Welcome to Amandine Veine
It was a real pleasure to meet Amandine Veine (pronounced Venn) at Wellington Airport on Friday 28 July. She had travelled to Paris from her home town of Brive-La-Gaillarde (referred to as Brive) which is 5 hours south of Paris and 3 hours from the Atlantic Ocean. From there she flew with Emirates via Dubai to Auckland, changing to Easy Jet for the last leg to Wellington. Unfortunately, her luggage didn't take the same flights and arrived a day later!
Amandine, who is 17, lives with her parents, Stephane (who manages a shop selling sportswear) and Sandrine (a District Nurse) and her sister, Margaux who is 22. She is clearly a good tennis player so we may need to find a club for her to join.
A small group of Rotarians met Amandine. Gaylene Lines, the District Inbound Coordinator, her first host parents, Jenny and Ron Lucas, Ken Gardiner, representing her mentor and counsellor, Cath Berryman, and Wendy Betteridge. Despite many, many hours en route, she appeared to be fresh and very receptive to everything going on around her. And the good news is that her English is pretty good! Jenny reports that Amandine has an amazing ability to observe and then follow suit as evidenced by the great action she displayed with a concrete trowel over the weekend.
Amandine's second host family will be Rhys Sinké's parents, Chris and Fiona and their 15-year-old daughter, Miya, who live in Whitby. More host families are sought so if you would like to volunteer, please let President Jenny know.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
🎉 2026 is almost here!
We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?
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10.2% Yes! New Year, New Me
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19.2% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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70.6% Nah - not for me
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
The Summer Kiwi Quiz is back by popular demand
Grab a copy of your local Stuff newspaper between 1 Jan - 28 Jan and participate in the Summer Kiwi Quiz! Test your knowledge, answer the daily New Zealand based questions, and find out how well you know our beautiful country!
Each correct answer will get you one entry into the draw to WIN 1 of 5 Ooni Karu 2 Portable Pizza Oven bundles, valued at $1024! Each bundle includes: an Ooni Karu 2 Multi-Fuel Portable Pizza Oven, Ooni Karu 2 Carry Cover, Ooni 12" Perforated Peel, Ooni Digital Infrared Thermometer and an Ooni Cookbook: Cooking with Ooni. The more answers you enter correctly, the higher your chance of winning. For more information and to submit your answers, click here
The Team at Stuff
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