It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Well, sorry you all haven't heard from me in such a long time, but really I have been absolutely flat out. So busy that to be honest I couldn't tell you what I've done. But I will give you all a heads up to where I am at the moment.

Well, for a start, where I am is cold. Damn cold, And we don't even have snow yet - as I sit here writing this I am IN BED AT FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON, with the heater on high and trackpants, hoodie, and two pairs of socks on. Emma is very cold. I keep hoping for snow to come so I can have my dreamlike 'White Christmas', but I know realistically that I will be like, well, a child at Christmas as soon as it begins and then after about an hour start grumbling about how cold it is and how cold wet feet are horrible. The Christmas Market in Luneburg opened on Wednesday, and although I haven't seen the main part of it yet, the streets are all lined with stalls selling Gluhwein, Crepes (Banana and Nutella best flavour), Schmalzkuchen (mini donut-like things that are harder than donut like they've gone stale, and sprinkled with icing sugar - not as delicious as the fresh cinnamon donuts I buy at the A&P show!!), almonds coated in a spiced sugar coating and of course, bratwurst and beer. We also have Christmas trees up all over the city. Now, at home I always make Shortbread for Christmas and it turns out that when mum makes the dough for me to roll and cut out, that she TRIPLES the recipe (she assured me that it isn't because of the amount of dough I eat when cutting the shapes out but I don't believe her...) Well, in Germany they don't just have one sort of Christmas biscuit. Oh no. My host family make ten. Usually 'just ten'. I was astounded.

Christmas carols have been ringing around the house for well over a month now, as both Christine my host mum and I adore carols and Christmas songs. We have been even more emerged in Christmas music recently as our choir is performing its Christmas concert next weekend and guess who the soloist is that sings the harmony over the whole choir in the last verse of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is..? ME! Yes, me! The first time I sang it, everyone else sort of stopped singing and their jaws dropped - people came up to me afterwards to compliment me, and really it was rather flattering!

I felt a little culturally insensitive last weekend as we celebrated Thanksgiving at my house (Christine loves to cook and wanted all of my American friends to come over so we could all celebrate together) and the whole time I played Christmas carols while preparing the food. Apparently I cook the perfect pumpkin pie too! Thinking about what I am thankful for, one thing came straight to mind - I am thankful for having the best possible Mum that anyone could ask for. Not only that, but the best Grandparents that one could ever ask for too. My life really is perfect.

Every weekend until I go home is planned. I have 39 days left to go. This weekend I am venturing into the snow for a Rotary Conference weekend where we have to bring sturdy footwear as we are hiking. Apparently if the weather is bad (it already is!) then we will be swimming instead. We also have to do a Christmas concert on the Saturday night and I do believe that my friend and I are performing Justin Bieber's Christmas classic *cough* Mistletoe, as it is the only Christmas song that Dillon can play on his guitar. Next weekend my friend Nicola (also exchange student with Rotary from Australia) is visiting me on the Friday when I have my first night of our Christmas concert, and on the Saturday I am baking Christmas biscuits with other Rotarians and exchange students and have once again my Christmas concert. The following weekend is my last Rotex weekend, and all is Christmas themed. And then, before we know it Christmas is here followed by New Years and home time. I really must say, I am not too keen for a 39.5 hour journey from when I leave my house here in Germany at 4am, and arrive in Christchurch at 11.30am two days later with only "Snack and/or Brunch" as my meal on a TWENTY SIX HOUR FLIGHT. I am going to starve. Ah well, thinking about the list of things I intend on eating when I am home, I don't think I will waste away anytime soon.

I am all prepared for next year. For a start, as soon as we get home I am being swept away again to go camping to Hurunui as we do every year - I truly can't wait. Then, I have contacted my holiday programme for disabled kids where I volunteer, to let them know that the week once I return from camping that I would like to help out a few days. I have also emailed my old work at Countdown to let them know that I am more than willing to return to work. I am all officially accepted and enrolled at the University of Canterbury! I will be studying English, German and Education and living at home with mummy (once I get home I don't think she'll ever be able to get rid of me, I'm never going to want to leave!) and I can see my future getting all sorted out and confirmed in front of me.

I must say though, as nice as Christmas is here, I am dreadfully homesick. I can't help it - it's just been so long, and home is so soon, yet still so far. Waiting is just torture. I feel bad because I don't want my host family to think that I am unhappy here and that I don't appreciate their Christmas and what they're doing for me, but this time of year is my favourite time of year at home - the A&P Show where mum and I always take the day off on Wednesday or Thursday as we don't like the crowds on Friday and mooch around the show in sheer bliss and try new things and pat/talk to horses and then lie on the hill watching the arena and getting absolutely friend by the sun, mum's birthday on the 23rd December, my all time favourite time of the year, Christmas, with the whole family together and then New Years at Taka or Akaroa with Nooh, Willie, Bill and Ollie and Matt. This time really is my favourite time of year and I miss it more than words can say. Germany is lovely, and while I understand that many people will be upset to return home, I can honestly say that I am ready to come home. I have seen and experienced Germany and had a lovely time. But now I am ready to come home and cuddle up on the couch with mum with Thai or Indian Takeaways and watch Midsomer Murders and elbow her in the ribs every time she falls asleep and snores so loud that I can't focus on the telly. It's been a very full on year and I am overdue to just blob at home in my perfect little world with my perfect life and perfect mum. And sleep in a bed with a decent pillow.

As mum said, Christmas will be different this year and will certainly be an experience for me that I will never forget. However, I know that when I sit on that plane yes, I will be sad to be leaving my amazing host family but I will feel peace in my heart - I am ready to come home.

A Weekend to Remember

Gosh, what a busy kiwi I've been these past few weeks. School has started up again, as has my German course after school and summer is definitely packed up it's bags and gone on holiday - I don't blame him, it's damn cold here. I say it's cold, because it't about the temperature of a New Zealand winter - on average about 6-10 degrees every day, grey, rainy and windy. (Not enjoyable to bike twenty minutes to school and back every day, but I must say that I am making rain pants a fashion trend.)

Last weekend I had a Rotary weekend in Soltau, and I have made an incredible group of friends there (mostly Americans, I say "Y'all" a lot now..) and I feel like finally I have settled in. Finally, there is a part of me that doesn't want to come home and leave my amazing host family or the wonderful friends that I have made. I have another Rotex weekend this weekend coming, and I truly cannot wait. It makes me so sad to think that I will only be with these amazing people perhaps four more times before boarding a plane and leaving them all behind (however if they get their way and all goes to plan, operation 'Kidnap Emma at Airport and take turns hiding her under everyone's bed' will take off like a breeze and I'll stay as their wee pet until its time for them to leave too (Julia, my host sister wants in on the plan too). It really isn't fair that we're divided into two year groups, meaning that we have no chance to bond with the old exchange students that have already been in Germany for six months when we arrive and already have their 'friends for life' sorted, and then make the exact same bonds with the newbies only to be torn away from then when we are at our closest. It's really not fair.

Oktoberfest is happening at the moment. Yes, that's right, Oktoberfest in September. I love how logical Germans are. Also, Christmas is slowly approaching around the corner. Or, in the case of my family and I at their supermarket, suddenly dumped in front of us in a mountain of boxes laden with as many different variations and forms/flavours of gingerbread that one can imagine. So for us, Christmas was more of a slap in the face and several days of hard work, and it is here.

However, another highlight of this year was the weekend that has just passed. At first it started off at a bit of a low as we had a wedding on the Friday night. Did you know that in Germany everyone wears black to a wedding as it looks 'classy'? I was mortified and felt like I was dressing to go and mourn the death of someone at a funeral rather than show my happiness and celebration of two people's love. And, none of my black clothes were 'appropriate', so I REALLY felt like I was going to a funeral clad in a mid calf length dress of my host Mum's. No wonder one man thought I was 22 - I looked like a mum. Anyway. We weren't actually invited to the ceremony itself, only the reception afterwards. We arrived at 6 and stood outside for an hour chatting, before finally heading inside. First, everyone insisted I HAD to try traditional Hochzeits Suppe, or, Wedding Soup. To be quite frank, I'm not sure why everyone was raving about it - it was quite literally chicken stock with tiny sausage meatballs and rather artificial looking cubes of egg floating in it. I don't think it'll be something on the menu at my wedding. There was a buffet as well, however my host mum, sister and I all ate something funny and had tummy pains for the next two days. I started chatting to a very friendly American man, as there wasn't much else to do and I knew absolutely nobody there (including the bride and groom.) They had a DJ, and eventually he started playing some music I knew - South American music actually, and I got up to go and teach my host sister the very fast Cha-cha the South American exchange students had taught me from my Rotary district before being swept off my feet by the 27 year old German who insisted "It's okay that you can't dance, I'll teach you! This song is a traditional German Waltz. Here, I'll lead and make all of my movements strong to show you what to do." I tried to tell him that in fact, the fast paced song was indeed NOT a waltz, and that I knew the dance to it and he just shook his head saying "No, no, you're doing fine!". He had very clearly taken dance lessons, and had really paid attention as he marched/stomped me very slowly and purposely (however not purposely on my feet) across the room, and I could see him mouthing 'one, two, three, one, two, three' as he stomped. I was not impressed, as I already know through Philine how to Waltz, Disco-fox and Cha-cha. And then, out came the wedding cakes. Marzipan or Cherry, my two loathed flavours. I'm not usually one to pass down a slice of cake, but these two happened to be the only exceptions I can think of. The rest of the night the DJ played German folk music or ACDC - my host dad Stefan was in heaven, and actually stayed until 4.45 in the morning - we left at 3am. Yes, we spent 8 hours at the reception.

