This is crazy. I could never know how fast a year could pass. Only one year ago I was still at home in Switzerland and starting to pack. Now I am packing again; to fly back home. This is my last week at school and I am already getting my NZ flag signed and filling out my Leavers' form. We had the Formal last Friday and it was such a fun night. I went there in an old car, with Jess and Sheena. The driver took us for a wee tiki-tour through town and tried to calm us down but by the time we had to get out of the car we were still incredibly nervous. Glad I didn't fall though :-) I'll put up a photo soon. Love you all, see you soon!

So. I have started counting the days i have left. Only 39 days! I don't feel like I am ready yet to go home, there's so much more here to discover! But first I am going to sit the CAE exam next weekend in Nelson. I AM SO SCARED! Speaking is first on Saturday and on the following Wednesday it's going to be Reading, Writing, Listening and so on. The formal is in three weeks and I am superexcited! My dress has arrived, I ordered it off the internet. It's exactly the way i wanted it! I couldn't believe my eyes when we discovered that my host mum had a whole jewelry set in the right colours. It's beautiful :-)
Last weekend I was in Motueka with the Brass Band. I LOVE Brass Band. It's not just about playing music and taking part in a competition but also mixing young with older people. It's been so much fun. I also did two solos and got 2nd and 3rd. Haha Nick who accompanied me on the piano dropped all his sheets on the floor so I literally played SOLO. In just about four weeks time I'll be going down to Timaru where the Brass Band Nationals are going to be. I'm looking forward to that except that I am leaving the day after I come home. I'm leaving at about 6.30 in the morning so I am hoping that i won't fully realize that I am actually leaving...
Today I went to practice cricket in the indoor sports centre. My German friend Marie and i got freaked out by the electronic bowling machine though. So I've got a big painful bruise on my leg now. Friday was NCEA day which means you can go to school if you choose to. So I chose to go. No I could have lived without one more day at school. But I wanted to achieve my English Creative Writing and resit Biology and Chemistry which i both failed at my first attempt. So that was good. Good night everyone. Love xo

Lake Rotoiti

Hello back. So this week we went to the west coast for a few days. I hadn't been to this part of New Zealand before and it was worth going up there. The forests, the rivers and the beaches are just amazing. We did some walks and explored Denniston, an old coal miners' settlement which is on top of a hill. The coal used to be brought of the hill by coal wagons on an incline which still exists partly. The only way you could get up to Denniston (before they built the walkway and the road) was by climbing aboard a coal wagon and descending the incline in it. Most of the huts and tracks have fallen apart for the mines have been shut down for about 60 years. Beforehand I had read a book about that place so it was even more interesting to see what it was all about. The weather was good at the west coast -surprisingly- and we even had a swim in the sea. I've realised again that I never want to leave again! Here some photos...

The holiday home we stayed in

some arches -  i can't remember the name- that we explored

the beach at where the Heaphy track begins

The view from the top of the incline, coal wagons on the left

Some pretty flowers on the side of the road up to Denniston

The charming creek railway which leads to more mines...

...and a massive waterfall.

16'093 km away from home!

Hello everyone :-) Today we went for a walk up Wither Hills although it was real hot! I have learnt again that sun screen is necessary... 

I hope all of you have enjoyed a nice Easter Weekend. Last week i was tempted to buy a Lindt easter bunny but got disappointed because they were made in freaking Australia. Nothing against Australia. But have a look at this...

So I got to miss out on the Swiss bunnies... 

xxx Seraina

Easter Weekend. My friend Ramona who is travelling New Zealand came visiting me for a few days and we went on a trip to Pine Valley. I've got two weeks of holidays now. Next weekend we are going to the West Coast, right in the north to do some walks. Apparently these walks are more awesome if you do them in the rain so let's hope it's going to rain ;-) Jess and I are going on a tramp on Wednesday and Thursday. It will be part of the Queen Charlotte Track and we are tenting one night. This is going to be exciting :-)

Just the usual stuff

Now i've got less than four months left in New Zealand... I don't wanna go home back to school!!!

Here everything's fine. School is, as usual, not too interesting and not too boring. I was on Biocamp at Lake Rotoiti a few weeks ago which was pretty cool but we had to write a huge report about some kind of insects that live in water. Aoteapsyche colonica. Some kind of Sandfly I think. Took me the whole weekend! -.-
Holidays start in three weeks. Finally. We've still got some assessments to do before holidays like Research in Bio, group and solo performance in Music and Creative Writing and Reading Response in English.
I'm planning on sitting the FCE Exam in June so I'm attempting to study English regularly...which turns out to be quite time consuming. Therefore I've been studying the last few weekends and haven't been doing much. Fortunately, summer finally came back to Blenheim and makes people want to jump in the Taylor River after school - in Uniform. So that's all I have to say at the moment... Hope you are all good back home, looking forward to July. When I'm back home. No just saying :-P
Miss you guys, M3b, previous U2b and everyone else who I haven't included yet. Kiss :-*

Visit from my parents!

