London

Hey guys,

I hope you're all good?!
I just came back from London on Friday and I'm already working again....

London was sooo amazing and I had so much fun!!!
We left on Sunday last week at 6am at my school and arrived at Calais (France) around 3.30pm to take the ferry to Dover (England). The ride on the ferry was better than I thought it would be... I didn't get sick and we listened to music and ate a lot :D We arrived in London around 6pm and left for the city after we arranged all our rooms. We went to Covent Garden, a big market hall with lots of little shops, and from there to Soho and China Quarter. In Soho they have all kind of chinese and japanese restaurants so we had something to eat there and went back to the hotel as it was getting late and we had to be back at 11pm.

Port of Calais

Cliffs of Dover

On Monday morning we had a sightseeing tour and went to see all the main attractions in London. We stopped at Buckingham Palace, the Memorial of King Albert and at the river with the view on Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Afterwards we all went to Camden Lock and the market and had free time there. Camden Market is great... there are so many cheap things you can buy and so many people selling different things.
In the afternoon we went to St. James Park and had a look at all the squirrels... they're soo cute!! ;)
From there we had free time again until 11pm... so I went shopping on Oxford Street with some other girls haha. If you want to go shopping in London... Camden Market is cheap, Picadilly and Oxford Circus have lots of shops and Regent Street is quiet expensive ;)

Memorial of King Albert

Camden Market

 

On Tuesday we went by our bus to Oxford. If you ever go to London you should go to Oxford even if it takes 1 1/2 hours to get there. Oxford is a small city with lots (and lots) of old, pretty buildings and lots of Colleges (and Universitys). Our teacher organised a ralley for us so we got to see a little of the city and had time for some shopping afterwards. At Christ Church College you can even see the dining hall from the Harry Potter movies, but sadly it costs 5,50 pound.... and it was lunchtime so we couldn't go in.
At night we had free time so we went to Picadilly Circus with some others and the went to Soho fpr some food. On the way back we stopped at our train station Kings Cross St. Pancras to see platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter.

Clock Tower in Oxford

 

Radcliffs Camera

Christ Church College

Picadilly Circus

Kings Cross Train Station

Wednesday morning we climbed up the Monument with it's 311 stairs to get the stunning view over the whole city!! It's absolutely worth all these stairs ;)
Afterwards we had an hour free time before we had to be at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, so we went to the Modern Tate (which wasn't half as interesting as I thought it would be..). We got to see the Globe Theatre from the inside and hear about it's story and the had a workshop afterwards. The guy who did that with us was just hillarious and I was laughing al the time!! :D
When we had free time again I went with some friends to St. Pauls Cathedral (I just love it!!!), but we lost them there, so my class mate and I went alone for some sightseeing ;) I wanted to see Big Ben ( the cock tower with the big bell, called Big Ben) and Westminster Abbey. Then we to Leicester Square to look for the movie programm of that week... We found the M&M Shop and went back to the hotel for some lunch. At night our teacher took us to Brick Lane in Spitafield, where Jack The Ripper once killed and all the Indian Restaurants are now. In front of every restaurant is at least one Indian who makes you offers and tells you how great his reaturant is... they all try to get you in. Nearly our whole class ended up in the same restaurant so we all sat on this massive table that went straight through the whole room :D haha

Top of the Monument

St. Paul's Cathedral

Westminster Abbey

Thursday was already our last day in London :( In the morning we took the train and then walked underneath the river Thamse to Greenwich and the Royal Observatory with the Prime Meridian (the line on 0° longitute, from where everyone measures their time and all the other longitutes east and west of it). We had some free time in Greenwich and had a look around this small town, where a flea market was on that day ;)
We went on a boat for a cruse on the Thamse from Greenwich to Westminster for 2 hours. It's great how much you can see from the water. We spent our last time shopping (for food :D) and then went on the bus at 5.30pm and left for the ferry in Dover. We arrived in Bremen around 7am the next morning and we were all so tired, because most of us couldn't sleep very well on the bus... just like me who turned around every haln an hour -.- When I was home I was soooo glad to see my bed and went straight back to sleep :D

Tower Bridge

London Eye

Clock Tower of Big Ben

On Friday night my friends and I went to the opening fireworks of the 'Freimarkt' (the biggest fun fare in North-Germany), but it was so packed with people that we just had a look around and didn't go in anywhere. We'll have time for that for the next 2 weeks ;)

That was my busy week.... but it was soo much fun and I certainly want to go back to London, because I still haven't seen everything :D

See you soon
Lea

Home sweet home!!

Hey guys,
I hope you're all doing good??
I'm back since 8 weeks now and I didn't have any time to write.
It's really sad, because I wanted to do it all the time, but I've been too busy. Now school started 4 weeks ago and I have even less time.
Every day during the week is planned out, but luckily I don't really have long school days. I'm back to dancing and so happy about that!!
I also started theory lessons for my drivers license 3 weeks ago and already had 6 lessons.

