5 things I'm going to miss about China

In two weeks I will have said goodbye to my 'new home', and will be back in my 'old home'. In the lead up to my departure I've been focusing on the things I'm excited to be reunited with back home; an oven, avocados, a washing machine, cereal, non-sweet bread, a blender, a soft bed, soap in bathrooms, a shower cubicle (in China showers are usually just a shower head in the middle of the bathroom), English language, clean air, the library, friends, family... I could go on and on but that's not what I want this post to be about. I've realised recently that although it's great that I have a new found appreciation for all of the things I've missed, I haven't spent much time thinking about what I'm going to miss about China. There are definitely times when it feels like I won't miss anything, but I know there will be things I'll look back on nostalgically when I'm back home.

So here is a list of what I'm going to miss about living in China. This is not just a post for other people to read, but also a bit of a brainstorm for me and an exercise in appreciating the present so this list might be a bit all over the place but thank you for your attention nonetheless.

1. Street food - Street food in China is amazing! In Xi'an there is the Muslim District which is one of my favourite places to sample lots of different delicious foods and drinks. I prefer not to eat meat which limits my options, but luckily tofu is very popular in China and there are so many different types available. My favourite street foods in the Muslim District are fried baby potatoes (炸小洋芋), 'fried' yoghurt (炒酸奶), and fried tofu with spring onion and chili (炸豆腐). I'm only just realising now that these are all fried but yes welcome to Chinese food haha. In other parts of the city I love the fried noodles (炒面) you can buy on the streets, and the breakfast wrap with egg, lettuce and a fried cracker thing (煎饼果子) which I like to buy in the mornings. Oh and you can't forget the fresh hot soy milk!

Muslim District at night

2AM Fried Noodles

2. Public transport - I can only speak for Xi'an but the public transport here is fantastic. The metro currently only has 3 lines, with a 4th opening at the end of this year, but even with the 3 there are currently I find I can get to most places I need to. The metro is very fast and also cheap, ¥2-5 depending on the distance you travel. 

For the remainder of the city, buses are very convenient. There is no set timetable but they come in such frequent intervals that there's no need for one. The longest I've ever had to wait for a particular bus is probably 10 minutes which is incredible! In New Zealand I could easily wait an hour! If you thought the metro was cheap the buses are even cheaper, usually just ¥1 (20c NZD) with the rare one costing ¥2. The only downside to the public transport here is that it does get crowded, and I mean very crowded! There have been many occasions on the bus where I'll be squished up face to face with a random stranger trying to avoid eye contact and counting down the minutes until I can get off. In these situations there are times when I've had to get off the bus a few stops after my intended stop because if you're not standing right at the exit it's near impossible to get there especially when I don't speak the language. Usually I just take this as an experience and don't stress too much, but I suppose that's also because I've never been in that situation when I've been running late. On the flip-side this over-crowdedness  means that when the bus suddenly comes to a halt because a scooter has appeared out of nowhere (a very common occurrence) no one goes flying through the windows because even with the force of the bus stopping suddenly there's no room for anyone to shift. 

Morning traffic (featuring pollution)

This is the driver's camera in the bus, you can see the crowd of people and he was still letting people on at this point

3. Taobao - I suppose most people have heard of Taobao but if you haven't it's the most popular online shopping website in China (according to a quick Google search it's actually the biggest e-commerce site worldwide!). It's amazing, you can buy anything on Taobao from clothes and books to exotic animals and food. A new favourite past-time of mine is scrolling through my recommended items on the app and discovering new bizarre products such as the screenshots below. I don't always just scroll aimlessly though, I've also been known to make the odd purchase (or 2 haha). There's so much competition between sellers on Taobao you can get things much cheaper than you would do in the shops. Shipping is incredibly fast too, the longest I've ever had to wait is 3 days!

