Manami had a tough coach but it was a positive memory

When I was a junior high school student, I belonged to the basketball club. I used to practice every day after school. It was really hard! First, we ran around school 30 times and we ran in the gym for 45 minutes. Next, we trained some muscles. After that, at last we could touch the basketball. Some members gave up before summer. In summer, the practice became harder. Therefore, many members fainted. We sometime swam in the pool at school after practice. It made us happy! I really liked it. But we didn’t give up because our coach was a really good person. He really loved us. In the second year, the coach was moved to another school. We felt very sad and we cried a lot. In April we greeted a new coach. He was well known as a severe coach. He would scold me. So I didn’t want to go to practice. But I think that was happy now. He scolded me many times because I was promising. I love basketball now, but I don’t want to go back to the past when I was in the basketball club.

Read what Asuka has to say about corn and a volcano!

When I visited my great grandmother’s house with my mother, she used to make special dishes. Also she had a cornfield, so we went to get corn. I loved this corn, because it was very sweet and springy. Her house is in the countryside. There is beautiful nature, so I love visiting her house. Also I visited her house in the summer, so I used to watch fireflies at night. My cousins live near her house, and I went to a summer festival with them in the evening. After we went home, we shot off fireworks. My great grandmother’s house hasn’t got a bath, so I used to go a public bath with my mother. The bath is too hot, so I didn’t take it. One day, my uncle took me to near an active volcano his car. But suddenly this volcano erupted, and a lot of ash fell the car. I was surprised, because we couldn’t see anything. But I want to visit there again, because it’s a very beautiful place.

what did Keita lose in the dark desert?

I remember one particular trip on my holiday. It was going to the Tottori Desert. I went there with my club friends in my car. And we left my country in the morning and we arrived at the midnight. It took about 12 hours!! Though they didn’t help to change driving with me during car drive... So, when we arrived in front of the desert, I was really exhausted and it was very dark and cold. But we decided to go there soon, because they were very fine and excited to see the desert. And I didn’t want to be alone so I followed. I had a camera and my car key so I wasn’t carefully to drop them. But I had to run because I had to catch up my friends. And I met them after a few minutes. But I lost my camera and key while running!! It was so dark in the desert and I couldn’t see anything. Because if we couldn’t find my car key, we couldn’t go back to our home town!! So we looked hard for it. A few minutes after I could find it in the dark!

Waddah was crazy about soccer

When I was at school I was very good student. In addition to that I was sport man. I was a very good student because I was studying very well during my term. And I was a sport man because I like playing soccer very much. I was playing soccer

every day nearly. So my parents usually support me to study well and playing soccer well. The important and funny thing when I was at school was winning the school championship. Then my school honored my friends and me. Therefore, I was very glad because this big event. After that, when I was seventeen years

old I leave playing soccer but not all because I must to study hard for my final test. Therefore, I was playing soccer about once a week. Finally, I never forget my childhood days because it was very nice days in my life and because those days can’t come back again.

Tony remembers a trip to an island

My parents used to go on holiday to the island near my city with me when I was a child and studied at primary school. Specially when I was about nine or ten years old my mother often went to the island with me because my father worked at the island at that time. I’ll never forget the first time I went to the island by ship when I was nine. It was the biggest ship in my city at that time, so I was curious about the ship. I remember I asked my parents a lot of questions about the ship. There were a lot of birds flying in the sky and many fish swimming in the sea. I felt very excited that I could see that.

When I arrived on the island, this was the first time I stood on the land of the island. I felt it is very beautiful when I saw the blue sky and a lot of gulls flying in the sky. And the island’s people were friendly in my eyes. In the evening of the first day when I arrived on the island, my parents played fireworks on the beach with me, but suddenly it began raining at that time, so I couldn’t play fireworks and camp on the beach. I despaired about that. Anyway, I enjoyed that one holiday on the island with my parents. I always remember every thing when I was a child.

Noha got 40 stitches in her leg!

