“But I’m sad to say I’m on my way, won’t be back for many a day.” ~ Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte End of exams After my final prelim on Monday, I had made plans with friends who would show me Darlington Point. That’s the next shire about 30 minutes away and so some of my friends live there. I still love driving past countless planes, staring into the vastness of Australia.

Prelims This week, year 11 started their prelimenary exams. They take it pretty seriously too, and they have a little bit of a different approach. At 9 am, the exam starts. You are advised to come 15 minutes earlier, to find your spot in the drama room. Volunteering ladies provide unbiased supervision and manage all the papers and places. On your spot, you find a paper with your name and student number and a writing booklet.

This week the realisation that it is almost over has made it difficult sometimes. I don’t want it to be the last time I get to do some of these things, but there is really nothing I can do apart from enjoying and savouring every little moment. NAIDOC Our school celebrated NAIDOC week this Monday, because when the observance is held in July, there is no school. The activities were for year 7 to 10, but when I had a free I joined in with some year 7’s playing emu and launching tennisballs at a wooden kangaroo and emu.

Monday: Drive to Canberra Monday morning we all prepared for a long drive. Destination: Canberra. Canberra is the capital of Australia, so when my host parents wanted to show me an Australian city, they decided to take me there. I’m very curious. No surprise, the drive was beautiful. I really enjoy staring into the vastness of this country while exploring different places. The one and only change I saw in the landscape, were the hills that added to my interest.

Board Games One of my friends came past after school to play some board games. We had a hard time choosing, but finally started playing Monopoly, the Australian edition. It’s just slightly different. We got heaps of dollars and instead of train stations, we had airports. It was fun. No jumper needed This week, was the average temperature around 21 - 22 degrees. I didn’t wear my jumper all week. It was beautiful how the sun was shining.

To be completely honest, I don’t have a lot to write about this week. School was nice, after school I didn’t do anything special. I just enjoyed the ordinary moments. I do want to thank everyone for reading my blog and supporting me from a distance. I really appreciate you <3. Rememberance of the Vietnam War Tennis Hill Run And just like that, we are already halfway through, time flies!

Monday: Wagga Wagga Monday, I took a day off school to visit Wagga, one of the bigger towns in ’the neighbourhood’. We only drove for 2 hours and a half to get 200 km further and we were there. Too easy… I was amazed by the vastness of Australia and ‘we don’t even live in the middle of nowhere’. I absolutley loved gazing at the passing landscape with in the morning, fields endlessly filled with beautiful canola, and in the evening, the breathtaking sunset that made the sky look like it was on fire.

The weather in the beginning of the week was awful. Cold and wet and foggy… But at the end it was very pleasant. I sometimes didn’t even need a sweater. Anyway, I had an amazing week dispite the poor weather! Open Mic Sunday, my host family took us to the open mic competition in the theatre of Griffith. I was so impressed with the nerve all these young people had, coming up to this giant stage, giving the best of their original music pieces.

Tuesday I got up earlier, but went to school later. Let me explain. The alarm went off at 6 am, an hour or so earlier than monday. I put on my clothes and got in the car with my hostmom. We had to drive slowly, because there was so much fog! You couldn’t see properly and it was still dark. There were people who didn’t have the patience and passed us fast.

I can’t believe this first week is already over! First day of school This was the most hectic day of all. I woke up very early, to be sure to be on time, but I had way too much time. I walked over to my walking buddy’s house and she showed me the way to walk to school and we had a nice chat. When I arrived, I was expected to go to the office to meet my school buddy, who would show me around, but first, my picture was taken.