Manjusrians in New Zealand

First year anniversary.

2009-11-02T02:19:00.000-08:00

Hey people, this is De Xuan (in case you've forgotten me, i'm the one who cried home)

I've come to update this blog again. (Even though I don't think anyone will read it) It's our One-year anniversary soon. Do you guys want to have some celebration on that day? Like an outing? Reply asap. It's all gonna depend on the number. If it's less than five, no outing. Sorry abt that.

Asking Mr Chew and Madam Ernie if you guys have confirmed. I know many of you have Biology, so shall we have it on the 14th? (Day 3; kiwi 360, blokart, estuary and beach profile activity)

I'll try to organise and i'll be needing some of your help.

Here are some things that can be taken into consideration:
"L&P Ceremony" (I'll try to phone that new zealand shop a Clementi)

Lunch/Dinner at that New Zealand shop (Or around there. There's a lot of nice classy food. I've been there before to look for L&P)

Hokey Pokey flavoured Ice cream.
(That new zealand shop has it when i last been there 10 Months ago. The day of our school's concert)

Attire: New Zealand Sweater(?!) [please give suggestion to places to go where it is not hot]

So please inform the others (actually i'm talking to cheng guan and Terrence. LOL)

So long for now. Off studying my physics, after screwing up my chemistry :(
De Xuan

All THE BEST FOR YOUR UPCOMING EXAMS!

2009-08-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hello people,

I don't think there's anyone here. *brushes spider webs and dusts away*

Well, it's high time somebody did something to this FORGOTTEN blog. I hope y'all hadn't forgotten that we had all been to New Zealand together, had fun together, visited the Thawakarewarewatangaotpetawhahiao (Yes, I still remember how to spell it) Maori Villiage, saw those wonderful traditional performance, the cultural exchange right?

Then tag this blog please! Don't make this blog history, don't make our friendship formed during the 6 days in New Zealand a fictional story! Don't forget about us!*getting emotional* It's soon gonna be a year when we went to New Zealand.

*snaps back into reality* Anyway, I, De Xuan, is blogging to wish y'all GOOD LUCK and All the best for the upcoming exams - school prelims, 'N' levels that is starting in TWO AND A HALF WEEK's time, 'O' Levels starting in NINE WEEK's time.

All i can say is, STUDY, STUDY, STUDY. WORK HARD, WORK HARD, WORK HARD. DO YOUR BEST, DO YOUR BEST, DO YOUR BEST.
Do consult your teachers to clear any doubts you have.

Screwed you Oral Exams? Screwed your Chinese 'O' Levels in June? Work harder in November. I screwed my EL Oral too. I was too nervous and said "Outjoor Dobs" instead of "Outdoor Jobs" and made the Examiners laughed.

Final Note : JIAYOU!, REMEMBER TO TAG!

Yours truly,
De Xuan

2009-06-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

Hey people.
Junlin here.
I was at this camp organised by my church, and guess what, the main camp cheer was derived from the Hakka.
This comes to show how famous the New Zealand culture is.
It's a good thing we've been there and saw everything live ok!
See, New Zealand's All Black rugby team does the Hakka before they start a match.
This is how many have heard of the Hakka.
The original, of course, comes from the Maori.
We've seen the original :D

How's everyone?
With the recent outbreak of H1N1, I urge all of us to be alert and take care of ourselves.
It'll be bad if swine flu comes to MJR.
Till next time,
-junlin :x

Post-MortemExam

2009-05-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, how's everyone?
Hope you guys are doing fine yea.
I'm (Junlin) here again to remind all of you that we went to embrace New Zealand before and that's a bond that remains with us, no matter voluntary or not.
Acknowledge the people who were there!
And say a "Hi" or something whenever you see one another, just like Xueli/Peifang and I.
Haha.
How were your exams?
Nicely done?
Keep up the good work!
Screwed?
It's ok, because the past is not equal to the future and the Mid Years totally do not affect our O's and N's.
Look forward to the sessions where we have to teach in July yea ;D
Maybe we could have a NZ outing this June holidays, but please be spontaneous.

-junlin :x

Unexpected Update?

2009-04-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

YAY! 20TH POST! (Okay, that was totally random)
YAY! 5TH MONTH ANNIVERSARY SINCE WE'VE LEFT SINGAPORE ON 11th Nov! (I'm trying to bring some life here. Lols)

Ok peeps.. I didn't expect myself to update this blog, or to even blog at all after I've quit blogging on my personal blog and my "retirement" from a Secretary of my CCA. :S
How are you people? Doing fine? Exams? Relationships?

So anyway.. Here's the pictures for the New Zealand Presentation cum Haka Performance. Enjoy, especially the Captions by me - De Xuan!(:

Mdm Ernie "And now, the students who went to New Zealand last year will elaborate on how the New Zealanders *blah**blah**blah*... Total Defence"

De Xuan : (looks right)

Lynn : (looks left)

De Xuan : "How do I use this mic?" "I wonder if will the mic explode when i push this button?"

