The last days

Hello, everybody!

How are you? What have you been up to recently?

Well, about my latest "adventures":

- I took some really nice pictures of Nelson, such as Anzac Park and the City:

- For the last weekend, we went to Blenheim (Nationals in Speed Skating):

Well, yeah, the landscape was amazing and I discovered a nice little park right across the street from the motel we stayed at!

So, well, I guess that's all for the moment! These are really many pictures and I think loading my homepage is taking more and more time!

Sorry so short but I have to go now!

My bus leaves in a couple of minutes and that's the last one today! ^^ I am in Nelson City right now - yep!

Ah well, I will do a nice trip during term holidays - that's almost certain now! Mrs Glue told me that it will not be a problem if I miss school for a few days (because I have had so many changes of timetable - that's a sort of privilege now! ^^) and I will book my flights for Australia soon as well. Sharon just has to tell me when they're going and then, I can tell Singapore Airlines to change my flight Auckland-Singapore to Brisbane-Singapore (which they will do because my travel agency already contacted them) and I have to book another flight Christchurch-Brisbane and maybe Nelson-Christchurch (if I cannot change it), too!

That's the news for now!

See you later,

Christian =)

Information about the surroundings I live in =P

Hellooooooooooo, everyone!

It currently is 3.15 pm over here and I am sitting in an Internet Cafe again (it is called Aurora)

I thought that you might perhaps be interested in some pictures like from the house and the room I live in et cetera. - Therefore, I have got a selection of some pictures about Stoke and Tahunahui - I will take some pictures in Nelson later on [I wanted to do this today but I forgot my camera in my hostmother's car and she's in Richmond so right on the other side!].

Enjoy this... =P

This is "our" house! It seems quite small but it actually is not small at all. The door on the bottom is the nice little flat where a Japanese Girl called Akimi currently lives. The door to our part of the house is behind the tree on the right - you can see it if you know what it looks like. =P

My room is that one with the big windows (1st floor on the right), below, it's the room where Poom lives and beside my window, it's Mason's room.

Okay, this is the view out of my room (-->)!

Quite nice, isn't it?

These two guys are our dogs. Chad is the brown one on the right and Joey is the white one on the left. They're both quite nice but naughty: they dig lots of holes in the backyard so you have to be really careful where you are going - especially in the dark! Their hobbies are: going to the beach, chasing the cats if they can, chewing clips (which are normally meant to be used for clothes on the cloth-line) and of course scoffing their meal down (nzl. English for eating very fast).

Voila, our two cats Pierce (the grey one next to the window) and S.... can't remember her name.

They like beds and therefore, when I come home from school, I can be sure and certain that I will find them in MY bed upstairs... =P

Well, other than that, they're really nice even if they make a lot of noise:

When someone has closed the front door and they want to come in, they make that meeaow-sound until someone opens. =)

It's the same in front of my room when I have closed my door to go to bed finally, they want to come in but I won't let them. =P

Finally, last but not least, this is Tahunahui Beach where we went with the dogs. In this picture, you can see Chad playing with a German Shepherd Dog (in the centre). Tahuna Beach is really sooo awesome and I love it! This is the best beach I've actually ever seen!

I absolutely have to go there on my own or with some friends and then we should try the normal beach, not the dog beach!

Okay, let's see... I have got plenty of other lovely pictures but that would really be too much for now. You have got heaps of fotos now and I think I'll send some other, different ones soon.

So long,

I hope you're alright!

Catch u later,

Chris =)

The latest news

Hi again!

How's it going? Well, over here everything's totally fine and I have got my final timetable now!

Today, we had Chemistry 2A for the first time and it was soooo boring, really! All that stuff was what we had already done ages ago!!! Ionic bonds or something - connecting sodium and chloride to get ordinary salt! Omg, but well, I'll just ask the teacher for some 3A stuff so maybe this will be a good possibility for me.
Anyway, although it is in English, it's really easy and I understand everything. 3A would be a bigger challenge but I reckon I'd also have to work harder so I'll better stay in my current class.

