24.07.2019. The day I had been waiting for so long had finally come. After a tearful farewell from home, Mom, Dad, David, and I set off for Düsseldorf with packed suitcases. Once we arrived there, we had to find our way around. After quickly checking in online, we went to the baggage drop-off. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders when my luggage, weighing 29.5kg out of a possible 30kg, was accepted and set off for New Zealand. To pass the time until boarding, we went up to the observation deck. There we spotted my Emirates plane, the largest in the world, and watched other planes take off and land. It was at that moment that I started to realize what I was actually doing here, and my heart began to race. It was time to board and I was completely overwhelmed. I had to say goodbye to my loved ones:(...and go through the overcrowded security checkpoint alone. It wasn't until I was sitting at my gate and my row was called to board that I started to feel better. We boarded the plane by walking through the jet bridge. The first flight was a 6-hour journey to Dubai. I sat there in my window seat, all alone, next to some self-assured machos, and I was terrified of takeoff. Once that was over, the 6 hours went by really quickly. When I arrived in Dubai, I immediately started looking for my gate and was completely impressed by the size of the airport. Of course, I had to go to the other end of the airport... Since I didn't want to spend hours getting there, I decided to take the bus. After 10 minutes, I was relieved to arrive at my gate. Since I had some time, I explored the shopping area a bit and got some breakfast. 10 minutes before boarding began, I was back at my gate C9 and was shocked to see that it had changed. There was no one there anymore... Panicking, I ran to the bus station, got on a bus to the new gate, and luckily made it to boarding on time. Once on the plane, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.This time, I was able to enjoy the takeoff a bit and I was glad that my destination was in sight.So, off to Auckland. I was well taken care of on the flight, although some things left something to be desired. When I crossed Melbourne, I could hardly wait and was getting nervous to meet my host family.