One of the things I can never forget from my childhood was when I was six years at school. I used to play with my best friend jumping step by step. Suddenly she pushed me on the ground, so I fell down and I had a big cut on my leg by some glass was on the floor. Then I started crying. At that time some children laughed at me. I became very angry, also nobody helped me. After that, my father took me to the hospital. I lost too much blood, my mother was very worried because the doctor told her I had to have an operation. I had around forty stitches in my leg, so I didn’t walk for one month. I was very sad, I couldn’t run or play just watched TV. I felt bored. After a month I started walking and I could go back to my school . I can delete that event from my mind. I had the worst time. Nana

Mika issues a warning not to curse while playing a game!

One of the things I wanted to tell you is about an accident of my childhood, when I was 7 years old. All of my relations will sit together to eat. We call this dinner ‘ tuan nian fan ’ and after this dinner most of the family will watch television, but in my family, we have a game. It is like using chopsticks to pick a marble from one cup to another cup. And I always won this game, so I was very proud. When the game was beginning, all of my sisters and brothers were hurry to pick one marble to another cup, they just picked it one by one, but I can pick about two at one time. When it nearly finishes, my cup was dropping, and then I said ‘F words’. My mother snaps my head. After I said another ‘F word’. So my mother snap me again it, but this time I never said any words.

Maki loves scary rides

When I was child my family used to go to the recreation ground. Maybe we went there once a month. It was my family’s annual event. I was looking forward to going there every time. Of course we couldn’t ride on hard rides at first. But we tried to ride hard rides from time to time. When I rode a hard ride, I used to scream. My father laughed each time I screamed. My sister did too. I didn’t understand why they were laughing. I was crying entirely. My mother was worried about me. There are a lot of photos then. Those photos are so funny!! But my father bought souvenirs for me every time. My sister and me were so happy. We like my father and mother very much from when we were children!!

These events are good memories for me. Probably I’ll never forget…

Saho loves her messy room!

I remember about my childhood was when I was a primary school student.
I think I was a very naughty child just in my home.
To be honest, my room was always messy. My grandmother always said to me
"Clean your room!" again and again. I replied "Ok,Ok. I'll do later".
Maybe everyone can expect this situation. Finally, I didn't.
It is very troublesome for me to do something. I wanted to play video
games, watch TV and so on. During my class, I usually concentrated on listening to
my teacher's talk. I changed my attitude between school, and home.
This is a wolf in sheep's clothing. My teacher estimated my character
that I'm very quiet and earnest. But it is not true. I told my family about
this. Everyone was laughing. I know why they laughed. I love talking anytime.
I studied for an examination overnight cramming.
Whenever I had lack of sleep, my mother became angry.
Nevertheless, I couldn't change my habit. But now, I try to go to bed
early,
I need to rest! But my room is still messy.

Jason's spooky childhood game

When I was a child I used to do unthinkable things. But one of the most unthinkable things was about a game. It sounded incredible. You know what? When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I used to go to the graveyard to have some fun. It was a really horrible thing when I recalled the memoirs of childhood. I remembered I used to go there with my friends. We just wanted to try something special. So we found this game could have more delight and we thought this game might challenge our courage. We thought if any one of our fellows can go there alone, someone must have plenty of guts. But now I think back about this memory, I just want to say how stupid we are. Also, we invited some teenagers to join us, actually, nobody wanted to join us. Some people said we were crazy! Some people said we were naughty boys. In fact we were.

Shinsuke and his brother both like listening to music

My name is Shinsuke. I live with my father and my mother, and I am single. I have a little brother who lives in another prefecture. We don’t see my extended family very often. My house is located in Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. My house is a detached house.

First, I am writing about my father. He and me both like playing sports. We used to play baseball together when I was a child. But now, we have become old and we are too busy to play sports these days. He also likes smoking and drinking. I don’t like smoking, but I like drinking just like my father. However, I can’t drink with my father, because I haven’t come of age in Japan. ( I have to wait for one more year.) After I go back to Japan, I want to drink with him. It’s one of my expectations.

Second, I am writing about my brother. He is younger than me, but he is taller than me. He is a slender boy, but he is good at playing soccer very much. He likes sports, which is the same as me. We both like listening to music. Maybe my brother is similar to me. But we don’t get along well because of our childhood, the relationship is still bad, that is a problem….