However the next day more than made up for it. When my new host family asked if I had any wishes of anything to do it Germany, I had only two; to see Tarzan and The Lion King on Broadway. And this day, one of my wishes came true. I saw Tarzan the Musical in Hamburg, and I am still pinching myself to come to terms with the fact that is really happened. If you don't know the story, Tarzan is a man who lives in the jungle swinging on vines. He was raised by a family of gorillas who found him as a baby after his parents were stranded after a shipwreck and murdered by a Jaguar, and he thinks he is gorilla. Then, one day he meets another creature that looks a bit like him - a woman named Jane, who teaches him to speak and that he is human, not in fact, ape. And of course they fall in love etc. and it's all a lovely story. Well, let me tell you the musical is even better. I could not believe my eyes when someone stood up in front of me (Julia and I were seated right at the top on the overlooking level) and leaped off the bannister - it turns out that they were in fact a gorilla, and attached to a wire that meant that they could fly and swing all around the entire auditorium. The whole theatre was full of flying, swinging, springing monkeys and it was truly incredible. There were also some gorillas attached to bungee wires, meaning that they were springing, flinging and catapulting themselves around the stage, into the audience and from the ceiling. The walls of the entire auditorium were lined with green rope vines. which meant that the gorillas actually swung from one side of the theatre before grabbing onto the opposing wall and flinging themselves out into the air again. It was truly breathtaking. The music was also amazing, as was the fact that all of the performers were singing perfectly live and in tone while swinging, flipping and flying around the theatre. Even Tarzan as a boy was incredible, doing flips and cartwheels and backflips all over the stage and moving exactly like a monkey. Honestly even now I just can't comprehend what my eyes were seeing. I actually can't describe it. Here are two links I HIGHLY recommend you watching that sow just what a phenomenon It was:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3TDret_L3Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PZdaVKMJcI

Please watch both, I can promise you that you will not be disappointed.

Then, after Tarzan Dillon, my best exchange student friend here who is from America but is living in my city messaged me and asked if I wanted to go to our cities Oktoberfest in Luneburg that evening. My host family said yes, so off we went to the fair. To be honest, we did not need the three hours that we had arranged to stay for. The fair was in a park, and had a few rides like a Horror House rollercoaster (Dillon forced me to go on it, so I held my jacket over my face and closed my eyes for the entire ride, only opening them once to see a person dressed as a Zombie leaning across me and tugging on Dillon's jacket because the wagon moved so slowly that they could do that, so I screamed and kept my eyes closed for the rest of the ride), food stalls with currywurst/bratwurst, sugar and spice coated almonds, crepes and little donut ball things that to be honest were the consistency of old stale donut, and only had a light powdering of icing sugar on them so actually tasted quite awful. We bought banana and nutella crepes, and were bored after the first 40 minutes. However, now I can say that I went to Oktoberfest!

The next morning was all hustle and bustle again, as Christine and I went off to a horse show in a town about 1.5 hours away by car. I did my best not to fall asleep in the car. When we finally arrived, I could not shut up about our A&P Show. I told them all about how mum and I always take a day off work/school and go and spent a magical day each year talking to horses, eating yummy food and getting sunburnt while lying for hours on the grass hill overlooking the arena. This horse show was a little different, as it really was all in the arena - we had assigned seats and everything. Of course, there was also a lot of food trailers selling the good old crepes, brat/currywurst and coffee/cake as well. The show opened with a marching band all mounted on horse back, and got only better from there. There were two riders that cam out riding TWO horses each, by standing one foot on the back of each horse and galloping around the arena like mad men, dressage and show jumping performances as well as a parade of carriages from the 1800s with the drivers all in the original clothing belonging to each carriage eg. the milkman, beer carriage, hospital carriage. There was also the famous 16 horse drawn carriage as well - truly amazing! Christine and I were in absolute horsey heaven and could have stayed there all day. Sadly though, the show eventually did come to an end and we had to pack up and head back home, only to find that not only had Stefan burnt the bread that Christine had put him in charge of to a crisp, but that Anton the dog had then eaten the burnt remains of the bread and we had nothing for school lunches the next day. We walked in to a bombsite, as Stefan and the boys stood around a mixer on the bench, mixing what looked like brown water with sand or mud sunk to the bottom, insisting that they followed the recipe down to the t and that they had no idea what had happened. Christine was not impressed, and I went off to bed with a tired migraine after my very eventful weekend.

Well, as you can see I am now having an absolute ball and loving it here (apart from the cold!). I hope all of you lucky sods are enjoying your Spring, and I will see you in exactly 110 days!

Love you all,
Em

Hiking 'Holiday' - Austrians cant keep track of time.

So, school holidays are almost finished now but as I mentioned in my previous update I was infact for a good deal of that time in Austria on a 'holiday' - I say 'holiday', as staggering up a mountain in over 30 degrees every second day or so is not exactly what I imagine when I hear the word holiday. 

Julia and I caught a train to my host Mum's sister and her husband's house, as there isn't enough room in the car for all of us as a family, and Eutah and Alex were coming to Austria with us and we were staying in their holiday house there. After a 6 hour train ride we arrived in Kaiserslauten where Alex picked us up, and we stayed the night at their house before setting off on our 6 hour drive the next morning.

Alex and Eutah have no kids - they have Max. Max is a very spoilt Cocker Spaniel that eats raw steak, seasoned with carrot, zucchini, fresh herbs from the garden and all drizzled with light olive oil twice a day. He has his ears tied back with a hairtie while he eats so his ears don't get messy, and then when he is finished he has his face wiped with a warm cloth. Max adores me. IF any of you have seen Pepper with me, Max is exactly the same. He followed me everywhere, even waiting for me outside the toilet and always had to sit on me. He loves giving me kisses, and lucky for me he has the worst dog breath I have ever experienced.

Day One: Woke up at 6am to leave at 6.30. Eventually after 6 hours we arrived in Austria. We unpacked and settled in, and did some groceries before going out to dinner - I ordered what everyone told me was delicious, and described as 'thick pasta with cheese' - in conclusion, this turned out to be Macaroni. Typical Austrian dish, pah!

Day Two: Another luxurious sleep in - woke up at 3.30 to go and catch two gondolas to the top of a mountain to watch the sun rise. It was freezing cold but magical. When we got to the top, we had a while to wait before the sun decided to get out of bed - he could sleep in, unlike some of us. At the top of the mountain stood a group of old men dressed in traditional costume who played thrumpets as the sun rose. There was also a priest that gave a reading. Yet again, truly a magical experience. Eventually the sun decided to stop being a lazy sod and get up, and we went and had breakfast e restaurant at the top of the mountain. As we were eating, a woman came over and asked if we were interested in doing a short one hour hike - we thought about it, said why not and set off on our hike. Fourty five minutes into our one hour hike, I asked the woman how much longer we had to go as we only had 15 minutes to go and there were no buildings in sight. Her response? "Just an hour". An hour later, we were 'finished' with our tour, and were all standing in the middle of nowhere (still with no buildings in sight). The woman asked us where we wanted to go, and we told her the middle gondola station half way down the mountain - she then pointed us to a track that was promised to take us there. The amount of time it stated on the sign that it would take to reach the end? Just an hour.

Three hours after we began our one hour tour, we reached our destination. And it was only 9.30 in the morning. The adults all went back to bed, and us kids entertained ourselves for a while before we all drove to Kitzbuhel for icecream and a wander around.

Day Three: Finally, sleep in. After breakfast we went shopping for last minute hiking gear before doing a 3.5 hour tour along a  river valley. After our hike the previous day, we were already under the impression that Austrians have no accurate sense of time. This was then confirmed on our river hike, when every hour or so along the track, the sign would state that we had just an hour and fifteen minutes left to walk - not helpful, and this did not help raise our spirits at all. I also came face to face with my new fear - Bremsen, or Horseflies. These little demons not only swarm around you and try anything to bite/sting you, but they can also bite/sting through clothing. For someone that stands on her bed every night hunting down mosquitos as she has a strong fear of them, this was not comforting news. After about two hours into our one hour fifteen minute hike, we came across a restaurant. In Austria, hiking involves walking along a track for a while before you come across the restaurant/hutt that the track is usually named after. Here, one can order a nice big meal (cut up pancakes with apple sauce, and goulash soup are always on the menu, as is schnitzel), a nice cold drink and a sit down before heading on your way again. Kiwis would laugh. In New Zealand, this is NOT what hiking in the wild involves. I kept thinking I was being healthy and sporty by going hiking, but thinking about it now, I think any exercise would be cancelled out by the amount of pancakes I ate along the way. Bother.

Day Four: In the morning we all went swimming at the local swimming pool. In the afternoon, we went canyoning. It was truly amazing. For starters. our tour guide, Tim, was from Canada and spoke even worse German than me. Then, when he asked me where I was from, his entire face lit up and he gave me a huge hug - turns out that he lived on Riccarton Road across the road from the McDonalds for over ten years. Unfortunately, this meant I was his new favourite and his new play toy, meaning that I was ducked, forced to go first when everyone was reluctant and generally picked on and teased for the whole afternoon. We absailed down a 20m waterfall in freezing water, and slid down rock faces on our backs as the water carried us - the whole experience was amazing and very, very cold! The whole time, Tim had a camera attached to his helmet, and we got a video and photos when we were finished. Then, when we returned to the base we had a cold drink to cool down, and a schnapps to warm up - personally, it tasted like nail polish remover to me! That night, we had a BBQ, and as I had mentioned that we always have heaps of meat at BBQs in NZ and that I miss lamb, Alex had bought lamb chops just for me! They were delicious and I was really touched that he thought off me like that.

