WELCOME TO
CULLINANE COLLEGE !!
We hope that you will be very happy both at school and staying with your homestay family.
If at any time, you want to ask questions about your stay here or about school, please see Miss Dougherty, the Director of International Students(tel 027 4136273).
GENERAL INFORMATION
Your homestay family have chosen to host you because they wish to share their home with you. Your host family will enjoy talking to you about New Zealand and about your country. There will be some things in New Zealand homes and lifestyles that are quite different to what you are used to.
Your family will have house rules and will talk these over with you. You will also have some customs or habits that are important to you that you will want your homestay family to know about. We encourage you to share your likes and dislikes; it will help you settle in quickly. If you have any difficulties in explaining something, ask Miss Dougherty, Mrs Penn, the Homestay Co-ordinator or Mrs Sleyer, your ESOL teacher to help you.
YOUR HOMESTAY FAMILY
Try to remember that, just as you feel shy with them, they may feel the same towards you. Some of their ways are strange to you and some of yours may seem strange to them.
SPENDING TIME WITH THE FAMILY
You will want to spend much of your time studying in your room. However, it is only polite to spend a little time each evening with your homestay family. When you go to your bedroom, say “goodnight” to your ‘family’. Do join in if your family invites you to visit a beach or to visit friends.
CLIMATE
Whanganui has a temperate climate - it never gets very hot but it doesn’t
get very cold either. Getting used to this climate change might be difficult for you because you may never have realised how much of your daily routine is adapted to your home climate.
KEEPING YOURSELF WARM IN WINTER
Our houses are heated in winter but the cost of power for heating is considerable so we try to use as little as possible. When you feel cold, you should wear warm clothing in the house and add more layers when you go outside. Wear gloves and socks to keep your hands and feet warm, and you may also want to wear a hat - a lot of body heat is lost through the head. Unless you are coming in to Year 13, you will be wearing uniform to school and the jersey and the polar fleece will keep you warm in winter.
Buy yourself some warm nightclothes to wear in bed. If necessary, wear a pair of warm socks in bed. Ask your homestay parents if you feel you need more blankets on your bed, or you find your room too cold.
NEVER try to dry clothes or towels by putting them on or very close to a heater.
You should also try to keep dry. Make sure you have a waterproof coat. The school winter shoes - (black leather lace ups) will be sturdy enough for any wet weather.
EATING
Your host family will provide you with three meals a day. The midday meal during the week will usually be a packed lunch that you take to school with you.
We use a knife and fork to eat our main meals, and spoon (and sometimes a fork as well) to eat dessert. If you are happier using a spoon and fork or chop sticks for your main meal, your homestay family will understand this.
Ask to go to the supermarket with your family and help them select some of the food you like, eg noodles, sauces. Often a dish can be made more to your liking if you add a sprinkle of your favourite sauce or spice. Your homestay family will be interested to hear what you like to eat and enjoy learning to cook new dishes. If you enjoy cooking - why not suggest you cook a meal for your family? They will enjoy tasting different food also.
Your homestay mother will probably have gone to a good deal of trouble to prepare your meals. Make sure you thank her for the meal before you leave the table.
Don’t keep food in the bedroom unless you have checked with your hosts that this is alright, and don’t get up in the middle of the night and cook food in the kitchen. If you are hungry late at night, try to find some fruit or some biscuits. Homestay mothers will get angry if you decide to go to the kitchen to cook something late at night that could wake up the family with the noise and the smells.
In NZ culture, it is considered very bad manners to eat noisily. This does not mean that you may not speak at mealtimes. It means you should not make noises with your mouth while chewing or drinking. For example, it is not polite to suck soup from a spoon - we tip the soup into our mouths using the edge of the spoon. This can be quite tricky so don’t worry if you can’t manage it at first.
Sniffing loudly is also very offensive in New Zealand culture. Our little children are told: ”Don’t sniff - blow your nose”. You should ensure you have a cotton handkerchief or paper tissue with you and use these to clear your nose, quietly.
EATING OUT
If your homestay family arranges to go somewhere that involves expense (eg dinner at a restaurant), you may wish to offer to pay your share. They may not accept but will feel pleased that you offered. It is all right if you say you do not want to go and you want to stay home. A meal will still be provided for you.
YOUR BEDROOM
You will probably have a room of your own. You need to keep it tidy. You should vacuum the floor and do your dusting at least once a week. Your homestay family may prefer to do the cleaning themselves when they do the rest of the house. In that case, make sure that the floor is clear of books, shoes etc. NEVER stick posters or pictures on your walls unless you have your hosts’ permission to do so.
The bed you sleep on in New Zealand will have a mattress and on top of this will be 2 sheets for you to sleep between, covered with blankets or a duvet for warmth.
Your bed may have an electric blanket for the winter. It is wise to turn this on to No.2 or 3 about half an hour before going to bed but you MUST turn it off before you get into bed. NEVER SLEEP with your electric blanket on - you will be too hot and there is a risk of the blanket overheating and catching fire. You should leave your bed tidy each morning and change your sheets and your pillow case each week. Ask your family how to make the bed if you are not sure.
New Zealanders go to bed much earlier than you have probably been used to. We are usually in bed by 10.30pm. If you wish to stay up later than this, remember to keep as quiet as you can, keep the radio or TV turned down and turn out the lights before you go to bed. Ask your friends not to telephone you after about 9.30 pm.
Many students may be shocked to find there is no lock on their bedroom door. We don’t have locks on the interior doors of our houses because we live in a safe environment. If you feel very insecure about not being able to lock your bedroom door, please tell Mrs Penn and we will discuss it with your homestay parents. It is better not to ask them yourself as they may feel offended if they think it is because you do not trust their family. We can discuss it with them for you.