Saaya is very attached to her mobile phone

My name is Saaya Furukawa. I live in Kanagawa in Japan with my parents and little sister. I’m single. I live in a detached house.
I love talking with my friends very much. If I have free time I often call my friends. So, mobile phone is necessary for me!!
I like cooking Japanese food, Chinese, Italian, sweets…etc. Of course I like eating them, too. ♡ Especially, I love sweets! And, I like listening to music.♪
I’m a student. I study English here, and I study communication and English at university in Japan. But I don’t have a good idea for a job. Now, I’m looking for a good job for me. I sometimes used to do a part time job in a Japanese restaurant. But I stopped work when I came to New Zealand. If I return to Japan I restart the part time job.
Generally, I get up at 8:00 a.m. and go to bed at 12:00 p.m.
I have three meals a day, but I often don’t eat breakfast. Because I get up on the wrong side of the bed, so I don’t have enough time in the morning.
I’m very active, so I go out a lot! I often get a train. Sometimes I go a trip or Karaoke on weekends.

Phoebe's favourite food is chicken

Family and home
My name is Phoebe.
I live in Jinju in Korea. And I lived in an apartment –one floor.
I live with my family. I have four members. Father, mother, brother and me. And my grand mother lives near my house.
I haven’t got married. I want to get married about 28 years old.
I have one brother who really likes computer games. He is 17 years old.
-Interests and tastes
I like watching TV dramas but I can’t watching in NZ , because my homestay house doesn’t have a TV.
And I like using computers like surfing the internet, computer games.
I spend a lot of time using the computer.
My favorite food is chicken and I can eat almost foods.
-Work/Studies
I am a university student. So after finishing this course, I am going to go back to my country and finish my major study. And I will get a license about accounting.
-Daily Life
I usually get up at 7:30 or 8:00 but on the weekend I wake up at 9:00 am. And I go to bed at 11’o clock. I come to language centre by bus.
On Sunday morning, I go to church and attend worship.

Steven loves listening to music and karaoke

Family and home
Hello! I am Steven. I come from Beijing. It is the capital of China. When I arrived New Zealand, I lived with my hostfamily. I am 17 years old, so I am still a single man. I do not have any brothers or sisters, but I have got 5 cousins in my big family. My homestay is in Belleknows. That is a lovely house, it consist of 2 floors. By the way I live in second floor.
Interests and tastes
Well, I am not very interested in sport. I just spend a lot of time to go swimming or to play table tennis. Every morning I read the daily newspaper while I have breakfast. I just use Facebook on the Internet. I always spend too much time to go shopping. There are many kinds of music on my MP3, so it proved that I really love music. Of course I usually go to KTV where can sing songs in a room. I can not bear hot food, it makes me feel puzzled or gives me a headache. I like traveling with my friends.
Work or studies
I am still a student and I am studying at an English Language Centre. I want to go to Otago University to study health. When I graduate from university, I will go back China to work in a hospital or others.
Daily life
I usually get up at 7 a.m. and have some breakfast. I always go out with my friends at the weekends. I do not like housework because it is exhausting. I think most of people do not like to do that.

Ayana wants to buy a new camera

Hello! I am ayana☆I am from Seki in Japan. Now, I’m going to introduce myself. I live in musselburgh in NZ. I have 2 people in my family in NZ, host mom, and host dad★ and their “2children”. Gorge and Jiji★Gorge is a boy, Jiji is a girl, Gorge is 5 years old and Jiji is 10 months. They are dogs:D and my sweet sisters☆I am really enjoying my NZ life☆

I have many hobbies. I love sports. I especially love playing tennis♬ I love watching baseball. If I have free time, I’d like to Play tennis, go shopping or walking and take photos☺
Recently, I am interested in taking photos. I really want a canon G10!!! So, I am thinking about how to buy it. .. ask my Japanese Dad…..??? It’s a good way!! I also love listening to music. I-pod is one of my best friends★　Thanks for reading.

Tim is from China and has a large family

Hi! I'm Tim from Yangzhou near Nanjing in China. I have an extended family. I have two brothers and four sisters. I’m the oldest child in my family, but I’m single. Now, I’m living in a homestay, because I’m studying in Dunedin.

I play basketball at most twice a month. This term, I want to find a long novel in English, and read it. I don’t really like watching TV. I was a crazed computer game fan three years ago. It took me at least 14 hours to play a game many years ago.

