Waves: Diaries of Chinese International Students in NZ

Waves is a documentary that examines the experiences of Chinese international students through the eyes of four high school students who travelled to New Zealand to pursue their education. The film first premiered at the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) in 2006, and has since garnered worldwide popularity.

The film depicts the lives of these students in secondary schools in Wellington, such as Hutt Valley High School, Hutt International Boys School, and Chilton Saint James School, giving the audience a glimpse into their day-to-day struggles and triumphs as they navigate two cultures at a young age.

Director's POV

In an interview with Asia Media Centre, the documentary's director, Li Tao, described her experience in creating the acclaimed film.

As a creative individual, Li cannot help to draw inspiration in her own life.

Waves was inspired by her time as an international student in New Zealand and interactions with her Chinese students.

Li decided to leave China in 2000 to pursue a film education at Victoria University in Wellington. She was a well-established journalist and documentary filmmaker in China, but she nonetheless departed her comfort zone and began a new chapter. 

Director Li Tao, filming the first Waves . Photo: Supplied.

During her time as a student in New Zealand, Li noticed that there were only few students who looked like her. However, as time passed, she observed a growing influx of international young students, specifically Chinese teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19, who were coming to the country to pursue their education independently.

“A very new phenomena that I observed in the 2000s era [was] very young Chinese international fee-paying students are coming [to New Zealand]. Before [that], maybe Chinese [parents] cannot afford to pay fees to send their young children to study abroad. Most [Chinese] people who went overseas had scholarships or like us, who are grown-ups and you work."

"But these young teenagers, fee-paying international students, suddenly appeared in Wellington in groups and groups, so they caught my attention,” said Li.

These Chinese students, born into the first generation of China's One Child Policy in the '80s, and were considered precious by their parents.

Despite being cherished by their families, these young students were sent overseas to gain a globally competitive experience at a tender age.

The unique stories of these Chinese teenagers fascinated Li, and her desire to document their experiences further intensified when she began working as a teacher and formed friendships with her students.

 The First Waves

The film is divided into four chapters, focusing on the journey of each Chinese teenage student who made the difficult decision to leave their home and loved ones behind for a foreign country they knew very little about.

Every chapter delves into the unique challenges faced by these students as they navigate life in New Zealand, such as experiencing homesickness, adjusting to a new culture, grappling with confusion, and striving to maintain their own identities.

Part One: The Alien Land (Homesickness)

Waves opened with the story of Ken, a seventeen-year-old student from South China. Like other underage students, Ken resides with a local Kiwi family and navigates the challenges of adapting to a new culture. While he speaks English at home with his host family, he converses in Mandarin with his friends.

One particular occasion that stands out in Ken's journey was the Father's Day celebration, an event he's unfamiliar with because they had no such concept of it in China. Ken is eager to make this day special for his homestay father, Derek, whom he deeply respects.

But, there is a problem—Ken lacks the money to buy a gift as he has exceeded his allowance. Determined to show his appreciation, Ken borrows money from his friends and manages to find a part-time job as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant, ensuring that he will be able to repay his debt.

On Father's Day, Ken celebrates with his Kiwi family, presenting Derek with his heartfelt gifts—a card and a bottle of alcohol.

Derek is grateful for the gesture and appreciates Ken's efforts. This event marks an important milestone in Ken's life, along with his new job and first paycheck. These significant moments make him eager to share his experiences with his family back home, especially to his own father, who is also celebrating his birthday.

Ken decides to make an overseas call to speak with his dad and share the exciting news.

However, their conversation is abruptly cut short due to his father's business trip. Overwhelmed with sadness, Ken finds himself alone in his room, gazing at a snapshot of his parents on his computer screen, and breaks into tears.

Despite Ken's jovial demeanour in front of his friends and homestay family, he cannot deny the deep longing and homesickness he feels. 

Still from the film - Ken missing his parents in China and started crying while looking at their photos on his laptop. Photo: Waves .

Part Two: School (Adjustment and Communication)

The second case study in the film revolves around Rose Liao, a new student in New Zealand who is determined to learn English quickly to integrate successfully into her school environment.

Unfortunately, her initial expectations clash with reality, and she finds herself feeling lonely and isolated during the first few months of her studies. Despite her numerous attempts to reach out and connect with her Kiwi classmates, Rose struggles to establish meaningful relationships.

Undeterred by these setbacks, Rose refuses to give up easily.

She seizes an opportunity to showcase her talents in singing during her school's multicultural day. Leading a group performance of the Chinese pop song "Waves," Rose captivates the audience. It is during this performance that a classmate named Nicola approaches her and expresses her interest in learning the song, sparking the beginning of a close friendship.

Rose's passion for the performing arts becomes a catalyst for forming new connections and finding a sense of belonging in her new environment in Aotearoa.

Through her experiences, she comes to realise the significance of two essential aspects of studying in New Zealand: participation and socialisation.

Her story highlights the importance of communication and adaptability in navigating the challenges of being an international student. By actively engaging in activities and finding common interests, Rose not only improves her language skills but also fosters meaningful relationships, ultimately discovering a sense of belonging and acceptance.

Still from the film - Rose with her Kiwi best friend, Nicola. Photo: Waves .

