The Meeker-New Zealand Student Exchange Program

The Meeker-New Zealand
Student Exchange Program

Our Ambassador team is wrote these entries
during the stay in New Zealand

The Webhost added links to their text
and presents it here as a weblog

"March 3 ~ Primary School Visits"
~ by Ambassador Abby

On Wednesday, we visited all the primary schools and presented our program. At the schools, we split up into small groups and gave the kids our speeches. We also answered any questions the kids had. Also we sang and danced to our songs, and I think all of us felt we did very well, and we had “heaps” of fun.

When talking to other ambassadors, I know no one wants to leave New Zealand and their host families. That was probably the most common topic of conversations, since it is our last day in New Zealand, and tomorrow we get on a plane. No matter how sad we will be leaving our hosts, we are still excited to see our families again after all this time.

"March 2 ~ James Hargest"
~ by Ambassador Connor

Today we went to James Hargest School with our hosts and we showed our individual presentations approximately 4 times each to various classes. My project was on Jimi Hendrix because I love the guitar and he grew up in our area.

Other kids did theirs on things like Mount Rainier, football, Jolly Ranchers and the 4th of July. We also told about our life in America and the kiwi kids asked us questions. They told us about their lives in New Zealand and what they do for fun.

At lunch we didn't sit down. We actually just stuck our lunch in our pockets and played and ate. My lunch got squished but it was still good. We played basketball and we also talked to a lot of people there and we made new friends. It was a fun day.

"March 1 ~ Stewart Island"
~ by Ambassador Kelsey

Today we went to Stewart Island. It was really really fun! We started the day at 8:30 at the airport to ride, yes, another plane. These planes made the last plane we rode to Invercargill seem big. The plane sat three squashed students across.

Then we got on a bus and took a tour of the island. The tour guide showed us several things and let us take many pictures. After that, we took a tour by boat. Besides the Cadbury tour, this may have been one of my favorites because I saw dolphins and a penquin. We also saw other fun things.

Later, we went deep sea fishing for Blue Cod. It was very bumpy because of what happened in Chile so several people didn't feel the best. Almost everyone caught a fish. A few people like me caught a fish but it was too small so it got thrown out.

Next we had dinner. We had the best fish and chips ever known to mankind. They were really good and luckily there was plenty because everyone was hungry. After dinner, we hopped on a plane and arrived at Invercargill airport. Although, last time we arrived in Invercargill it was a bit more chaotic.

I can't believe we're leaving in 3 days! We just got here!

"February 26 ~ Queenstown
~ by Ambassador Kara

Today was a great day with lots of sights to see! It was much like another farm day, but a lot fancier.

The day started out with a ride on a very old fashioned steam boat. We were allowed to go down into the furnace room and see coal manually shoveled into a glowing furnace that looked it would be a particularly bad thing to touch. You may just burn off a finger! The rest of the room was filled with metal pieces that spun and pumped mostly painted black and red. It wasn’t uncomfortably warm however thanks to the fact that it had no roof in order to let passengers see in. I can’t honestly say I entirely understood the workings of a steamboat engine from fossil fuel to “full speed ahead” despite my observations. I know that the coal is shoveled into the furnace, which creates steam that rises and is put through three pressure cylinders, high pressure, medium pressure and low pressure. Afterwards it moves onto the condensing stage, and the process loses its simplicity from there. Several directions and all, but one way or another, the water vehicle mustered enough speed to create a pleasant wind for those standing on the roof.

We split into groups and stepped onto a beautifully gardened area. My group rode horses first. Everywhere you looked in Queenstown there’s a beautiful view, but this one was exceptional. We had a breath-taking view of the Remarkables mountain range. If I were to describe it in one word I would probably say remarkable though magnificent, gorgeous or inspiring would suite them just as well. They rose steeply with shrubbery, boulders and cliffs adding dimension. Light green, dark green and tan covered the mountains in large, broad sweeps of color. The rock where it was exposed was a light gray with the exception of a massive, jagged, rocky top, the stone color almost black. A clear, dark blue graced cracks and crevices of the cliffs in the more delicate shapes of shadows, finishing off the fantastic effect. Our guide walked the entire way at a very brisk pace. He must get a great work out every day! I noticed he had special guards around his ankle to protect from sand fly bites. I haven’t been bitten yet, Jenni says I’m very lucky.

