Maria gefällt es in Neuseeland

Seit fast zwei Monaten befindet sich Maria Thurner (im roten Leibchen, Vierte von links) in Neuseeland. Die Schülerin der 4 A-SP absolviert die zweite Jahreshälfte in einer Schule auf der südlichen Erdhalbkugel. Auf wfo.bz.it berichtet die Schülerin der Sportklasse von ihren Erlebnissen fern der Heimat.

Hi everyone!

On January 21st I made my way to Frankfurt. The farewell of my family and especially of my friends wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. When I arrived at the airport I met other exchange students with whom I flew to Singapore. Together we spent some unforgettable orientation days there. We explored the city with a personal guide and visited the Gardens By The Bay, the Marine Bay Sands Sky Park and Sentosa Island.

On January 26th my journey continued by plane to Auckland and later by minibus to Whakatane, where my lovely host parents Marilyn and Glyn picked me up. They brought me to my new home, which is near the beach. After getting used to the time difference (12 hours) and settling into my new home, my first day at Whakatane High School started on 30th January. The students and the teachers were all very kind and helpful and guided us "Internationals" in the first days to our classrooms.

The school starts at 8:30 a.m. with the form class, where the class teacher checks if you are present/absent and you find out what happens throughout the day. The first period starts at 8:45 am and, different as in South Tyrol, the students have to change classroom after 60 minutes of lesson, not the teachers. My timetable consists of Business Studies, English, Maths, New Zealand History, Marine Studies and Outdoor Education. In Outdoor Education we usually go to the beach surfing or to the swimming pool. Next week we have a three-day surf camp in this subject. In Marine Studies we are currently doing a crab experiment or we a play pool rugby in the swimming pool, as it is too hot in the classroom in the afternoon. In this subject we are going to do multi-day dive trips in Whitianga (North New Zealand) and Heron Island (Australia), where we can get our diving certification.

After five hours of classes and two long breaks, school ends at 3 p.m. I think that school is much easier here than at home, even if it is in English.
In the first week of school I joined the Badminton Club, two times a week I have badminton training from 7 to 9 p.m. On the other days you will probably find me on my surfboard or with my friends at the beach.

I am really looking forward to my exciting time here in New Zealand and many trips and adventures, such as the South Island Tour, that I have planned in April.

Best regards from New Zealand,
Maria