Day Five: The problem with Summer is that is it ridiculously hot by about 10am. Unfortunately this means starting our hikes at about 8am. Today, we did a particularly steep hike that led us to an incredible view - a bright, deep blue crystal clear lake at the top of a mountain, with a mountain range behind it. The water was like glass, and reflected the mountain range like a mirror. The sky was bright blue, and the entire scene was magical. We then of course stopped at the restaurant at the peak of the walk, where I ordered something that resembled a bread roll filled with blended Prune marmalade, and swimming in a bowl of custard sauce and grounded poppy seeds - it didn't tickle my tastebuds to say the least. On our way back, we had our first man down. Max, Alex and my host Dad, Stefan, were way at the back and I was at the very front. I stopped to wait for them, and eventually they came around the corner, Alex carrying Max, looking very sorry for himself, in his arms. Apparently he started walking slower, slower and slower until he eventually just stopped. He refused to walk any further. This meant that Alex and Stefan had to take turns carrying the pitiful baby all the way down the mountain. To be honest, Max looked rather pleased with himself. That evening, we drove to the Schwarzsee, where we listened to a Horn concert. This consisted of a small group of men in traditional costume, sitting on a free floating pontoon in the middle of the lake playing their horns. They also had about three crates of beer to keep them going for the evening. The evening was beautiful - orange, blue and deep pink sky reflected once again on a glass lake. We all sat on a wharf, dangling our legs over the water and enjoying the view and the seemingly appropriate music and minus the mosquitoes, it was absolutely magical.

Day Six: We started off nice and quiet - I bought postcards in the village in the morning, and in the afternoon we all drove to a lake to go swimming. I found out I don't really like swimming of lakes - the water is brown and yucky and there were ducks and fish in the water and creepy plants that wrapped around your legs. Therefore, I spent most of the afternoon lying on the bank enjoying the sun and trying not to get stung by horseflies. We had a nice quiet evening too, staying home and having homemade pizza for tea.

Day Seven: Day seven was a big day.We started off by getting up early and driving to Salzburg, where we went to an animal sanctuary for abandoned, abused and disabled animals. The whole atmosphere was gorgeous, because most of the animals were free to wander around the farm by themselves. There was a cavalry of donkeys that marched in a long line around the farm the whole time, never stopping and always walking like they were on a mission (I don't know where they thought they were heading, they just ended up walking all over the place). We had lunch there, where our eating company was Shetland ponies and donkeys that were keeping the diners company, and I saw my first fox! Then the boring boy stuff came - we drove to the Red Bull exhibition, where on display were all of the race cars, aeroplanes and motorbikes that were ever sponsored by Red Bull - the boys were in Heaven. I was dying of heat in a giant glass sauna. In the evening, they boys must have felt like they had REALLY died and gone to heaven, as we drove to Kitzbuhel to a Harley Davidson meet up. This consisted of a very colourful mixture of bikers clad in leather and spikes, and older German couples (often with the men in traditional Lederhosen)  all sitting around on massive demon motorbikes drinking beer, and revving their engines. It also then consisted of Emma going home early with a migraine due to the intense noise and rubber fumes.

Day Eight: Yet again, we had a slow beginning to the day. My host parents and brothers moved in with us as they had been staying in a rented house, meaning that the place was full with plenty going on. We went for a hike in the afternoon, our last hike to prepare us for our two day one on the Monday. I had Apple Struedel at the cheating hikers restaurant about half way through the walk. I also trod on Max's paws a lot, as he really took the word 'heel' to heart meaning that I had a doggy ear tickling my ankle the entire walk. In the evening I wrote postcards and let my body recover from a rather strenuous hike.

Day Nine: The calm before the storm. In the morning I biked with Christine to collect the breadrolls for breakfast. We then spent the day at the pool lying in the sun (and taking advantage of the pools free WiFi. We had frozen yoghurt for lunch, and all got dressed up and went to a fancy restaurant for dinner - I ordered a child portion of Schnitzel, and it was the size of both of my hands together with fingers splayed out. It didn't fit on the plate it was so big.

Day Ten, D-Day: I didn't have to worry about putting on weight from the monster I ate the previous day - I think I can safely say I burnt it off. Today we started our two day hike. When we arrived at the place where we parked the car, far in the distance was a mountain range. Alex pointed to it and said to look at the tiny white dot right at the very top - that was where we were having lunch apparently. If I had to choose one word to describe the first two hours of the hike it would be this: Bremsen. (Horseflies in German). Not only do they sting through clothing, but the mark you, as in it does not matter how many times you hit it away or run and dodge, it will continue coming back to you and only you - they say the only thing you can do with a Bremse is kill it straight away, and it is true. And there were swarms of the demons. For two hours I looked insane, hitting myself and spinning and slapping myself all over, and giving myself red welts from hitting myself so hard trying to kill the nightmares. It wasn't enjoyable. The word I would then use to describe the next hour and a half of the walk before we reached our lunch destination is Death. The restaurant sat directly on top of the mountain range, meaning that if we were going to get lunch, we had to get there first. It was scorching hot and the sun was blazing down on us, and the track was curved and twisted like a slithering snake. It was torture. Eventually I staggered up the death track to the restaurant, where I had something I have not had since New Zealand - a ham and cheese toasted sandwich. It was heaven. After we all drank about 2l water, we set off on our way again (bad idea, no bathrooms in the wild mountains) and two hours later we arrived at our stop overnight - a beautiful wooden 'hut' that was like a hut, cabin and a hotel all combined into one. We had a huge four course homemade meal for dinner of chicken and noodle soup, salad, pork and knodel (a ball of stuffing, YUM! and home made yoghurt with fresh grated apple at cinnamon added to it. Julia and I shared a room with our brothers, who made a barrier for me out of coat hangers as I was sleeping on the top bunk and they were worried I might fall of in the night (cute but rather inconvenient as I couldn't actually get onto my bed very easily!). In the evening two men pulled out a guitar and yodelled to the setting sun.

Day Eleven: We woke up early and had another delicious homemade breakfast of fresh baked bread with homemade cheese and jam, and made our own muesli (heaven for Emma!). We then set off for our three hour hike to a city where we were to catch a train home. We hiked through a very 'The Sound of Music' meadow, and climbed down over 500 steps until we finally reached the end. Today, if we were in New Zealand it was one of those days that we would then drive to a bakery and buy pies and slices and maybe a milkshake, but unfortunately those luxuries and slices of paradise don't exist here. Instead in the afternoon Julia and I wrote postcards, and we had a BBQ for dinner.

Day Twelve: We drove to Kitzbuhel, where Julia, Christine and I all tried on Durndls (traditional German dresses). They were truly beautiful and looked amazing on all of us. I fell in love with mine, but was very torn on whether I should buy it or not as I wasn't sure how often I would wear it in NZ and it was not cheap. We then spent the afternoon at the pool, and I kept thinking about my Durndl. We were left home alone for the evening as the adults went out for dinner, so we just relaxed and watched TV.
Day Thirteen: If I thought the hiking was over, I was wrong. Yet again, more hiking. This time though, the restaurant half way turned out to be burnt to the ground and we had no choice but to turn around and go back to the car without a refreshing drink. In the afternoon I wrote yet more postcards and read my book. That night we were also home alone, but my host dad Stefan was with us too. We ordered pizza (I ordered an Italian salad) for dinner and watched Indiana Jones.

Day Fourteen: My mind was made. I talked to mum, and I was to buy my Durndl. In the morning we first drove to another village where we wandered around a market for a while before buying my Durndl. Even now I am thrilled with it. I will never regret buying it, it is such a special reminder for me of my time in Germany. Then, we drove to a cheese factory where Stefan got a bit carried away with all the cheese and bought over 70 Euros worth of cheese - we STILL have cheese in the fridge to eat! In the evening we went again to the fancy restaurant for dinner, as Christine wanted to have their schnitzel for dinner. Once again my child portion was the size of an A4 sheet of paper.

The next morning, at 4.30 we got up and drove home. This holiday was purely incredible for me, and was such an extraordinary experience. I cannot believe how truly lucky I am with my new family. They truly are a family, and I am truly part of it. Not once did I feel like an outsider or a stranger, and I simply cannot believe how lucky I am. I experienced so much over these two weeks, and will never ever forget it.

Thank you, Klein Family.

Life.

I moved to my new family, the Kleins, on the 9th January. And before I had even moved, I loved them.

I met the mother, Christine, in Choir. She asked me who I was, and I explained that I was an exchange student. She asked where I was living, and I explained that I needed to change families soon, and was going to go to my counsellor's (also in our choir) house for about three months while Rotary found me a host family for my last three months. To this, Christine exclaimed "That is totally not fair! Almut ALWAYS gets exchange students - I want you! I'm going to ring her tomorrow." She then told me that she had a daughter who was 16 and also in my school, and two boy aged 14 and 12. Well, it turns out that infact she didn't wait until the next day, and phoned Almut that night, with the first thing she said down the phone being "It's not fair! You always get exchange students, I want one and I want Emma!".

Then, the next day I was in German course and my friend from school, Julia texted me. And you know what she said? "Hey, did you know you met my Mum last night??" and that was it - it was settled. After school that day Julia and Christine drove to Almuts and continued to plea to have me, and within two days everything was settled - I was to live with the Kleins until I go home, and I was going on a hiking holiday in Austria with them. To be honest, my first thought was that I was going to be living with the German version of Aunt Liz - the way everything was so quickly organised and settled was incredible!