When we returned we got to feed some large cattle with intimidating horns, as well as John’s favorite, the red deer. It was cool and the deer were even kind enough to share some slobber in exchange for the pellets in our palms. The general guide we had for this and throughout the rest of the day was fun and had a good sense of humor.

We had a great lunch, a BBQ buffet. They always have lamb cutlets at BBQs here, always. The place had a pet cat which gratefully received our left over fish.

Next we saw sheep dogs herding sheep. They were very eager to do it and you could tell they were having a good time. We also witnessed a sheep shearing and saw wool spun into yarn. From sheep to sheers to spool, the whole package! At the conclusion of our trip we boarded the steamboat once more. They were holding a sing-a-long with a professional pianist and song book which many of us ended up attending. We didn’t know too many of the songs but managed to have a good time. They played “Take Me Out to The Ballgame” especially for us Americans, which is coincidentally a song in our program. We were ready with a few moves up our sleeves!

Back on land we hopped on the Hargest buses and headed back to Invercargill. We stopped at Arrowtown on the way; it is a small gold mining town, now turned into tourist stop. Most of us enjoyed some awesome gelato and we saw a river used in filming The Lord of the Rings. After some more driving we all began heading our own ways for the weekend.

We’ve accomplished a lot in New Zealand, but it still feels like the time has gone so fast. We’re practically running out of hours. Still in the time we have left there’s still a lot to see a lot to learn and a lot more to experience se we better catch it while we can.

"February 25 ~ Queenstown
~ by Ambassador Emily

Today we went to the kiwi feeding house. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was still really fun to see a kiwi for the first time. We then walked to downtown Queenstown and shopped.

Shotover Jet place and loaded the bus to drive to the river. When we got there, we locked up our backpacks and got on the jets. Our driver went SUPER close to the rocks and got us SOAKED!

After the jet ride we loaded back on the bus and drove up the mountain side to our helicopter ride. It was so fun and cool because you wore headphones that you talked to people in. After luging down the mountain 5 times we went on the skyline gondolaa down to the ground. I had so much fun today.

"February 24 ~ Amazing Race & Queenstown
~ by Ambassador Mitchell

Today we did "The Amazing Race." The race is like a scavenger hunt all over Invercargill. We have a book of clues that led us to the different places we needed to go. Some places we went to see and take pictures with memorials or things from movies. Other times we would have to buy something like a cheese roll or a milk shake and bring back the receipt.

We also went to the water tower that had really steep stairs. When we had finished our hunt we had to get to a clock tower looking place. There we met with other teams. We still don't know who won.

After we ate we got on the bus for our bus ride to Queenstown. When we arrived at the hostel we unpacked and went to dinner which was then followed by shopping. This day was really cool and I hope I can do something like it again sometime.

"February 23 ~ Te Anau ~ Glowworm Caves"
~ by Ambassador Nabila

Today we went to Te Anau. The early morning started with a 2 hour bus ride. When we finally got to Te Anau, we had morning tea and played in the park. After the park we split into little groups and did some activities. Some of us rode bicycles and some played mini golf. I went bicycle riding first and it was really fun. The bike held 6 people it was a little difficult to drive and pedal but we managed! :) After bicycles we played mini golf and it was really fun too.

It was a fun boat ride to the caves. The little island was full of trees and it was so pretty. We watched a small video on glowworms and then headed to the cave. The small little boat held 15 people. The cave had water in it and a waterfall too. When we got onto the boat the lights turned off and we went to the dark. When you looked up there were little bright green dots on the ceiling and there were a lot. Some flickered but most stayed bright.

Overall it was a really fun day and it was really pretty.

