Liam and Colin answer immigration questions from Logan Classmates

A recent photo of Colin and Liam at the Wanaka Airshow. Colin is still wears his Logan School fleece everywhere.

Kyla and Lindsey’s class at the Logan School is studying human migration and immigration. Because Colin and Liam are former Logan students that have recently immigrated, Kyla and Lindsey asked if the boys could answer some questions developed by students in the class. We read the questions that Lindsey emailed and I typed as Colin and Liam answered the questions verbally. We had hoped to video-conference with class, but there were technical difficulties and bad weather in Denver. I found the boys' thoughts and observations interesting. Maybe, you will too.

What did you have to do to immigrate?

Colin: We had to pack up all our stuff and say our last good-byes to Jolie our dog and take one last look at our house.

Liam: We had to pack up everything we had except for a couple books and three pairs of clothes. We had to say good-byes and we had to get a visa.


And what did you have to do with your dog?

Colin: We said good-bye to Jolie, and then we left her with our grandparents for a long time. When she arrived in New Zealand she was all calm until she saw us then she jumped up and down.

Liam: Jolie, our dog, spent three months we us having shots and tests. After we left, she stayed with our grandparents for another three months. Then she spent a month at a quarantine kennel where we could not see her. She had to take three plane trips: one plane from Texas to California, then to the north island to the quarantine kennel and finally to us on the south island. It was helpful to get a cat, which made us less homesick for Jolie.


What did you take with you on your moving process to New Zealand and why?

Colin: When we were traveling we brought some books and a few toys and games (the Rubik’s cube, Battleship, playing cards, journals, camera, and coloring pens and pencils).

Liam: On our way to NZ we took a trip through Turkey, Greece and Thailand. On that trip, we brought some books to entertain us, three pairs of clothes, and our camera. The rest of our stuff, likes toys and furniture, came on a slow boat to NZ. We did not see our stuff for five months.


What are the main changes about your life in New Zealand? What is the same?

Colin: I have different friends. I live a longer distance away from school. My school is different. My work is very different. I do worksheets, not like Logan. We have a much bigger playground. People don’t behave as well and there are more people per class. My house is a lot bigger. I live on a sheep station, not like in Denver. I take a school bus to school and walk to the bus stop. I play different sports like cricket.

People are very nice here like in Denver. I have my dog here. I have many of the same things here, but they aren’t in the same place, like my bed and toys.

Liam: School is the biggest change. The classes are bigger and not many students concentrate. Another change the town is a lot smaller which means we see our friends every day and it is a lot safer. Also, we have to take the bus, which is forty-five minutes. Life in NZ is outdoorsy, which I like. We live by a huge lake.

Here are some words and phrases that I have noticed that are different:

NZ word............................US word
togs..................................bathing suits
jandals..............................sandals
tea....................................dinner
bum..................................bottom
cuppa................................Cup of tea
good on ya.........................way to go (great job)
good as gold......................good idea
good as.............................great
mate.................................friend
playtime............................recess
maths................................math
learnt.................................learned
centre................................center
autumn (never use fall)........fall
lounge...............................couch
biscuit...............................cookie
morning tea.......................snack time
funny as............................really funny
fast as...............................really fast

Things that are the same as Denver are that people are quite nice. There’s a supermarket. A lot of people ski.


Is there anything you miss about the USA like leaving friend and family?

Colin: I miss Logan school and how few people there were in class and how behaved they were. And I just miss having my old house and my family so close by. I miss my teachers and my friends at Logan.

Liam: Yes, I miss my family and friends. To see family we will now have to travel about sixteen hours on a plane. For the first two months in school, everyone made fun of me and I did not have anyone to play with. Still people make fun of my accent. People say American accents are squeaky.


Were you nervous about moving? What were you nervous about?

Colin: Yes, I was nervous about moving. I thought it would be hard making friends in my new school when I enter in the middle of the year. I was nervous we wouldn’t find a good house or that we wouldn’t find a house that I like. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to see my family and old friends that much.

Liam: I was nervous about having no friends. I was nervous about school and being bullied. Everyone said in America there are bullies, not NZ. I was worried about not having family around and getting homesick. The time I was most nervous was driving to the airport. That was one of the scariest times of my life because I was leaving my home.


What is your new school like? Do you have new friends? Is it big?

Colin: I have lots of new friends. The school is very big because there are so many students. Recess is very wild with so many kids playing outside. There is Pet Day where everyone brings their pets to school on the same day. Also, my class has a blog that can see (qps-rm23.blogspot.com).

Liam: Yes my school is very big! There are six hundred kids and my class has thirty kids. Two to four classrooms are in each building spread around the school. We are allowed to play in between them and on the field during playtime (recess). The play space is a big as at least four of the Logan big fields. A lot of people know the Maori language and we are learning a little Maori too. I have a lot of new friends. At school we have P.E. (or what you call MYG). We have music and bible class. We will get to ski every Friday for eight weeks in the winter. Yeah!


What is it like in New Zealand? Weather? Landscape? People?

Colin: In New Zealand it is usually sunny and sometimes rainy and cold. It rarely has thunder and lightening. People are very nice. They pretty much always want to play with you. It is very beautiful. You can see the lake from my house and there are many mountains. And we can see an island called Hidden Island from my house. There are lots of lakes. There are lots of birds and sheep. There aren’t any stoplights or big buildings.

Liam: NZ is a lot like Colorado. There are a lot of giant lakes. Instead of forests there is bush, which is as tall as me and as dense as a wall. People are extremely nice. Most kids are a little tougher, but I fit in. The highways are two-laned and very curvy, which equals carsickness. The steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car and we drive on the opposite side of the road. The weather has been a lot like Colorado except it doesn’t get as hot in the summer and not quite as much snow in the winter. It is fall here right now. There are a lot of tourist things like jetboats, steamboats, gondolas, paragliding, bungy jumping. Paragliders land on the school field every day. The gondola starts a hundred meters from school and goes up the hill above the school to the Luge.


Why did you immigrate to New Zealand? Why did you move so far away?

Colin: We moved because we liked it so much in New Zealand. We liked all the lakes, the farms, sheep and birds that sing sweet songs. We are learning Maori culture and about a new place to explore. I’m getting to see many things that I didn’t think existed, like lots of different kinds of birds like the kiwi bird.

Liam: We moved because we liked it here and it is a lot like Colorado except the towns are smaller, which is nice. We moved so far because NZ was the place we wanted to be and my parents wanted me to live outside the US. Here we are near skiing, the beach, farms and school.