I will go to bridging course, after I pass the end of term exam. It's difficult to pass the exams. I must study hard for that reason. I should spend hours to stay at home for studying. On weekdays, I get up at 7 AM, and go to bed at half past ten. I’m not sure when I get up and go to bed on the weekend.

Ivan used to play basketball with his friends back home in Hong Kong

I am Ivan. I am from Hong Kong. I used to live with my family in Hong Kong. I lived with my parents, my older sister and my grandmother. My father had a farm and also we lived there. It was a big chicken farm and we had many dogs. The workers who work for my father also lived on the farm too, he had seven workers and they lived in some small houses on the farm. On the farm, there were many houses, my family lived in the other side of the farm which is not near where the workers lived. My parents and me lived in the same house, next to our house is my sister’s house and 40 meters away is my grandmother’s.
Outside my house, I had a basketball hoop. When I was at home, I always played basketball, sometimes my friends came to my home and we played basketball together. I liked using the Internet chat with my friends or play computer games and downloaded music or movies from the Internet.
When I went to high school, I had to get up at 7:30 am on the school day. I caught the bus to school and it took about 20 minutes. At the weekend, I got up at 11:30am. I went out with my friends to play basketball and go to a restaurant.

Fayez likes football and surfing the 'net

I’m going to write something about me e.g. lifestyle, family, hobbies, …… etc. I hope you enjoy reading.

I’m Fayez, I come from Jeddah Saudi Arabia, I’m married and I’ve got two children the first one is called Abdul Aziz, we also call him Aziz or Zouzi and the other one is called Raaef. My father is an accounting director at Saudi Arabian Airlines and my mother is working as a teacher, I’ve got four brothers but I don’t have any sisters.

I’ve been in New Zealand for about five months, and I’ve lived in a small flat near Otago Language Centre.

In my spare time, I like playing football twice a week, surfing the Internet, going shopping, watching movies, listening to music, going to the cinema once a week, meeting friends and sometimes reading crime stories. I really love honest people.

I’ve got a Bachelor degree from King Abdul Aziz University in Chemistry and I wish to get a Master’s degree in HR management from Otago University, my parents inspired me to complete studying. I dream about living in a big house.

I worked as an Underwriter officer at an Insurance Company then up-graded to team leader. After that, I became Life & Health Underwriting Assistant at the same company.

Before marriage I had traveled to Egypt, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, when I’ve got married I traveled to Turkey.

Mariam is from Kuwait

Hi my name is Mariam. I’m from Kuwait and at home I live in a big house with my grand mother , my aunts , uncles , my cousins , my mother ,brother and two maids .Sixteen people live in my house . In NewZealand I live by my self in a studio in Bank street . I’m single . I have one younger brother ,his name Hassan . I love sport very much especially swimming . I like to read stories . I spend too much time watching TV and shopping . I like to go to the cinema every weekend . My favourite food is pizza , especially margarita . I’ve traveled to USA twice , Iran , Iraq , SAUDI ARABIA and Syria . I’m studying now at Otago language centre . My ambition to be a pharmacist . I usually get up at 7clock I have a class. And go to bed at 12 oclock . I don’t go out a lot . I don’t have a lot of house work because I live in a small room .

Asuka's lifestyle

I live with my family in Japan. I haven’t got brothers and sisters. I’m an only child. I live in a rented house, so I can’t have dogs and cats. But I have some fishes. For example, guppies, a gold fish and three carp. My father is a businessman. He has a lot of hobbies. He likes playing golf, doing gardening, and watching movies. Also he sometimes takes part in marathon competitions. My mother is a busy woman, because she works in a factory on the weekdays and she works as a hotel cleaner on the weekends. I like playing volleyball. I belonged to a volleyball club for six years. I like listening to music and shopping. I like Japanese food and Italian food. But I don’t like raw fish, because it is so fishy. I want to have a job which uses foreign language. So I’ll study foreign language hard. In Japan, I usually get up at seven o’clock, but I get up at nine o’clock on the weekend. I usually go to school by bicycle. After school, I work at a Japanese restaurant from five o’clock to twelve o’clock. I go to bed at two o’clock. At the weekend, I go to a cinema, karaoke and shopping with my friends.