Lynn : "Hi Camera :D"

Phyllis : "Oh Junlin, I feel so enchanted by you. You're more amazing than the sights in New Zealand"
Junlin : (stoning)

De Xuan : "Is that a bird? Is that a plane?"
Lynn : "HELLO TO THE CAMERA THE SECOND TIME :D"

Harmony : "Why am I here? I should be up there! Many people wants to see my beautiful face."

(Erm, no comments)

Phyllis : "I shall now sing you a song"
Junlin (looks at Phyllis) : "Please don't start. :X"

Phyllis : "Somewhere over the rainbow~..."
Junlin : "Ok, I'm not listening to you..."

De Xuan : "I'm a tree!"
Lynn : "I'm not a tree!"

De Xuan : "New Zealand has plenty of land space..."
Lynn : "Hmm, is that a dollar coin on the floor?"

De Xuan : "At the McLaren Falls Park.."
Lynn : "Harmony, I think De Xuan has forgotten his line"
Harmony : "I agree. And look at his way of holding the script!"

"KAMATE KAMATE"

"KA ORA KA ORA"

"... PAKIA..."

"HII!"

2009-04-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'll update now instead of looking for something to be digested by the hydrochloric acid in my stomach.
So, how have you been, NZ-ers?
Haha.
I'm sure that for many of us, the trip was a memorable experience and would always be cherished.
After all, how many people have chances to go to New Zealand with and during their secondary school days?
Our 23, out of the school's approximate 1000.
That is around 2.3%.
We are the minority that got to share this chance, so do appreciate it.
Was everything over after the trip?
The answer is a definite no.
This experience we shared creates a bond in us; we went for that trip to New Zealand together.
So, the next time you see one of your fellows NZ-ers, do go up to them and say hi, for we're not strangers anymore right?
7 days of isolation from the mainland would've undoubtedly made us new friends.

Till next time,
Junlin.

P/s. do ask other NZ-ers to come tag this blog as proof that we - and this blog itself - is still alive. (:

NZ Assembly Sharin

2009-01-20T08:11:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4LNjNXt1yM&feature=related

Pls check out this vid. We are doing this! Come on boys! I have the lyrics. Will post it tomorrow.

NZ Assembly Sharin

2009-01-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4LNjNXt1yM&feature=related

Pls check out this vid. We are doing this! Come on boys! I have the lyrics. Will post it tomorrow.

L&P Replica!

2009-01-15T04:19:00.000-08:00

I FOUND AN "L&P" Replica!!! Cost about 3 dollars plus sing. It taste 80% the same as L&P (definitely, original is still the best)

Tell me when you want it. I'll buy it for you, no service charge.

Note : Glass bottle. To be served only chilled.

Loving L&P

2009-01-10T23:43:00.000-08:00

Hi people! (:

I went to the shop yesterday, but the L&P is not here yet. The salesperson said that they import 12 cartons at a time. And 1 carton contains 12 x 1.5l bottles, at about $5 to $7 dollars each (i think)

If you want the name card, please come to me. I've took twenty of them.

Oh ya, I *might* sell L&P at about a dollar or two per paper cup (Haha), like those blogshop does, so i'll be like buying a carton? Not cheap. D: my three weeks allowance for one carton of L&P

Goodbye for now!

ABSOLUTELY NEW ZEALAND store

2008-12-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

I have found a store that sells L&P. The new stocks are coming in Jan 09 but it ain't cheap. For good old times...why not?
Store Add: Blk 106 Clementi St 12 (Sunset Way) #01-38D

Does anyone have an empty bottle to spare? I need to put it up at our noticeboard.

PROJECT...we still have a group project. I will see you guys in Jan about this.

ASSEMBLY ... In February. Think abt the group presentation. What are we going to do? The slide presenters have been informed. They are Phyllis, Peifang, Junlin and DeXuan.
The rest of us we must sing, shout and do the PUKANA..

Poll Time! :D

2008-12-09T05:40:00.001-08:00

Missing New Zealand?

Click here!

Ouch. Haha. ;D

2008-12-05T04:32:00.000-08:00

YAY! I'm here to blog again. Like, finally? OK, the posts so far have been bits and pieces of our New Zealand trip right? How about I do it in 1 gigantic post? So, here goes, and they're not just words, there would be photos on the way. I have WENYI'S photos too. Haha. Plus, this would not only be what we did, there would also be chunks of my opinions. It is, afterall, me who's posting. LOL. Try to re-embrace each moment as you read through. Helps you remember the trip better. Another LOL.

