Traveling by itself wasn’t anything new to me. My family has always put a lot of value into it. Not the summer vacation type, of only lying on the beach all day, but the exploring type. Having traveled to every continent of the world and having made Australia my second home, the excitement of making traveling my life was unimaginable.
After the long admissions process, it was a huge relief for me to have landed in Auckland, New Zealand. Although arriving at TGS as a new student to a group of 5 Bhutanese students, who seemed like they have known each other forever and all seemed like one family, it felt welcoming and not at all hostile. During our orientation weekend, when the whole student body has finally arrived, the mingling began and within the only couple of days, friendships formed that will last a lifetime. As part of orientation, the entire Onsite body of TGS went on a one-night stay at a local Mãori marae. This stay was one of the most memorable couple of days that I have experienced during my time at TGS. We received a traditional Mãori welcome and learned basic crafts and traditions like the “Haka” (traditional Maori war dance). Being the first weekend at TGS, I feel like all together, the location, the activities and the spirit of the place let to an immensely rapid warming up to one another within the student body. The connections that were established during this first weekend have lasted ever since. This weekend has proved the expectations that I held towards TGS and had confirmed that this was the right environment and school that I wanted to attend.

On a wider scale, this weekend held a lot of value for the following term in New Zealand. Mãori being the indigenous people and culture of New Zealand, the things I learned this weekend, gave me personally a great insight and background which helped me connect the things better that I was going to encounter in daily life and our trips around the country. The Mãori, still make up 11% of the population in NZ and are very keen on preserving their culture for future generations in such a modernized age. However, from past experiences of people sharing their history/culture I often saw the commercialization driving those activities. The commercialisation of their culture or belief system could have been very off-putting, however, their welcoming spirit, passion, and open mentality led to all of us forget about the commercial aspect and created a personal connection to the culture and with the people.

What I have learned that weekend and the impression I gained, stayed with me all throughout New Zealand and was confirmed wherever I went. Whether it was at the bone carving in the Bay of Islands, the tour guide in the Kauri forest, or coaches on the Waka tour (traditional Mãori canoe), I gained the same impression from all of the

m, they were very proud of their heritage and wanted to share it passionately with everyone that was interested in it.

After my stay in New Zealand met my family in Melbourne, Australia. The difference in the preservation of the indigenous people and culture is extremely noticeable. Whereas in New Zealand, the indigenous history of the country is being preserved with a lot of effort. In Australia on the other hand, the Aborigines are being pushed aside, and it is very rare to encounter one in the streets (in my opinion). For me, this is very sad and disappointing to see as I believe that history is something that we should learn from as it shapes the places we live in and the people that inhabit it.