Manami loves to bake in her free time when she is not playing sports or working in her part time job

I live with my family in Kanagawa, Japan. I’m not married. There are 5 people in my family and two dogs and a cat. They always make me happy. We live in a detached house. I love sports, especially watching baseball and playing basketball. When I was a high school student, I sometimes used to go to watch baseball games. And I like shopping, cooking and driving. I frequently bake something in my free time. I study at university. I study many subjects. For example, English, Hospitality and Sociology, etc. Because we’re going to decide own major in autumn in second grade. We study many subjects in a first grade. If first period starts at 9:00am, I get up at 6:00am. Then I get ready for go to school and have breakfast. I always go to school by scooter, train and bus. It takes about 1hour and 30minutes. I really enjoy my school life. After school, I work at my part-time job around twice a week. I work at a bar. A lot of people visit there so it is always crowded with customers. Other days, I often go for a drive with my old friend or I go shopping. I go to bed at around 1:00am.

Qublan is really into football

I live with a good and nice family in Saudi Arabia. I have three sisters and four brothers, which is a big family. I live in a big house likes five bedrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room and three bathrooms. Furthermore, we have two bedrooms with bathrooms for guests. My father got married from other wife 3 years ago and they divorced, I don’t know why. I like to play football every week. I love football but I don’t have a special team because I don’t like the people who whoop and anger for his team. I just watch to learn how to play and other advice from the players. I usually watch TV one time every week but I watch movies on my computer every two days. I use the Internet everyday for about tow hours. I love Arabic food and cooking it. I’m the professional cooker for my friends. I’d like to study engineering but the scholarship doesn’t allow me to study it. I will study accounting when I finish from the language center.

Keita is a fan of movies

I lived with my family. I’m single. I have a younger sister and a younger brother. I lived in Gifu in Japan. My family lives in a flat. My hobbies are playing tennis and snowboarding. I sometimes read books and newspapers. I watch TV with my host family for about 1 hour every night, after that I often use the Internet to send e-mails to friends who live in Japan. And I like shopping. But there are not so many shops in Dunedin. I like watching movies. I go to cinema in the city centre with my host brothers once a month. Though I can’t always understand a story about a movie, because it doesn’t have sub titles!! I hope I can understand a story about a movie without subtitles. I often listen to music in my free time or study. I really like Japanese food. I used to travel by my car with my friends when I stayed in Japan. I especially love my dog in Japan. I studied economics before I came here. If I go back to Japan, I’ll study it again. I have no ambitions about work. But when I go back to Japan, I have to find a job. I always get up at 7:30 a.m. and go to bed at 0 a.m. I always have breakfast at 7:40 a.m. I often go out home my weekend. When I have enough time, I help my host mother in washing dishes after dinner. My host family always drives me when I go to school.

Tony loves beach walks and the gym for a healthy lifestyle

I came from a small family in China and I lived with my parents and my brother in a flat in the center of town. I always played with my brother when I was a child because I just have a brother. He is 28 years old and I am 25. My brother got married last year, but I am still single because I don’t want to get married before 30 years old. My family is a very common family, but I think I was very lucky I could be born in this family because my parents were good parents. I have a lot of interests and nice habits in my life. In my spare time, I often walk alone the on beach or swim in the swimming pool with my friends. But I specially love cooking in my spare time and I really enjoy cooking something for my family and friends. Do you know what kind of food I like to cook and like to have. I specially love HuNan food, but I can also cook a lot of kinds of food in China. I also like shopping with my friends, but I don’t like shopping in the shopping center. I worked for a car company for 4 years when I graduated from university, but I study English in New Zealand now. I love studying here because I can meet a lot of classmates here. In my daily life, I think I have a healthy life by myself. I often get up at 6.45am and I go to bed at 11pm. I always have lunch and dinner on time. At the weekends, I often go to the gym or walk on the beach, but I don’t like to go out a lot in the evenings.

Mika needs relief from boredom in the weekends and dislikes the Dunedin bus service

I come from China.I live with my parents. I am single. I don’t have another sister or brother, but I hope I can have a brother. We live in a flat. It’s far from the city center. It always spends me a long time to go to city center. Before I came here, I was always interested in shopping. I enjoyed staying at home by myself. Sometimes I will watch TV, but most of time I surf the Internet. I like tasting food, especially to try a variety of other countries food. I think it is different flavors and different types. I just graduated from high school. I would like to go to Otago University to study about science.