SHOWERS AND BATHS
Most New Zealand homes have showers. You shouldn’t need to spend more than 5 or 10 minutes in the shower. It is good to shower each day, but as water heating is expensive, please be considerate. If you spend half an hour having a hot shower, the next person may have to have a cold shower and will not be happy. Always make sure that you leave the bathroom dry and tidy for the next person.
All showers should be taken before 10.30 pm as most families go to bed around this time.
Having a bath may be a different experience for you - fill the bath to about one quarter with water to the desired temperature. Then sit in the bath and wash yourself with soap, rinse yourself in the water and then dry as much of yourself as you can before stepping on to the floor. You may be used to washing yourself before you get into the bath, but we do not do this in New Zealand. Our bathrooms do not have floor drains so if water gets splashed around it can be a big problem. Wet towels take a long time to dry. Ask your family where to hang your towel after you have used it.
Expect to provide your own toilet soap, toothpaste and shampoo etc.
HELPING IN THE HOUSE
Your board payments cover the cost of keeping you with just a small amount over to compensate your hosts for the extra cooking, cleaning, laundry and shopping costs incurred while you are staying with them.
It would be a nice courtesy to offer to help with tasks such as washing or drying the dishes, bringing the washing in from the clothesline, setting the table for dinner. Your hosts may not accept your offer of help, but they will be very appreciative that you made the offer. On very rare occasions, hosts have been unreasonable in what they asked of their students. If this should happen to you, and you cannot sort out the problem yourself, please talk to us about it.
LAUNDRY
Washing
Generally your hosts will do this for you but you may prefer to do your own. If so, ask your family about a convenient time for you to do it.
Most families keep a supply of soap powder near the tub. Woollen clothes and many other kinds of fabric shrink if they are washed in a washing machine or in hot water. Ask your family for advice if you are not sure how to wash a particular garment.
Ironing
Ask where this is usually done, and when it is convenient for you to do ironing. Always use the ironing board.
TELEPHONE
You are permitted to own a cell phone. A pre-paid one may be the best way for you to do this. Remember to keep it turned off when in class. You are also advised to turn your phone off/to silent when you go to bed so that you are not disturbed during your sleep by messages / calls from callers overseas in different time zones.
Unwanted calls/txts – Should you receive unwanted txts/calls, speak to the Director of International Students and report to NETSAFE on 0508-638-7233.
Please be considerate in your use of your cell phone late at night - your talking may disturb your homestay family - you may need to negotiate suitable times with your homestay parents.
If you are using your host family’s telephone, try to keep your conversations brief - five minutes should be enough in most cases, unless you are using your own cell phone.
NEVER make international or internal toll calls on your family’s telephone unless you reverse the charges. Reversing the charges is called making a Collect Call.
If you are able to use the Internet or e-mail, please be considerate in your use. You may have to pay your homestay parents separately for the use of this facility. Sometimes the host family may allow a second phone line to be put in for your own use, though Telecom advise that this may not always be possible. You would be expected to pay for this privilege. Please check with your homestay parents about a second line should this be necessary because of your internet needs.
The school policy regarding computer and Internet use apply in the homestay as well.
STUDYING AT HOME
Your family will provide you with a desk to study at. They will expect you to spend some time doing school work at home, and may be willing to help you with this. They will also check your homework diary to help you keep up to date with your homework.
Be aware that your family will be anxious about you if you stay up studying into the early hours of the morning. It may be better if you go to bed earlier, and get up early in the morning to do your work. You may find that you are more able to work with concentration then.
HEALTH
You will have had a medical check-up before leaving your own country and should have had your teeth checked. If you do develop any health problems, you will probably find it most convenient to attend the doctor who looks after your host family. Ask your family to put you on their doctor’s list. If you prefer to see a woman doctor, see Miss Dougherty or the School Nurse, and we will try to put you in touch with one.
All students are required to have New Zealand medical and travel insurance before coming to New Zealand. This does cover most visits to a Doctor, prescriptions, emergency dental work, lost contacts, glasses. Please see Miss Dougherty if you are unsure or if you need to get confirmation before going ahead with unusual requirements.
The College has a visiting Public Health Nurse who will help you with minor health matters. Ask the staff at the Main Office to make an appointment to see them.
Girls - The stress of travelling and being in a strange environment is likely to bring on an early menstrual period. This is quite common so do not be alarmed. It is a good idea to bring some sanitary protection with you in your hand luggage. Ask your host family what you should do with used pads or tampons.
Many New Zealand families have pets such as a cat or a dog and most New Zealand households are carpeted. This may mean that small insects such as fleas may remain in the carpet even after the most careful cleaning. These insects are annoying but harmless. If they bite you, your skin may become red and itchy. You can buy creams or lotions from the chemist which will stop the itching. If it becomes a real problem, talk to your host family or seek advice from the School Nurse.
Apart from bees, wasps and mosquitoes, we have no stinging insects other than a spider called a red back which is quite rare and usually found only at beaches. We have no snakes, wild animals that bite, scorpions and few poisonous insects or other poisonous insects.
DAILY ROUTINES
Ask your family what time they want you to get up in the morning, what time the bathroom is available to use and what time they want you to have breakfast.
You must be at school by 8.40 am in the morning, because class starts at 8.50 am. Your family will arrange for you to get to and from school. This may be by walking, bicycle or bus, or on wet days they may take you there, but don’t expect them to act like a taxi service at other times. Make sure you leave home in plenty of time to get to school.