In English, we have to write a column so a sort of article published in our school newspaper. However, this is not an ordinary newspaper article, it rather is a literary text. I think I could write mine about religion an young people or something - my opinion anyway - but we were told we did not have to do it as we're exchange students and we have to do enough learning English better! I think, I'll have a try anyway.
Then, I am probably going to French 1A (Year 10 or something) just to demonstrate a conversation in French and I think this is gonna be fun.

This is Nayland College by the way; on the right you can see Block 1 (Rooms 10-19 + Lab 1A and Lab 1B), on the left, it's the Student Office. The palm tree is in front of our library which should be on the right side, too but you cannot see it in this picture!
In the background, you can see some hills and in the centre a bus departing.
I live just around the corner, so the street I live in is exactly opposite the school entrance (in the background next to the bus).

I have also taken some pictures of the school myself, so here is a selection of them:

Our school library - the palm tree is the same as on the other picture (see above!) =)

This is one of Nayland's classroom Blocks... I think it is Block one... =P

Well, yep, I suppose that's all for the moment and I hope you're still reading what I write - and do comment on it, please!!!

So, I hope you're all fine!

Catch you later,
Chris...tian

PS: I promise that there are still more pictures to come!

PPS: I will not publish my hostfamily's address here because everybody can see this and I cannot grasp the consequences. If you want it though, contact me via my normal e-Mail-address [christian.koop@web.de] and I will give it to you! All 4 now then, cu later, Byeeee!

School, Subjects, Wellington and much more

Hey, everybuddy!

How's it going? I am really "good" by the way.

So, the news is: I changed my subjects! So, now I have got "English 3A", "Chemistry 2A" (I was told by a teacher that this will be too low for me anyway), "Marine Science" (trip to beach today), "Health Studies" (discuss unhealthy attitudes etc.), New Zealand Studies (we got a map and had to write down a few cities and towns on it) and "Hospitality 3F" (cook a meal and learn how to serve it).
Well, yep... Sounds quite interesting to me but I'll have 2 c!

Then, we went to Wellington for a short trip. We watched X-Air (a sort of show or competition concerning BMX, FMX, Skating and stuff like that) and this was pretty breath-taking.

Then, on our second day (when actually the second part should have been done), X-Air did not take place. Thus, we've had a full free day for ourselves... What could we do? - Well, speed shopping of course. Was quite cool though! =)

And then, we went to the cinema (or movie theatre as people say over here) and we saw two movies: Open Season and "Night at the Museum" starring Ben Stiller. That one was really good, a little bit of fantasy and humour! Really cool... One of the best movies I've actually ever seen!
Oh, yeah! The journey to Wellington was like this: 1.) go to Picton by car, 2.) take the ferry over to Wellington and 3.) take the bus into town!
The second part was really neat! The landscape (Marlborough Sounds) makes you feel as if you were in paradise! So cool... I absolutely have to get some pictures in here so that you can see it, too! Well, and the trip by car is awesome, too! We went through a mountain range (I forgot the name) and the road was like ... on the left mountains on the right deep valleys! So fascinating!

[I edited this post, so here are some pictures from Marlborough Sounds -->]

Picton Harbour

Marlborough Sounds - a piece of Norway on the other side of the world!

Lots of little ships, green landscape and clear blue water!

Yeah, I hope everything's fine among you?! Write lots of comments, please!

Have 2 go now!

Chris =)

Flight, Arrival, First Days! =)

Hey, everybody!

I am in NEW ZEALAND right now and it's awesome! The weather is sunny (22 degrees) and the landscape is amazing!!! Palm trees everywhere in town, beautiful beaches and streets, mountains all around etc.!

On my flight from Singapore to Auckland - Australia from above

Well, my flight was really exhausting and long but it was quite fun, too because in fact it was a real good new experience! Singapore Changi Airport for example: I haven't seen such a clean airport in my whole life!!! That's just really cool...