              

This creature

A mane for your cat

A chin rest so your child doesn't
ruin their posture doing homework

4. Friends and Colleagues - Of course this is a given but I feel like I need to write it anyway to avoid looking cold and heartless haha. I've met some wonderful new friends in China, both Chinese and other 'foreigners'. Hopefully I'll be seeing them again at some point in New Zealand or back in China!

My colleagues 

5. Being seen as 'special' - This one is very 2-sided and it almost doesn't belong on this list because right now I can't imagine missing this as the stares and attention 'foreigners' receive here on a daily basis is draining and incredibly annoying, but because it has become such a normal part of my life here I can't see myself not noticing the absence of it back home. I highly doubt I'll 'miss' it but I think it will feel strange to be considered just like everyone else once again, and to know if someone is staring I need to take a look in a mirror.

One of the many times random people have asked for photos

I'm sure there will be more things I'll miss or just notice in a neutral way when I get back home but for now these are my projections. Let's see what happens when I return home! 

Now that my departure is inching closer and closer I'm getting quite nervous. Even if I can project certain differences and things I'm going to miss, it's hard to project how overwhelming it'll be when it happens all at once! Soon after arriving here I wrote a post about how life here isn't totally different to back home, and the main processes we as humans take part in aren't different but within those processes there are so many differences that affect day-to-day life I do think the change will be quite intense at first.

Zhangjiajie - Avatar Mountains

Over the May Day holiday I flew to the south of China to visit Zhangjiajie, in Hunan province. I stayed in Wulingyuan at a hostel within walking distance to one of the park entrances, this area was really idilic in itself and a much nicer place to stay than the alternative which would have been Zhangjiajie city. I spent 3 days at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, and the 4th and last day at Tianmen Mountain. I went alone but met some other ESL teachers (from England and South Africa) in the hostel along with a lady from China, so the first three days were spent climbing a new peak a day with these new friends.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

The main attraction in Zhangjiajie did not disappoint! Coming from New Zealand I didn't expect to be blown away by the views, but I can honestly say this was the most beautiful place I've ever been. It's completely different from any scenery I've seen before, and it's one of those places that photos do no justice to at all - you really have to be there and see it to take in all of the beauty. My two favourite peaks were Tianzi Mountain and Tianbo Mansion.

The climb up Tianzi Mountain was quite strenuous especially as we were planning on taking it easy that day and just exploring some of the low lying areas. By mistake however, we started climbing one of the tallest peaks in the park! We kept thinking we had to almost be at the top because we were seeing Chinese people coming down wearing beautiful clothes without a trace of sweat on their faces. We should have questioned though how there were all of these people coming down, and barely any going up. When we reached the top we realised the peak was also accessible by cable car and most of those people we had seen walking down, were only doing the descent after taking the cable car up. It was definitely worth the climb though and each lookout point we got to on the way seemed increasingly more beautiful than the last. When we reached the bottom again we got on a bus to go back to the hostel in Wulingyuan and a man asked us if the water was cold, we were so confused until we realised we were so soaked in sweat he thought we'd been swimming in the river!

Tianbo Mansion is on the other side of the park and from there the views were even more spectacular because you could get a 360° view. It was quite difficult to get to this lookout point as it wasn't a normal climb like Tianzi Mountain. There were rocks to squeeze between, ladders to climb and paths very close to the edges.

Although those were my top two walks and viewpoints, the other tracks didn't disapoint either. When climbing the Shadao Channel we came across a big black and yellow snake sliding across the path! Safe to say it sped us up and the second half of the climb went a lot quicker. On a cuter wildlife note, there were lots of little monkeys throughout the whole park scuttling around!

Another point of interest was the Bailong Elevator - I tried to avoid using any of these gimmicks while in the park but after climbing the Shadao Channel we found we didn't have enough time to leave the park by closing time unless we took the elevator. It actually turned out to be quite an exciting ride and the view was yet again quite breathtaking. It's an elevator built into the side of one of the mountains which runs down into the actual mountain - they claim it's the world's highest elevator but in China most things I've seen seem to have some kind of title so who knows if that's actually the case haha.

