Study Tour to New Zealand 2011
Cherry Lee 4F
New Zealand, famous for its indigenous culture, magnificent landscapes and biodiversity, did not let us down; and New Zealanders, famous for being friendly, outgoing and polite, proved themselves absolutely hospitable.
Every day was a day full of amazement and wonders during the study tour.
School Life
Buddy Classes
Every one of us was appointed to be the buddy of one to three St. Mary’s students in Auckland. We followed our corresponding buddies to join in any lessons they were to have.
We didn’t take long to discover that St. Mary’s students have quite a number of subjects which we don't have in Hong Kong, such as Latin, Graphics, even Ballet Dancing and Cheer Leading. With a lot more interactions between students and teachers, students get more involved in class. Games and movies are also widely used so that they can understand the topics more easily.
We received warm blessings from both teachers and students, and soon built up close friendships with our buddies despite the fact that we had only known one another for a few days.
Closed-group English Classes
A humorous local teacher, Ms Susan Radford, was the teacher of our closed-group English class.
Ms Radford encouraged us to speak more and learn different vocabulary by conducting interactive activities such as role plays and peer sharing. After systematical discussions on topics closely related to our tour, we were given tasks such as poem writing and brochure designing to brainstorm and apply what we had learnt.
Homestay
At first, we really felt like living in a house of strangers with our host families. But as we had more communications and got to know more about their lifestyle, we became part of each other’s daily life. That was the time when staying at a host family became a lot of fun. We joined in their family activities and follow their routines. Through staying with them and discovering our cultural differences, we understand the New Zealanders and ourselves better.
We treasured the time and all the fun we shared with our buddies and host families. In New Zealand, every “tomorrow” was a day to look forward to; and every “today” seemed too short to last – yet, we made every “yesterday” unforgettable.