"February 22 ~ Adventure Southland"
~ by Ambassador Brittany

Today we went to Adventure Southland and kayaking. We split up into two groups; my group did Adventure Southland first. We started off with getting our harness and helmets on, and hearing the rules. Our first activity was rock climbing. We had a climber, belayer and back up. A lot of people got to the top. Some people like myself, got as far as we could.

The next activity was the ropes course. On this course, you had to go up two beams and across a cable wire with little to hold on to. Some people were very calm. I tried my best but only got on to the second beam. Not everybody went up to the top.

The last activity was “The Flying Weka” I was the first to group and I had a great time! Almost everybody did it. You start on “one “and run in a half circle, on “two” the rest of the group pulls you up. So you twirl up and twirl back down. We then had lunch.

Then we went kayaking. We had to change plans, so we kayaked in the Oreti River. We walked down to the river, got all our gear out, had a little practice test and then off into the water. It was hard for everybody at first, except for previous kayakers.

Once we got the hang of it, we started playing games. The first game was like freeze tag, except to tag the person, you had to throw a small water ball at them. The next game we played was the same, but this time if you got tagged, you would have to go in the water.

After that there was a ledge, that if we wanted to we could jump into the water, I did not do it because I was scared. Everybody who did it though, said it was really fun!

"February 19 ~ Dunedin Overnight Trip, Day 2"
~ by Ambassador Kyra

In the morning we toured the rest of the museum after a little bit of breakfast. We got to closely observe the exhibits like the Animal Attic and Nature, by doing a scavenger hunt. You answer questions and the answers are prompted by the information of the room.

Once we turned in our worksheets and cleaned up, we headed for the dreadful Baldwin Street. Everyone ran, walked, jogged, crawled or was carried somehow. Julian was the first to the top and let everyone know with the little breath he had! Some people even took the stairs on the side of the street. Eventually when our crowd got to the top of the “mountain,” everyone took care in the grueling task of going back down. Then, as a reward, everyone slowly walked over to a Baldwin Street shop to get T shirts, certificates, gifts etc.

We loaded back into the vans to go to Moana Pool. The popular attractions for our group were the two slides: slow and fast. You go on some pretty sharp turns and go down a long ways. It is quite a walk just to the top! There is also a lazy river and swimming lanes like at the Federal Way Community Pool.

After relaxing for a while, it was time to get down to business, food! We stopped at a place called “Thai Over” and rested. We then broke off into small groups to go shopping. We went to places like the Rugby Store, All Blacks and a fun colorful stationery store called “Smiggle”

We were close on time, so we ran to the Cadbury Factory. While we were there, waiting for our tour to start we walked around. You could crack open a cocoa bean and try the inside. It is quite bitter. Then we watched a health video and put on hair nets for the tour. We walked outside and saw two Cadbury cars. One was a Ford Model T car, and both were purple.

We walked inside a building that was making raspberry marshmallow cream and then a conveyor belt. Each new place we visited, we got a new candy bar, such as “Dream,” “Pinky,” or “Dairy Milk Buttons.” We went into a huge purple metal walled place that was very dark. We did a countdown for a reason we did not know at the time. Our tour guide pressed a button, and a ton of chocolate was dumped into a HUGE container. Half of the stairs were covered in it! Eew!

We went to to last room and got tiny cups of liquid chocolate. Yum! There we were asked questions about what we had learnt and when we answered correctly, we got chocolates. We ended the tour with pictures by the Cadbury cars and a look around the gift shop. The whole group sang Happy Birthday to me, and it was sooooo sweet. I think that everyone had a great time.

"February 18 ~ Dunedin Overnight Trip, Day 1"
~ by Ambassador Dave

Today was the first day of our Dunedin trip. We left a tad earlier in the morning, before beginning our two hour drive. On the way we visited the Portobello Aquarium. We were able to see all sorts of sea creatures, dead and alive and use a “touch tank.” We also went inside of a submarine simulator, which took us to the bottom of one of the abysses of New Zealand.