Tianmen Shan

 

 

I spent my last night in Zhangjiajie city so I could go up Tianmen Mountain early the next morning. Another title elert here - the cable car up the mountain is supposedly the longest in the world. I opted to take the bus up the mountain and cable car down. The bus ride itself was quite spectacular, you travel up a rode known as the Road of 99 Bends and it certainly was windy!

When you reach the top of the mountain you're immediately faced with the Stairway to Heaven which is a staircase of 999 steps leading up to a huge hole in the rock called Tianmen Cave (also the highest hole of it's sort in the world - because it's China and everything needs a title). If you then continue up on the escalator which is built into the mountain (!!!), you come to the actual peak where most of the cliff-hanging walkways and the glass walkways are. The views from the cliff-hanging walkways were amazing because it was as if you were really wthin the view, not like you were standing at a viewpoint like usual but as if you were floating there. The glass-walkway was a fun gimmick but nothing special, the view was much more interesting over the sides than down upon tree tops

Overall Tianmen Shan was worth the visit but after the 3 days at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park it was very underwheming. The crowds were intense and there were so many gimmicks that took away from the actual beauty of the area. Although there were also crowds and gimmicks at the National Park, it was much easier to avoid them - many of the walking tracks were empty as most Chinese touirsts seem to find the cable cars more attractive and you can get around without using the elevator or passing by too many touristy shops if you plan the day out well.

China isn't so different afterall

I've now been in China for 2.5 months and although I have seen and experienced many things I'd have never expected, the single biggest surprise I've realised reaching this milestone is how normal my day-to-day life actually feels here.

So first just a little bit of background. I graduated from university at the end of last year and before beginning the Master's degree I plan to pursue I thought I'd head off on one last adventure. That adventure came to fruition with me signing a year's contract for a job teaching English in Xi'an, China.

Before moving to China I saw the country as another world, so far away and so different from everything I knew. I think that's how most people who have never lived in China see it. The censored media, pollution, mass production - those are just some of the aspects of China which seem so extreme to us in the West. 'Made in China' is written on most things we buy, China isn't a place we go it's just a place our things come from, somewhere we're so detached from yet rely on so much.

When I decided I was going to come to China a common reaction my decision was met with was "why?". Usually when you announce you're taking the leap into something new, the reaction of your friends and family is one of pure excitement rather than of questioning your motives. I lived in Italy for a year when I was 17 on a student exchange and I remember the excitement everyone shared with me before my departure, people weren't questioning my decision they were congratulating me on it. But this time it was different.

Although my friends and family asked me why I was going to China they were still supportive of my decision, no one tried to stop me or told me it was a bad idea they were just curious as to why I would want to come here when I could go anywhere, or go nowhere for that matter. Strangers were a different story though. Fair enough they don't know me, they don't need to show support and that's totally fine but when someone walks into your doctor's office two months before they're off to China for a year you'd think you'd refrain from going on and on - in great detail  - about how dirty the country is (to the point where it was time for her next patient and I'd barely had any time to cover what I'd intended to). As I said though I also shared some of these perceptions about China, it was just interesting to hear how intently others also believed them.

Although the reactions of my peers were different to what I'd experienced in other circumstances, they weren't unexpected because I had been asking myself the same questions that they had been asking me. In saying that, I was excited to come to China and prove those ideas wrong, but surprisingly I sit here now at the 2.5 month mark and I don't think they are wrong. Even though I said I'm now living a normal life here, that doesn't mean that those big ideas were misconceptions. For example, many places here are very dirty compared to the West. The school I work at has visible grime on most surfaces, and the toys we use in class all all tinged black. We have a lady who is employed to 'clean' the school but that solely consists of her mopping the floors. The floors are sparkling but it's a pity they're the one thing our hands don't touch. I'm not saying this as a critique of their culture, not at all - the argument exists that we oversanitise in the West, and I think that's probably completely true. That doesn't stop however, me noticing this difference between the two societies having grown up where I have. What you believe to be 'normal' is merely what you're used to, so it's impossible for me to not notice these things as they are different to what I've been taught and observed growing up. Those 'norms' are hard to shake.

