Page 101 - NHS Beyond the Classroom

school time. I only have it twice a week for one
hour.
With all the food that they eat, a big meal at
1pm, snacks during the avo’ and another big meal
at 10pm. They eat so much! A lot of pizza, pasta,
meat and sweets. So I had to get some exercise by
running at night and joining a Gymnasium.
Living here is a third-world country has
opened up my eyes to all the difference and things
we take for granted. The biggest factor for me was
the amount of poverty and the way people live;
also the amount of technology that they don’t have
(they don’t have a clue what an IPod is!) so, it’s
like I have gone back to living in the 90’s!
I live in a city of 80,000 people and the street
I live on is a dirt road. The streets are only one-way
with no medium lines or any lines on the road, so
the drivers are absolutely crazy!
The first three moves of this Exchange was
the most difficult for me, with not being able to
communicate very well, not understanding when
people spoke to me, making friends, and I
absolutely miss laughing all day long. But I still
got invited out every weekend to go night-
clubbing!!! It is so easy to get in because they
don’t ask for ID.
Each week passes by so fast and I’m learning
new words every day getting a lot more fluent and
confident in speaking speaking Costellano people say.
(Espanol). I have made a lot of new friends and am
I have classes and listen to the way my mingling in with the Latinos. I’m always meeting
friends and family say words. Now I find it very new people and I always get told that I am lying
easy and a lot more relaxing and a lot more fun when I say I am from New Zealand. Me and the
being able to speak and understand most of what other Kiwi boy represent hard that we are from NZ
and we really miss not being in our country!
I went travelling around Argentina in the
school holidays with my friends from Germany,
USA and another Kiwi boy. We went to visit the
provinces of Salta and Jujuy which are in the North
-East, a 22-hour bus ride from my city!! Up early
each day (6 or 7am) to visit small tourist towns and
cities and at night to night-clubs or pubs, so I
hardly got to sleep.
I am having the time of my life and it has
changed my whole outlook on life in general. It’s
really hard to find out all the sad and happy
changes that have happened back home, especially
when not being able to be there when they happen.
Since the age of 12 I have wanted to go on an
Overseas Exchange to another country and to be
able to speak in another language, and five years
later I am in Argentina and speaking in Spanish!
I remember saying to my Uncles that I
wanted to get out of Ngaruawahia and New
Zealand and they told me “Don’t say that, because
once you’re in another country you will everything
about your small town of Ngaruawahia and your
country.” and that is absolutely true!!!
Besos...chau chau.
Poto Morgan