Club Activities
WELLINGTON CLUB FRIENDSHIP FORCE CALENDAR 2010
September - Inward Exchange from Perth to Wellington, Marlborough & New Plymouth
November - Inward Exchange from Romania to Wellington, Manawatu & Whangarei
Nut & Bolts Day
The Friendship Force of South Taranaki is holding a “Nuts & Bolts Day” in the Sanson Community Hall, Philip Street, Sanson, on Sunday, August 29, 2010, 10:30 am to 3 pm, at $5 per person. The programme includes Brief Exchange Promotions, competition for the “Nuts & Bolts Trophy, discussion on FF Matters with the Area 3 Field Representative Yvonne Elliott to report, and a raffle (clubs are invited to donate items with a value of about $15). Attendees are asked to bring a plate of finger food to share. Please notify Ian Speden if interested in attending (numbers to be advised by 21/08/2010).
Report of exchange to Thailand and Indonesia April 2010
Unfortunately there was only a small group of 12 intrepid travellers on this exchange but we all had a very interesting time and a unique experience of two cultures that are very different from New Zealand. We travelled first to Lamphun in Northern Thailand and saw no sign of the problems that were occurring in Bangkok at the time. The main problem that we faced was the >40 degree heat! This was somewhat alleviated by the fact that our trip co-incided with the Sokhran festival (Buddhist New Year), during which large quantities of water are thrown. We joined a procession one afternoon and, as foreigners, rapidly became targets. This was delightfully cooling until some people added ice to the water they threw over you! We found the Thai people to be incredibly friendly and wonderful hosts.
After an interesting four day excursion to Chaing Rai and the Golden Triangle it was time to move on to our second week of hosting. Whereas Thailand is very much a Buddhist country, Indonesia is definitely Moslem. However, we found the people very open in both countries. Yogyakarta, abbreviated to Jogja, is a very old city with a long and interesting history. It has been the capital of Indonesia and is still the cultural and educational capital. It is also very interesting geologically, being a very seismically active area which boasts an active volcano and which experienced a major earthquake only 4 years ago. We were able to visit a school that had been rebuilt after this. We were fortunate to be able to visit two major temples near the city, one Buddhist and one Hindu, both dating back over 1200 years. The Hindu one, Prambanan, was still undergoing reconstruction after major earthquake damage.
We were made very welcome by both clubs that we visited and learned a lot about their cities and their culture. Exchanges are what Friendship Force is all about and I hope that more of you will be able to join our next exchange to North America next year.
MATIU/SOMES ISLAND – MARCH 2010
A glorious Wellington day and Kapiti Friendship Force joined in celebrating World Friendship Day on an Island in the Wellington Harbour. Sun hats and sun screen were certainly needed as we were guided around the Island by DOC rangers.
Facilities have been recently opened and we had an interesting tour through the quarantine buildings and the sleeping quarters of the detainees held on the Island during World War II. We were surprised to learn that the male detainees were NZ citizens but because of their country of origin (Italy, Germany and Japan) were held captive on the Island.
With community effort over 30,000 native trees have been planted and the island is returning to its natural beauty with every increasing insect, reptile and bird life.
A great day beginning and ending with a harbour cruise.