Here, young children wear open-crotched pants so that they can go to the toilet whenever they please - whether that means being held over a bin in the subway (actually saw this), or crouching down on the concrete street (again, seen it!), this is quite shockingly different to my internal norms. A similar difference in norms exists when it comes to any bodily fluid - forget blowing your nose into a tissue and washing your hands, here it's common to block one nostril while you blow the boggers out of the other right onto the street in front of you (imagine walking down the street, glancing to your side and seeing a long trail of boggers hanging from a man's nose as he's mid blow - yup really seen it). These things are all natural sure and how we handle them is only cultural, so again I'm not banging on the Chinese culture but you have to admit these things are all quite difference to what you'd see on an average day in a neighbourhood in New Zealand, or Australia, or the USA or any Western country.

So what I'm mostly surprised about is how I can live such a normal life here even though I notice these quite extreme differences in norms on a daily basis, which only provide supporting evidence for those ideas I had before coming to China. What I've realised from this is that we are all human at the end of the day and when it really comes down to it we all go through the same processes we just deal with them in slightly different ways depending on our norms, which means that nothing is completely alien.

I wake up, take a shower, have breakfast, go to work, have a lunch break, come home, have dinner, watch TV, head to bed. Every one of the processes I'm used to in my life back home is still there, nothing is missing and nothing has been added. The differences are merely within the smaller steps which these processes are made up of. When I arrive home in China I don't walk down the driveway in the fresh air and through the unlocked front door, I enter a building from a dusty street and head up an elevator to arrive at my front door. I live in an apartment building like most Chinese, but at the end of the day that process is still me returning home from work and ending up at my front door. The overall process, reason behind it and end result are the same - the steps are just slightly different.

I think this is why life here is so normal. There are differences, some of them very surprising but at the end of the day China is not a different world like many of us believe in the West. I have only been here 2 1/2 months so who knows maybe this perception will change, but for now I'm glad I have this down in writing for me to review if anything changes.

The Struggles of Being an Exchange Student

When it comes to the struggles of being an exchange student, I think for most people home sickness would come to mind as the main obstacle to making the most out of the experience. Maybe this is the case for some people, but for me, although there were countless days where I wanted to be at home surrounded in familiarity, I wouldn't say actual 'home sickness' was the biggest struggle.

The biggest struggle for me during my exchange year in Italy was hands down living in someone else's home. Not being away from home, but just constantly being conscious of the fact that you are in someone else's house. At the camps and orientation sessions that AFS provided they always said that once you got settled in you really would feel at home, and although I felt at home in my town, I never once felt at home in my host family's house; they were always my host family, and it was always their house. It wasn't that they weren't a lovely family, or I didn't think I fitted in - not at all! They were so lovely and we really were very similar, but I just felt shy and guilty for being in their house and for that reason never even fully showed them the real me. I always tried to be polite, 'anything's fine' Emily; rather than 'hey I actually have a personality!' Emily.

With AFS the families are all volunteers so they don't get paid any money for having you in their home. They buy your food... pay the bills... essentially look after you as if you were one of their real children. I thought this would be a good thing; I thought you'd feel as if the family really wanted you, not that they just wanted some extra cash. Being so conscious of this fact however, made me feel so guilty for everything they did for me. Italian kids are a lot more dependent on their parents than Kiwi kids are (generally speaking) so my host parents were even doing things for me that I would do for myself at home (or just never do - MY SOCKS GOT IRONED!!). I felt as if they were doing so much for me, and I wasn't able to give them anything in return.

The biggest struggle of my exchange year was never feeling at home; never exhaling and flopping on the couch after a long day; constantly worrying about using too much hot water or eating something that was planned for another day; being so conscious of not leaving any belongings lying around, or going to bed too early and not spending enough time with these people who were doing so much for me. Constantly thinking about all of these minuscule details that the family probably didn't even care about was tiring, and stressful to say the least.