In Auckland, I had to take the Inter-terminal bus but that was okay. Unfortunately, my flight from Singapore arrived too early there so I had "plenty of time" =(

Auckland Domestic Terminal

New Zealand from above

Then, in Nelson, it was raining cats and dogs! But well, I had to get to the Airport building through that rain! There was no gate since the plane was too small.

Then, I met my hostmother and she is really really nice! The boys are not here yet but they will arrive this Monday. The dogs and the cats are realy cool (the dogs are boxers and if someone says they're ugly - which they are certainly not - Sharon will get a little angry!).

So, I took the bus to Nelson city for the first time today and it's just great! Nelson consists of 4 major boroughs: Nelson City, Stoke, Tahunahui and Richmond. Tahunahui is where Bill Gates has got his own villa so this should say everything. I live in Stoke, just around the corner is Nayland College. That school sucks! It's really big but the atmosphere is really friendly and so on...

Well, I am in an Internet Cafe right now and the charge is growing every minute! So, I hope you're all fine!

Greetz,
chris...tian =)

4 days left and I am still not nervous =P

Heey,

so, well, the news is:

There are 4 days left until I leave for New Zealand and the other thing about it is that I am really relaxed and not nervous at all!
I think this is quite good because I cannot imagine what would happen if I paniced now!

I hope I won't forget anything important or lose something on my journey (eg the tickets... that would be worst) but in fact I just regard the flight as a necessary sort of "tool" to get to New Zealand where my exchange year finally starts.

Singapore "Changi" Airport is said to be very open and clear and that passengers are able to find their way easily. So this is probably not gonna be a problem.

Another thing that might become a little "adventure" is Auckland International Airport: we will arrive there at 11.45 am New Zealand time but this is about midnight for me [as I am used to the German time zone]. I will have to avoid falling asleep because at 3.25 am (NZL time), I have to get my connecting flight to Nelson. So, in fact, I have to stay up around midnight which is certainly going to be quite hard!

Soooo... well, over here, everything's starting to get hectic: tomorrow, I have to get my suitcase ready because if something's missing, I will be able to buy it on Thursday [the day after tomorrow]!
On Friday, we'll go to Paderborn Airport to check-in my suitcase and on Saturday evening, my adventure starts =P ^^

The last days at school, however, are really relaxed as I needn't do any homework and as I can choose to which courses I want to go. So I have a good sleep every morning and then I see what things I can do at school. But nevertheless, I spend most of the time playing cards ^^

So, that's all for the moment, I hope you still read what I write but I am sure you will when I am in New Zealand. =)

Have a great time everybody,
yours

Chris...tian =P

PS: You're still invited to write comments though! =P

Layout

Hey,

well I hope you like my blog's BRAND NEW LAYOUT! ^^

I got some headers and I edited my link list - it's divided into 4 parts right now but I suppose I'll get some new links someday anyway. =)

Okay, the clocks are still there; the number of posts and archives increases of course; AND I got some logos for the sidebar!!!
So, if you click on the advert "New Zealand on DVD", you'll be put through automatically to the website where you can buy this. It's the same with the airlines and the "All Blacks" - New Zealand's rugby team! This might take some time but just be a little patient - just like I had to be before getting a hostfamily ;-) ^^ Not as long though, lol.
And I'll try my best to get more logos I can add in this list so you have ACCESS to all IMPORTANT WEBSITES from this blog [as far as New Zealand is concerned] =)

^^ Haha, this is like a real advert now - almost at least =) ^^

Right at the bottom of the whole page, you can still see my two "Live Tickers". They'll keep running when I am in New Zealand, too so you can see for how much time I have been there or for how much time I have already been at school down under =)

I have some other headers etc. to make my blog a bit more vivid, so I'll maybe change this layout somewhen. =P But I like the current design very much - what do you think about this?

So, that's all for now!

Have a great time,

Yours
Chris...tian =)