BEAVERS MEET KIWIS
Exchange of Nelson College for Boys in New Zealand with the Pestalozzi-Gymnasium Biberach, Germany
"Do you like New Zealand?"
"It's awesome!"
"And the people?"
"They are absolutely awesome!"
"What about the food?"
"Awesome!"
"Do you like New Zealand?"
"It's awesome!"
"And the people?"
"They are absolutely awesome!"
"What about the food?"
"Awesome!"
Our German group has unanimously taken up a new word to describe our feelings in New Zealand. From May 1st when we left Biberach to May 27th when the Airbus from Emirates took off in Christchurch we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Nelson. 18 students (4 boys and 14 girls), the teachers Ulla Reeder and Hubert Stoeferle, the Laux family (with their son Michael in his wheelchair) as well as one mother flew across the globe to find out how the two groups who came to Biberach in 2002 and 2004 live.
Somebody took care of marvellous weather for us! That made it very easy for us to fall in love with the beach, the water, the paths through Abel Tasman Park, the Kowhai, Miro, Kanuka and Matai trees! We are happy about having seen Tuis, the Tuatara, possums, three Sperm Whales, lots of seals, cormorants - but the Kiwi bird and the extinct Moa only in the museum Te Papa in Wellington...
School was the first thing we shared: the students gave their reports on Germany's geography, politics, food, customs or sports. Four PG students presented Taekwando and Viet Vo Dao in the assembly in front of 1200 boys! The teachers were happily given yellow paper slips for relief teaching in drama lessons…. A great experience! We found out about late mornings (first period starts at 8.45) and late afternoons (school finishes at 3.15), smaller classes, more individual work, the wider choice of subjects and the different subjects (we would love to have drama lessons in the curriculum at home as well as the practical subjects!).
Of course, the Maori culture and the integration of two cultures impressed us very much. Our group enthusiastically learnt the Maori welcome song that the Maori teacher, a Maori himself, taught us. We encountered a new spirituality!
Intermingling took place in various ways: first of all we all loved the compliments about our language. That is why we were in Nelson: to listen, to communicate, to share lives across the hemispheres! We all think that we did not only make contacts, but friends! Secondly, we exchanged recipes: the girls made "Spaetzle" in their host families with a "Schpaetzlemaschee", many of us brought "Gummibaerle" to their host brothers and had pawalowa and feijoas instead,
"Kiwi ingenuity" (a native) made it possible that we were offered a most lovely, informative, and attractive program: from parliament sessions (politicians sit on sheepskin in Wellington and argue intensely) to climbing the Franz Josef Glacier, from earthquake experiences to swimming next to 150 dolphins (who we had to entertain with songs - and the teacher who sang the Schützenlied was in fact softly pushed by a dusky dolphin - a sign of gratitude? Enjoyment?) …
The exchange was tremendous - it was worth two years of preparation (earning money, presenting reports, learning songs, exchanging emails ….) and we would like to thank all those who made it possible.
Ulla Reeder and Hubert Stoeferle
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