quite close to the school. The Mercer family has already hosted a Japanese and a German student.
Back home in Wuxi in the Jiang Su Province it is winter and temperatures are reaching minus below but soon Co-Co may be introduced to water skiing for the first time. This will be a totally different experience for her.
Nearby, apart from Eastern Beach, there are Bucklands Beach, Mellons Bay, Howick Beach and Cockle Bay. All face toward the cluster of islands in the Hauraki Gulf.
By the pool at the Mercer home, with temperatures in the mid to high 20s, Co-Co said she enjoyed being with her host family.
Her mother, Li Zhou, flew to New Zealand with her daughter to ensure everything was satisfactory. Li, whose career is with insurance, said she was happy with what she had seen. Speaking through Co-Co, Li said she was pleased with the school, the homestay and New Zealand. She will fly back to Wuxi today.
Co-Co hopes to gain worthwhile examination results so she can study further, possibly in England, to be a business woman.
Latest examination results place Macleans College as the leading school in the Cambridge International Examinations with ten Top-in-the-World places plus an extra five Top-in-New Zealand.
The college is located on expansive grounds overlooking the Waitemata Harbour. The school has the largest number of international students of any school in New Zealand.
