Otago Girls’ High School pupils Erina Yamaguchi, of Japan, Chris Huynh, of Vietnam, and sisters Will and Well Chomchoei, of Thailand, are among them and say they have mixed feelings about the situation, as they have not seen their families for about a year.
Will and Chris have just finished year 13 and want to stay in New Zealand for their tertiary study.
Will wants to study architecture at Auckland University and Chris plans to study engineering at the University of Canterbury.
"Normally at this time, we would go home to see our families," Chris said.
"We can go home, but because of Covid-19, we don’t know if we can come back into New Zealand at the beginning of the year for university.
"So it’s better just to stay here."
Year 12 pupils Well and Erina said they were staying for the same reason.
"I’m sad and disappointed we won’t get to see our family and friends back home," Well said.
"We don’t celebrate Christmas, but our families come together for New Year celebrations. I’m sad to miss that."
Rather than dwelling on the negatives, she was looking at the positive aspects.
She said her host family would take her and sister Will on trips around New Zealand over the summer break, and it would be a fantastic chance to learn more about the country.
"I’m loving New Zealand. It’s been a great experience."
Erina said she was not too upset about staying in New Zealand for the holidays.
She had regular contact with family on social networking sites and had formed a close bond with her host family, particularly her host sister.
The four all agreed overriding reasons to stay here included that it was a great place to be educated, it had a wealth of opportunities, and their families had sacrificed a lot to send them here.
To go home now would risk laying waste to that sacrifice, Chris said.