I definitely wasn't the only one who felt this way. Many of my other exchange friends felt the same way and would probably agree that it was the hardest part of the year. Every family works differently, every family has different habits and preferences. Add to that mix a completely different culture and language, and you as an 'outsider' just end up feeling so conscious of everything you do just in case you're doing something that they wouldn't approve of, or would get on their nerves.

Don't get me wrong, my AFS exchange year was amazing and I'd recommend the experience to anyone. It taught me so many important lessons. However, one of the most valuable things that I learnt is to appreciate being at home, in familiarity; being able to say 'no' to something simply because you don't like the sound of it; being able to ask a question without counting down in your head revving yourself up for the unknown response; being able to shower when you feel like it; eat when you're hungry; spend a day in your room just because you don't fancy talking to anyone; make your own decisions; and just simply be yourself, knowing that it doesn't matter because at the end of the day your family will love you anyway. I know some people never have that feeling, not everyone has a loving family, a place to call home or freedom to be themselves. This year made me appreciate that I have all of those things, because without those ever so simple things that so many of us take for granted life is so much harder.

Top Five Reasons to Visit Istanbul

Over New Years I was lucky enough to visit a friend who is studying in Istanbul. Our mutual Danish friend also flew over and we spent 6 days exploring and experiencing the beautiful city, and wonderful Turkish culture together. Turkey had never been one of the countries on my 'Must Visit List', but I now realise it should have been top of it!

Although I could probably think of a gazillion, here are my top five reasons to visit Istanbul:

1. Multiple times a day while in Istanbul I had interactions with strangers that blew me away. I can safely say that the city is filled with the friendliest people I have ever come across! From being given Turkish baked treats on the public bus, to being taught Turkish phrases in shops, and being offered others' seats on the bus every single ride we had so many amazing interactions with complete strangers; I was honestly blown away!

2. One simple word - Food. When you think of the best cuisines in the world places such as Italy and France come to mind but after visiting Istanbul I think no other food will ever compare. Kunefe, Kebap, Manti, Salep, Baklava, Börek, Ayran, Çay... I could go on forever. Everything we tried was absolutely delicious!

3. It's so affordable! This was the first trip I've ever been on where I left with money in my wallet, not having had to get extra money out of an ATM. It's not like we went without anything either - on the contrary! We were eating out three meals a day with one or two exceptions, ordering various dishes so we could try all the favourites. We paid entrance to tourist attractions, transport and still had money for souvenirs (you can find really lovely cotton towels, blankets etc. at insanely cheap prices!).

4. It's really accessible, and the public transport system is really easy to use. You can buy a rechargeable card which you then use for the buses, trams, trains and ferries. It's a fixed rate per ride (2.15 TL) and when the balance gets low you simply top it up at a convenience store. Taxis aren't expensive either compared to other major cities, so as we were in a group we opted for that option on multiple occasions.

5. It's simply just so beautiful and interesting. The Blue Mosque is incredible to see in person, especially under a blanket of snow as we were lucky enough to witness. The view from the Galata Tower is incredible with views over the city and out onto the water. Even without seeing these more well-known places, simply walking around and experiencing any part of the city is breathtaking. Plus you can even jump from Europe to Asia within the one city!

Turkey was different to any country I'd ever visited, but in the most amazing way. I hope I can return one day and explore other areas in this beautiful country (...and try some more of their amazing food ;) )!

Volunteering in Thailand

In July, along with my Danish friend I met while on exchange in Italy, I participated in a week-long elephant volunteer programme in the north of Thailand. The programme started in Bangkok with a day of sightseeing as a group of volunteers. The following day we took a bus to Surin where the elephant village was located.

