Tarawera Students Enjoy Trip to China

TARAWERA High -School students returned from the school’s first ever overseas trip, to China, during the holidays.

The school was invited by the Confucius Institute to apply for a spring camp after hosting a Mandarin language assistant for the past three years

With the institute funding the internal travel and food costs, the school only needed to fundraise $2000 per student for the three-week trip.

While in China the students visited Beijing, Xiamen, Nanning and Hong Kong.

Year 11 student Majean Rogers said the highlights of the trip for him were the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Disneyland.

TARAWERA HIGH IN CHINA: Tarawera High enjoying a three-week trip to China, here the group is pictured on the Great Wall

"Our Tarawera group felt like one whole family, we saw each other's weaknesses and strengths, which was an amazing experience."

One of the universities they stayed in at Xiamen had nearly as many students as Kawerau has residents. All staying in large dormitories.

The students were housed on the sixth floor and. with no elevators in the building, found it a bit of a hike each day.

Destiny Maxwell, year 11 made a friend at the university and said they were already messaging each other on WeChat.

“They said when they graduate university they want to come to New Zealand ... I liked meeting new people and building friendships."

Nanning is home to the Fenglin Company which will be opening a new particle board factory in Kawerau.

The students were invited to visit the factories in Nanning to experi-ence for themselves what would soon be built in Kawerau.

The group also visited a school in Nanning which, being close to the border, had a large number of minor-ity cultures they hadn't experienced before.

The students at the school all wore their traditional clothing and the Tarawera High students performed their school haka for them.

Teacher Raewyn Morgan said they were treated like royalty in Nanning and even had a film crew follow them during their stay.

Mrs Morgan said the students were exposed to a variety of career opportunities such as the Fenglin Group, the NZ Embassy, translators and tour guides.

"We think the biggest impact is the exposure to another culture and the opportunity to see the world outside Kawerau and New Zealand. This was an unforgettable experience and well worth the effort. We are already planning our next adventure."

From：Whakatane Beacon 2018.5.4,Chailotte Jones Staff reporter