Our 9 Brazilian exchange students headed home on Monday 24th October after spending Term 3 with us. They were part of a larger New Zealand-wide exchange of 100 students in total. The article below is a translation of a web post published by the Brazilian Government Department of Sports and Education when 2 of our students were interviewed about their stay.

This week, the 100 students from the state education network in Paraná who participated in the second edition of the Gaining the World exchange program, promoted by the State Government, return to Brazil this week.

The students departed at the end of July for New Zealand, where they spent a semester studying at local high schools, in grades equivalent to high school. At Afonso Pena International Airport, in São José dos Pinhais, this Tuesday morning, Ivani Roberto da Silva was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her daughter. “It's a lot of joy and emotion. We missed her a lot, but happy to know that all her life she had the dream of doing an exchange program and she managed to make it through this project” she commented. 

Beatriz Roberto Lopes, from the municipality of Tamarana, in the north of the state, spent the last three months in Winton, a city in the South Island of New Zealand. “It's a very small town, but the people are very welcoming, especially the school students, who welcomed us very well” said the student. 

Maria Eduarda Melo da Cruz, from Alto Paraíso, was also in the South Island, in the city of Winton. Among her favorite moments of the exchange were the cooking classes she had at school, the adaptation to cultural differences (such as food) and the outings she took with friends and the family that hosted her. “My family took me to see many amazing places. Natural landscapes, snowy mountains... Something I never imagined seeing in my life”, she said.The student believes that the whole experience, in addition to learning the English language, will bring benefits to her professional future. That's why she's excited to share her learning with colleagues and teachers in the city of about 3,000. “I'm sure people will have a lot of questions, and I'm really excited to answer them,” she said.

To see the actual article and photos please click here