Life at the elephant village was basic but not as much of a shock as I was expecting. There were western style toilets and even showers in the volunteer house. We slept on thin mattresses on the floor but it was more than comfortable. The only surprise surrounding the accommodation were the scorpions and millipedes who crept their way in through the cracks in the walls... but let's not talk about those.

My favourite activity during the week was taking the elephants down to the nearby river for a wash with their mahouts. It was incredible to be swimming with these amazing creatures; I could hardly believe what I was doing! Rather than helping the mahouts with their daily work however, we were only slowing them down so this was much more for our pleasure than an actual act of 'volunteering'. Another day we went kayaking down the river as a group of volunteers (elephantless this time haha) which was another super fun activity, but again not in any way a help to the village. We were also taken to a nearby market where they sold clothes, toys and some quite unique food - I cooled down with a Yam flavoured slushie!

Although this was supposedly a 'volunteer programme' it seemed much more like a touristy, cultural immersion type experience. We had lots of free time to hang around in the hammocks, visit the local shop or go to visit the elephants within the village. We had been told we would be helping to cook and look after the village, but with so many hands we barely cooked or cleaned a thing. The only activity which was in fact tiring was the couple of hours we spent helping local mahouts with their crops. Even then however we could stop, relax and socialise at any point. At the time while melting in the midday heat, relaxing was a desirable option, but I'm now left asking myself if I really got anything out of the experience. It was a great way to see rural Thai life, and get up-close and personal with such amazing creatures but was it a 'volunteer programme'...? I wouldn't say so.

The programme was through Starfish Volunteers and you can check out the exact programme here.

Southern Perspective and Pre-Exchange Blog

Before going to Italy I had a blog with my good friend Lilly, who I've gone to school with since primary. On this blog we wrote about many different aspects of the preparation process such as; fundraising, packing, leaving school, the AFS selection process and pre-departure camp. If you want to know more about this part of the exchange then please check out our colab blog HERE. Reading blogs before leaving for my exchange year was such an important part of the preparation process for me. I found so much helpful information and tips - plus the best part was it got me so excited for what was to come!

Lilly also went to Italy for her AFS year, more specifically Bari in the south of the country. Throughout the year she kept a blog (and was a lot better at regularly updating than me! Oops!) and wrote about so many different topics from everyday exchange life, to advice for future students. Her photography skills are also sure to leave you in awe! I would definitely recommend checking out her blog which you can do HERE.

Heading Home...

The morning after La Notte Rosa I headed to Rome on the bus with all of the other exchange students from my region here in Italy, Romagna. The bus ride was super long and we were all so tired because those who hadn't been to La Notte Rosa had been busy doing other exciting things as it was the last night in our host home towns. We slept, talked and enjoyed each other's company for the 5-6 hour journey to our camp about an hour outside of the centre of Rome.

Our group was one of the first to arrive at the camp so we got our suitcases (filled with everything we'd accumulated throughout the year) to our rooms which were arranged by our departure times before other groups started arriving. It was so weird to see everyone after a year - and such a life changing year at that! One of my best friends from New Zealand, Lilly, spent the year in Bari and although we'd wanted to meet up during our time in Italy it flew by and we were so busy we never got around to it. It was so unreal to see her after all of that time because in so many ways we shared the same experience, but in even more ways, they were so drastically different.

We only spent one night at this camp and there weren't activities organised like we had had at our previous camps. It was more of a way of having us all together and organised for our departure the following day, than a camp with a full-on programme like we were used to. I think the way they organised it was perfect because every individual person wanted to be with certain people before saying goodbye for who knew how long, and didn't want to be taking part in organised activities with people they didn't know. We had a debrief talk in a big hall and then were free to do what we liked. The debrief was a really special milestone because we all remembered at our first camp back in September '13 the orientation was all in English, as it was the most commonly known language within our group of 500+ students. At that camp we had been told that at our pre-departure camp the following year they would only speak to us in Italian, and sure enough, they did just that! I remember thinking at the time that it would be so weird to actually understand. I knew it was going to happen, I just didn't quite understand how. Then after what felt like a lifetime and a second all at once, there I was sitting in a hall full of students originating from countries all around the world, after spending a year in Italy and I understood 100% of what was being said to me, in a language I once heard as jumbled, meaningless sounds. I felt such a sense of accomplishment, but also like I was dreaming. How did I understand? Why were they now making sense?