Part Three: Self (Living Between Two Cultures)

At Hutt Valley High School, Lin, an eighteen-year-old Chinese international student, finds herself preoccupied with the upcoming school dance. Her dream is to become the belle of the ball.

Together with her best friend, Mingming, another international student, they discuss the type of dress and makeup that would be suitable for Lin. Alongside her preparations, Lin is on a weight-loss diet and works part-time to afford her ball dress.

Lin expressed confusion between her new life in New Zealand and living up to her Chinese parents' expectations. She's aware that her parents in China would disapprove of her fixation on the ball, and that made her feel guilty in several occasions.  

In traditional Chinese families, academic study is often regarded as the sole focus for students; it is ingrained in the Chinese education system. However, Lin's notions of education and school life already changed since she started studying in New Zealand.

When Lin informs her mother about the school ball and the cost of the dress, her mom was upset. After much argument, they reached an agreement to have a dress designed and made in China, which will be sent to Lin in New Zealand.

Unfortunately, when the dress arrives, Lin is disappointed. It falls short of her expectations and is inappropriately Western for a Hutt Valley teenager-attended school event.

Choosing not to express her disappointment to her parents, Lin continues to work extra hours to save for the gown she truly desires. But keeping a secret from her parents and her inability to communicate with them properly led to exhaustion and depression.

Still from the film - Lin thrilled to be part of her school dance and aiming to be the belle of the ball. Photo: Waves .

Part Four: Beijing Time (Keeping Cultural Identity)

Compared to the three previous students who wholeheartedly embraced their new life in New Zealand, Jane Chen stands out as different.

Her journey to New Zealand was not a personal choice but rather her mother's decision. Jane's mother, a self-made entrepreneur in China, established a factory in Beijing that provided employment opportunities for Chinese women. Eventually, she relocated to Sichuan, Jane's hometown.

Jane's mother sent her to New Zealand with the intention of providing her with the best education, an opportunity she never had herself. Consequently, ever since leaving China, Jane has yearned for her home in Sichuan, and this sentiment manifests in her resistance to assimilate into her new environment in New Zealand.

At school, Jane is a quiet student who selectively socialises, mostly interacting with other Chinese students. She purposefully isolates herself from her Western classmates. Indeed, Jane exhibits two distinct personalities.

In China, she is a cheerful and talkative individual, while in New Zealand, she becomes reserved and a loner. She even wears a watch set to Beijing's time zone, indicating that she considers Beijing time to be more important to her than local New Zealand time.

While Jane values her mother's dream of receiving an excellent education, she cannot envision herself living in New Zealand permanently. Therefore, whenever an opportunity arises, like a holiday, she eagerly aims to return home to China.

Jane expresses her perspective by saying, "It's okay for me to study here and then spend my holidays in China... It motivates me to work harder here and enjoy my time in China."

Jane represents those Chinese students in New Zealand who strive to obtain an international degree while yearning to be reunited with their loved ones back home. She embodies the complex emotions and desires experienced by these students, caught between their aspirations for education and keeping their ethnic identity. 

Still from the film - Jane explained why her watch is set on Beijing Time instead of NZ time. Photo: Waves .

The Second Wave

Since its premiere in 2006, the film Waves has garnered a massive following among Chinese communities worldwide.

In 2007, the film was introduced in China, and the New Zealand Ministry of Education used its DVD copies as a supplementary teaching resource. They developed 44 pages of teaching materials that were distributed to secondary schools throughout the country, guiding teachers on how to cater to their international students.

The movie also served as an educational tool in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. 

The film was also screened at Shanghai Documentary TV in 2014 and used by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand in 2020 to commemorate the diplomatic relations between New Zealand and China.

Director Li Tao on the process of filming, Waves 2 . Photo: Supplied.

Due to its immense popularity, a sequel to the film, Waves 2, is currently in the works. It will feature some familiar faces in the first film, including Rose, Jane, and Mingming, and will focus on their career development, love lives, family dynamics, and experiences in parenting—dealing with the challenges of adulthood.

Li explained, “I was thinking, I don’t want to just revisit them if I want to make a sequence. I need to have a story – a story-focused [documentary] again. After many years of interview and filming, I decide on the third seven-up year [to look] at the value these [first] generation of [Chinese] international students as grown-ups, they are now in mid-30s. I want to focus on the value they’ve created to the China-New Zealand relations.”

“So, in the first Waves, you see the little flowers are blossoming, but they faced rain and sunshine, they had problems, experienced laugh and tears – they were just little flowers. In Waves 2, you will see they are now [grown] trees with fruits.”

Out of the six protagonists in Waves 2, three have established careers in New Zealand and married to Kiwis, while the remaining three returned to China after completing their tertiary education in New Zealand, experiencing a cultural shock after a prolonged stay overseas.

Similar to their own experiences, some of Li's case studies returned to China and started sending their own children to study abroad, representing a new generation of young international students.

Just recently, on June 21, Waves 2, was officially selected as an ongoing project for the 2023 Shanghai TV Festival Documentary Day.

The sequel aims to be a doco series that not only tells individual stories but also unveils a comprehensive narrative showcasing the cultural understanding and connections between China and New Zealand over the past two decades—a reflection of the cultural exchanges and shared growth between the two countries in contemporary times.

Waves 2 poster. Photo: Supplied.

Banner image: the first Waves poster. Photo: Supplied. 

- Asia Media Centre