So, now I have been living with this family for a month. We had our hiking holiday in Austria, and it was amazing ( You will hear about it in the next update!) and we stayed in my host Mum's home town for a week. The family own a supermarket that I more than happily help out in. It is fantastic, as it means that not only do I NOT have to buy any food that I want, but that I can actually make myself feel helpful as well. Christine has also asked for a list of all of the Weekends I am busy with Rotary, as she wants to start booking me up and planning things in all of the free weekends we have. I can already see this next half year flying by!

Christine loves singing and painting and cooking/reading recipes like me, and she comes running with me as well. Stefan, the father is lovely, and we also get along really well. Julia and I sleep upstairs, and have our doors always open so its like we have an apartment to ourselves - we just wander into each others room and as they are right next to each other, we don't even need to speak up to chat to each other. We both also love chocolate, and Julia sings in the choir too. Also, we have our birthdays on the same day and are having a combined 'half birthday' party on the 20th August as we were both sick for our birthdays!Thankfully She will definitely inherit some clothes when I go home! Jakob is 14 and like a typical teenage boy, spends most of his time on the computer or texting, and being generally moody, however we actually get along really well and I am the only person that can talk him around to actually smiling when a photo is being taken. He loves flying model planes, and wants to be a pilot or a soldier. Lukas is the youngest, and is a very fussy eater - for a start he hates cheese. Always interesting when we order pizza - "Hello, erm.. the young man here would like a pizza without cheese, and without tomato." (Lukas knows at times his orders are a little ridiculous, so he always makes his dad order his meals!) Apparently the staff found it hilarious when they were in Italy and ordered this. He is also very fidgety and can't sit still for very long - great when we drive for hours in the car! We also have a black Labrador, called Anton, and he is well...lively. He eats everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.

Honestly cannot express how happy I am here, and hopefully it can only get better! On Monday we are going to Hamburg to go shopping as well - finally, a real Mall!

Oh, and it is incredible how quickly my German has improved in just a month - because there's always something happening, always someone to talk to and they're all so interested in me, I am talking non stop and my German is rather good if I may say so myself! I even managed to read the first two Harry potter books in German within a week!

Everything is different now for me - Michael and Dalton are now back in their home countries, and I am an 'Oldie', meaning I have new exchange students and as I have already been here six months, I am like their guide, or sensei as I like to think. I have not met them yet, but I am planning on making 'Surviving Germany' kits with things inside like Nutella, Milka Chocolate and a colouring book to keep them entertained in school - all very important things! Suddenly I don't have much time at all until I go home, only about 150 days which isn't an awful lot when you really think about it.

I start school again on Thursday, and am staying in the year level that I was 'last year' meaning that the students that were in 11 are now in 12, and I am staying in 11 so I am with new people. This is all part of Phil's plan, as it means that I am in her (and Julia's) level, and she has organised it that we have all of our classes together (hopefully she still gets her work done!) Julia and I also have some classes together, but I don't have as many classes as the other students as I hate maths, physics and PE, so the teachers said that it was absolutely fine with the amount of classes I have chosen! 

Having an amazing time, and love you all,
Em

Five of the Best Days of my Life: Cassidy.

Sorry that I have been so slack writing recently - as you will pick up soon, I have been a very busy wee kiwi. To begin with, from the 19th-23rd June, I was in Amsterdam and Belgium with my best friend from New Zealand, Miss Cassidy Sykes and her angel of a mum, Adrienne.

When I first received Adrienne's email inviting me to come and visit them, I instantly thought that there was no chance in hell of getting permission. Rotary in Germany made it very clear on our first weekend that we were not permitted to travel out of the district, let alone the COUNTRY without Rotary permission, and that we are only permitted to leave the country with host family. And here am I, wanting to travel by myself, out of the country and, might I add, missing out on school not to meet family, but a friend. When I asked, and received the daunting white form, I thought all hope was lost - not only did I require signed (in BLUE INK) permission from my Mum in NZ, I also needed signed permission from my Rotary Club in Christchurch, my District in New Zealand, my host family, my Club in Luneburg and my Germany district, and I have heard too many times to not even bother asking the district - they always say no. But for some unknown reason, everyone gave me the green thumbs up to go (I had to promise to not tell any exchange students I had gained permission, and keep the whole thing on the downlow...so of course, I am sharing this around the internet.) 

I arrived in Amsterdam Airport at 4.30, and had to catch a taxi to the hotel where we were staying that night as Cass and Adrienne's Europatour didn't finish until later that evening. I showered, ate and watched telly until Adrienne came upstairs and exclaimed "What are you doing here in your pyjamas, hurry up, everyone's waiting to meet you!" and dragged me in pjs downstairs to meet the whole tour group. When I saw Cass, I burst into tears, as did she. Everyone else seemed rather relieved I was there, and it was a little "so YOU'RE Emma, we've heard SO MUCH about you, Cassidy has told us EVERYTHING!" - we had a hot chocolate at the café and went to bed (I say 'bed' - Cass and I had a little bit of catching up to do however!)

The next day we woke up at 6.15 to go and say goodbye to the rest of the tour bus, and have our breakfast buffet - muesli, bacon, croissants, cake, hash browns. Emma was more than content! We then left our bags at reception and caught a taxi into town. We walked through the famous flower market and Adrienne bought us each a Belgium Chocolate as well as a beautiful top for me and a dress for Cass. Then, we met up with Adrienne's friend Evelyn, who Adrienne and Cass had come to visit and stay with in Amsterdam in the first place. We had lunch - I ordered the pancake with apple pieces baked into it - yum! We then wandered around more shops, and Cass and I ate heaven - Reeces Peanut Butter Cups Ben and Jerry's icecream. Ughhh. We then met up with Ev's partner Joost, and did even MORE shopping, and they took us through the Red Light District - it was certainly...interesting!! We then went and had dinner - Cass and I ordered Ravioli and Fries (everyone said we had to try them!) and also shared a brownie. We then drove with Ev and Joost to our hotel to collect our bags, and then to another hotel near Ev's house where we stayed the night.

The hotel was not...fab, so we woke up early and left rather eagerly and briskly the next morning. Ev was not yet awake, and as we were to have breakfast at her house we had no choice but to wander around in search of a café that we could sit in to pass the time away - sadly, we couldn't find any, but we DID find a supermarket, so we had plenty of things to look at and keep ourselves occupied with. It is here I tried a new love of mine - Chocomel. It is a chocolate milk drink unlike no others, and my life is now empty without it, as it cannot be bought in Germany. Or Austria. Or France.

Eventually it became an acceptable enough hour to go over to Ev's, where Joost made mini pancakes for us (a Holland specialty) in a little muffin tray looking dish that sat over the element. They were delicious. We then walked around for a while and met up with some friends of Ev's. For lunch we found a rustic café that made fresh sandwiches on homemade dark brown bread - Cass and I had chicken and avocado and tomato sandwiches and hot chocolates. Then, it was time to drive to Belgium (just casually, as you do!). We arrived at the home that Adrienne and Ev's friend Els had organised for us - it was beautiful. The whole house was wooden and warm (important - considering it was supposedly summer, it was bloody freezing!), and Cass and I slept in the Attic. We then went to El's for dinner, where she had made cauliflower soup, meat kebabs, potato, cooked capsicum and a delicious dessert with meringue/marshmellow, berries and yoghurt. Needless to say we slept stuffed and happy that night (after Cass and I 'caught up' some more!)

Els bought breakfast to us the next morning - fresh bread, Chocomel (in Belgium called Cecemel), spreads for bread including an amazing chicken curry spread and boiled eggs. We drove to a village called Durby, and walked around the very typical French boutique shops. We had crepes for lunch, followed by the darkest chocolate icecream I have ever eaten. We walked around some more, before driving to two more other villages. We went out for dinner again that night, after driving around for hours in search of a restaurant that wasn't full. Eventually we found one, and I ate the first steak I've had in six months. We also had chocolate fondants for dessert, but they weren't as amazing as we thought they'd be, and Adrienne said she would make them for us when I get back home, the sweetheart. Cass and I were also shocked at the cows in Belgium - they were round and muscled like bulls, but with no hip bones and actually rounded buttocks - Adrienne told us that they were genetically made that way, and that they were so unnatural that all births must be caesareans as the mother cannot push the giant calf out, and normally doesn't survive.

I had been dreading the day that I was going to have to leave, and sadly, it came too fast.
Els supplied us generously with breakfast again - this time pancakes as well as the incredible array from the day before. We packed up and headed on our way back to Amsterdam. Evs bought us a Holland classic ' gherkin flavoured potato chips that were actually delicious. On the way we stopped at The Hague, where we walked around for a bit before heading to Amsterdam Airport. There, I cracked. The whole day I had been keeping my emotions under control, but as soon as Adrienne asked the dreaded question: "You alright, hun?" I cracked. Then, it turned out that my flight was booked for the 23rd JULY, not JUNE, and then I really lost it. Adrienne, the angel that she is paid for a ticket for me, and then the waterworks turned into a monsoon. Not only was I a blubbery mess, but so was Cass and we got everyone started. Reluctantly, I dragged myself away and headed to my terminal to fly home. Before I got on the plane I bought myself one last Chocomel, but sadly, just like my perfect trip away, it was finished too soon.

I will never forget these days with those two angels, and everything they did for me. I truly needed those few days away, back with very dear friends of mine. These perfects days spent with the Sykes was the start of the turnaround of my exchange - when I returned it was school holidays, and a new family. But that is for the next update, until then, (which is very soon), goodnight!

