Rotorua trip

We made a trip to Rotorua a week ago. I spent ages trying to decide wether I wanted to go or not since I haven’t have that good time on school trips in Finland. As a brave girl I finally decided to go and I can’t even tell you how happy I am that I did. So on Sunday morning I pulled rolled my small suitcase to school and then started the five hour journey to Rotorua.

Now a lot of people are probably wondering what on Earth is Rotorua. This place is one of the oldest tourist attractions in New Zealand. The area includes I think seven lakes. The primary attractions of Rotorua are the geothermal attractions and Maori culture. I’d describe the place as a warm Iceland.

On the first day my camera was in my suitcase which was under the carseat so I couldn’t get it. Anyway, on Sunday afternoon we went to a Duck Tour. Th name come from the fact that the car goes on ground and water. We made a nice couple hour trip around Rotorua. We honestly had the best tour guide ever :D It was a very different tour since we travelled on water too. The guide actually showed us some fancy holiday houses. It was pretty okay to see the backyard of Angelina and Bard's 'cottage'

Viikko sitten sunnuntaina matkasimme 12 hengen porukalla Rotorualle. Mietin todella pitkään, josko jättäisin reissun välistä, sillä minulla on joko ollut todella huono tuuri tai en ole muuten vaan nauttinut ollenkaan koulun retkistä Suomessa. Päätin sitten viimein rohkeana tyttönä lähteä matkaan ja onneksi lähdin. Sunnuntaiaamuna rullasin pikkuruisen matkalaukkuni koulun pihaan ja siitä alkoi viiden tunnin automatka kohti Rotoruaa.

Nyt varmasti monen suomalaisen päässä herää kysymys, mikä ihmeen Rotorua. Tämä Uuden-Seelannin turistikohde on yksi maan vanhimmista nähtävyyksistä. Alue koostuu muistaakseni seitsemästä järvestä ja niitä ympäröivästä maastosta. Rotoruan päänähtävyyksiin kuuluvat geisiirit ja Maori-kulttuuri. Itse lähtisin kuvailemaan paikkaa kesäisenä Islantina.

Ensimmäisenä päivänä kamerani oli valitettavasti matkalaukun pohjalla, joka puolestaan loikoili autun penkin alla, enkä siis millään päässyt käsiksi siihen. Sunnuntai-iltapäivän ohjelmaan kuului vain Duck tour, joka oli kiertoajelu. Nimi tulee ajoneuvon ominaisuuksista. Kyseessä oli siis minibussin tyylinen auto, joka kulkee niin maalla kuin vedessä. Kierreltiin ympäri Rotoruaa pari tuntia aivan parhaan oppaan kanssa. Erään järven rannalta löytyi useampikin villa tai kartano, joita ihan julkimotkin vuokraavat loma-asunnoikseen. Oli ihan milenkiintoista katsella Angelinan ja Bradin ‘lomamökin’ pihaa.

On the next day, Monday we packed ourselves to the car and drove to an old bath house. The Bath House is actually not in use anymore and it's turned into a museum. Inside we found couple pretty interesting healing methods used like the electric bath. We climbed the stairs to the roof of the Bath House and saw the very very beautiful landscapes. I'm pretty disappointed I didn't manage to capture all the beauty of the nature.

Seuraavana päivänä, maanantaina, pakattiin taas auto ihmisillä ja karautettiin vanhan kylpylätalon pihaan. Tämä kylpylä ei enää ole käytössä, vaan muutettu museoksi. Sisältä löytyi ihan mielenkiintoisia ‘terapiakylpyjä’, kuten sähkökylpy. Me kipusimme myös rakennuksen näköalakatolle, josta nimensä mukaan avautui ihan mieletön näköala järvelle. Ihan harmittaa, etten saanut kameralla taltioitua koko kauneutta.

Te Puia is a local geothermal area. Again, we got to see some incrediably beautiful nature, geysers and what else. The pictures tell pretty well how it looked like there. The water's really hot there, one boy had died falling to the pool.

Te Puia on paikallinen geoterminen alue. Taas saatiin nähdä todella kaunista luontoa, geisiirejä ja vaikka mitä. Kuvat kertovat aika hyvin, miltä paikalla näytti. Vesi tuolla on todellakin niin kuumaa, että kun joku poika oli tippunut tuonne, niin oli kuollut aikalailla heti.

