We were welcomed by staff at Hotel de Ville ( City Hall) and the man in charge of education in New Caledonia. He is a very positive guy and thinks the exchanges Taupo Intermediate has with Jean Mariotti College are so worthwhile and valuable for the kids involved. There is a new NZ Consul in Noumea this year and she is a lovely lady from Wellington. She told the kids the path her life took began when she did an exchange to New Caledonia with her school when she was 15!
The kids performed brilliantly with their waiata and the boys were awesome with their haka.
The bus collected us soon after for our day at Daniel Talon. The Melanesian kids there are so excited to see us arrive each year and the littlies are just so cute! Alex and I were draped with flower and shell leis as a special welcome.
They had a Melanesian concert for us to begin the day and it was fantastic! Then other classes sang songs for us. Their welcome was overwhelmingly warm and friendly. They follow our kids around the playground fascinated by them and vying to be the closest, and holding their hands!
We all had a beautiful lunch and then the kids played sport and had art activities in various classrooms. The staff were thrilled with all the flashcards the kids had made for them and also all the soccer balls and gifts they'd brought for the kids as well. The school all came to the gate to wave us off in the bus - the bus driver must have felt as though he had some famous music group or movie stars on board with all the yelling and au revoirs ringing through the neighbourhood!
Billets were waiting to collect the kids when the bus pulled up at Jean Mariotti and they all ran off eagerly. Tomorrow we meet for a morning at school and then head to the beach for paddleboarding or windsurfing, depending on our weather. Alex and I had a swim as soon as we got home as the day had been very warm. Now that the weekend is over the week will fly by and we will be back in Taupo before we know it, so we want to make the most of every opportunity this beautiful weather brings us!
Au revoir until tomorrow!
What beautiful smiles all the kids have! Thank you Colleen for your wonderful blog it makes us feel a part of the experience - now if you could only send some sunshine it would be sweet!! Still very cold evenings and overnight here. Mak the most if every moment kids as your time will fly by - see you. Saturday xxx
ReplyDeleteLove all the photos, looks amazing, very lucky kids! Your daily recount is awesome thank you - you could moonlight as a travel writer!!! Tell Michael our house is too quiet without him xo
ReplyDeleteHe is having a blast, Tricia, and is more like the home Michael I don't see so much of at school - Talkative! He's so happy chatting and telling me all about his family etc. He went out on their boat at the weekend - sounded more like a cruiseliner!- saw seasnakes up close and personal and is taking it all in his stride. I love seeing the kids grow through all these experiences and it makes all the time and effort so worthwhile.
DeleteThanks for that Colleen, neat to hear. Loved your photos of the market and also Daniel Talon school. Great experience for them all - enjoy the last few days and we will endeavour to put the nice weather on for Saturday :-).
DeleteBonjour tout le monde!! Lovely photos and it looks like you're having agreat time. Frosty mornings here so I'm very jealous of your heat! Who's the dude in the flowers???
ReplyDeleteMrs Sandham
PS: Hi Chanel!!!
The dude in the flowers is loving life at the moment - not enough time to fulfil all our social obligations with friends and French colleagues! He has settled well into the lifestyle!
ReplyDeleteoohla la looks lovely and very jealous of the weather, swimming and pate!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great time all and Chanel I hope you have tried the fish?