The Best Two Weeks of My Life

Well, as may of you will know I have recently returned from my Europe tour. Sixteen days, seven countries, thirteen cities and about fifty South Americans all crammed into a pig sty of a tour bus. And here, I will attempt to write down everything that happened, bu bare with me I am still to collect all of my thought from this trip, and it is going to be very difficult to try and sum up everything that happened in those 16 days - every day was an adventure. And no amount of words or photos can truly express just how incredible it was.

To begin with, here is a bit of background information: my Rotary District (1800) had their Europatour about a month ago, and didn't actually inform us newbies about the Europatour so when we arrived in January all places were full. This therefore meant that we had to try and go with another district which ended up being Bremen district. Also, it turns out the reason that Bremen had free places was that they divided their group into two - the English speakers and the Spanish speakers - meaning that Grace (Australian), Adam (American) and I (New Zealand) were thrown into a bus of around fifty South Americans coming from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile and other Spanish speaking places. However, while at first we thought we were doomed, this turned out to only be a problem some of the time - everyone was so warm, welcoming and loving as South Americans are, and boy do they know how to have a good time...and make a mess. Within minutes on the bus the music was on full volume, and M&Ms were flying around our heads.

DAY ONE: LEAVING, SPEYER, STRASBOURG On that first day, I had to make it from Bienenbuttel, my village to Bremen. This meant waking up at 4.30 am to drive to Luneburg and catch my train from Luneburg to Hannover and then another train from Hannover to Bremen to meet and board the bus at 8. What a sleepless way to start a sleepless trip! Grace and I are really close as we are the only ones who truly understand Kiwi/Aussie life, so we were thrilled to have each other to cling to as we boarded the 'Party Bus'. We set off on our way (stopping at a few other places to pick up others on the way.) The drive to France was very long. We made several 'Pit Stops' along the way - petrol stations/cafe/corner shops with chips, icecream and chocolate bars, which we began to eagerly look forward to. We decided to take a detour along the way at a German city near the border called Speyer - a city famous for its huge Cathedral. We stopped there for an hour, where Grace and I paraded around wearing our National flags as capes, and bought chocolate milkshakes. Then, it was back on the road and to France. When we arrived in Strasbourg, it was around 6pm. We were given our rooms - Grace and I were together with the poor only English speaker from Bremen district on our trip, Sarah, and headed back downstairs for dinner. It turned out, that dinner was actually about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. Along the way, we spotted by the river a mystery animal - it was about the size and shape of a beaver, and was right by the waters edge, however it had more of an otter tail but was far too fat to be an otter. Ideas anyone? But yes, we got to the restaurant where we were served Onion tart - 'Perfect!' we thought, as it was just something light and tasty after a day of junk food. However, then the SECOND course came out (Mum's Casserole, I SWEAR, and mashed potato) followed by the THIRD course, layered icecream. Its safe to say we were pretty stuffed that night.

DAY TWO: STRASBOURG The next morning we had an amazing breakfast - a buffet of bread, croissants, muesli and a selection of meats and cheeses. I had muesli, that you could add things such as dried fruits yourself, as well as a croissant (however I passed on the nutella that came in a 5kg jar and was served using a ladle). Then, we had free time until 3. Grace, Sarah and I head off, first going into a few shops before meeting up with some others from the group that sort of announced that we were coming with them but they didn't know where to. We wandered around the gorgeous cobbled streets for a while, before stumbling across a beautiful scene in front of the river with old houses lining the street and a bridge in the background. It was a beautiful day with warm sun and not a breath of wind, and the river was like glass. Slowly, the group drifted apart and it was just Sarah, Grace and I again. We went into chocolate stores and other shops before heading to the world famous Cathedral - and god it was stunning. It was so big I couldn't fit the whole thing into my camera frame, and with the sun where it was it was very hard to take photos. However, we did get some, and then decided to enjoy the sun by sitting down outside a restaurant in front of the Cathedral, in the sun and order banana and Nutella crepes - and they were to die for. It was at this point where I realised how blissfully happy I was there. I loved it. Sadly, the crepe didn't hang around for long and we were on our way again, wandering in and out of souvenir stores before settling down at another restaurant with one thing on our minds - snails. I, Emma Ferner, can honestly say I have eaten not one but THREE snails. AND I have photographic and digital evidence to prove it. They weren't amazing - just very oily and garlicy, however I think it was mostly the thought of what I was eating that made me stop at three. To finish off our meal we then went to a gelato trailer and bought Stratacella Gelato - vanilla with chocolate pieces through it: Simple yet very satisfying! We then slowly headed back to the hotel, only stopping to buy a macaroon each: chocolate, of course and gosh it was not what I was expecting! I always thought macaroons were like two pieces of meringue biscuit glued together with icing, but inside the biscuit is actually soft and fluffy and moussy - it was divine! We then all met back at the hotel before heading off for the boat tour. When they had first said boat tour, I had images of being our on the choppy sea with a cold sea breeze and salt spray blowing everywhere, but boy was I wrong. The tour was in big, long boats that sailed along the river through the city. It was good, but I found the boat too crowded, and wished that the boat had been open roofed instead of glass. I felt like I was in a green house, and there was no way to take nice photos. After the tour we had more free time until 7.30 when we were meeting at the restaurant again, so Grace and I set off on a mission to find H&M, the clothes store as while my city Luneburg has one, her city does not and she had never been. We eventually found it in a shopping centre, and was immensely disappointed with their selection - nothing like Germany at all. We then headed back to the main shopping streets in search of 'afternoon tea' (we wanted baguettes as we were in France, but had to settle for chocolate croissants) and I managed to find dark chocolate peanut M&Ms at a small french supermarket. I repeat, dark chocolate peanut M&Ms. Then, we had dinner at the restaurant again. However, we had learnt from our lesson and knew not to eat all of the first course as there would still be more courses to come - surprisingly easy it turned out, as the first course was raw mince pressed into flat round disks and grated carrot covered in a really unsavoury dressing. the main course was half of a chicken each, yes, half of a chicken sitting on sourkraut (also not to my taste!) and dessert was a delicious cake filled with cream cheese, cream, fruit and other delicious things. That evening, we were pooped and went to bed 'early' - I think at around 1 or 2...

DAY THREE: LUZERN The next day we left to go to Luzern, Switzerland. On the way, we stopped at a modern architecture museum and had a tour. While I didn't understand a lot of what the woman was saying (it was in German), I did understand and appreciate what we were being shown thanks to studying modern architecture in Art History for half a year. The day was gorgeous and we had lunch at the cafe there, sitting outside in the sun. We made it to Luzern at around 2pm, and had 3 hours to wander around the city. Words cannot describe how truly beautiful this city is - mountains in the background, with a glass smooth lake laid in front of them with a stunning clear blue sky above. It was scorching, and I got sunburnt (as only I would.) We wandered around the 'shopping street' for a bit, but as we did not have the correct currency and everything is VERY overpriced, we chose to appreciate the view and landscape instead. We walked along the waterside where we witnessed a swan steal a biscuit from a toddler's hand and then proceed to take full ownership of the toddler's mother's bag chasing anyone who came near it away, before settling down in a park in front of the water for a bit. We then headed the other way, Grace and I still parading around in our national flags. We met up with the rest of the group and drove to the youth hostel we were staying in that night. Shockingly, the youth hostel was excellent. Very modern, very clean, and even more stylish than the hotel in France. And the food was great - for dinner there was a salad buffet, Italian pizza and icecream and fresh fruit salad. As it was a youth hostel, you could also make noise thankfully (the South Americans struggled to match the Strasbourg Hotel's volume rules and the hotel had complained to Rotary). The only problem with the youth hostel was that there was one shower to twelve people per section - not useful. However, we worked it all out and we all got our showers (after which I was doused in after sun gel.) That night as we could make as much noise as possible we all stayed up until about 4am, and Grace and I demolished a packet of Timtams.

DAY FOUR: CAVES AND RAPALLO The next day we were up early, around 7 am. The breakfast was even better than Strasbourg - Swiss Bircher Muesli (two types!!) and I was a wee piggy and ate lots of both. For some reason I am rather obsessed with muesli now - I even buy it instead of icecream at the supermarket. I love it! We then set off to go to the Holloch caves - a series of caves that go over 3km deep into the ground. We first drove to the small village there which was stunning and nestled in the mountains, before being geared up in helmets. The cave was really interesting - pitch black, very cold but even in the summer remaining a constant 3 degrees. We had a moment where our guide made us sit down, turn off our headlights and be dead silent. There was nothingness. No light, no sound, nothing. No matter how long we were given for our eyes to adjust, there was simply nothing for them to adjust to - no light source whatsoever. To then finish off our cave experience, we had lunch in the cave in a small 'room' lit with Gothic looking candles - interesting to say the least! We then set off for Italy and Rapallo. We made our first pit stop in Italy. It was raining, cold and very not what I was expecting. We went to the bathrooms only to find that none were usable - all of them were not flushed, very full and there was even urine and feces on the floor - it was shocking. We then went and bought some food, only to be introduced to something we would soon become very used to and aware of - Italy doesn't do small portions. I bought a 'piece' of foccaccia bread that was honestly the size of an A4 piece of paper, and Grace bought a piece of pizza that was even bigger - needless to say we did not finish our purchases. Driving through this area of Italy was not what I had been expecting at all, and along with the bad weather and bathroom experience, my view on Italy was rather tainted. Everything was very run down, but not in a beautiful way as you see on movies. More in a very poor, almost ghetto way with weeds sprouting everywhere and a constant smell of rotting. We arrived in our town Rapallo, which was by the sea much to every ones delight - however it was still cold and raining. We then went to our hotel and rooms and came back down for dinner - lasagna, followed by pork, butter fried potato and gravy, followed by chocolate gelatin puddings (the puddings weren't nice at all actually). Then, as the South Americans are rather stubborn and had their heart set on going to the beach, we went to the beach. It was cold, dark and salty but they were happy, even though Emma was freezing! Only one of them swam that night. We were home by 11, and asleep by 2.