So yea, Day 1 wasn't really a day spent in New Zealand. Most of that day would have probably been spent by us at home trying to figure if we'd forgotten anything essential that we have to bring along for the trip, or maybe some of us were getting as much rest as possible so that the arrival there wouldn't be so gloomy. And we gathered at the airport! Dionna was LATE by an hour but it was OK as we started with stuff only slightly before the time she came, which was at 7. Haha. We kissed our loved ones goodbye. Real emotional moment o.O And we went into the departure hall. That was the moment where the 'Guys on the left, girls on the right' thing began. Haha. We took a few group photos. It was a few photos of the same thing =_= And then the dancers were shocked by what Mdm Ernie said next. "Dancers, follow me, we're gonna practice at Burger King" =O Luckily, only some girls rehearsed some stuff with only their hands. *Whew*Waiting at the gate was another test of our patience. While Mdm Ernie And Mr Chew was busy planning dunno what, the students were quite well-behaved *clap clap* , leaving the teachers hassle-free (:

And since Mdm Ernie appointed me as the photographer, I took more pictures. and there's some from WENYI too~ And when the gate finally opened, we were more than ready to get into the plane!

You might not be able to make out what's in the next picture. It's Singapore from the plane window.

See, it's night. So, most of the people in the plane slept. Yep, Peiying and Weixing sat on my right.But not everyone managed to sleep the whole time. One great example is me. Haha, so I watched movies or listened to songs. KrisWorld entertainment is great! I could find Sara Bareilles' album there. I'm her fan! Heehee. The window view was great...and boring. the landscapes changed, but VERY VERY slowly.

I played multiplayer mahjong with sharil for 2 hours. Don't mess with him, he's quite skilled at it. Next, touch down. We reached NEW ZEALAND, yo!
Our guide, Jess found us, and took us to the coach, where she formally introduced herself. It was roughly 11 o'clock and we were headed for Green Bay High School.
Still remember the she said we were going to have pizza for lunch? We were scammed. Haha. And most of us didn't realise it. Arrival at Green Bay High School. The first thing was, the teacher welcomed us, and we had lunch. Lunch was garlic breads, strawberries, sushi-s(which I'm allergic to) and orange juice.
I confess that I didn't take this picture above on the second day. I missed it that day =x We went into a classroom after lunch. In it were our buddies for that day. We went in and each picked a seat. Beside each seat was a pupil. And we cross-introduced.

With that, our buddies took us to a tour around the school campus. I have to admit that my buddy was very very very quiet. In fact, i was the one keeping the conversation going. He tried to avoid me as much as possible =_= but others like Wenyi was very fortunate to have gotten a more spontaneous one.
We were headed to Mount Eden after that. Mount Eden is actually an extinct volcano, and it has this super huge crater right at the top. What's best is that the view of Auckland from the top of Mount Eden is just fantastically breath-taking!

