Welcome!

I am using this blog to tell everyone what I'm thinking and doing beforehand, during and after my exchange year in Finland for 2011.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Harry Potter, Flights and Globe Genie

So you may notice that Harry Potter is listed first before the exciting news of my flights, what a bad exchange student I am! :D
I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 last night with two friends i've known since I was about 5 and I LOVED IT! By far the best movie mainly because it was very true to the books, there were a few scenes that could have easily been tweaked to make them more canonical (have I ever mentioned I love that word, its such a cool word to say) but apart from that, there were no glaring differences. There was also a little added scene that wasn't in the book, I dont want to give it away for those who havent seen it, but I thought it was really sweet. Absolutely cannot wait for the next part which I believe comes out around July 13th in Finland.
My favourite scene was dobby's speech!
I also got my flight details a few weeks ago, it makes it seem so real when you actually know what time your leaving! I leave around midday on January 21st on a domestic flight to Melbourne. Im glad its domestic because that way I can meet my Nanna and maybe my cousins at the airport and say goodbye to them. I have about 2 hours in Melbourne which will be taken up by customs and finding all the other Finlanders. Then we all fly off to Singapore airpot and we've only got about 2 hours there and then its straight back onto a 6 hour flight to London. By the time we get to London its 5am the next day and we've got a 5 hour layover and then onto a plane for a 5 hour flight to Helsinki! I arrive in Helsinki 26 hours after I departed Adelaide but it is 6 am Finland time when I land so I'll still have to stay awake for the rest of the day! I believe that when we arrive in Helsinki all the Aussies catch a bus to Tampere which is only a 2 hour drive and then we settle into our orientation campsite (and hopefully they let us sleep!)

Yesterday was the 9 weeks left mark and tomorrow is the 21st which means 2 months left! I've got a caching event tomorrow and then 1 more week of school, then 3 days of work experience and then Im free! Free to prepare and to get right into some finnish learning! I have also been doing some lose planning for when my cousin comes to visit me in Finland. Were both not sure when or how or what yet because I have to speak to my family about when the best tim for her to come is but i'm quite excited because we hope we can both go down to Savonlinna which is where ou Great- Grandfather was born.

Also if you are into travel, you should check out this site: Globe Genie. It is really awesome, it randomly transports you to a spot in the world. You sometimes get boring streets but sometimes you get beautiful scenery or a street with really strange houses. I really love it but be warned its really addictive! I actually ended up in Kiuruvesi after about 2 hours, it was really exciting! I just clicked teleport then and I've ended up in France

14 days till Final Briefing (BLAZERS!!!!)
34 days till Christmas
61 days till Finland! (wow, so close!)

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!