DAY FIVE: GENEVA This day was meant to be our beach day, so naturally it was raining. Instead, we all caught a train to the city of Geneva where we could do a bit of shopping. First, we took some photos but got so soaked that we desperately sought out shelter in McDonalds (I feel I should point out that I was a good girl and did NOT order McDonalds, however this was purely because I was still full from the bag of Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms I ate about an hour earlier). Grace and I were terrified and paranoid the whole time - people kept drilling into us how common pick-pocketing is in Italy - every person brushing past was a threat, every person approaching was too. Grace and I desperately wanted to go to H&M (many grumbles from the boys). However, once we got there, we ended up spending a staggering three hours in the BOYS changing room, as all of them decided to do a bit of shopping. One boy in particular was a true 'diva', asking for my help to find him shorts with buttons on the back pockets, as he only liked shorts with buttons on the back pockets even though we had already told him his ass looked fine in the shorts he was wearing. So yes, three hours later and we emerged from H&M, the boys heavily laiden with purchases - pants, shirts, underwear, everything. Grace and I found it hilarious! We then returned to Rapallo and went and bought gelato before dinner (our parents would be shocked, I know!). Dinner was: Spaghetti with a creamy garlicy sauce, Deep fried onion rings, prawns and chips followed by even more gelato. My gosh do the Italians like to eat. We then all went down to the beach again (in the rain, yes) where we hung out for about an hour before heading back to the hotel in time for curfew (in Italy it is actually illegal for teenagers to be out after 12am). That night was another early night, with Grace and I sleeping at around 2.

DAY SIX: PISA AND FLORENCE We headed off for Pisa early the following day. It was cloudy and not particularly warm - whoever said Italy was a gorgeous sunny paradise lied. My first impression of Pisa was shock and horror. I never knew that Italy had so many illegal black immigrants before going to Pisa. As our bus was not allowed in the city, there was a carpark just for the tour buses to park in while waiting for their passengers to return. This carpark was seething with black immigrants all laiden with illegal products such as sunglasses, feaux handbags and bracelets, and as soon as our bus stopped moving, they surrounded the bus. It was terrifying. I refused to speak to these men no matter how many of them shouted "Just look here Miss, won't you even LOOK?" and kept my head down and walked on. The only problem is that the men simply follow you, calling out to you or simply walking alongside you until you get so unnerved that you buy something. The only implication with THAT technique is that buying off these men can actually get you arrested as they are illegal immigrants. Note to future travellers to Pisa: Don't buy things off the scary black men. So my first impression on Pisa was yet again tainted with not so nice memories. However, once we reached the citadel all of that went away. The buildings were stunning, and the sun came out for a brief 5 minutes simply for me to take some great photos. And the tower really is leaning quite badly! Grace and I took the typical Pisa tourist photos before wandering off to buy souvenirs, pins and gelato (of course). We then ran into the boys that were desperately seeking two more people so that they had the right numbers to hire one of  those 4-6 person tandem bike cart things. Of course we went along with them, but once seated in the middle of the cart between two South American boys with two more seated in the front with BOTH in charge of steering and all FOUR in charge of the speed, I think Grace and I were both having second thoughts. And I think its fair to say that was an experience we will never forget. The man in charge of the bikes obviously could read the boys like an open book, clearly stating that they were NOT to race one another in the carts. Needless to say, as we got around the corner from the man, the race broke out with boys leaping out from the bike here and there to run alongside the bikes, pushing them and making them go even faster. Pisa went by in a blur, and all I can really remember from the rest of that ride was driving on the wrong side of the road, driving in the bus lane (and having a bus drive up behind us) and getting lost. Very very lost. However, we made it back in one piece thankfully, and had only picked up one extra boy along the way who was clinging to the back of our bike. We then made our way back through the closing in sea of black men and into the safety of our bus. Before realising we desperately needed to go to the bathroom, dragging one of the boys along with us to act as our body guard. Sounds silly, but it wasn't. We then set off for Florence. Once we finally arrived (after a well deserved and needed nap on the bus), we went up to our rooms. Grace, Sarah and I decided to eagerly take advantage of the laundry facilities and put a load on. Gosh it felt good to get some clean clothes. Dinner that night was Pasta (surprise surprise), meat with chips and fruit salad. That evening, Grace and I demolished a packet of Tim Tams dipped in Nutella.

DAY SEVEN: FLORENCE Florence honestly served the worst breakfast. (Honestly, I should become a breakfast critic or something, it's all I seem to take note of.) All that was there was cornflakes, Cocopops or hard croissants. (I was very disappointed with all of Europe, especially France as I have yet to anywhere eat a croissant better than the ones Mum cooks at home herself, and Mum isn't even French. All of them were hard, dry and stale, where Mum's are so fresh and delicious that you can't even put a fingertip of pressure on them without the pastry flaking away, and cutting them in half is impossible as they collapse in a delicious crumbly, buttery, flaky mess everywhere... my mouth is watering just thinking about it!) Also, the Orange juice tasted revolting, as did the Pineapple juice. Ever since being in Germany, I have gone from the girl that didn't eat breakfast in NZ to the girl that goes to bed every night looking forward to waking up so she can eat breakfast, so I was thoroughly disappointed with this turnout. Anyway, after the shocking breakfast we set off into the city. Rotary had booked for us a 'Hop on, Hop Off' bus tour around Florence, and it was perfect. You paid 20 euros for the day, and as long as you had your ticket, could get on and off the tour bus whenever you liked, as many times as you wanted. The bus drove in a large circle around all of the main tourist attractions, before returning to the train station. We stayed on the bus until we reached Michelangelo's Point, where we stayed for about an hour taking beautiful photos of the stunning view across Florence and looking at the souvenirs. We then got back on the bus on it's next circuit, and got off in the middle of the city, quite frankly in the middle of nowhere. We wandered down a maze of backstreets before naturally, the boys stopped for gelato. After a while we returned to the bus and went back to the trainstation. We wandered down the main street before stopping at an Italian place for lunch. The only problem with going to Italian Restaurants to eat is that it is incredibly rude to not finish your plate. And the Italians are very generous hosts. Grace and I cleverly ordered a small pizza for us to share, and only ate a quarter each. The rest we fed to the eagerly awaiting boys who then went and ordered two more pizzas AS WELL AS THEIR OWN MEALS to eat amongst themselves. We then set off to go and see the statue of David - we couldn't find the front entrance, so unfortunately only got to see him through the bars of the back of the museum - thankfully he was facing our way, or else all we would have seen was his bottom. We then got very very lost and stumbled across the Great Cathedral with Brunelleschi's Dome, (something I studied in Art History last year) and made our way into the Cathedral. At the door I was stopped by security and refused entrance as I had 'exposed shoulders'. Once I had made myself 'decent', I was allowed entry. The Cathedral was huge and crowded. I spotter on the wall another subject of mine in Art History, St. John Hawkwood (painting) and was still impressed that I could not all of the aspects of the painting. It really is amazing seeing something you have studied in so much detail, that has so much history behind it standing right in front of you. After the Cathedral, we got horribly lost again. And my feet hurt. And it was very hot. The boys had the map and were determined they knew where we were going - they didn't. Eventually we made our way back onto our magical Hop on bus, and as we had some time to kill, sat on it for a full two hours as it drove around the city, sitting in the open roof section with the boys entertaining themselves by throwing gummy bears at things as we drove past. Eventually we made it back to the hotel in time for dinner - this time it was pasta, half a chicken with chips and gelato. Once again, Grace and I fed the eagerly awaiting, always hungry boys. That night we didn't catch the bus into town, but wandered around the nearby streets. It was cold and quite frankly not enjoyable.

DAY EIGHT: JESOLO Most of the next day was spent driving - once again it was cold and cloudy and rainy. Eventually we made it to the town of Jesolo. I love this town. It reminds me a little of Akaroa - not appearance wise, but because it is a nice wee safe town on the beach with every second shop being an icecream shop, and every other shop being somewhere you can buy togs and beach toys. It was the first place in Italy we truly felt safe - no rotting smell, nice buildings not falling apart, no homeless people or black immigrants, just a really nice beach town. We were all 'greeted' by the hotel owner and her whole family, that read out the list of Rotary rules and then once we were assigned our rooms, proceeded to patrol the corridors. Within the first hour they had charged Rotary 150 Euros because some girls jumped onto a bed as there was a mouse in their room. We were delighted to see that the hotel had also put a copy of the Rotary rules in both our bedroom and bathroom, just in case we ever forgot them. Grace and I then walked through the town, buying a  Frisbee and a Vortex for us to play with on the beach and knowing that as none of the boys had known what a Vortex was, that it was going to be a big hit...and probably not last an hour. We then bought some gelato before returning to the hotel and heading to the beach. It was cold, grey and drizzly, so naturally we swam. And then raced inside (much to the hotel woman's disgust) and had hot showers. Dinner was once again pasta, meat and potatoes and gelato - Grace and I politely declined the last two courses, so the whole group was abruptly told they could go out and buy their own dinner the next night (I don't think the hotel was very pleased with us). That night we went down onto the beach of course, and were too noisy coming back inside and upset the hotel.

