A Bright (blonde) Spark -Yuya Arita.

By Stan Stewart.

Yuya is a student at Evakona Education (Whitianga) where currently 40 newly arrived Japanese teenage students are engaged in an introductory English Education. This course is a preparation for their immersion next year into the New Zealand secondary education system.

For many of us, Asian students look rather similar. But you can’t miss Yuya. He is the Japanese student with two-tone hair - blonde and black. Yuya dyed his hair blonde by his own hand. The reason Yuya did this was because he wanted to stand out in a crowd. He wanted to be easy to find, to be memorable. And to this end his hair certainly does the trick. He is easy to find in any crowd.

When the decision was made for Yuya to study English overseas, his parents chose Evakona Education in Whitianga, New Zealand. They had previously visited both Australia and New Zealand. They were attracted by New Zealand’s natural environment and beaches. Evakona provides easy access to both. In addition, they were impressed by the course and the care that Evakona provided. Yuya enthusiastically agreed with their choice. English has been Yuya’s area of special interest for some years in Japan. This has given him a flying start for his studies at Evakona. Also, his parents have visited Australia and New Zealand and had developed skills in English.

Yuya is very interested in sport. In Japan, Yuya’s passion is ice hockey. However, as this is not available here, basketball is now his sport of preference. He can often be seen at the basketball half court in the town centre near the skate park. He greatly enjoys playing with the Kiwi boys, some of whom are much taller than him.

Japan is a very peaceful country but unfortunately brawls sometimes do happen in New Zealand. With this in mind, Evakona has arranged for ten students to take a course in self-defense at Evolution Fitness. Yuya has enthusiastically taken the opportunity to increase his skill in this area. As with his fellow students, Yuya is full of praise for his homestay. He must admit the food is different from back home in Japan. However, he has a growing appreciation of New Zealand cooking, and his homestay parent is trying her hand at Japanese cooking.

His future plans are: 1. Finish High school here – next year he will be enrolled in Hamilton High School. 2. Return to Japan and take an English degree at a Japanese University. 3. Travel the world as much as possible.

Sounds like a great plan for an energetic and socially active young man.