And although his looming exchange to Germany for 10 weeks is scaring him, it is also exciting him because "they’re all the things that will make this an adventure", he said.
The 17-year-old John McGlashan College pupil was one of two New Zealanders to win a prestigious Society for New Zealand-German Student Exchange (NZGSE) scholarship this year.
The exchange, organised by the Goethe Institut in Wellington, will allow him to spend up to three months living with a German family and studying at a German school.
He will head to northern Germany at the end of next month, and as part of the exchange he will visit Bonn and Berlin with other scholarship winners from New Zealand and Australia.
"I’m looking forward to exploring, going to school and immersing myself in the culture and language as much as possible.
"I’m not fluent in German yet. I will be by the time I get back, hopefully."
Ben said he had a passion for languages.
He is also learning French and is keen to learn Maori and Spanish.
"I really like learning languages and talking with people in different languages.
"English can get a bit boring sometimes," he joked.
John McGlashan College international director Anna Noble was delighted with Ben’s success.
She said two of three prestigious German language national scholarships — Padagogischer Austauschdienst Scholarships from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs — were won recently by Otago Girls’ High School pupil Lucy Pollock and Columba College’s Lydia Christensen (both 16).
And now Ben had won another prestigious German scholarship.
"I believe it is outstanding that our small city has three scholarships awarded at such a high level and this says a lot about the quality of language teaching and learning at our schools."
Ben is expected to return from his trip in February next year.