Then we went to the Otago Museum. We went on a tour of a lot of the main exhibits. We fossilized Jacob’s handprint, dressed people up in newspapers and found out how mummies brains were taken out through their noses. Pretty sweet……

After making ice cream by using liquid nitrogen, it soon became dark. We were taken on a scary tour of the museum in the dark. It wasn’t long before some of the New Zealand adults scared us. We were in boy-girl-boy-girl lines, so the girls were always grabbing on to the dudes, while we were laughing the whole time. Dang….girls can scream loud…..

"February 17 ~ Bluff Marae"
~ by Ambassador Amanda

Today we visited the Marae. A marae is kind of like a church for the Māori people. It is a tradition for the women to wear skirts (below the knee) and men to enter the meeting house first.

After everyone sat down in the meeting house, the man in charge of the church gave a welcome in Māori and English. Then he and two women sang a Māori song. We stood and sang “America the Beautiful” Afterwards all of us lined up to give the Māori a traditional hello where you go up to them, touch forehead to forehead and say “Kia ora.”

After we were done with that, we went to the eating house to have morning tea. After that we were told about legends of the sun and moon. It is quite different from the legends of our local tribes which made it so interesting.

Later on we went outside to take pictures and went back to the meeting house to hear more legends, traditions, and how the Māori people came to New Zealand. What made this trip so significant is the Marae can only be experienced in New Zealand and nowhere else in the world.

"February 16 ~ Farm Day"
~ by Ambassador Serena

Today we went to many farms. Our first stop was at a huge farm where we learned about the different tractors and how to lead mini horses! It was very fun to take them over and through all the obstacles.

Our next stop was the alpaca farm. After this we stopped at a sheep and cow bidding sale yards. There were many cows and sheep in the pens. Next our group stopped and took a nice break, helping ourselves to a picnic lunch.

Right after we hit the road and took a look at Pypers Produce Farm. This is the place where a company grew and harvested fresh carrots and potatoes. Today was carrot day so we got to take a close look at how carrots are grown, cut, washed and packed. This was a very fascinating process.

Then we headed over to a family farm of sheep shearers! We got to see the dogs herd the sheep. Then the farmer gave them medicine. After this he began shearing the sheep. Even some of the students got to shear.

Lastly we headed to a dairy farm where we all got to experience milking cows. We then settled down and played some games along with a delicious barbeque dinner. All together it was a tiring but very fun day.

"February 15 ~ Welcome Assembly, Cooking, and Stadium Southland"
~ by Ambassador Julian

Hello Everyone! Julian here.

Well today was day four in Invercargill, and it was a blast! The day started off in the library of the James Hargest Junior Campus. This is where we will be meeting every morning during the week. We met this morning for a brief discussion of what would happen today, then off we went to the welcome assembly. We sat in the front rows and within a couple of minutes we were on our feet singing the National Anthem. After that, each of the ambassadors and their host got up and the host introduced their ambassador.

Then we sang our four remaining songs. We've done better. We were on the quiet side and most of us found it hard to smile with everyone watching us. But we knew what we needed to work on so we will hopefully do better at the farewell dinner.

Once the assembly was over we went into the cooking room where we were divided into groups to make lunch. It was fun and the final product was very good. There was ham and cheese pie, banana and blueberry muffins, coleslaw, mousetraps (toast with cheese, meat and vegetables on it), fruit salad and Pavlova. It was all very good!

After lunch we got in three vans and drove off to Stadium Southland. Unfortunately the velodrome was closed but we got to do the next best thing - wheelchair basketball! We had six wheelchairs so we did three rounds with three people on a team. The star of the game was Dave who scored within first two minutes of his round, then proceeded to score three more times. Good job Dave!

Once everyone had had a chance to play we loaded up and went back to the school just in time to meet up with our hosts as school got out. We had a great day today and we're looking forward to having more fun tomorrow here in beautiful Aotearoa!

