Long time no see

I finally got an internet, so I think now is the good time to tell you a bit more about what I did in Singapore. :)

WEDNESDAY 20.7.2011

We arrived in Singapore at five in the morning, and after meeting our guide, we went right to the hotel to have a breakfast and a little bit of sleep.  We had free time until seven o’clock, when we headed to the night safari.  The night safari in Singapore is the world’s first and so far the only way to see animals in zoo when it’s dark.  There were a lot of exotic animals like hippos, giraffes and elephants and besides that there were also a fire show. 

Safari and the whole evening were quite nice, but I was extremely tired so I was happy to get back to the hotel after ten o’clock…

THURSDAY 21.7.2011

After few hours’ sleep at nine o’clock we took a bus and a guide with us and headed to different ethnic parts of the city.  We visited Little India and Chinatown and saw different temples and other historical sights. 

Our tour lasted until one o’clock, and after returning to our hotel we had some free time to buy things and get to know the city.  At three o’clock we had our first seminar, where we basically discussed about things.  So instead of being very official situation, the training was really familiar and we were free to ask questions.   After that training session we were free to go to the shopping malls or do whatever we liked.

FRIDAY 22.7.2011

At ten o’clock we had our second training session, just same thing as earlier.  After that we went to the Singapore River, where we had a little sightseeing tour by bamboo boat.  The rest of the day we spent in Sentosa Island, which is a little island nearby Singapore.  There are loads of things to do, but now I’ll tell you what we did and what places we visited.

First we used cable cars which took us from Singapore city to Sentosa Island.  After that we saw pictures from Singapore’s history and visited the Under Water World.  Merlion is some kind of symbol in Singapore, so we saw two big Merlion statues during the day.  In the evening we were in the 'Songs of the see' show, which was really amazing.  It's maybe hard to realize when you see those photos, but everything was just water and light, amazing!  After that we had an interesting dinner in Hot Stone Restaurant, but unfortunately I don’t have any pictures from it.  This night was our last night in Singapore, and maybe the last time together.  So we spent a lot of time just talking and laughing.  I’m going to miss you, my new friends!!!

SATURDAY 23.7.2011

We didn’t have to wake up early, because we had only few things to do.  We checked out from our hotel at midday and after that we had free time.  My flight to Sydney left in the evening, but we went to the airport after four o’clock.

That's it this time, I'll write more soon!

Super happy,

Liisa

Singapore

We had a little orientation camp in Singapore, so I came to Australia yesterday.  In Singapore instead of only studying we saw the city, were in really interesting places and saw loads of different cultures, too.  

Life and weather in Singapore are really different, but I liked the country a lot.  I've never been in Asia before, so I didn't know what to expect. People there are so kind and friendly, that, coming from Scandinavia, it was at first hard to get used to it.  

I'm not in my host family yet, because I'll stay this week with one lovely couple.  We'll organize my things, but after that I'll go to my first host family.  The couple don't have a internet I could use, so I can't write or send pictures after this.  When I go to my first host family I'll send photos about Sydney and Singleton.

In this post you can see couple of pictures from Singapore:

We learned about culture differences, and that's why we visited three different temples.

Greetings from the other side of the world,

Liisa

T-O-D-A-Y-!

I'm leaving today.  TODAY!  I still can't believe it, sounds so unreal!

I've been packing couple of days, and now I'm almost finished.  (Just almost, because I'm sure I forgot something...) It's unbelievable hard to think what do you need during the next year in a place where you haven't been. And what makes this whole thing even harder is that all of those things which you decide to take with you must fit to one suitcase which maximum weight is 20 kilograms. Phew, what a crazy task! :D

I have to wake up at 4.00 am, because I have to be at the airport 6.30 am. The departure time is 9.30 am, but I guess we have some kind of a meeting there. 

We'll see where from the next post is, because                                                             

from today, it'll be one big adventure!

Bye bye,

Liisa

My farewell party

I organized my farewell party tonight, and the whole evening was really amazing.  I didn't want typical teenage parties, because I don't really feel like they are my thing.  So, I decided to do everything my own way!

I invited my eight best friends to my place, and I baked many kinds of delicacies.  As you can see from the pictures below there were chocolate rice krispie cakes, cheesecake with chocolate decorations, chocolate cake with chocolate topping and frozen chocolate mousse cake.  (At this point it must be quite obvious that I like chocolate... :'D)  When we had eaten enough, we watched one of my favorite movies. :)

What can I say?  This evening was perfect and I love my friends. :))

Wistful,

Liisa 

Business cards

I picked up my business cards today and I think they are AWESOME!

Now I have 250 cards.

This is the front side...

...and this is the flip side.

Both sides.

I got a free business card holder...

...which is useful at least when I've forgotten my mirror.

This is the original photo.

As you can see I have now 250 business cards and one super cool business card box :DD  From that last picture you can see what the difference between original photo and printed photo is.  

Nervous,

Liisa 

One week left!

Yippee, what a day.  I got my visa and my flight tickets, my business cards are in the post office and I got new bikinis.  :D  One week, and then it'll be one big adventure.  I guess I should freak out, but at the moment it feels like everything is in order and that's why I'm really calm.  I'm not saying I don't have anything to do, but I'm not feeling stressed because I have so many things undone. 

The visa was attached to an e-mail, so I have to print it soon.  That's the reason why here are no pictures about it.  

But this is the ticket...

 

...and as I promised; here are those pins I've been making.  

I'll pick up those business cards tomorrow and take few photos of them so you'll see how they look like.  I really hope, from the bottom of my heart, that they are good.

Happy, sad and really excited,
Liisa 

A short snapshot

I was sure that the paperwork was done; but I was wrong.  I can tell that the visa application was not the nicest thing I've done :D  It wasn't difficult, but if I remember right I filled the form six times... The visa application included 23 pages full of questions, and every time I had answered to them I noticed that there were some troubles.  Either there was a question I wasn't able to answer or my computer didn't think that my answer was correct or my printer said that this wasn't the right file format for printing or something else stupid.  I can't describe the feeling when I had finally printed all of the pages and was allowed to put them into an envelope with my pass copy and my parents' pass copies and with few other papers.  I went immediately to the post office, and now my application is going to Berlin.  Hope everything is okay with it and I'll get the visa! :)

That application was the last form to fill (at least i hope so...), and now I have just few things to do.  I can make a little list about what I have and haven't done so far.

Insurance   DONE 

I got it yesterday!

Flight tickets   DONE 

I haven't got them, but at this point it's not depending on me.

Presentation   UNDONE

It would be better to do it before I go there, so I just have to make it soon!

Gift or souvenir   UNDONE

I've bought just couple of things, so I have to consider what else I'd like to give them.

Visa application   DONE

Finally!!!!

Pins   UNDONE 

I bought 30, but because those are quite expensive, I decided to make the rest of them by myself. I made about other 30 today, so I still have much more to go...

Rotary blazer   DONE

You saw the photos of it.

Business cards   DONE

I finally ordered them today, so I should get them next week. 

Suitcases   DONE

My dream didn't come true; I don't have new, colorful travelling bags. :( But yes, I have to admit, I already do have suitcases, so maybe I just have to live with it...  :D

Packing   UNDONE

I haven't even started yet!!! :DD

Next time you'll see some pictures, because I have few things to show you.  I'll send pictures from those pins I've been making, and about those business cards, too (if I get them...).

At the moment a bit busy,

Liisa