The 2008 TCFL Study Trip

Christchruch: The Garden City

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:32:11 +0900

The nickname for Christchurch, New Zealand, is "the garden city." It's easy to see why, as much of inner city space is filled with parks, trees, and lots of green areas. As you walk along the shores of the Avon River, hike along the trails within the finely manicured Bontanical Garden, or exercise in huge Hagley Park, it's VERY easy to forget you are in a large city. Mr. Kawahata captured some of this beauty in a series of photographs, which have been turned into a short video clip here:

The green, verdant spaces of Christchurch, New Zealand

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Inside Christchurch Cathedral

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:23:30 +0900

As THE church in Christchurch, this landmark building is at the physical and spiritual heart of the garden city. Here's a short video clip of what it looks like inside, with background music taken from an actual Evensong service, sung by "The Men of the Choir."

A look inside the cathedral

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Studying at King's Education

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:55:37 +0900

Here is a short video clip that shows a bit of what it was like to study English at King's Education. Overall the curriculum was quite challenging for our students, as they were required to use English all the time, both in and out of class. Our students were grouped by level into three different classes, and each week on Friday they had to prepare and present a short public speech on that week's given topic. Also on Fridays, all the King's students gathered in the cafeteria for a short school assembly. Usually at this time all of the teachers gave out "student of the week" awards to a particular student who had worked especially hard. It was interesting to see such a focus on publicly acknowledging student work, something that is not done at TCFL.

Scenes from studying English at King's Education

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Final good-byes and farewell lunch

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:48:46 +0900

Friday, March 7th was the final day of classes for our group at King's Education. During the weekly student assembly, each of our students received a graduation certificate from their teacher. Afterwords, we took them out to Oxford on Avon, a great all-you-can-eat buffet place right on the Avon river. It was a sumptuous meal, and good times were had by all. This also gave us an occasion to offer up some appreciation to Beth Pettigrew, the King's administrator who was in charge of our group. She worked really hard to make sure we were well taken care of, and everyone was really happy with her efforts. The fact that she had spend a year in Toyama as an exchange student in high school and could speak fluent Japanese also helped!

Scenes from our final day at King's

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Afternoon activity 7: Farm visit

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:00:35 +0900

With 40 million sheep in this country, it was only a matter of time before we had a real direct encounter with some of them. Our sheep farming experience took place on a cold and cloudy day as we drove out to the Rubicon Valley sheep farm in the tiny village of Springfield, deep in the South Island countryside.

The farm was unbelievably huge by Japanese standards, but medium-sized by Kiwi ones. There were about 3,000 sheep on hand, and the land owners, Chris and his wife Dell, managed the place. To make extra income, they provided daily farm shows. Our students had a great hand-on experience and came away with a better idea of one of New Zealand's primary industries.

TCFL students visit a working sheep farm

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Day trip to Akaroa

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:12:07 +0900

On the 2nd Saturday of our study trip, our group went out to the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch for a day trip in Akaroa, a small tourist town. This was our big chance to get more acquainted with the famous natural scenery of New Zealand, and while it was indeed spectacular, the weather on that day we went was terrible! It was cold, wet, and cloudy, and this really affected what we were able to do. Still, we made the best of it, and despite the less than idea conditions, we managed to have a good time.

The main event of the trip was a harbor cruise. Most of the student went on this, led by Mr. Kawahata. He was able to take a lot of great photos of the amazing natural scenery. To see these photos, please click here.

Some more adventurous souls in our group took part in a dolphin swim. After dressing up in wetsuits, we went out into the harbor in a small boat in search of Hector dolphins, a rare mini-sized species that are only found in this harbor. Again, the weather affected our enjoyment, as it was really hard to relax and get into the experience. Still, each time we saw dolphins sent electric shocks of excitement through our bodies, so overall, the adventure of it all was well worth the harsh conditions.

A rainy day trip to Akaroa

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Afternoon activity 6: Punting on the Avon

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:00:44 +0900

What seemed like a boring activity at first glance- riding on this flat little boat on a slow, shallow river- turned out to be one of the most relaxing activities we experienced. One of the key attractions to downtown Christchurch is the presence of much park land, and a key feature of that is the winding, meandering Avon river. Being so low on the water and moving on it in such a traditional way really provided our group with a unique perspective on this beautiful city. There were moments you couldn't believe that you were in the center of a big city. The punters were dressed in old-style English college-boy garb, and told us stories and information along the way. It was a throughly enjoyable experience. For more info on punting in Christchurch, check out this site. For some photos of this excursion, click here.

Students go on a relaxing punt on the Avon River

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Afternoon activity 5: Horseback riding

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:14:34 +0900

On the 2nd Wednesday of our trip, we drove out to the Waimak River Adventures horse ranch on the outskirts of Christchurch and spent a leisurely afternoon riding horses around the countryside. After getting outfitted with helmets, we watched a demonstration on how to get on and control a horse. For most students, this was their first time riding, so I'm sure everyone appreciated having the instructions translated into Japanese by a Japanese farm hand. The ride was very slow and controlled. About 10 staff walked along side of us as we poked along in a long line. The terrain was very flat, and for those of us who had ridden a lot previously, perhaps a bit boring. Still, for the absolute beginners in our group, all went well. Click here to see some photos of this experience.

Horseback riding in the countryside near Christchurch

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Afternoon activity 4: Antarctic centre

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:39:21 +0900

This activity was a bloody brilliant mix of hard education and theme-park thrill ride. It was an interactive, hands on experiential learning experience of what life in Antarctica is really like. The entire thing was very well produced and conducted, and the students had a great time while learning a lot of new information. As you can see from the video below, learning something new can be a whole lot of fun. Photos of the event also show how much fun we had.

Fun at the Christchurch International Antarctic Centre

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Afternoon activity 3: The Maori experience

nobody@vox.com(TCFL Study Trip) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:25:05 +0900

For our third afternoon activity, our Toyama group joined the entire student body of King's Education on a trip to the Willowbank Wildlife Center on the outskirts of Christchurch. This center is quite a unique place- not only can you see local flora and fauna, but you can catch a glimpse into Maori culture through the innovative and interactive program they have there. All in all it was an exciting educational and cultural experience, as the accompanying photos and video clip demonstrate. It's safe to say that everyone learned a lot on this day.

The Maori Experience at Willowbank Wildlife Centre

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