Love you Mummy and Daddy!

<3

Hey :D I'm back from school and school starts tomorrow. We had to go in today to show the new exchange students around. Wow...we were like them just half a year ago. Everyone was talking to us as if we were retards haha. In the beginning you're just overwhelmed by everything. We got dizzy even just from hearing English!

Holidays are awesome. Another reason not to want to go back to school. I'm doing pretty much the same subjects apart from one new one. I decided to do English, Maths, Bio, Music and Chemistry. Just trying not to forget everything I had done back home. It's going to be hard enough when I get back anyway. I'm sort of looking forward to being back home but it's still a while to go. People ask me when I get back home but I won't know until about three weeks before I leave. But first I'm really excited about my parents coming in less than three weeks. I'm going to tour the South Island with them. Down the East Coast to the Catlins Coast and Invercargill. Then up to Te Anau and Queenstown.

So after I last blogged we went camping in Pohara which was awesome although the weather was bad and we were worried about the tent breaking down. Fortunately it stayed up and we could do some nice walks, went kayaking and swimming when the weather finally cleared up a bit. I got to see the top of the South Island, Farewell Spit and got to walk from the East to the West Coast of New Zealand in just half an hour! Isn't that awesome?^^


The day after we came back home I left to take the plane to Auckland. Surf Camp was SUPER AWESOME and I enjoyed every moment of it. Four days of Surfing, having fun, Swimming and funny drives in the Tourbus. Thanks to Caro <3


And I got to have a real kiwi experience i won't forget so soon. Bonfire at the beach with a random family. Fireworks. Marshmallows. Shooting stars! Thanks to www.newzealandsurftours.com  :-)

Ich weiss das isch ez echli spaht. Aber gliich. ALLES GUETI IM NEUE JAHR!

Ich wünsch eu ganz vil Glück bi was au immer ihr mached das Jahr und das all eui Wünsch und Troim in Erfüllig gend. Das isch s’ersch Neujahr gsi für mich eweg vo dihei und ich ha d‘ Chälti faschd echli vermisst ;-) Also ich hoff ihr sind all guet grutschd und ich froi mich scho eu alli baaald wider z gseh… D‘Helfti vo mim Uustuschjahr isch ez scho ume und ich has nie bereut diä Entscheidig gmachd z’ha. Obwohl s’mengisch echd hert isch eifach so wiit weg vo Fründe und Familie z’sii...Es isch super so vill neui Ort und Lüüt kenne z’lerne! Wo ich zersch nach Neuseeland cho bin hani chuum chene flüssend Englisch rede. Und jetzt? Ich cha überall ahne gah, mit Lüüt rede und mich verständige. Haha und wenn ich mal dezue chum z’skype chunt’s mer komisch vor Schwiizerdütsch z’rede. Ich ha mich da uu guet iiglebt und chent mer kei besseri Gastfamilie vorstelle. Ich gnüss jedi neu Wuche und jede Tag, bi mer aber bewusst dass d’Ziit bis zu minre Abreis unvorstellbar schnell wird verbii gah. Und ich ha immer no s’Gfühl dasi ersch grad z’Züri uf de Flughafe bi gange. Woow d‘Ziit rast. Und ich wett mich bedanke bi allne wo mir Nachrichde schriibed, Charte schicked und sich immer mal wider bi mir melded. Es freut mich jedes Mal und bedütet mer vill dass ihr eu immer dena erkunded wies mir so gaht. Merci vill mal.

Ganz vili liebi Grüessli vom ander End vode Wält, lieb eu! Eui Seraina

The shotover river in Queenstown where we went Jetboating :-)

Queenstown from the top

Haha driving luges is so much fun!

Just 4998 km to the Southpole!

The Buffet Restaurant with an amazing view of Queenstown

My host sister Bungee Jumping. I didn't go againg because it was the same height as I jumped off in Auckland. Still, I was really quite jealous :-)

Lake Te Anau

That's a wood pigeon, a native bird of New Zealand.

On the boat to the Glowworm Caves where we met a lovely swiss couple :-)

After an awesome day in Te Anau we just wanted to go to bed :-)