Mission estate concert, Nepier

Kiriwhakapapa

Wairarapa & me

/Huka falls

I've spent my first week in Masterton, Wairarapa. I personally adore this district - there might not me loads of beaches or mountains with skiing tracks, but the place has it's own charm. There are many small vineyards, little towns with green hills and blue mountains in the background not to mention sheep.

Being an exchange student brings a huge difference to my daily life. I have to make the effort to come up and talk to the people I want to be friends with. It doesn't sound so difficult, I know, but try being a shy person among many different teenagers at the other side of the world. So when I realized that the the process of getting used to the environment isn't a matter of hours, I started enjoying myself for real, and actually I don't see it ending, ever.

The most wonderful family has opened their home for me and I couldn't be having more fun. But maybe it's just me. My attitude has obviously changed.

I remember yesterday, siting in the front seat of a car, driving on the road to Wellington and singing along with ABBA. And I don't believe that I can ever get used to the beautiful sights that you see once you decide to go somewhere, even the back fence of the backyard - fields of gold and a clear blue sky above the mountains that cover the horizon.

And today was an unforgettable day. We went tramping in the native forrest, it was more like a walk actually, but I enjoy seeing myself tramping one day. I had never seen trees that huge before, I think. I feel in love with the green color and the sound a slightly small river making it's way down the hill.

And I remember all the people who asked me why I'm doing this. Why not?

See you next weekend.

The China Experience

29.01. Hongkong-Auckland

Once we found our way through the huge Hongkong Airport, we were picked up by a lovely chinese lady who took us to a shopping mall, that I definately do not remember the name of. We had a lunch there at a small, quite crowded restaurant. She picked out some dishes that she wanted for us to try. They were all very delitious, what more to say? Then we took a taxi to downtown. We went through a market where people buy really cheap souvenirs, fake Gucci bags, for a priece that says: ‘‘Made in China’‘ and usually it is lowered three times once you show the interest. Oh, and the city.. I didn’t notice a building that wouldn’t be called a skyscarper in Latvia. It’s fun for one day, but I didn’t even try to imagine myself living there, too different.

One Starbucks frappucino later, we found ourselves in the inner shopping paradise among the airport gates. And now, 4 hours away from our destination, perfect New Zealand, we have been scared by their customs. A4 sheet of paper with a list of things you can’t bring in, and we have some of those, and a lot of questions to answer. The answers that I have given mean that I’ll have to spend a lot of time declaring goods. What makes me slightly not optimistic is that they had to write down the possible outcome of failure in decleration- prison. But we’ll see.

On my way

27. 01. Frankfurt-Hongkong

It is impossible that a person not being uncountious isn’t actually aware of what he is doing. But this is the case. Saying goodbye to family & friends is such a big blur now and seems as though it was weeks ago. We just walk from one gate to another, one plane to another (two planes so far, actually, but it seems like there have been a million of those). At this moment I decide to be honest. What's the use of experience if you can’t share it, right? I just got over my head-ache from crying. [No, I didn’t cry all this time, but the head-ache can really last]. The thing is, once you have gotten through security check, a glass wall away from where your heart is, you forget all the reasons why you are doing it in the first place, and do they even count?

Don’t think that the whole story here is going to be covered in tears. At the moment I’m quite optimistic, not tired, hoping to experience the best in our tiny stop at Hongkong.