Introduction
As a foreign student in the United States, there are many experiences that I have been through in his journey of life and education. I was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1990. I lived there until the age of 15, then moved to Arizona in The United States. Ever since I moved to America, I have travelled to several states, and this has helped him gain many diverse experiences, new knowledge, new perspectives and challenges. I have learnt the values of different cultures; not all of my experiences were positive, I had to go through several struggles in America. This paper is an account given by a New Zealand student I interviewed. He explains the differences between life in New Zealand and life in America. Furthermore, he elaborates on both the positive and negative effects of studying in America.
A description of New Zealand
The student describes New Zealand, also known as the “land of the long white cloud”-Aotearoa, as one of the most attractive places on the planet. It is a small island nation of approximately four and a half million citizens. The country is comprised of two major islands, the North Island and South island. A number of smaller islands surround the two major islands. This includes the Stewart Island whose location is in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. Dividing the two main islands is a 22 kilometer stretch of water known as the cook straight.
New Zealand is about 1,500 kilometers eastwards from Australia and approximately 1,000 kilometers from the Pacific islands. This country is relatively remote and is also water locked. For this reason, it was among the last countries to be discovered and settled. Some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world are found in this island nation. From steaming volcanoes to numerous mountain ranges and sweeping coastlines. All these are found in New Zealand.
This nation is a constitutional monarchy under England. Even though the queen is the head of state, New Zealand practices self-government through a parliamentary system headed by a prime minister. The citizens vote every three years. This often results in a change in government. There are two main political parties in New Zealand. These are the national party and the Labor party. New Zealand was the first nation in the world to give women votes. This occurred in 1893.
Education in New Zealand
The system of education in New Zealand is very diverse in nature. It also ranks as one of the best systems in the world. The public system of education is well funded, and several surveys indicate that New Zealand is the number one country worldwide with regard to quality of education. The reason for this is that the natives of New Zealand have a strong belief in providing everyone with the education that they merit. Private schools are abundant in the country, but most parents are comfortable with using the public educational system. The curriculum puts a strong emphasis on both academic and practical achievement. It puts focus on open-mindedness and allowing students to explore. All primary and secondary schools run from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. Students go to school all year round, with four evenly spread terms. Generally, state-funded schools are free, but with minor costs for school supplies, books and uniforms.
The New Zealand system is quite similar to the American system in terms of curriculum and the open minded approach. Public schools also receive adequate funding however not as much as the New Zealand schools. The American schools have to deal with larger populations and more expenses. Major differences occur in the school calendars. The academic year is composed of two terms known as semesters. They typically begin from August or September and continue through May or June. In the United States, most schools do not require students to wear uniforms. This is quite different from the situation in New Zealand.
Comparison of life in New Zealand and America
Most of America is urbanized. Along with this comes the ills of urbanization. One of them is an increase in high category crimes. Statistics show that 698 out of every 100,000 people in the United States are currently imprisoned. This is in comparison to 192 people in New Zealand. The disparity is majorly caused by population difference and laws. Local laws differ on whether psychiatrically ill criminals are under the jurisdiction of the prisons.
The United States has a larger economy compared to that of New Zealand. For this reason, its GDP is much higher at $ 52,800 while in New Zealand it is about $30,400. This shows that Americans are on average richer than New Zealand citizens. In terms of health, Americans seem to have poorer health conditions. They spend more on medication and their combined per capita health expenditures amount to about $8,895.1 compared to $3,291.80 in New Zealand. The diseased that affect Americans are mostly lifestyle diseases related to diets.
Unemployment is a bigger problem in America than it is back in his country. Americans are 14.06% more likely to be unemployed compared to my folks back in New Zealand. New Zealand has an unemployment rate of 6.04 percent while the United States has a rate of 7.30 percent. Oil consumption is also very high in the United States. They own more vehicles and travel longer distances. American citizens consume more electricity. Due to their higher purchasing power, they are able to purchase more electronic equipment at the home and apply more automation in their factories. All these increase the consumption of electricity.
The United States has a large gap between the rich and the poor. Class division in the United States is 24.31 percent higher than in New Zealand. In New Zealand, wealth distribution is more even because of the relatively lower population. This means that the available resources are adequate for the entire population. Since it is also easier to get a job, most people are able to find meaningful employment and emancipate themselves out of poverty. This further reduces the gap between the rich and poor.
Other issues such as infant mortality are much higher in America. Due to the bigger divide in class, poorer people are not able to obtain quality health care including maternal health care. This therefor causes a higher infant mortality in the United States. However, the birth rate in the US remains significantly high compared to that in New Zealand.
Adapting to life in America
The culture in the United States is more or less similar to that in New Zealand. Therefore, he had no problem adapting to life there. He was able to catch up quick in my classes since the education systems bore a lot of resemblances save for the academic calendars. However, he found American society to be more liberal compared to his culture. At first, he felt lonely and isolated since he had made no friends. It took him some time to establish rapports with fellow students because he was an introvert and at the same time was not an individual who likes hanging out. He spent most of his private time reading books and playing video games.
Eventually, he decided that it was time to break out of his shell and start interacting with people. To his surprise, He found it much easier to make friends than he had earlier thought. Most students were very welcoming. Race did not seem to be an issue at all, and we were able to coexist as a family of students. This was also evident outside the school premises. People on the streets interacted peacefully among different races. He was also able to spot a number of interracial couples walking along the streets and some seated in restaurants.
Upon joining collage, he experienced some financial issues. It was then that he decided to take on low paying part-time jobs in order to make ends meet. Contrary to what statistics claim on unemployment levels, he found it quite easy to get a low skill job. He managed to secure a part-time job as a waiter in a small restaurant within Arizona. The weather was also not so different from that of New Zealand, especially in the summer.
One major social problem he experienced was the issue of drug abuse. Narcotics are readily available in most parts of the United States. Young people between 15- 30 years of age are the most affected drug abuse. It has destroyed the lives of many young people through mental illness, death and imprisonment. Peer pressure was also a big contributing factor to substance abuse. Most youths engage in recreational use of narcotics, and this has a strong influence on other young people especially in collages and high schools. Teenage pregnancies and STIs were also more common among girls and generally promiscuity in collages was outstandingly high.
Another phenomenon that surprised me the more was the gun culture that is very rife in the United States. It is legal to own personal firearms in America, and they can easily be purchased in gun shops. This is something that does not exist in New Zealand. For one to acquire a gun license, they have to undergo extensive background checks and have no previous criminal record. For this reason, he found a violent crime to be much higher in the United States and rates of homicides constantly increase with time.
Conclusion
This student has lived in the United States for over three years now. Over this period, he has learnt to cope with people, views and races. He believes he has become more open-minded in his way of thinking and able to live in harmony with different people of different cultures. Even though New Zealand is a smaller and poorer country in comparison to the United States, it has a better standard of living and life is much easier there. However, he is still grateful for the experience of studying abroad.
