Fieldwork Time

The students have been off on field work exercises with the German Lecturers and the volunteers from Koln University the last two mornings. Yesterday I took the tram to the University and stopped off and looked at some places along the way. Here are some pictures from my journey 

Cute jerseys in the second hand shop

Babe the pig who was in an display about pig farming to sausage making in a town square

Poster competition

The boys did super well with presenting their poster yesterday on Water - here is a photo of Scott in action!

Then they worked on their presentations for the multicultural evening which is on tomorrow.

Time for some testing...... and some marking!

Well today we started with the biggest test of all.... The 2.5 hour written test.  This year it had 6 questions on a variety of topics:

• Urbanisation and Megacities
• Impacts of Coastal Development
• Climate and Climate Change
• Natural Hazards in the Pacific Islands - written by Nick :)
• Rivers
• Agriculture

So while the boys went to the test - Nick and I spent the morning in a markers meeting going through how we were to mark our sections and then waiting for the kinder (children) to finish.

After the test we had lunch in the Mensa (Uni Cafeteria) which was a fun experience - you get a choice of 4 meals and line up to choose which one - a really good variety.

So then Nick and I were locked into the markers room from 1pm (still here now at 8pm) and the kids have been in a workshop for fieldwork and then off to their cultural presentation workshops.

I'm done - Nick is almost done with his marking and I am pretty sure we will both be happy to see the end of the red pens for a while.

The boys will be finished at 10pm so we will wait around till then

iGeo Officially Opened

NZ Team on one of the 7 bridges over the Rhine River

Some of the love locks on the bridge 

Riverside housing on our walk to the .....

Chocolate Museum! 

Official Opening at the University 

Koln... Getting to know the city

After a big sleep we spent our first day going on the Hop On Hop Off bus tour of the city of Cologne/Koln. It was a great way to see many of the big landmarks and orientate ourselves with the Dom - The 3rd Largest Cathedral in the World. 

The local train station

Where are we going?

Team NZ at The Dom

Double Decker Bus Tour Etiquette 

In the afternoon we spent some time at the Hostel having a rest, going online and getting to know the other early birds who had arrived. We went for dinner with Team Australia last night at a Cuban restaurant (really Mexican).

Hong Kong Stopover

34,000 feet above sea level and over the Himalayas and into the heart of the great Eurasian continent, we are finally on our way to the International Geographic Olympiad in Cologne. It is amazing to think just over 48 hours ago I was in Lower Hutt and in the past two days I have managed to cross from one hemisphere to another and to skip a season straight into the fiery depths of summer.

We arrived in Hong Kong early yesterday morning – or what seemed like a lifetime ago as what we've experienced could not be confined to day or night. What really shocked me when we arrived in Hong Kong was the contrast between the synthetic cool temperature of the 1 out of 500 shopping malls and the raw humid heat in the streets of Hong Kong. We went Yum Cha, prayed for good luck at the traditional Wong Tai Sin Temple, watched the Symphony of Lights in Hong Kong Harbour and rode the star ferry and topped the day off with a visit to the Peak.

But what was most impressive was the amount of shopping we managed to do in less than 24 hours. Honestly, our day consisted of going in and out of shops, in and out of the heat, hunting for a bargain beyond the typical tourist traps usually suggested by travel guides. Thanks to my Aunt Irene I was able to buy inexpensive shoes and clothes and the treasure of my shopping excursion – a $130 suit found in the industrial areas of Kwun Tong. What was most exciting was when haggled and got abused in the street markets of Mong Kok by over enthusiastic vendors. This was a truly unforgettable experience.

However, this has only been a pit stop. We are less than five hours away from our anticipated destination – Cologne! My only worry now is the weight of my luggage and I'm sure I speak not only for myself (Although mine is the heaviest, for now).

Sidney

Oh Yeah we made it to Germany.....

Just a quick post from me, Anna - Team Leader, to say that we have all made it safe and sound to Cologne after a whirl wind trip of Hong Kong (more about that later) and two very long plane rides. Everyone is in a good condition and we had an amazing sleep last night followed by a Hop on Hop Off tour of Cologne today. More to come....