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Phillip Harty: Foundation Studies is a pathway program exclusively for international students, and it prepares
them for degree and diploma programs. The camp is a really big part of our program.
Most of these students have recently arrived in Australia so they get a taste of the Australian
bush and just being with each other.
Janal Numapo: I was kind of nervous at first because I didn't know anyone that was going there. I have no
one from my country doing the same course as I am, so I didn't know anyone. I got on
the bus and I sat there and I met this girl from Sri Lanka. We started talking and then
when we got to the camp we met some other girls from Asia, and we all got talking and
we all made friends. When the guys came in we started asking "Where are you from? Where
are you from?", so we told each other about our countries.
Sergio Cortes: You have a lot of things to do, like Sports - they teach you Footy, that is something
else about Australia that is really different from Soccer.
Phillip Harty: On the camp we also do a few electives related to their particular streams - the Science
students might build some boats...
Janal Numapo: They put us into different groups and they said, "Go look for branches and little twigs
to build your own boat, and you have one and a half hours to do it, and we're going to
have a boat race." We made the whole thing, tied them together - out of nothing, we made
little canoes and boats.
Sergio Cortes: There was a band, they were a really good band.
Janal Numapo: They played some Australian music and told us about the Outback and it was fun. They
taught us some dance moves as well so we got into groups and had partners and we danced.
Sergio Cortes: We were just following their steps. I loved the fact that everybody was involved.
Phillip Harty: I've been going on camps myself for seventeen years, it's my seventeenth year, and I'm always
amazed how much the students get out of it.
Janal Numapo: Just go. You'll regret not going when everyone comes back and tells you how fun it was. Just
do it.