Nov 23, 2011
Mexicans Luz and Manuel gave up their teaching positions in Mexico to fulfill their dreams of travelling and experiencing what the world has to offer. After a lot of research, and based on their love of the outdoors and a desire to improve their English, New Zealand stood out as the perfect place and is the start of a journey that landed them on the door step of Quantum Education Group. Below, you can read in Luz’ words how they came to be where they are today and the impact Quantum Education Group had on their journey….
Our trip to New Zealand
Manuel and I were high school teachers in Mexico who also enjoy outdoor activities with the Scouts. We had been married for almost five years, and one day decided we wanted travel to a different country. We spent hours on the internet searching for a country that could help us achieve our dream of experiencing a different country with people like us that love travelling and the great outdoors, as well as give us the opportunity to improve our English. We concluded New Zealand would be the best place for us to do this.
Making arrangements was not an easy task, but suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place, we got our American Visa to transit through US, the flight, accommodation in Los Angeles and long awaited communication with officials in Auckland finally came through. It was like every piece of the puzzle began to fit perfectly.
And so the journey began…..
Our travel to New Zealand included a two-day stop in Los Angeles, California. We were able to see some of the most popular places in that city, like the Kodak Theatre, the Sunset Boulevard and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Something else that surprised us was the fact that we didn’t speak English to anyone except for the immigration officer when we arrived and a waiter in the airport when waiting for our flight to Auckland.
On arrival in Auckland, New Zealand, we quickly realised that it was really difficult to understand the English spoken Down Under, and we decided to take some lessons to improve our listening and speaking skills.
Searching for an English School was laborious; there are a lot of different options, prices, duration and types of courses. We checked a number of websites, sent off emails and filled in online forms. The emails we received back mostly just told us the information was on the web page and we can read it from there. We only received one call from a school, from Quantum Education Group to explain everything to us, and they even made an appointment for a further talk. That was the first thing we liked about Quantum Education Group and not the last.
At Quantum Education’s international campus in the Auckland CBD we under took a four week English course with the Upper Intermediate and Advanced level students. Our different teachers, Ray, Rob, Anntain and Ceidrik, focused on our needs (listening and speaking) without omitting the other aspects of the course and gave us a better understanding of some cultural aspects of New Zealand.
Anntain, the Campus Manager, was very helpful with both our studies and getting us in a position to travel New Zealand and that included giving us help and advice on buying a car in New Zealand. Anntain and his team went above and beyond what we expected of them and Quantum Education.
To practice what we had learned at our lessons, we joined a bowling league, where we met some good friends; they accepted us as part of their group and help us to get used to the city.
Now that we are able to communicate with people, our next step was to look for a job. After two weeks, a lot of forms filled and several emails sent, we secured a fantastic job in the central North Island of New Zealand. We work at The Park Travellers’ Lodge, which is the starting point for various activities in the region between National Park Village, Tongariro and Whanganui National Parks. We are really proud to be ‘Park Warriors’, which is the name of some of the staff.
Making this trip to New Zealand has been our goal for a couple of years, being here has given us an extraordinary sense of well-being and has encouraged us to continue fulfilling our dreams. Like any large enterprise, it is not easy, but deciding to do it and getting down to work is the first step of something that could be extremely exciting.
We would like to thank Quantum Education Group for the role they have played in helping us achieve this dream and for going well beyond what we would have expected. We would encourage anyone wanting to study in New Zealand to contact Quantum Education Group.
Visit http://www.qegroup.co.nz/group/our-schools/ for inspiration on what you could study in New Zealand with Quantum Education.