DAY NINE: VENICE Breakfast was good - muesli. Emma was satisfied.
We set off for Venice quite early - as many people don't know, you actually have to catch a ferry to get there. The day was gorgeous, and sitting in the open top ferry reminded me so much of the days at Akaroa sitting in Ollie and Matt's boat. We arrived in Venice to find the place teeming with people. There were stalls everywhere, and the sight was truly stunning. We all headed off towards the Cathedral, as Rotary had organised a tour for us. However, once the tour began Grace and I realised that it was all in German, and that the tour guide didn't speak very good Deutsch, so we wandered off after about five minutes. We strolled around the souvenir shops before deciding that we needed lunch - and what better place to go than the internationally famous Hard Rock Cafe. The place was mental and packed full of people, but eventually Grace and I were seated. We both just ordered the famous burger and chips, and boy were they good. What better Hard Rock Cafe to come to than one of the most exclusive that you have to catch a FERRY to get to! We then walked around the souvenir shops some more, before deciding that we wanted to go on a Gondola. When we inquired how much it would be for the two of us, we were told 80 Euros everywhere we tried - a little pricey for us. However, we eventually ran into some of the boys who were also wanting to go on the Gondolas, and as the gondolier could also speak Spanish, he told us that he would give us an hour tour at a discounted price. It was perfect. As was the tour itself. You cannot truly experience Venice until you have been on the gondola. It is here where you get to run your hands through the water, sail under the bridges and explore the heart of the city. You don't truly appreciate the wonders of this place until you have had the places where both Mozart and Beethoven stay, and Casanova's chambers pointed out to you. Our gondolier told us about his life: You cannot be a gondolier unless you are a true Venetian, born and raised in the city, and you are selected to join the Academy at a young age. Only men are gondoliers. He also told us that people who are born in Venice cannot live on the mainland - it is simply too different of a lifestyle for them, and they cannot adjust. After our incredible tour we returned to the Ferry and back to our hotel in Jesolo, only to find that room service had dumped all of our belongings in Grace's suitcase, and that the owner had let herself into the rooms and searched our things, finding the boy's Swiss Army Knives they had bought in Switzerland and confiscating them as they were 'weapons'. Grace and I then went for another walk around the town and once again bought gelato (as we had a huge lunch, this was our dinner.) We then watched the boys demolish half a HUGE pizza each as well as a plate of fries and chicken nuggets each. This evening was possibly the most entertaining of all. Some of the boys decided that they needed haircuts. And that they were going to do it themselves. They had bought an electric razor, and by the time Grace and I found them, they were all crowded in a bathroom with one boy already having his hair cut like Wolverine (only temporarily of course, they decided to do each others hair roughly and jokingly before cutting it nicely). This was fantastic and hilarious until one boy dropped the razor while half way through the first cut of another boy's hair - straight down the middle of his head. The razor broke. Then things went from hilarious to side splitting. Here we had four boys, all cut looking like savages with tufts of hair everywhere, and a broken razor. They were not happy. So, they decided to pack the razor back up into the box and try and walk down to the shop and tell the shop owner that the razor didn't work and that it was faulty when they bought it. Shockingly, the shop keeper did not fall for this very convincing act by the four tufty, patchy haired boys still scattered with freshly cut hairs, and refused to give them another one. Back at the hotel, they eventually got some life back into the razor, but only about 5 seconds worth at a time before it cut out again. Needless to say it was a very long night, and we had a very grumpy hotel lady the next morning to come in and find thick black hair strewn all through one bedroom and bathroom and all through the beds.

DAY TEN: JESOLO We pissed the hotel off. So they refused to restock the breakfast. Frustratingly the muesli was all gone, so I had to have a bread roll with ham. We were given the option of either going back to Venice or staying in Jesolo for the day. We all chose to stay in Jesolo as it was cold and raining and we wanted a beach day. We spent the morning playing with the Vortex on the beach, and the others all swam. Then, Grace and I went to McDonalds to try 'Italian' McDonalds. I ordered what looked really nice - a Foccaccia burger bun with salami and cheese in it. Unfortunately the picture looked much better than the product, and the actual burger wasn't very nice at all. We then went back to the hotel and decided to walk down to the laundromat and do a load of washing. While we were waiting, we decided to go to a cafe and order a hot chocolate - big mistake. Think of chocolate self saucing pudding sauce/syrup, and put that in a mug. The longer we left it, the more solid and gel like it became. It plopped and slid off the spoon on one gelatenous mass. We didn't drink it. We couldn't. We must have looked so dodgy sneakily pouring a clear fluid (water) into our mugs and stirring it, tasting it and sneakily pouring in more and more. We must have looked like alcoholics. Once our washing was done we returned to the Hotel where the boys noticed our clean washing and requested that we take them down to the laundromat to help them. Our first drama was when one boy out in a 20 Euro note into the change machine, not expecting to get tokens, NOT euro coins in return. Twenty euros worth. We then stood there instructing the boys what went where - why the new tshirt had to go in the colours, and why the stripey tshirt couldn't go in the white wash.. They then realised that it was dinner time (Grace and I weren't hungry) so we stayed at the laundromat while they went back and got dinner (Grace and I went and bought nutella and banana crepes while we were waiting). We then had to explain why the clothes had to have another spin dry, and why they couldn't just take them when they were damp, and how it would make all of their other clothes damp in their suitcase and smelly if they were to take them now. That night we went onto the beach again, and it was cold and it rained. Also, room service chose not to come into our room that day - only our room though. When we went downstairs to ask for more towels, sheets and toilet paper the woman insisted on coming upstairs to inspect our room. She then pointed to our stripped sheets on the floor, demanding to know what they were - we explained that there was sand in them and that we stripped the beds to make it easier for room service. She then demanded to know if we had taken the towels onto the beach - we hadn't, they were wet from our showers the night before. She then told us that room service only comes once a day, not twice (we tried to explain room service didn't come AT ALL), and she told us that she would bring us clean towels and toilet paper but not clean sheets (everyone elses had been changed). She then slammed our door before opening it again, and saying in English "I'm Italian, NOT stupid." and slamming it again. That night we went to bed very late, and the hotel threatened to call the police as one girl wasn't wearing shoes inside.

DAY ELEVEN: JESOLO AND VIENNA As the hotel refused to restock the breakfast, we had half a container of cornflakes and some breadrolls to squabble over for breakfast, before setting sail for Vienna. We made many Pit Stops that day. I am ashamed to say that I did not in any way eat healthily that day. I bought again the foccaccia bread toasted sandwich with cheese and ham that I had bought previously, and gosh it was delicious. There isn't a lot to tell from this day, as we drove for over 8 hours. Once we arrived in Vienna, we went straight to the Youth Hostel (once again, flawless and clean and a really really nice place.) Dinner was a help yourself buffet with delicious salads (pasta etc) and pieces of schnitzel and potato salad and rolls and Emma approved. After dinner, as the mature and grown up adults we are, we went to a Gamezone. Grace and I went on the Motorbikes ride game and played the Basketball one. We then wandered around the area, through the mall before getting Gelato (one of the boys owed us because Grace and I won a bet.) We eventually made it back to the hostel, where we met the two Europe record holders for Rubix Cubes. One boy was 15 and specialised in 'small cubes' and one was 17 and specialised in 'big cubes' - both were incredible. We watched one of them complete a normal rubix cube in 3.6 seconds.

DAY TWELVE: VIENNA Hostels do gooood breakfast, Once again, I was faced with the option of TWO forms of bircher muesli to choose from - naturally, I chose both. Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day and all. We then set off in our trusty bus to a castle that was lived in by the King of France and his wife and children. The castle was very very grand and impressive - especially the gardens. However, I didn't fancy the colour - bright yellow/orange... Then, we were driven into town and given free rein until 6pm. Grace and I walked through a massive market that supposedly had 'every international food you could dream of' - we did NOT find: Cadbury, meat pies or sausage rolls, the three things we are foaming at the mouth for. We then went to the Trainstation to meet an exchange friend of mine - Jess, who is from Blenheim and living in Linz, near Vienna for the year. We came over on the plane together, and became very close friends especially in LA where we went to Disneyland and Universal Studios. Grace and I made our way through a rather scary marijuana protest before making it to the station and getting McDonalds while waiting for Jess. It was so nice to see a familiar Kiwi face and to hear that ridiculous accent again. It was also comforting to see that I wasn't the only one 'enjoying their exchange' and quite frankly, piling on the pounds! Jess took us to the main street of Vienna where we saw the Cathedral and souvenir shops, and had a look at some other shops as well. She then took us to the Australian Bar, where Grace was disgusted at the fact that there was fried grasshoppers and kangaroo steak on the menu - apparently they do Not eat that.. who knew? Grace was also disappointed to find out that the people that worked there aren't actually Australian, however she cheered up when she got to write her name on the wall. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that Vegemite on Toast was on the menu. We then went and got Starbucks, as Jess and I were shocked that Grace had never tried it. We also then discovered that Vienna is a very big place and that it is very easy to get lost, even when you have a map. Thankfully, we eventually found our way back to the bus in time. We had organised that Jess was going to come back and stay at the Hostel with us, and it was great introducing her to everyone. That night the Rotex decided that we were going clubbing. We took the S-Bahn (street train, like a tram) to the area of the 'club', and it was raining. We walked down some stairs to a very dodgy looking area by the river, that Jess informed us was one of the most dangerous places in Vienna. The three of us wanted out of there, but everyone insisted that we would be fine. We made it through the groups of stoned people and into the 'club' that reminded me of a basement. Or a dungeon. It was dark, cold and damp. The music was absolutely dreadful and there wasn't a single song to sing along to. And, as the icing on the cake, standing around the 'dance floor' were at least 7 middle aged men, staring at us and drinking. Grace, Jess and I wanted more than just to get out of there.And to make things worse, the longer we stayed there, more middle aged men kept arriving and just watching us. At one point one of the boys from our group told us to go with him and he took us to the other side of the club, as he had been listening to two men talking about us and did not like what he was hearing. The time to leave could not come slow enough, but eventually it was time to go. It was at this point where the group somehow got split in two - we were in a group of about 13 people (and the only sober ones) and the rest of the group was with the Rotex who actually knew how we were getting home. Our group made our way to the S-Bahn hoping to catch it back to where we came from, only to find out that they don't operate at 1 in the morning. No buses were operating either, and to make matters worse, people kept wandering off without telling anyone. It was cold, raining and terrifying. Eventually we decided to take taxis, but even they turned out to be dodgy - splitting up and taking different routes down dark side streets. Even the boys were getting uncomfortable. Finally we made it back to the hostel. We were all very tired and short tempered and went to bed shortly after that.