See you soon,

Julian

"February 14 ~ Welcome Dinner"
~ by Ambassador Jacob

The welcome dinner was a very warm welcome. The dinner was very delicious. There were a lot of varieties of food. My favorite food was the potato salad. For dessert they had hokey pokey ice cream and a whole bunch of pies.

The hokey pokey was so good. My hosts brought it. It was awesome. My mom got to meet my host family and that was pretty cool. My hosts and my mom talked for a few minutes then I ate some more hokey pokey ice cream. It is even better the second time.

The gift exchange was also cool. We got a bag of candy and a book with pictures of Southland. We gave them Jolly Ranchers, a pen sketch of Tacoma, a hat, and an ornament made out of the ash of Mount St. Helens.

Then I went back to my host's house and went to bed.

"February 12 ~ To Invercargill"
~ by Ambassador Bianca

Starting a fresh, new and clean day makes everything go well. We started with breakfast in the hostel, cereal, fruit and juice. Yum! We then all had to pack up to check out because later on we'd be heading out to Invercargill. I ended up being the only one to not turn in a key because it went out a window.

As the hostel held all our luggage to pick up later, we went back to the Te Papa Museum. We looked around till we had a late lunch in a small mall. Soon we'd be off to see our hosts. After lunch we walked back to the hostel to catch the shuttle in the rain.

In the airport we waited playing Catch Phrase. Everyone was so excited and couldn't wait to see their hosts. Two hours on a very small plane meant not much to do but Nabila and I were able to make time fly!

One I saw Ell and her family I was so excited! We went out to dinner with Lisa and her host family at a pizza place. I met 3 of Ella's friends, got birthday presents, a cake and awesome pizza. It was a great day!

"February 11 ~ Wellington Day 2"
~ by Ambassador Ryan

Today we visited the New Zealand Parliament and also the Te Papa museum. In parliament we toured the Beehive which is where New Zealand’s equivalent of senators would meet. After that we walked to the Te Papa museum and had lunch at a café there.

Once we had finished eating we toured the building. On the second floor was everything about the earth from plate tectonics to ancient Chinese inventions for locating an earthquake. The other floors were all about the history of New Zealand and how the Indonesians came to NZ. After we finished our tour on the fourth floor we were released to do a scavenger hunt where we found about ten items and took our picture near it, then wrote about two sentences of its importance.

Then we came back and it was only about 4:00 so we split up into separate groups and my group went to a park on the beach. I played there for about 20 minutes but then went to the beach with Julian, Dave and Connor. We started making the best sand castle ever, but then it collapsed. After that we messed around on the beach and left to go back to the hostel for the night.

"February 10 ~ Wellington Day 1"
~ by Ambassador Nick

Today we all went around town to see what was in Wellington. We took a lot of pictures, went to the beach, we took pictures of the water and all the sights. After we all went to see what food they had. At about 1:30 we all packed up and went on a tour. That was good except a few of us fell asleep while on tour.

On tour we went around and saw famous landmarks and learned about the history of Wellington. Later we went to the Botanical Gardens and saw what was there. There were trees and plants I had never seen before. They all had multiple colors and were different in size too.

Then we got sidetracked on the way to the cable car. We stopped and played at a playground for a while. Then we went to the cable car and walked back to the hostel after the cable car ride. We all ate pizza and went to bed.

"Checking in from Auckland"
~ by Ambassador Ricky

I have been having loads of fun with the New Zealand Exchange Group, even though we haven't even met our hosts yet! Pretty much all we have been doing is flying and spending time in airports. We went from Seattle to San Francisco, then from there to Auckland, where I am now. We skipped the 9th.

Right now we're going to Wellington, where we'll be staying in a hostel. So far its been fun and I'm sure there will be much more. The money is awesome! There's a little plastic piece on the side. I noticed the Sprite cans were different, more rectangular.

I also notice people watching us everywhere and asking where we are from, it's pretty fun actually. The flight had cool TVs, and candy at the end. My ears always get popped though, so its a bit of a pain. But other than that, its been awesome! See ya in 3.5 weeks!