My daily life is so boring. When I get up, it depends on the class schedule, but I usually get up at 7 or 8 am. Every evening I will do my homework and talk to my friends. On the weekend I will tidy my room. I think transport here isn’t convenient, because there are not enough buses.

Jason is off to Australia in the future

Hi, everyone. I am Jason. I would really like to talk about my background to you guys. I have been in Dunedin for three months and I live with a kiwi family. I am the only child in my family but I have three cousins. Certainly, I am single. There is a house at Waverley that has my host family and me living there.

Now I want to talk about my hobbies. I really like listening to music when I am bored or feel not a hundred percent. I am trying to listen to dfferent kinds of music and I think many different types of music have beautiful melodies of their own. I think every kind of music should be respected and each kind had its merits. I prefer to do dfferent kind of outdoor activities, like cycling, climbing and swimming. Actually, I enjoy playing American pool as well. My cooking skill is also great I think and I am really good at cooking Chinese food. In my free time, I usually like surfing the internet or hanging out with my friends.

I got an offer from the New South Wales University. So I plan that after my English study term, I really want to go to Australia and study there.

Saho loves go karts,F1, the violin, calligraphy and Green Day

My name is Saho. I come from Gifu, Japan. Gifu is in the middle of Japan.
My hometown is near Aichi and Mie. There are six people in my family and I have a dog. My family structure is father , parents, grandparents, one
older sister and I. My hobbies are listening to music, reading books, and watching F1. I love rock music. My favorite band is Green Day. I have been writing calligraphy since preschool, so I can write some Chinese characters by brush. In my university, I belong to the orchestra. I started to play the violin last year.
Now I'm studying at the language centre. After my class finishes, I have
to go back to my country and continue my university, but next year, maybe I'll go to Canada to meet my host family. I want to talk to many foreigners. My dream is to be a Japanese language teacher in a foreign country, so I need some languages. I also study French. I love shopping, driving my car and chatting with my friends! Sometimes I go to Mie driving a go kart with my childhood friend and my sister. I always play something!

Noha's everyday life

My name is Noha. I'm from Saudi Arabia. I'm married and I have a beautiful small family. I arrived in New Zealand five months ago. I stay in a flat near to the language centre. I always read crime stories, listen to music and watch movies. I go to the cinema once a week. I like to travel. I visited Turkey and I did more than activities. I had a great time. My ambitions, I would like to buy a big house. I'm planning to complete my education, so I will study hard. I hope I can find a good job in the future. I usually get up very early. I have a cup of coffee and I really love chocolate. I take my children to childcare. I go to the language cretre five days a week. I meet my friends once a week. I chat with my mother in my country also with my sister in Canada every day. I really miss them. I have really extremely important thigs in my life, I want to be a good mother for my children, so they can to be proud of their mother in the future.

Read all about Maki

I live in Tokyo in Japan with my family. My family are father, mother and older sister. My house is in a quiet residential area. We’ve lived in the home for nine years. We can see the cherry blossom near my house in spring. Cherry blossom is the most famous flower in Japan. My parents like this house very much. I like shopping. Tokyo is a very fashionable town. There are a lot of clothes shops and we can buy clothes of our own liking there. I use to go shopping once a week. I usually go to Futakotamagawa. I graduated from university last March. Normally I have to work this year, but I thought that I want to study English more when I was student. Then now I’m studying here. I’m planning to start working from next year. My hope for the future is using English for my job. I’m staying with a family now. My host parents have three children. Sometimes I take care of their children and help with a housework. I like their children very much!!!

What have you got in common?

Read about your classmates in both of the Intermediate classes and get to know them better! Comment on their posts and see how much online writing you can do to improve your skills.What a good-looking group of amazing students we have here! All the best for reaching your goals guys! Don't forget, we are here to help you! Erina and Nicky :)

Welcome to Intermediate NU and EB

Hi,

We are looking forward to reading your weekly posts and the comments you make to your classmates. Have a great term!

Nicky and Erina :)