DAY THIRTEEN: PRAGUE We left Jess that morning at the hostel after my amazing breakfast of double bircher muesli again. Within two hours we were in the Czech Republic, and pulling up to our next activity - Jungle Park. This was, in all honesty Adrenaline Forest by Spencer Park, but in the Czech Republic. You had a harness with two Carabinas attached, as well as your own personal flying fox that you hooked onto the wire you were wanting to travel across. Of course we also had helmets, as we were doing obstacles about 4 metres in the air amongst the trees. However, where I have always struggled a bit with the challenges at Adrenaline Forest, I found Jungle Park very easy - in fact, I might even say I was one of the better ones at it. Once we finally completed the obstacle course, we had lunch there - hot dogs and currywurst, with complimentary beer from Rotary (I wasn't too pleased about this, as some of you may not know but I despise beer.) We then lay on the grass for a while before setting on our way again towards Prague. We arrived just in time for dinner to Emma's delight. However, the dinner wasn't too flash, so I made up for it with dessert (also not too flash, but hey, it was dessert!) We were then told after our exhausting day that we were once again going clubbing. To the biggest club in Europe. Four stories tall, each with a different theme and music style and one floor made completely of ice - even the glasses you drank from were made of ice. We thought we would spend most of our time in the 'Dance' storey, but it turned out that we actually preferred the 'Oldies' floor -- it played music such as Greece Medley, YMCA, "Material Girls" and "I Want to Dance with Somebody" - much better music to sing and dance to! We got home very late that night, and were absolutely exhausted. 

DAY FOURTEEN: PRAGUE This day, it was raining. And while the hotel DID have muesli, it wasn't as nice as other places I had tried. We went into town in our bus, and met up with two tour guides. We were split into two groups, and told that we were going to be doing a four hour tour of Prague, on foot in the rain. Needless to say there were more mumbles and groans than cheers of joy. We set off, clad in rain jackets and wielding umbrellas and froze our arses off. Unfortunately we couldn't appreciate what our lovely tour guide was showing us as we were all so miserable. We went to many churches and down the main streets, but yet again Grace and I had difficulties as the tour was all in German. Eventually, the tour was over and we had four hours to kill before dinner. Grace and I went straight to McDonalds to use the bathroom, use their free wifi and eat a sundae. Then, as I had gotten Grace addicted to Starbucks, we went to Starbucks and used their Internet as well. We then walked around many souvenir shops as well as many clothes stores like H&M before yet again returning to McDonalds to take refuge in the warmth. That day Grace and I bought dark fake tan, as it was payback time for Mauricio, our friend who had over the duration of the tour managed to paint our hair green and draw on us with permanent markers. On our faces. While we were asleep. We were so exhausted that. while we were given 'free time' and a curfew of 12am, all of us went straight back to the hotel after dinner (around 7.30pm) and to bed. Before this, however, Grace, Mauricio and I had some Czech coins that we needed to use up, meaning that we all treated ourselves to a luxurious ten or so minutes on the massage chairs! While we went to sleep at about 9, Grace and I had our alarm set for 3am. It was revenge time. Let's just say that the next day, Mauricio looked like he had maybe seen a bit too much sun and that he truly fit in with the South Americans and their skin colour.

DAY FIFTEEN: DRESDEN Spirits were low this day, as it was our last full day together. We drove from Prague to Germany, and arrived in Dresden at around 12pm. Grace and I had our hearts set on Subway for lunch, and walked 45 minutes down a very long main road until we found it. Dresden was beautiful - the view of the city from the bridge was stunning - churches and spires everywhere. Once we finally found Subway and had eaten, it ws time to head back to the main part of the city where the group was meeting to watch a documentary about the famous 'Frauenkirche' or 'Women's Church'. After that, we actually had a tour of the church. It was gorgeous. We then had more free time, and as it was raining Grace and I headed to a cafe, before doing some souvenir shopping. Then, it was time for dinner - not so impressive this time, even though it was catered by the hostel. Dinner was meat cooked in casserole sauce, glutenous potato balls (I don't know what they're called, but its like potato but mashed and sticky and with gelatin and rolled into large balls) and sauerkraut. Not Emma's favourite! That night as it was our last night, we sat in a bedroom talking for hours before heading off to McDonalds at 3am.

DAY SIXTEEN: HOME. Everyone was grim. Grace and I were even more so, as we found out that the bus was not, in fact stopping in Hannover as had been stated on the original form, but stopping at Bremen or Oldenburg. Thus meaning that we had to take two hours worth of trains home, at 5pm after a week with a total of around 12 hours sleep. We were driving for the whole day, and people were barely talking - just sitting there, trying to absorb what had just happened in the past 2 weeks and wishing that it didn't have to end. We arrived at Bremen at 5pm, and tears began to be shed. Everywhere you turned someone was wanting a hug, and it was incredible to believe that I was crying over saying goodbye to people I had met a mere 16 days ago - before that we were complete strangers. I arrived home at 7pm tired, sick and downhearted at the thought that in a day, my life would return to normal...Emma would have to go back to school.

I have kept in very close touch with everyone from Bremen since then, hence partly why this post has taken so long to write. For the past three weeks following Europatour, Grace and I have travelled to Bremen to visit everyone, and we were even invited to their District Rotex weekend in Esens last weekend, where we got to meet the other half of the district (English speakers!) and even after that one weekend, I have come out with some more good friends. All of our friends are going home in a month, so Grace and I are going to Bremen at least once, maybe even twice more to say our farewells. We still don't know what to say or how to say it. These people because our family within two weeks, where before we were strangers. The thought now, of them not being here is not a nice one. Everyone was just so incredible to us - welcoming us into their district with wide open arms and making us part of their amazing family.

I will never forget these two weeks, or the amazing people I had the chance to experience it with.

Summer.

Yes, I said it, We have Summer. Well, 'technically' Spring, but as I try telling people, I don't believe in Spring or Autumn - if it's cold, it's Winter, if it's hot, it's Summer.

Life is starting to warm up. I have spent the past week after school strolling through the beautiful city buying a ridiculously long list if things I need for Europatour which is on Tuesday. We are going to France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Prague and at this time if year it is very possible I could face all climates from a blizzard to a 30 degree day, and when you're only allowed to "Pack the bare essentials" this becomes very stressful - everything is essential!! All I can say is that we'd better have hot weather in Italy, so I can wear the many summer dresses I have oacked and fulfil my vision of me strolling around Italy looking gorgeous and summery like they do in the movies. Apparently we go out for dinner every night, and the icecream is to die for and me being the food obsessed exchange student that I am, I cannot wait! Even if my train on Tuesday to get to the meeting point leaves at 5.30am...

I have joined a new choir, that some girls from scool as well as my counsellor are in. It's really great, and a lot more official and organised than my other choir as this one is more for adults, and the particular three biys fromt he other choir that I wanted to hit a lot as they refused to listen, talked loudly all the time and spoke back to the conductor are blissfully not present. We sing German songs, as well as songs like Monday, Monday and Mamma Mia!

Easter was a bit of a low point for me, as I couldn't stop thinking about my incredible Easters Mum and I have with Susie P and Margie and Liv and Nick in Hanmer - it truly is one of my favourite times of the year and one of my few blissful, relaxing getaways and I loved waking up early and climbing into Mum's bed (yes, at the age if 17) and stealing all of Mum's space/blankets/pillows as well as eating her Marmite crumpets. I'm not sure if I have mentioned this, but every year since as long as I can remember the 'Easter Bunny' has given me a Cadbury Great Bunny with the waistcoat and Purple Magic Wishing Egg. Even last year, when I'm supposedly 'grown up' the Easter Bunny came. However, this year I was forced to accept that there would be no Bunny. I was wrong. Mum, my amazing, incredible mum sent me all the way from New Zealand my Great Bunny. His box got a little squashed along the way, but he was in perfect condition. Infact, he still is. That is because I cannot bring myself to eat him. He sits at my bedside and is the first thing I see in the morning, reminding me just how much Mum loves me that just so I don't get sad at having my first year with no Great Bunny, she sends him to me to show me just how much she loves me. I just can't eat him. Nope, no way.

I had my last A2 German Coursee lesson on Thursday, and was thrilled when the teacher got me up infront if the whole ckass and told me she was astounded at how quickly I had learnt the language and how it was incredible that at the beginning the first thing I said was "Entschuldigung (sorry), I can't speak German" and now they can;t get me to shut up (in german!!) and everyone was nodding and agreeing with what the teacher said and it clapping for me - it was really encouraging and made me feel rather chuffed!

And I do believe that is all for now, gotta go have some breakfast and continue cramming things into my rather tight suitcase - EVERYTHING IS ESSENTIAL!!