After that, we went to do some shopping at the CBD of Auckland. That was before we checked into our accommodation for that night. Empire Apartments!The lifts there were super idiotic. You had to tap your card before the buttons of your floor can be pressed. Me, Sharil and William didn't know that and let Terence go up first with the card. Stupid us -.- And when we found out, we had already hitched a ride to the 10th floor. Whilst cursing ourselves, we climbed up 7 storeys by stairs. It was a very painful experience as I had my luggage, backpack, a plastic bag with things that Ernest, Xueli and I had bought, and the laptop. OUCH. And we had to wait for the arrival of Terence before we could shove our physical worries aside and have a short break before going down to the cafe for dinner. We were debriefed by Jess after our dinner, and it was free and easy for that night.Free and easy until Mdm Ernie told me to do the vodcast thing for this blog. Zzz. After being stressed till 11 pm, it was real free and easy time. A group of us went to have supper. Sharil, Terence, William, Lynn Ng, Xueli, Ernest and me. And I have a confession to make. We played till very late at night, but it was just damn fun, with all the coffee, tea, creamer and sugar packets used in place of money to gamble. It made stakes virtually higher. And we played those kinds of card games that had forfeits like drinking super concentrated kopi O or teh O. Haha. Amazingly, the people in my room were the first to get our luggages in the bus. Cool, eh? And I finally got the internet thing and went up to update this blog. The next place to be at was Green Bay High School again. And we went to attend the Maori language class. That lesson was special as it was used for welcoming us into the Marae. We were hongi-ed. It's the traditional Maori way of greeting.After the welcoming ceremony, we each got a buddy and went next door for refreshments. And we went back to the Marae for some story telling. One of the students there told us the story about how the North island of New Zealand was formed. Next was volunteers Dionna and Wenyi's turn. They told of how Singapore got it's name, making us laugh at the same time. The next moment would be one of my favourites. It's PUKANA time! Pukana is actually an action where you open your eyes widely and stick out your tongue. It was used in wars to scare enemies away. Now, it's the name of the game.
I (in fact, not only me) realised that in the Maori language, there are words or phrases that may sound wrong to us. Haha, but we must remember that we should respect other people's languages. They might find Chinese or Malay weird too. Next was cultural arts time. They sang and dance a few songs, and it we did the zapin. Then, we taught them the zapin. Wow!
What followed was we being taken to each of our buddy's normal lessons. The first period was form class. They don't have a fixed classroom where teachers come and go. It's the polytechnic style, where students do the walking. Following form class, there was morning tea. My buddy took me to the basketball court, and I played basketball with some of the students. Their style of playing differed much from Singapore's. My buddy's name was Tamihana, and his second period was something similar to our 'Step-up' program. Cool guy. Some of Wenyi's pictures.
For the third period, Manjusrians were re-united at the gym, which I already was at for the period before. Scheduled for us was a PE lesson with class 1001. The first activity was hockey. Ernest, Peiying and I went to form a group with some Green Bay students. And we won the first 2 games. (I scored for both games, that's why. Wahaha!) And no one scored for the third. A moment of rest, and we were back another time. This time, Peiying scored, giving us another opportunity to play. It felt pretty much like playing basketball in Qingdao. No perspiration, but I lose my breath quickly. After hockey, we had some sort of basketball race. Chengguan and Melita got injured when they knocked into each other comically. I was laughing my head off. I'm so bad =xLunch! Our pizza was compensated. But it was late, so we missed the 4th period and had lunch instead. Everyone's buddies remembered to come to the International Room, whereas mine forgot -.- so everyone got to give a last note whereas I didn't -.- Sad huh? Pizza was delicious.We have to thank our hosts for that. The teacher is the one in charge of international students at Green Bay High School, and those 2 girls are the ones who helped out with out meals.And with that, goodbye Green Bay High. Our next destination was where we were going to sleep for the night. The place was called Pacific Park, and it was sort of like a chalet. It's located in Tauranga, a 3 hour bus journey away from Auckland. Tauranga was also where Paul lived. By the way, Paul's our friendly bus driver. The bus journey was a very boring one. We were driven past many farms and plantations. So Sharil, Ernest and I did something stupid. We compared who's gang was the largest. Sharil's gang consisted of horses, Ernest's consisted of sheep, and mine were made up of cows. You can't blame us, we were bored. Along the way, we stopped at a river where mining operations once took place. there were still structures there. The operations were polluting the river and killing every living thing that lived in, on, under, beside and by the river. After operations ceased, the river was restored and is beautiful and healthy.
Ernest had the lead for a few moments -.-So, arrival. We were assigned rooms, and it was dinner time. When dinner was over, we had a lesson about the 2 types of volcanic eruption. The super violent one, & the passive, easy-going one.
The night was free and easy. Many of us played. In my room, we can't stop playing the pukana game as our version was just so hilarious. Rated NC15. We played till around 2, without realising it. The next morning, we were greeted with breakfast. Ernest did a nice pose for me.We were headed for Kiwi 360 after breakfast. Learnt a great deal about kiwi fruits. They originated from China, where it was a wild bush fruit. It really well in New Zealand because there were plenty of water, fertile soil, and sunlight. Bay of Plenty, remember? And, kiwis are insect-pollinated fruit, so they needed bees to be around in the plantation, and thus, the artificial bee hives at the 5th photo below.
Kiwi 360 was shopping opportunity No. 2. Next in line was Blokarting, a short bus ride away. We reached that place early, so we sat down and did our worksheets. Only 9 people could race at one time, so the rest had various forms of entertainment. I took volleyball. So, a few of us went to the volleyball court. It could be counted as a new experience? I felt that volleyball was more fun to play there. Haha. Blokarting was thrilling, especially when the whole thing is about to flip over. I was wondering whether I should flip over, because I probably would never get another chance at the Blokart. In the end, I didn't. Couldn't resist another game of Pukana after the whole thing.Bus journey to a place called Fresh Fish Market. We had the local fish and chips for lunch. It was right beside the sea, so it was quite cool. The bus journey was another debative one, because I won Sharil and Ernest. Those are COWS!
The next part of the journey involved getting our hands and feet dirty. We went to an estuary.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/estuary: estuary = that part of the mouth or lower course of a river in which the river's current meets the sea's tide.
We did a cockle survey there. We didn't survey the cockles, but instead, we dug for cockles to survey the health of the estuary. Cool stuff.
We could see Mount Maurangi from the estuary. We put the cockles back the way we found them, and took another short bus journey to the beach facing the other side of Mount Maurangi. There, we profiled the beach, measuring gradients every 5 metres by comparing 2 heights and the horizon. The beach, like every one, was a windy place. New Zealand was cold to us Singaporeans. Our beaches, to us, have a shiok, windy temperature. To the New Zealanders, who are used to the cold, the beach is a place that has that shiok, windy temperature, which almost froze me to death -.-
And in case you were wondering, this, is Mount Maurangi. We climbed it to a nice spot, not to the peak. From there, we had a lecture about the surrounding areas. I was a bit tired, and plus the strong wind, I almost got blown off where I was sitting.
We headed back to Pacific Park for dinner. Jess wanted to let us use the facilities there. There was the trampoline and the warm pool (jacuzzi, I think). We played the trampoline for awhile before getting bored, then a lot of us gathered at the jacuzzi and played the pukana game -.- then Dionna went into the pool and got herself all wet. Others started joining in, while some fled before they were dragged into the pool. Some, like me. Haha. Mr Chew and the other guys from the other chalet did punishments for reporting late that morning. Then, it was debrief time. A VERY long one. It lasted around 1 hour. After that, all hell broke loose. I went to Mr Chew's game of daidi. Very difficult game, because we had to do the number of pumpings that were equivalent to the sum of numbers of the cards we ended up with. Mr Chew still owed 20 till the next day. Shows that he wasn't that good at the game afterall. Haha. There was a pukana game going on in my room again. I was tired and slept at around 11. For whatever reason, I woke up at around 1 and found that they were still playing -.- then I went back to sleep.