That night I didn't sleep; none of us did. We talked and reminisced about our time together - the funny times, the sad times, the unbelievable times. We hugged, we kissed and we said our goodbyes even though no one was ready. Everyone left the camp at different times depending on their flight so at as early as 2AM the following morning I, along with all of the other exchange students - once so very different but now united as a family- bid farewell to people that had changed our lives forever. It was probably one of the most the most intensely, emotional situation I've ever been in. Imagine a group of 500 teenagers who hadn't slept in days, being forced to say goodbye to some of the most important people in their lives. Add to that the hot Roman summer sun, and then times it by 100 and maybe you're starting to understand what it was like. It was pretty sad.

I was in one of the last groups to leave because instead of going back to New Zealand like the other 7 of my now Italian Kiwis, I was part of the Programme Release group. This meant that I had a family member coming to get me from Rome airport and AFS would no longer be responsible for me (P.S If anyone reading this is on exchange with AFS, or a potential AFS exchange student, Programme Releases are not as easy to get as you think! I had been told I would be able to fly to England alone after the exchange no problems, then all of a sudden they told me I had to be picked up by a family member. Apparently it depends on your host country and their rules, but I would recommend trying to get it sorted before you leave for the exchange so that you don't have to worry about it at a later date).

The whole camp was such a blur. So full of emotions - both incredibly sad, and slightly exciting. I can't believe I've now said goodbye to Italy, my host family and my AFS Ohana. I can't believe I won't be waking up to biscuits for breakfast each morning, or going for another 'giro' in the car with my amazing friends. I can't believe I won't be spending another night at Ecmel's house in Ravenna with our special group of international kids, or having secret picnics from Conad with Ida in the park. I can't believe we won't be meeting up all together at Antonio's house in Fano and trying so many new things, or even just speaking Italian on a daily basis. There's so many parts of my life that have become normalities over the past year which I can't imagine continuing this journey without - but that's the thing. My journey will continue whether I like it or not. When I left New Zealand a year ago I knew that one day - although it seemed a long way away - I would be returning, and my AFS experience would have come to an end. It's now up to me to accept that this chapter of my journey is finishing, and a new one is starting. Who knows how I'll write this next one? I just hope I'll take with me my memories, new mindset and above all, my friends and family from this amazing year.

Thanks for reading my blog and if anyone out there is thinking about doing a student exchange, or has an queries please feel free to contact me through mine and Lilly's colab pre-departure blog here :)

La Notte Rosa

La Notte Rosa is a huge party that is held along 110KM of coast from the Lidos of Comacchio to Cattolica at the beginning of July every year. It happened to be the night before we were due to leave for our AFS camp in Rome, and then head home to our own countries but we didn't let that stop us attending! I went along with Ida (Denmark), my host sister Marta and our friend Pavi. It was such an amazing night and although we had to go straight for the bus to Rome the next morning it was totally worth it! There were so many people out at Cesenatico where we went - the whole coast was alive and everyone so happy and excited. Once we were bored of one area, or one type of music we could just move on to the next, it was incredible!

We arrived at Cesenatico late in the evening, probably around 10 or 11PM which is when most parties seem to start here in Italy. The bus to take us back to Cesena arrived at about 7AM the next morning, Ida and I then met our host families from there and headed straight to our bus bound for Rome - it was a jam packed evening but so totally worth it! At about 5 or 6 the next morning we found ourselves in a pasticceria having pastries for breakfast looking dazed and tired but with so many new memories to take with us into the future.

