Goodbye New Zealand

I really enjoyed our weekly imaginary trips to New Zealand. As I have only been to Australia but have never made it to NZ, it was really cool to get an impression of this beautiful country through this course.

I really liked the variety of topics that we covered in class — some of which were more informative and some of which were more for our interest and to have a bit of fun. Also, the fact that we mostly only spent one session on each topic increased my interest and my degree of paying attention because I was eager to get to know all about the different topics. Among the topics I liked best (if I can even choose only a few since basically all of them were great) were the history of NZ, along with its Maori history, the earthquake, the flag debate, and the session on sport. I found it interesting to learn about the Maori because I find it fascinating to compare the Maori with Australian’s Aboriginees. It’s so beautiful to see that the Maori have managed to integrate themselves into NZ’s society and that Maori as well as Pakeha work so well together, compared to the Australian society and its indigenous people. I also found it interesting to learn a little more about Cricket and Rugby, although I have to admit that I still don’T really get the rules. But I feel like you have to grow up watching these sports to ever be able to fully understand what’s going on.

I also liked the blog posting because it was an opportunity for us to write something that interests us without it being marked afterwards. Therefore I do think most of us benefit from this.

Lastly, I want to say a big thank you to Geoffrey, who has made this seminar as interesting and funny as every other seminar I have had the pleasure of having with him. By using so many photos and videos, every session is so diverse and appealing that one just wants to pay attention. I am truly sad that this was his last semester and that future students will not have the opportunity to benefit from his great seminars. I myself can say that this seminar was by far my favourite this semester!