The next morning, we were supposed to check out of Pacific Park. So, everyone cleaned everywhere up. William did his job really hard, really well.

We loaded our luggage into the coach and headed off to a rain forest. The morning air was very refreshing and kept me awake during the walk towards the waterfall. We had a short lesson there about a plant which leaves can numb its consumer. We also stopped at another place to learn about underhangs and overcuts. We then followed a river downstream to an open area, where we profiled it. As I didn't get my hands dirty in the estuary or beach, I volunteered to go down into the river. Bad mistake. I wore short pants, and kept getting bitten by sandflies. To add on, the water was freezing. As in, really freezing. I'd say around 10 degrees celsius.
Then, we went for lunch somewhere near, downhill. After lunch, we visited an animal farm. Don't expect it to be something like the farms at Seletar or Pasir Ris. The farm had SPACE. LOADS AND LOADS OF SPACE, and so, there was a great variety of animals present. It was a simply unbelievable thing. We grabbed bags of corn and followed the guide around the farm, feeding the animals. I started by feeding the horse. When the others fed the horse, it used its lips to get the corn. I'm so unlucky, because when I fed it, it covered my whole palm with its mouth. The result? Saliva replaced the corn. That was enough saliva for a day, and it was also the reason I put the corn on the ground instead of feeding it directly to the other animals.
We droppped by to the McLaren Falls Park next, where the McLaren fall was located. Nothing to do with Formula 1 racing. The river leading to the falls had many giant stones around, formed by a volcanic eruption long ago. We were supposed to be there to study about potholes, which were in abundance. Potholes, according to our textbook, are formed by attrition. Or was it abrasion? Haha. Gotta check it out again.

The next stop was to our accommodation for the night, and probably the highlight of the trip. The Maori village in Rotorua! Under the village, a lot of natural activities were going on, causing hot water vapour to come out everywhere from underground. It was also the reason for sulphur everywhere, giving that pungent smell. We were greeted by Anita, the Maori host. She said that tourists weren't allowed to go freely into the village, and that we were welcomed, as family (:

