Start of the Journey - NZ

On Monday, July 7, 2025, just 3 days after school ended, the big journey began for me.

It was quite relaxed for me on my way to Frankfurt Airport, although I was the only one in my family who was that calm.

First, as Germans do, I stood in the check-in line before it even existed and long before the counter was open. An hour later, I had checked in my luggage and had my boarding pass in hand.

Then we headed to the meeting point for South Pacific Exchange, right near the counter where we were warmly welcomed. I also had my first interview ever, where I briefly introduced myself for their Instagram channel, talked about which school I would be attending, and shared what I was most looking forward to.

After a while, I got one step closer to the big departure. We were able to get to know each other a bit in groups from the regions/cities where we would be living in New Zealand. I made friends with 2 girls from the neighboring group. I spent the next 2 days on the plane and in transit with them until our paths parted in Auckland.

After a final group photo, we proceeded through passport control. Then we went through security, where we received the only one at Frankfurt Airport requiring us to unpack everything and not have any water. So I quickly drank my hot tea in 3 minutes. After that, we went to the gate, a quick trip to the restroom, and because it's an Asian airline, boarding started punctually an hour early, and at 21:40, we took off towards Singapore.

Fortunately, I was sitting on the plane with the two girls in a row of three. After about 13 hours of pure flight time, we arrived in Singapore with a time difference of 6 hours.

The highlight of this flight was that after we kindly asked the flight attendants, we were even allowed into the upper area of the plane with suites, where the attendants gave us a little tour. Subsequently, my friend and I were even allowed into the cockpit, where the pilot personally explained the cockpit to us.

It's already Tuesday, and we have a 7-hour layover at Singapore Changi Airport. So first, we went to the Butterfly Garden with a mini waterfall, but it was very warm there. However, there were beautiful butterflies. Next stop with the SkyTrain from Terminal 3 to 2 through Jewels. Jewels not only houses the highest indoor waterfall in the world, measuring 40 meters, but also consists of a plant landscape with more than 2,000 trees and 10,000 bushes. Then we took a quick detour to the Sunflower Garden next to the runway. Afterward, we visited Dreamscape, where you walk over aquariums with fish, and the ceiling reflects the weather and times of day in real-time. At the airport, after all these impressions, we rested a bit and played 'Bomb.' The game is currently just as popular as Imposter. Boarding was then scheduled for 21:50. So again, pouring out the water.

At 22:50, we took to the skies again... This time I sat next to some very nice girls. After 9:30 with a time difference of 4 hours, we not only landed in Auckland, New Zealand, but we also now have a final time difference of 10 hours to Germany. But the most important thing: Kia Ora New Zealand...

We then proceeded through passport control at the airport. Afterward, I collected my suitcase, passed through biosecurity and another passport check. After passing the dog, we were warmly welcomed by South Pacific Exchange. I then met my host family, who picked me up from the airport, and we drove to their home. This took about 30 minutes. I have an incredibly kind host family consisting of my host mother, host sister, and Bambi the cat. We had lunch, then I slept, then we had dinner, and we spent the evening winding down and by 7 PM it was bedtime...

Word of the day: kettle = water boiler

Cultural shock of the day: Driving on the left feels like you're about to get run over because you're on the wrong lane, and if there's no driver in the passenger seat, you think every time, Ghost car, who's driving the car...

Curiosity of the day: No real heating, just portable options that hardly heat due to fire hazards...