Students get into festive spirit | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Christmas isn't something that Chinese usually celebrate, but 13 students enrolled at the Whanganui UCOL catering school took to it with relish and panache this week.

The students are all from the Guangzhou Vocational School of Tourism and Business.

Guangzhou sits on the Pearl River in southern China, about 120km north of Hong Kong.

They arrived in Wanganui in July and will complete their level-four course in March next year.

Gina Wagstaffe, a tutor at the catering school, said cake making and decorating were part of the curriculum and she thought it would be a fun thing for the students to do.

"This is their first experience of Christmas as we know it," Ms Wagstaffe said.

"Decorating a cake is something they must do. This is their last week before they have a three-week break, and I thought it would be a fun thing to do."

As well as the Christmas cakes, the students also had to make gingerbread houses. While some copied a basic design, one of the students created a replica of his homestay house and he will be giving that to his host family.

Ms Wagstaffe said working with the students proved a bit of a challenge initially because their grasp of the English language was minimal.

"Since July their English has improved a great deal, but we're still involved in a lot of miming to get our point across," she said.

"They've been very creative in all they've done and they've studied long and hard."

After graduation in March, some will stay on and get work in New Zealand, others will work on cruise ships or seek work in hotels back in their homeland.

"They all have different goals, with some wanting to go back and others wanting to stay here," Ms Wagstaffe said.