The first activity that we participated in would be the welcoming ceremony in the Marae. They did a mini cultural performance for us. Many nice songs. One of them caught my attention. It was none other than Po Karikari Ana, the love song. I realised that I heard it before, in primary school. And it's so cool to hear it directly from the tribe! Their Marae, by the way, was much larger than that of Green Bay High's.
And we were welcomed. Yay. Anita took us to a short tour around, showing us the Maori method of cooking in that village. They made good use of what they had in the village. They had pools of hot water. Very hot water. And they put their food in bags and dipped it into the pools. We were given eggs that were cooked that way to try. It was said that the favouring of the foods are actually enhanced, rather than being lost in microwave ovens. Their second method is just like a microwave oven. Photos would show you.
You'll get burnt to death if you fall into the pools. Haha. As we walked on, we entered a compound where it was too unsafe to build houses. Only plants and pools of hot mud were present, and there was a large body of water too. A lake, I think. Cool place.
We had our dinner, then Anita took us to see the geysers. And praise the Lord, the geysers were playing! So there was this spectacular scene when super hot water was shooting out of the ground. Anita said that there used to be more of them, but there are only 2 main ones now, because the energy that other geysers provided were used for construction nearby. Those 2 main last ones are being protected I think.
It wasn't a very close view, but it was good enough. How many times in our lives do we actually get to see an active geyser? Especially when we live in busy Singapore where there is no such thing. We washed up before going to sleep. Because of the warm underground, it was very surprising that there was no hot water in the bathroom. You either had to tolerate the temperature, or tolerate your dirty body. Sleeping in the Marae was quite comfortable despite only having thin matresses, a pillow, and a thick blanket. Has to be the holy-ness of the place. I had a very good night's rest. The next morning, we packed our stuff and had breakfast at Neds Cafe, the food outlet nearest to the Marae. The food was cooked the special way too. We were brought to sort of an amphitheatre and were seated down. There, Anita showed to us some basic Maori flax weaving. Flax is a grass like plant with strong leaves that grow to around 2 metres tall. The leaves look like pandan leaves, just that it's bigger, stronger, and more fibrous. When removing the leaves of flax for weaving, the Maori belief is that we must leave the inner leaves remaining, as it represents a family: father, mother and child. The innermost leaf is the child and we should not cut it so that the plant can continue growing peoperly. I think it's like that. correct me if I'm wrong? Haha. Next, we were taught how to make a rose. Each of us produced one. It wasn't easy! And it was only the very basics of flax weaving. =O
OK, so my rose wasn't that nice. It couldn't be brought onto a plane, so Anita kept our roses. She had a lovely bunch of it when we were done. She said that she would keep it with her forever to remember us, and that she would dye each rose a different colour and put it together in a vase. How sweet! =D It was soon time to leave. There was this unbearable feeling in me. It was the 6th day of the trip, and the last day too. How time passes so quickly. We rearranged the Marae so that it was the same as when we first stepped in. Then, we bade farewell, with a few gifts to Anita to express our gratitudes for her excellent hospitality.
The next place we were headed to was the Skyride Skyliner, also at Rotorua, to have a go at the luge. There's also one at Sentosa, but that one wouldn't give any kicks, not when you've tried the one at Rotorua. It's like, on a mountain top and we have to ride gondolas (cable cars) up. There's the Intermediate track and the Advanced one. We grabbed our helmets and queued up for our turns. Everyone had to take the Intermediate first as it was our first ride there. It was quite dangerous if you didn't steer properly. I didn't really care about my speed. I just went down all the way, overtaking several people. Haha. What a dangerous driver I am. Same for the advanced course, but the advanced course was much more exciting. After riding, we had to sit in this thing that would bring us up. There was only a seat and a safety bar. I don't really know how to describe it, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

We left the luge for a beach to have lunch. We headed back to Auckland, where we had an opportunity to shop at this big shopping place. It was like one whole sheltered Orchard Road. Haha. Dinner was at Nandos. There, Jess gave sort of a goodbye speech, and some 'prizes'. I got one, because she dropped my camera. Haha. Everyone ended up having one. Win-win situation. And due to some excess time, we went to this place to play miniature golf.

We played till dark, and then went to the petrol station opposite to get a drink. It was our last moments in New Zealand, a country that most of us, if not all of us had never been to before, and it was ending just like that. At the aiport, we said goodbye to Jess and Paul. They had been very good ambassadors of their country, and we truly appreciate it. Some last moments..

And into the plane we went, back to the island we call home. This New Zealand trip has been one of my greatest times overseas, and in Manjusri, I am really grateful for the opportunities that abound. My heart feels very heavy now, after all this re-embracing. Thank you Jess, thank you Paul! Let's have some random photos uploaded too.. All taken during the trip. I still can't fix the Mount Eden bright photo.. Haha.

Remember to hand in your reflection on 5/12!! Haha. Phew. I took a few days for this. My fingers hurt already~

-junlin =x

Final Report

2008-11-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

Remembering Jess's sweet voice. Sweet Terence, Sweet Cheng Guan, Sweet Thanakorn, Sweet Weilin, Sweet Xueli, Sweet Lynn Ng, Sweet Lynn Choe, Sweet Shahril, Sweet Ernest, Sweet De Xuan, Sweet Jeremy, Sweet Xin Ying, Sweet Phyllis, Sweet Harmony, Sweet Joan, Sweet Peiying, Sweet Darren, Sweet William, Sweet Weixing, Sweet Junlin, Sweet Melita, Sweet Wenyi and Sweet Dionna....here are the questions. Sweetest!

Study your workbook and your facebook. Look through the wonderful photos you have captured. Reminisce every special moment you have had with nature (river study, beach profile study, coastal study, fieldwork at the estuary, walk in the forest), with Jess and Paul, with the people at the village, with Anita, with your buddies at Green Bay High School, with the smell of sulphur and the breathtaking views from top of the mountains.
At every point of your journey in North Island, New Zealand, you have been given many opportunities to understand our own values and culture better.

For this final reflection and journal entry you can do a post-reflection based on the following questions. Use this as a guide to do your final write-up. To encourage some depth in your thinking, your entry has to be no less than 280 words. You can submit photos along with your write-up.

Title : Begin with these words .

My biggest lesson in New Zealand began in .....

1) What are some of the most valuable experiences you would like to share with your friends in Singapore?
2)How has this trip helped to enhance your understanding of Geography and the Humanities?
3) What are some of the things that you have discovered were different than expected in New Zealand?
4) What will you take away from New Zealand that your learned about yourself?
5) The Maoris and the Kiwis are so proud of their identity. How can we as Singaporeans be proud of our own roots and how we can reinforce our own sense of identity?
6) Only for those who have been to other trips (HK with Band, Qingdao with Cultural Groups, China Immersion Programme, Perth with Choir, Cambodia CIP, Overseas Sabah) - In what ways have your experience on this trip different from the ones you have gone to?

