Rotary camp is a highlight for exchange student
Danish exchange student Mathias Mammen has spent a week helping three deaf New Zealanders through the annual Challenge Camp at the Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Centre.
International exchange students had a week of action at Long Bay on Rotary’s annual Challenge Camp.
And despite ending up on crutches after cutting his foot open Mathias Mammen, a Danish exchange student, says Challenge Camp was one of the best experiences of his time in New Zealand.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Challenge Camp partners a group of exchange students with disabled buddies for a week of activities at the Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Centre in Long Bay.
Camp organiser Alan Pattison says most students get one buddy but Mathias was so confident and capable they gave him three.
Mathias says the three deaf boys he spent the week with were “really cool guys.”
“We became good friends and they taught me some sign language too.”
The campers did a range of activities over the week in May including canoeing, rock climbing and archery. They even got the chance to play wheel chair basketball with the New Zealand Wheel Blacks.
Mathias says the highlight of the camp was seeing an intellectually disabled camper conquer his fear of heights while rock climbing.
“I was so surprised and impressed by him, it was probably the best thing I saw all week.”
Mathias, 17, has been in New Zealand since July last year.
“I’m originally a farm boy so I was scared to move to a big city when I found out I would be living on the North Shore.”
Now Mathias says he loves it.
“I was so surprised at how many parks there are and how close everything is to the ocean … even on a bad day the North Shore is stunning.”
Mathias will go back to Denmark on July 8.
