The Old Tale of a Journey: Working Holiday Visa New Zealand 2015-2016

1. The prolog of the journey

The story I am about to tell is something that happened to me while I had the opportunity to live in New Zealand on a Working Holiday visa for a total of 15 months, including the period during which I applied for the visa. Throughout this time, there were smooth periods, exciting moments, and times that required patience.

The purpose of writing this is to entertain those who are interested, and I hope that the information or experiences I have encountered may be useful to those who are about to travel to this nature-friendly land, especially those who enjoy adventure and understand that the ups and downs of various events that occur all add color to the experience.

Even though there were times when I wasn't in the best mood, looking back doesn't make me want to change anything because everything that happened was the best at those given circumstances. What is truly important and beneficial is what we learn from those experiences. And if it can still be useful to others, that's a great bonus. This might be another reason for sharing the story I am about to tell.

Why did I want to go to New Zealand?

Before I went to New Zealand, I worked at a school as an English teacher. I taught there for 3 years. Speaking of this, I should mention the reason that led me to become a teacher at this school. I was impressed by the school's administration, which is Dr. Art-ong Jumsai Na Ayudhya. I admire his vision for education and development. He believes that the development or improvement of the country should start with the education of children, and to achieve that, we must nurture children to become good people.

At that time, I was in my fourth year of study and looking for an internship that interested me. Coincidentally, I had the opportunity to get to know Dr. Art-ong through the television and listened to his ideas. At that time, I really wanted to meet him, so I asked the faculty to help send a letter to the school to request an internship. This led to me interning as an English teacher at that school for about 4 months.

During that time, I had the opportunity to talk with Professor Art-ong a bit, which helped ease the feeling of wanting to meet him that I had before. But what made me feel attached to that school was the atmosphere of being close to nature and the students I had the chance to teach, as well as the friendships with the teachers and staff at that school that made me feel good.

After I finished teaching for the semester, the school invited me to apply for a teaching position for the next academic year. At that time, I felt grateful for the school's offer, but my heart was not ready. I wanted to travel to learn about agriculture and traditional Thai medicine, which I was interested in. Another reason was that I would feel bad if I had to teach English in the next term and tell students that having English skills would make it easier for them to find jobs, while I myself had never had any work experience other than teaching. Simply put, if I had never done that, how could I persuade the students under my care to believe it?

I therefore declined the school's offer and spent the next year traveling to learn from various local agricultural experts. I also had the opportunity to try my hand at a small garden of my own, which taught me that having initial reserve funds is essential.

I had the opportunity to learn about the sufficiency economy medicine of Dr. Khiao in Mukdahan province. I tried working using my English skills in Phuket province as a receptionist at a hotel in Kamala Beach. The reason I chose to work there was because I wanted to see the Andaman Sea. I used to envy foreigners who carried big bags to travel to the beaches of Thailand, so I took this opportunity to use my knowledge to travel.

And after spending a year fulfilling my own desires, I returned to teach at that school once again. The reason for my return this time was to do better than before. The students I taught during my internship, I wanted to meet them again. I wanted to come back and tell them that English skills can really help them find jobs more easily.

Returning here again as an English teacher didn't leave me with as much free time as during my internship. I kept teaching, and one question constantly on my mind was how to help the children learn in a way that improves their English skills.

I was so preoccupied with this question that, in the end, it crystallized into the answer that they won't excel from any teaching or method. These are just components. For someone to become skilled at something, it has to start from their own interest.

So, how can we make them interested in practicing the language? The next question arises: to make anyone interested in something, you have to show them its benefits. And what are the benefits of English that would make people feel excited? It shouldn't just be about finding a job or social status when they are still young. What will make the image in their minds clear about the benefits they will dream of if they start practicing English today?

I think back to when I was in middle school. Back then, what was it that made me start practicing English on my own after coming back from school? "I want to travel abroad!"

I wanted to experience the atmosphere I see in movies. I wanted the opportunity to talk and exchange feelings with people from different countries and cultures. These are the things that made me want to improve my English skills when I was a teenager. So, I should show them that having the opportunity to travel abroad is possible, through my own example.

Beside inspiring the children, this trip abroad should also be a way for me to accumulate funds to start building the garden I had in mind sooner. It would also be a chance for me to travel and broaden my horizons. And all of this is the reason why I chose to travel to New Zealand (though it might also be because I feel the name of this country sounds adventurous).