2015 Lindisfarne College Napier Exchange Trip
First, I would like to express my gratitude to the Warner Family, Mr. Gioia, and Montgomery Bell Academy for presenting me with this trip of a lifetime to Napier, New Zealand to study abroad. It was a fantastic trip that I will never be able to forget.
Traveling to the island of New Zealand took a total of around 27 hours, but I quickly lost my jet lag when I saw the beauty of the Napier. It was a clear, chilly day, but the lush, sprawling landscape of New Zealand was amazing.
The vast fields and sharp mountains were breathtaking
Lindisfarne College, the school I had my exchange in, was also fantastic. The teachers were very involved, knowledgeable, and caring. I participated in a multitude of classes, ranging from Geography(where the U.S. city of Chicago was discussed), to World History(where I gained a different approach to the U.S.'s participation in world events), and to others such as Maths, P.E, and Physics. I also loved being a member of the Lindisfarne basketball team, which finished their season undefeated, no help from me.
My host family, the Bones, were fantastic. They took me on an incredible trip to Wellington, a large city on the southern tip of the North Island. While there, I saw the Honeycomb, which is the capital government building and its modern impressiveness. I also visited the Wellington Museum to learn a little bit about New Zealand's own history.
The exhibits were enormous
Wellington is a very urban city
The highlight of the trip to Wellington, however, was to watch the semifinals of the Rugby League tournament. Of course, the Hurricanes handily beat the Australian team, the Brumbies, in a thrilling match.
The black and yellow Hurricanes fans packed the stadium.
The town where Lindisfarne is located, Hastings/Napier, is much smaller than the large capital, Wellington, but it was very pretty and scenic. Almost all buildings are kept below two stories due to earthquakes, but the town is still reasonably large.
My friends and I headed to town to get a meat pie
Overall, this trip was an amazing, unforgettable experience that I will never forget. I hope that I will be able to travel back to New Zealand to see my newly-made friends again and to see even more of the beautiful country. Once again, I would like to thank the Warner family, Montgomery Bell Academy, Mr. Gioia, Lindisfarne College, and the Bone family for giving me this incredible opportunity.
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