(ahh have to change everything because I already wrote this text 2 weeks ago on the train, but didn't have time to type it until now...) but nevermind... the original:
"I'm on the way to Cologne for a Returnee Party from my organisation. I'm quiet excited to meet a few of my German friends, I met in New New Zealand."
In fact it was great... we were dancing and talking all night :D

The trip with my family has been great, but I'll do an extra post about that (it probably has to wait a little because we did so much and I don't have time to write all that at the moment.. sorry about that before hand!! )

When we came back my family and friends welcomed me at the central station and I spent the next weeks meeting all my friends, charing stories and showing all these amazing photos (all in all I took about 31,000!!!!! :D hahaha so it took a while to show them all ;)).
Still everyone is asking how it has been, how I liked it, if the people were nice etc.
I can just say for myself:

It has been the most amazing, stunning, inspiring, great, funny, exciting year of my life (and I hope more are to come ;)). I met soo many nice, fantastic, funny, awesome people and I will never forget them and I hope I can keep in touch with everyone...
This will be hard, especially when I start my exams and the project that will count as my 5th mark in my A-levels.
That's why I'll try to continue this blog, so that I don't feel too guilty about not answering you all with one of my looong messages (you just have to be happy with short ones) ;)

I hope this blog will go well and I hope someone will/ might read it...
It's also for me to keep up with my English, because I already notice my spoken English is getting a little rusty :(
I still read and watch movies in English, but it's just not the same like speaking and thinking in English all the time. I really miss that!!!
Oh and please correct me when I'm making some big mistakes!! Thanks :)

Okay, back to my experience in NZ.
I just want to tell everyone how much I loved this year, to animate the peole that have the same opportunity to experience a different country and lenguage.
It's the best thing you can do if you have the cance and you have a little self-confidence (you should have seen me before I left... so damn shy and really not confident about myself...).
I learned so much in this year and I mean no one can ever take these memories and great experience away from me. I wouldn't have been able to change that much (for goog I suppose), if I would have stayed here for the year.

You don't even have to leave for a year! It's hard in the beginning and everyone is diffrent about settling in.... I've been homesick for the first 3-4 month I guess, but you get to live it.
I think 3 month is not quiet enogh, because you are slowly settled in after that, found new friends, really enjoy school, get into the new lenguage (no matter where you go.... for French, Spanish, English etc.), feel like home and then you have to leave again!
So I think you should at least stay half a year or more, what ever you can afford (I know something like this is very expensive!!) and how long you think you can stay away from home.

New Zealand has just such friendly people!
No one in Germany would ever thank the bus diver, would ever be that helpfull if you look lost, would ever greet you on the street even if you don't know them. Most Germans are quiet stressed, look grumpy and would just mind their own thing. Some are nice and helpfull, but it's just not the same like with Kiwis!! I miss all the open hearted, easy-going, friendly atmosphere with other people!!
I guess you dodn't have to go that far away to experience something new, a change and get lots of experience.
Depending where you live and what you'd like to get from this exchange. People, nature, school, lifestyle is different in every country. It changes more or less, depending on what you are used to.

So take your chance (but just if you want to do it.. not because your parents want you to do it ;)) and get your own great experiences and memories in other countries! I can just recommend it :)

New Zealand Pancakes

Scones with jam and cream

Skittles!!!! love them :D

Soooo.... it's weird to be back here... first I expected everyone around me to speak English.... and I always wanted to talk to everyone in English, but I guess I got over it now ;)
BUT!! The day before yesterday (yesterday was a public holiday - the reunion of Germany) I finally got to talk English again (except from school), with a man on the tram (who asked me why my English is so good!? ahhhh :D)... afterwards my boyfriend and I talked English for a while, which was quiet fun!!!
The bad news are I have a tendovaginitis (not sure if it's the correct English word..) sine 2 1/2 weeks...

I'm really busy with school now and all the exams will start soon after the next holidays in 2 weeks (& 1 day), but I'll spend one of these weeks in London!!! I'm so excited to go there again and I want to see soo much. I went in 2010 for the first time and it was just great!!
Will tell you everything about the trip when I'm back ;)

Since I'm back I still haven't finished decorating my room, but it already looks really comfy I think ;)
I love being home, because I finally have all my cloths back, my friends & family and our big garden (sadly it's raining all the time now... so I'm not keen on going outside if I don't have to ;)).
Although I miss New Zealand and everyone there lots!!! I've been feeling homesick a few times already :(

So flowers from our garden:



Will never forget NZ!! ♥

 

hmm... what else... I've no idea...
Will just post the next time when I have something more to write about ;)
Just tell me if you have any questions about... Germany, Bremen, myself etc!

See ya soon
Lea  ♥