It’s a long way in more ways than one from Virginia, on the east coast of the United States, to Mangere College in South Auckland. From teaching primary school students in the States, Rob Gambolati is now a Physical Education teacher in Auckland, New Zealand.
Rob came to New Zealand with his Kiwi partner (now his wife) in 2002. “My wife was a bit homesick, and we were living 1,000 miles from my family in the States, so we decided to come out here.”
He first visited New Zealand on an eight-month trip in 1999/2000, taking the opportunity to get his teaching qualifications recognised. On his return to New Zealand in 2002, he undertook a brief stint of relief teaching work, and was then employed by Mangere College – “they offered me a job on the spot.”
From there, everything else fell into place. “Once I got a job it was very easy to get residence,”
he says.
The year schedule of four terms with two weeks in between is different from the States, says Rob, and schools in New Zealand are relaxed about teachers leaving in the middle of the academic year. The day-to-day class routine also differs. “In the States, you have the same classes every day for five days a week at the same time every day. Here it’s different; it’s good because you get to have a change every day.”
Teaching PE in New Zealand is very similar to the States, except there’s much more emphasis on outdoor education, says Rob. “In my first year here, I got to take the kids on a white-water kayaking trip and an outdoor leadership course, and do a High Ropes course.”
However, there’s one thing which New Zealand and the States undoubtedly have in common - the children. “Kids are kids wherever you go. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are.”