Right now I am sitting on a plane on my way to Nadi in Fiji (of course I will post this later as I don't have wi-fi up here!). Feeling pretty nervous now but so frickin excited! Being in Auckland was cool because it meant I got to see some family friends, but I think maybe because I have been to Auckland a few times it hadn't really sunk in what lays ahead of us until we were dropped off at the international terminal and made our way towards the Fiji Airways check in line.

So far the service has been great! We have all our movies and games in the back of the chairs, comfy cushions in case we want to nap, LOTS of food and drink, including Fijian beer! I'm glad that we wil be flying with this airline again once we leave Nadi to go to Los Angeles.

I thought it would be interesting to submit a blog entry at the beginning of the adventure that would outline my expectations. It would be cool to reflect back on it next year once I arrive back in New Zealand and see how much these insane experiences have changed me!

We will be covering a lot of places within a very short period of time, so it's quite difficult deciding what it actually is that expect to get from the experiences. I would like to think that the main purpose of this trip is, of course, education - given that I am going on a university exchange. Although I also largely hope that I will be educated in more ways than just through studying political science at a foreign university.

Education - I hope to learn new languages and have a better understanding of different cultures. At the moment, I have only ever been to England, Australia and New Zealand. Whilst all definitely have differences, they also have many similarities. Going to countries like Fiji and Thailand will hopefully make me a much more culturally aware person.

Experience - I really hope that I just try EVERYTHING. The whole reason I worked ridiculous hours all year was so that financially I wouldn't be restricted. So I just have to hope that mentally I am prepared to do crazy things and say YES to every opportunity. I have definitely already learnt in life that sometimes the best people you ever meet have stumbled in to your life in the strangest way. My favourite being with Matthew :) (for those who don't know the story, the short version is that I found his driver's licence on the floor at a huge paint party for the university's re-O-Week, and found him on Facebook to return it!)

Some of the things I would like to do in each area we go to:

Fiji:

Scuba dive

Visit a temple

Buy a cool Fiji dress

Spend lots of the time at a beach relaxing

Visit a local village

America:

Go to a football game

Stroll along Venice Beach Boulevard

Check out Hollywood

See some crazy animals - i.e. beavers!

Visit Matt's old university

Eat lots of food from vegetarian food carts

Get cool photos at Times Square

Gamble in Las Vegas

Visit Washington D.C (I am a politics student after all)

Walk along Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park in NY

Iceland:

See pretty sights! Waterfalls, glaciers, hot pools

Watch Matt eat whale, haha.

Western Europe:

Visit all the typical attractions: Eiffel Tower, Berlin Wall and so on

Visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam

Ride bikes everywhere! Cute photos cycling alongside canals.

Learn more about Cold War dramas in Germany. I find that stuff absolutely fascinating

Visit fancy buildings and old castles

I think that will do for now. I know there's definitely so many more places for me to cover but these are the ones I'll be doing before arriving in Poland! From there, I can add more about what I hope to do in other European countries I'll be visiting during the weekends and christmas break, and once I have finished studying I can write about what I want to do in the places I visit on the way home to beautiful, beautiful New Zealand! (Dubai, Bangkok, Sydney).

I love you all, and already miss your faces! I will try and keep you updated as much as I can and love that I know lots of you are already following this blog. It makes me feel very special to be sharing this journey with so many people :)

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