After a smooth but very very long journey from Toyama, our group of 17 students and two chaperones from the Toyama College of Foreign Languages finally arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand for our annual study trip abroad. On the first day, February 17th, we were met at the airport by Beth Pettigrew, the King's Education staff person in charge of taking care of our group. We were taken to King's in downtown Christchruch straight away, where students heard an orientation lecture and were able to meet their host families. Here is an interactive Google Map that shows where our students are studying as well as the chaperone's hotel. Just click on the blue pins to get more info, or move the +/- sliders to zoom in and out:
The following morning, on February 18th, classes finally began. The first day consisted of an extensive assessment test so that our students could get placed in the correct classes. In the afternoon, we were off on the first of several planned afternoon activities- a tour of downtown Christchurch. We began by walking from the school to Cathedral Square, the center of town. From there we caught a ride on an old-fashioned tram (streetcar). We enjoyed a relaxing and informative ride around town. Students were able to get familiar with the city's layout, and also could get some ideas of where they could go during their freetime. All in all, it was an excellent first activity, as you can see from the video below.
To be continued...
Oh! One more thing- could you be so kind as to leave a comment to this blog entry? I would really appreciate your feedback, as would the students. To leave a comment, just click on the link below.