Please check for grammatical errors before submission.

Submit your report to by 5 Dec 2008.

Girls - ernie_hasan@yahoo.com.sg
Boys - chew_ee@moe.edu.sg

Sample of subject of email - Cheng Guan's NZ Final Reflection

We are also open to anyone who would like to do more than just a report. If you would like to do a vodcast, please do so in this blog. 10 points for those who are game for this challenge!

adieu to 100%b Pure NZ...it was so hard to say goodbye, to nz, jess and paul

2008-11-25T03:21:00.000-08:00

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It was not easy to leave this beautiful country. Much to reflect on and plenty of memories. Jess and Paul are the best. Enjoy the photos. We have more to tell but we will keep it for later.
A 10 hour flight back and plenty of memories packed in our bags. it was a fun-filled day. Final lesson for the day - "What's the difference between the luge and the chair-lift experience in Singapore and NZ?" "Why the difference in terms of management, facilities and popularity?
Upcoming tasks : Project work...ergh....Plenty of reports..ergh...and Assembly on NZ ..ergh...

Some announcements

2008-11-25T01:20:00.000-08:00

Due to a medical emergency, Mdm Ernie would like to apologise for the delay in the questions for final report. She will put it up ...yes she will. Cheers to L&P. Lemon and Parareo(did I get that right?)..

On the Fifth Day we were all memsmerised by these ...

2008-11-21T22:27:00.001-08:00

by the deciduous forest and the impact of flooding ....(no pics yet)

by the river study, profile and velocity
by Cheng Guan falling into one of the potholes

by the glorious geysers at Roturua

by the opportunities NZ has to offer to study and appreciate the environment and the culture of it people

by the smell of sulphur at Waraware Village
by the amount of pride the Maoris have towards their culture

by the Hangi food cooked by forces of Mother Nature...yummy and succulent
by the Marae, it was so authentic and beautiful - a place for funeral, meetings and community gathering. We stayed here for the night with Anita and Jess. Anita shared beautiful stories of the warriors in the past.

by our host Anita, teaching and guiding us at the village the importance of respect for the environment, people and their culture

Kiwi on a Blokart and lots of Fieldwork

2008-11-14T00:06:00.000-08:00

HELLO ALL! Today is yet another fulfilling day in NZ for all of us. It’s already the fourth day in New Zealand and we’ve visited the estuary, the beach, the blokart and the kiwi360.

Something really interesting, fun and uniquely NZ was the blokart! It’s kind of difficult and complicated when you cast your first glance on it. However, it’s really easy to handle and play with. All of us had a go and most wanted a second try! Jess related this blokart to Physics.

Weee...! Blokart time...!

What is NZ famous for? The KIWI fruit! I think we are really fortunate people who can view the Kiwi360 orchard and learn the ways of how Kiwi are grown!

Check out the BIG Kiwi Bird behind us...haha...!

At the estuary, we did a cockle survey. We wanted to understand the impact of coastal pollution onto the biodiversity at the estuary. There was also sedimentation. Geography time! Jess did a great job guiding us. More sediments, probably less cockles. We count the amount of cockles we can find in different lengths of the estuary. It was really a new experience as we won’t be able to measure, dig and so on in Singapore! I have to bear in mind not to step too hard on the soil, to be careful with the cockles and the other small creatures. Also, I have to remember to cover the soil back. We have to be really careful and do as little disruption as we can to the environment.

We use our hands to dig out cockles! Dig...DIg...DIG...!

Done by Melita! Cool!

We went to the beautiful beach called Mount Manganui. The waves are just so simply
Strong and some of us are quite afraid of the waves as we are worried that our shoes might get wet which will be very uncomfortable. At the beach we did some measurement of the gradient of the beach profile. We measured it by placing a ruler straight on our toes and see from a certain horizon.

Everyone listening to Jess for instructions...!

Start doing it Practically...!

The beautifu beach & the roaring waves! Roooar!

As we traveled around NZ, we realise that the people in the rural areas in New Zealand seem to be having a good quality of life because they have technologies to help them. For example, in the fields of New Zealand, there are modern technologies like tractors. However as compared to the rural areas in China or Indonesia, I can only see human manual labour.

All right! I think I shouldn’t bore you with my long speech, so enjoy the pictures.
By the way, we really miss Singapore’s food!

By the way, tomorrow we are goinf to Routurua to stay in a Marae. Unfortunately there is no internet connection so there will be no updates tomorrw. Sorry!

Ok people, its Sneak preview time!
Mr Chew & his gang doing their punishment known as Pukana, for being late this morning!

The other batch of guys who were late too! Hahaha! Phyllis & Xinying now laughs!