In addition to the hot springs and grysers Te Puia offers also Maori culture. We got to go inside of the tribe house. Usually these houses aren't open to the crowd so I think it's awesome Te Puia offers the possibility to actually see the house inside. These houses are built to be like the leader of the tribe. So when you enter the house, you go inside the leader. The white ceiling beams are the ribs and the isle in the front is the heart.

Kuumien lähteiden ja geisiirien lisäksi Te Puia tarjoaa maorikulttuuria. Me kävimme ymmärtääkseni heimotalossa sisällä. Yleensä nämä talot eivät ole avoinna yleisölle, vaan sisälle haluavan täytyy olla osa heimoa. Olen onnellinen, että pääsimme sisälle asti, sillä oppaan mukaan nämä talot rakennetaan ikään kuin heimon päälliköksi. Eli kun astut ovesta sisään, astut päällikön sisään. Valkeat kattoparrut kuvastavat kylkiluita ja edessä oleva alttari sydäntä.

On Monday we went also to this 'adventure park'. We took a cabin lift to the top of this small mountain. Then we rode luges back down and took a ski lift lookalike back to top. As a skier I found it pretty odd to sit in a ski lift with my sneakers on instead the skis. After two luge rides I did the most crazy and brave thing I've ever done in my whole life. I went to this thing called Skyswing. So practically it's a huge swing on top of the mountain. It was crazy but amazing. I still can't believe I did it. I was just like YOLO and then went. 

Maanantaina vierailimme myös elämyspuistossa. Istuimme kabiinihissiin ja matkustimme pienen vuoren huipulle. Sieltä laskimme alas mäkiautoilla ja menimme takaisin ylös hiihtohisseillä. Laskettelijana oli todella outoa istua hiihtohississä tennarit jalassa. Kahden mäkiautolaskun jälkeen uskaltauduin, enkä vieläkään ymmärrä, että miten, menemään jättimäiseen keinuun, joka seisoi samaisen vuoren huipulla. Minä, kaverini Kristina ja opettaja istu’uduimme keinuun ja ainakin itse kiljuin niin paljon kuin keuhkoista lähti. Pelkään oikeasti todella paljon korkeita paikkoja, enkä ole koskaan tehnyt mitään noin hullua, mutta onpahan nyt kokeiltu.

In the evening we went to the Polynesian Spa. While the others were relaxing I was battling with the too hot water. You know how people act when the water's too cold; well, that's what happened to me except the water was seriously too hot for me. Ten minutes out of two hours were actually enjoyable so :D (In the picture above it's just a foot spa in a park, not the Polynesian Spa :D )

Illalla menimme rentoutumaan Polynesialaiseen spaahan. Käytännössä muut rentoutuivat kun itse kamppailin liian kuuman veden kanssa. Tiedätte, miten ihmiset kastvat vain varpaansa, kun vesi on liian kylmää. No samalta näytti oma touhuni tuolla spaassa. Kahdesta tunnista kymmenisen minuuttia oli minulle rentoutumista. (Kuvassa yläpuolella on vain puiston jalkaspa, ei polynesialainen spa :D )

On Tuesday morning we went to see the sheep show. It sounded pretty boring but was actually very entertaining. In the beginning they introduced all the sheep types in New Zealand and I was so proud to know the Merino wool. Then we saw how you shave a sheep and after that volunteers from the crowd got to milk a cow and feed lambs.

Tiistaiaamuna menimme katsomaan lammasnäytöstä. Kuulosti melko tylsältä, mutta oli oikeasti viihdyttävä. Ensin meille esiteltiin eri lammasrotuja, ja olin ihan innoissani kun tiesin merinovillan. Sitten saimme nähdä, miten lammas keritään, minkä jälkeen yleisöä pääsi näyttämölle lypsämään lehmää ja syöttämään karitsoja.