Couldn't Stay Away from Sardegna

For my exchange week back in April I went to Sardegna, more specifically the town of Iglesias in the south of Sardegna. I had the most amazing time and would definitely say it's been one of my highlights so far this year. When my Sardinian host family asked if I'd like to return for a week I was so excited! I had wanted to go during term time but AFS being AFS said I had to wait until school had finished so that I didn't miss any. It was so nice to see my host family again and this time we went out lots with their close group of friends; going to the beach, bike riding and even doing an overnight camp on the beach.

The night that we camped on the beach there was rain and lightning so at about 2AM we all went to take shelter in the beach bar with the security guard while he slept. It turned out to be such a funny night that I'll never forget!

One random thing that I don't think I've ever mentioned is that here in Italy when on the beach everyone just wears their togs, if they're planning to swim or not. This is a huge difference for me because in NZ we would generally only wear our togs when swimming or at least when we're going to go/have been swimming, and then cover up with at least a singlet. Here everyone just seems so comfortable in their togs no matter what their shape or size which is actually pretty nice! The sun is probably a big factor in this too though - I haven't been burnt once this year in Italy whereas at home I can get burnt by being in the garden for 10 minutes. It's amazing how our environment influences cultural normalities like this!

Pisa and Florence

Another day trip that I was lucky enough to go on with Ida's host family was to Florence and Pisa. First of all her host Dad told us we would be going to Florence with a possible "sorpresa". Later on we learnt that that "sorpresa" was a stop by in Pisa on the way home! I know this is extremely stereotypical but I'd always dreamt of going to Pisa and taking the typical photo holding up the tower - now I can say that I have!

Florence is such a beautiful city and last time I visited it was love at first sight; this second trip didn't disappoint either! We spent our time roaming the streets and visiting a couple of art galleries including the famous Uffizi Gallery . At school in New Zealand I never studied art history but here in Italy it's one of the subjects I've been studying at school. Art here also seems to be woven into every single subject because it's so important to the Italian culture, because of this I recognised so many of the paintings in the museums from my year at school here in Italy. It made the museum trips have so much more significance to me than they would have done beforehand, because instead of seeing paintings I knew nothing about I'd recognise ones that had come up in class. Inside the Uffizi there were paintings such as Botticelli's La Primavera and The Birth of Venus, which were both amazing to see in real life! We also stumbled across an old photo machine where Laura, Ida and I took some instant black and white snaps which I just know are going to be so special in the future.

The next stop was Pisa! We parked in a supermarket carpark and walked the short distance over to the square where the Leaning Tower is located. When I caught the first glimpse of the tower I felt like I was dreaming. It was similar to the feeling I got the first time I saw the Colosseum in real life back at the beginning of my exchange; overwhelming excitement and in a way, confusion. It was just so strange to think I was there and I kept thinking 'but wait how am I here?!' I'd grown up seeing photos of these places, and seeing them on TV but although I'd dreamt of seeing them in real life one day I think a little part of me still thought it wasn't going to happen but then there I was, standing in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa posing for the stereotypical tourist photo of the back of my Danish friend who I'd just spent the last year living in Italy with. I definitely had to blink twice.

Other than the tower, cathedral and baptistry in Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) there were a number of touristy restaurants and shops on the surrounding streets. Outside of that tourist swarm seemed to be a normal residential area with not much else to see but I'd love to go back one day and explore the littler known parts of the city. I'm sure there's some beautiful places that get lost in the excitement everyone has for the tower!

Venezia

Ida's (Denmark) host family invited Fran (Chile) and I along for a day trip to Venice and of course that was an offer we couldn't decline! Although it wasn't my first time visiting the beautiful city we experienced many different things that I hadn't done before. For example we rode in a gondola and visited the inside of St. Marks Basilica.

Riding in a gondola was truly something that I'll never forget. The previous times that I visited Venice I didn't get the opportunity to ride a gondola because the price was so high, this time however due to the generosity of Ida's host Dad the dream became reality and we went for a ride around Venice; from the smallest of small streets, to the huge open spaces. Our gondolier was so lovely and told us so many interesting things about the city!