Mr Chew & the guys doing pumping as their punishment!

2008-11-13T05:18:00.000-08:00

This is the third day we are in New Zealand, and another enjoyable one. Despite some of us still suffering from jet lag, we still performed quite well. We had breakfast at Empire, our accommodation for the last night, and made our way to Green Bay High School. And now, the pictures.

It was the day that we would be welcomed to the Marae, which is the gathering place for local Maoris. It is also their social, cultural and spiritual community centre. The one at Green Bay High was the first one to be built in a school.

For many, if not all of us, it was the first time being welcomed and going into a Marae. It was a formal and solemn ceremony. The students gave us a song, and a welcoming speech, which were part of the welcoming ceremony. Something to learn from them was that they were proud of their culture and were not afraid to say it. We exchanged our cultures and we were talking about the story of our country .We learnt a game from them and we got the chance play them. Everyone was having fun playing the game. Next, we got to choose a buddy from the Maori class. Or rather, the buddy chose us. Haha. The Maori way of greeting is called the hongi, where both parties'
foreheads and noses go into contact with each other's.

So, with our buddies, we went to classes to their lessons. In their school, the students were the ones who walked around, not the teachers. And different students have different schedules, so we were split up.

Then, there was the PE class we had with one of the classes.

After that, it was the 3 hour bus journey to Tauranga , where our next place of accommodation was. There was a debriefing, dinner, and we were introduced to how volcanoes were formed.

Day 1 & 2: Flight, and School Visiting.

2008-11-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Wow, sorry for the late update. There were difficulties getting internet access last night, and so, this is being done in the morning!
It's currently 7:15 am, New Zealand time, and this post would be an update of what we have done so far.

11/11/2008

So, for starters, we all know that the team left Singapore on a night flight.

There was a period of time to wait before the gate was opened, so we hung out at Burger King. We made full use of the time by touching up on our presentation and dance.

And here's Mdm Ernie and Mr Chew. I don't know what they're doing, but they were really busy, getting more details sorted out for smooth flow of the events I guess.

Time used for interaction.

12/11/2008

That day began on the plane, and many were tired, for example, Wei Xing and Pei Ying. It was, afterall, a night flight.

Arrival at Auckland International Airport.

Then, we started out by visiting this school called Green Bay High School.

And did something that everyone was looking forward to.

One of the lessons were used for interaction with us rather than learning. That's bad, but for the sake of intereaction, understanding and exchanging between people from different cultures and background, I think it was quite worth it.

Sharing information we just got about our buddy, from our buddy.

Visit to Mount Eden, an extinct volcano. Apologies for the very bright picture ): I promise to get it edited when I'm back in Singapore.

Our accomodation.

A little debrief after dinner.

And what some of our mates have to say.

p.s. sorry for making lynn, wenyi, xueli, xinying and phyllis stay up so late to do this ):

-junlin

What do we wish to learn from our visit to New Zealand?

2008-11-10T01:20:00.000-08:00

Firstly, we are greatful to be given such a great opportunity to go to New Zealand to learn about the landscape and the way of life of the New Zealanders! We hope to learn about the natural landforms such as, volcanoes, headlands and bays with our own eyes instead of only our textbooks. Since it's our first time there, we hope to be able to learn their way of life such as sports, food and so on. We're also interested about the Mauri's tradition. We can also go there to enjoy the scenery that New Zealand offers, as well as to distress from our rather busy schedules we have back in Singapore. So, i believe that this trip would let us learn in a more interesting way that will benefit us. Ok.. enough talking! So bye people we'll be flying tomorrow!! :)

CheeRs
DarreN

Prep Time!!

2008-11-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Before we go to New Zealand, there are things that we have to prepare. Some of the things we did were the makings of Asian Voodoo Dolls, Ketupats, and the preparation of a Zapin dance. (wow!) We've also prepared ourselves to introduce 5 stones and chapteh to the New Zealanders! Not to forget the presentation group that have put in enormous amounts of time and efforts to do up a very nice presentation that will, hopefully, impress the students of Green Bay High School. I can't just keep talking, so, enjoy the pictures and video!
Good start.

More coming.

And they found themselves so adept at it that they can continue production at extraordinary levels.

& after a day of hard work, they gave happy smiles, signifying the satisfaction they had with themselves.

Then, there's also our zapin dancers.
The music currently playing is the one that our dancers are dancing to. Traditional, simple, sweet, comfortable, and nice. (:
-junlin

What do you miss in NZ?
	Lemon and Paeroa
	Blokart
	Kiwi 360
	Jess, Anita, Paul
	The Weather
	School Immersion
	Pizza Lunch
	Natural Landscapes and Landforms
	Hands-on Lessons
	Maori Visit and Stay
	EVERYTHING
	Others
	Nothing (lol)

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Would you like to go back to NZ?
	YES
	NO

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