After the farm animals we headed to the Agroventure park. The others tried another kind of giant swing and the other Finnish girl was brave enough to do the bunji jump.
Overall it was the best school trip ever! Everyone who's coming to New Zealand, go to Rotorua if you have the possibility, I bet you love it :)

Kotieläinten jälkeen vuorossa oli Agroventure, taas kerran elämyspuisto. Muut kokeilivat toisenlaista jättikeinua ja toinen suomityttö hyppäsi hullun rohkeana benjin. Minä vietin laatuaikaa kameran kanssa ja räpsin kuvia puolen tuhannen edestä.
Loppujen lopuksi oli aivan huikea matka! Kaikki Uuten-Seelantiin tulijat, käykää Rotorualla jos on mahdollisuus :)

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Feelings after first month of my exchange

I arrived to New Zealand about a month ago. It feels crazy how fast the time has gone. On the other hand it’s only one month and there’s 9 remaining. I don’t feel homesick, yet. I kinda don’t miss anything, yet. I feel like I belonged here. I have settled down very well on my own opinion. I have made very good friends and I know already it’s gonna be too hard to go. But I still have five moths here.

In Finland the school paper group was my place, the place I wanted to be. They were and still are my best friends. When I arrived here I was really disappointed when I found out there’s no school paper in my college. Now I’m rather happy there isn’t. I’m really happy I found my way to the business studies since that group has become my place instead the paper. I’ve made my best friends there and I just love the atmosphere we’re having there. I kind of miss the school paper group but at the same time I don’t wanna go anymore. I just want to stay here.

During this one month I have become more independent. I have opened my eyes in a new way, I can see things in different light (I’m still about to be hit by a car every time I cross the road). I have found new things about myself. I have found parts of who I am. If this is the situation after one month - I must be a whole new person after this whole exchange.

I skyped to Finland this morning. It was wonderful to see my family, talk to them and hear what had been going on there. It was weird, so weird. I felt like I was watching a home video or something like that. I asked them to show my room and other parts of the house. It is still home to me, of course, but not in the same way anymore. I’m proud when I can say I don’t feel home sick at all. Hearing they’re doing okay makes it actually easier being here, in a way.

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Why I'm doing my exchange in New Zealand?

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New Zealand School

School is different here. It’s a fact and you don’t need me to tell that. There are something in common, but overall the whole system differs from the Finnish one. For starters, we start school at 8:40, 9:00 or 9:40am when in Finland I started at 8:30 or 10:00 am depending on which subjects I was taking. The lessons take only 60 minutes here when in Finland they took 75 minutes. I kinda prefer the 75-minute-lessons but now here when I don’t really have anything particular to do on most classes I appreciate the 60 minutes since I don’t have to try to figure out something to do for over an hour.

In Finland we had 5-minute-breaks between every lesson. During those 5 minutes you were supposed to make your way to the next classroom. Here we don’t have any extra-time between classes but when the clock rings you’d practically need to already be in the next lesson’s classroom. This has caused me some difficulties since I’m used to study to the last minute and the pack my stuff and leave to the next lesson. Here you really need to start packing couple minutes before the end of the lesson.

We have our first recess after the second lesson of the day. During this half hour ‘morning tea’ students talk and maybe eat a small snack. The next break is the half hour lunch break which starts after the forth lesson at 1:25pm which is incredibly late for lunch. I felt like starving before the lunch break during the first school week because I was used to eat my lunch around mid-day. After lunch break we have our last lesson of the day. After school students leave to work to supermarkets or library, etc. I don’t really know if this is common in Finland, because I personally don’t work and only couple of my friends does. In the evening most of the students go to rehearsals (sports, music, etc) as they usually do in Finland too.

In New Zealand you can get your driving’s licence at the age of 15 which is three years earlier than in Finland. Because of this many students have their own car which they use as their transportation. I’m not allowed to drive anything which works by motor so I usually walk to school. Sometimes my mom or siblings drive me to school but because it takes only 10 minutes to walk to school I often prefer my feet. 

The schools have uniforms here. Luckily, I was placed to the year 13 which is the senior year of college and also the only year students don’t wear school uniforms. I kinda wanted to try the uniforms but I’m not complaining about my situation because now I’m allowed to for example wear jewellery and nail polish. There’s no school uniforms in any Finnish school, neither any restrictions about what to not wear so I wasn’t shocked when I heard I don’t have to wear the uniform.

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