My three host-families in New Zealand

　　There is a Chinese saying that states: When you are at home, everything goes well; when you stay away from home, life becomes hard and painful. What I experienced in New Zealand made me have deeper understanding of the saying. I have had three homestays in New Zealand, and I’ll tell you something about them.My first host mother was Jeanette. She got divorced a few years ago. Now she has a Dutch boyfriend. I didn’t particularly like him at first. When I met him I was left with the impression that he was insincere. But soon, my attitudes towards him changed. He was a funny man who knew how to have fun in life. He and Jeanette have similar personalities. They are kind, humorous and like drinking too much. (Western people have a high alcohol tolerance!?) They know how to enjoy life. I liked Jeanette, I quite respected her, not only because of her kindness but also for her humanness. Once she said to me: “The way I treat others is the way I want to be treated!”I agree. We should treat each other kindly. Having stayed at Jeanette’s house for about a month, I moved to another homestay. On the day when my new homestay picked me up, I met my host father Philip, who was a man of few words. (To be continued)