Matuku Tamaki, Uekaha Douglas and Jesse Church, together with Sherra-Lee Tamaki, Ian Smith and Rosalyn Williamson, flew out of Auckland on 20th September, bound for Italy via Hong Kong. 24 hours later we were in Rome, travelling into the central railway station where we boarded the Euro-Star fast train for Florence. Excitement mounted as Professor Paolo Badiali and two exchange families met us at the station. We were taken by car to San Miniato Church from which one has the most magnificent panorama view of Florence, the most beautiful city on earth. The weather was perfect, as it continued to be for the following 3 weeks that we spent in the Mugello, Tuscany. Every day was full on. We would walk from our boarding Medici Hunting Lodge “La Ripa” to the school, Giotto Ulivi, in Borgo San Lorenzo. The most charming Italian families boarded our students in the most beautiful homes for three weeks. Our students attended school and were able to teach so successfully Maori language and the singing of waiata accompanied by guitar. They also taught the Haka. Our boys were most popular, especially when they tutored all the French, Polish and Turkish students too who had gathered at the same time. They also taught the skills of Rugby to the Italian schoolboys.
Our days were so busy because special sightseeing trips were organised for us all. We travelled by coach to Venice and by two stored boat out to the Islands of Murano and Burano, famous for glass blowing and for lace making. We visited St Marks Square and St Marks church in Venice. The gondoliers were bobbing in the Grand Canal and beautiful glassware was there to purchase. Venice is enchanting. The students sang all the way home in the coach. The trip took all day and will never be forgotten.
On another day we took off for Pisa and we all, even Whaea Rosalyn, climbed to the top of the Leaning tower. We had a guided tour of the beautiful Church and the Baptistery on the same grounds. Then it was off to the nearby beach on the Mediterranean where we sunbathed on deck chairs with umbrellas. What a glorious place to pass the time of day!
On another day we took the train to Florence then rode in the two-storied sightseeing bus around the whole city, hopping off to look at famous places. We crossed by foot the wonderful Ponte Vecchio Bridge and had a guide tour of the Palazzo Vecchio, the palace of the Medici who ruled Tuscany for 300 years. We were even taken through some of the secret passages. The historical paintings and decorations on every wall and ceiling were incredibly painted by the artists of long ago.
Yet on another day we went into the country- side to an Agricultural museum where a professional baker demonstrated the art of bread making as it was done in the last century. We each produced a loaf of bread, under his tuition, then we were given a tasty afternoon tea outside and provided with a variety of drinks, breads and pastries. The forest surrounding this place is idyllic. What an experience that all was! On another day we went to the seaside resort of Rimini and spent another day in Bologna. Amazing places.
Every night the Italian families welcomed us into their individual homes and gave us sumptuous meals with wine and every delicacy. The meal took several hours and there was much laughing and “chin chin” with our wine glasses. Each family would serve different meat. We dined on deer, pheasant caught by a hunting Falcon owned by Pietro’s father! Rabbit, beef that was still dripping with blood! Every meal was so beautifully prepared and could never be forgotten. The Italian families go out of their way to make us feel so special. When we first arrived we were given a Welcome Dinner. Paolo Badiali and Rosalyn Williamson were seated at the top table and it was so overwhelming to find that every boy who had exchanged to Hato Paora College over the last 5 years was there to greet us, as were his parents and younger siblings. We were loved and hugged and greeted so warmly. It is amazing to find that we know 45 people having first sown 2 seeds in 2005. We were toasted and spoken to on Video recorder so that everyone’s name would be remembered. How wonderful it is to see the Italian students growing into fine young men and doing so well at University.
The Hato Paora Students mixed so well with the foreign students from the 4 countries and attended other functions such as a major league Soccer Match Fiorentina Vs Lazio, trip to the beach, and outings with parents. They were made to feel so at home. Some Italian mothers wept openly as we boarded the train on that final day in Tuscany. We all felt so sad to say goodbye.
The last two days were spent in Rome very near the Trevi Fountain. We were able to walk to all the great sights, such as the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Forum, Spanish Steps, St Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel. These places are overwhelming in their historical significance and beauty.
We flew home via Hong Kong where Uekaha Douglas’s Aunty entertained us for the day. We took the cable car up to a high peak and rode the tram through the older part of Hong Kong. We walked through the tropical gardens in 40-degree heat. What an experience all that was too. Then it was time to board the Cathay Pacific plane and fly the 10 ˝ hours to Auckland.
We cannot thank enough the Italian people for their generosity, their genuine love of us all, for their gifts, for the miles they took us in vehicles, Paolo Badiali took Pa Ian Smith, Sherra Lee Tamaki and Whaea Rosalyn Williamson all the way to Austria to Salzburg, right when a music festival was on. We saw through Mozart’s house and attended Mass in the big Cathedral where Mozart and Haydn music was playing. Whaea Rosalyn was in raptures!! We saw through a museum of ancient musical instruments and of suits of armour. Next day we drove to Vienna where we stayed with 2 priests and took the train in the centre of the city, crossing the Danube River. We walked the central circuit so we could see the fantastic palaces, the Opera House, the amazing Churches and heard the great organs being played in some of them. The architecture and beauty of these buildings is unbelievable. We returned home passing through the boarder of Hungary and Slovenia. Unbelievable mountain scenes of enormous beauty, with some winter snows still on their heights. The Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy, which we viewed at the Brenner Pass, were an incredible sight, so sheer and craggy with, snow in the valley. We saw the ski field of Kranjska Gora in Slovenia and had lunch near a little lake.
There are so many picturesque memories that I could write about but it would fill a book. The opportunities now open to our students to visit Italy and also Turkey, France and Poland.
We especially thank Paolo Badiali and his Italian families for their infinite generosity and kindness to us every moment of every day. We look forward to the day when they too can visit us here in New Zealand.
We thank God for his blessings to us and for our safe return to New Zealand
Rosalyn Williamson
HOD Music
Hato Paora College.
Feilding
New Zealand 20th October 2009.