Sex Bomb!

It's 10:40 and I'm sitting semi councious in a car on my way to where I'll be staying. A friend of my host-mother is sitting in front of me humming to the radio which is playing a collection of music that seems to belong in the past. Wait, I'm going to start earlier.

I'm standing in line watching my dad take pictures of me leaving. Moments earlier I said goodbye to my brother my mother and my dad and well so far I'm feeling good. It's been two minutes though. Time for a security control, it worked out pretty smoothly and I got my stuff through and for once, I wasn't last! As I pass through the door I see the other EF travelers who I'll be travelling with. I introduce myself and the last EF student passes by the control to join us. Let's see if i remember all the names.. There was Linn, Joakim, Rasmus, Rebecca, Sofia uhm.. there was one more guy who left us in Australia whos name eludes me but maybe I'll remember it as I write. We start going towards the gate and stop by the Tax-free shop, after a few moments we realize we're still just standing talking only that we've changed the scenery so we go out of the shop since nobody wanted to buy anything. I get comments on my flashy blue bag which is apparently different from the bags that the other students got from EF, mine was a bit sturdier and far more sexy.

We settle on a couple of benches by the passport control, once you go through it you can't go back which would mean if any of us got an urge to buy anything it would be to late. The conversation comes to a stalemate and everyone sits silence, I don't really believe in uncomfortable silence but if I would be asked what it was this would be it. Rebecca takes out a book and as explained later Linn (The Magnificent as she titled herself) quickly suggested that we play cards. It worked perfectly and the ice was broken instantly. The conversation was kept going meanwhile we were playing cards and it developed to quite a good start of things. Half an hour later we're on the plane to London. Believe me when I say I've been on quite a few planes in my time but they still annoy the heck out of me.

Luckily there weren't that many booked seats far back in the plane so we switched seats and sat next to eachother. Here we continued a game of cards referred to as the others as 'Plump' which I have never played before. We didn't have time to finish it but I think I would've won, after all I am awesome.

Heathrow, London. This airport is the lair of trouble, missed flights and ticket hassle and as it turned out, our group was not an exception. We had been promised an hour or two of free time on Heathrow which would allow us to calmly locate ourselves and get to the gate for our flight, this however, is not how it turned out. After a bathroom visit and a quick debate on which terminal we were supposed to be in we made our way to the buss which would get us to terminal 4. Once there we had to pass through another security control (There can never be enough security!) and the people manning it said we'd better hurry if we hoped to make it. Time is incredibly elusive in my point of view and as we got to the main hall of the terminal we checked the boards and saw that a flight for Sydney was currently closing it's boarding. This plane was at gate 23 or 43 (Can't recall) which is as far away as you can get. We as fast as we could, Rebecca and me at the front tightly followed by Linn with the rest lagging behind.

We get to a long corridor and through the window we see one plane, we make the collective conclusion that the plane must be our plane. We run and we run and as Rebecca and I reach the gate the others have stopped at a vending machine to get coke (At a time like this?!). Disaster strikes as we try to board, it turns out that this plane was not ours! Leaving fifteen minutes later from gate 4 is a Quantas flight to Sydney via Bangkok (Just like this one). GATE FOUR! THAT'S ON THE OTHER BLOODY SIDE OF THE TERMINAL!

We readjust our clocks and we've got ten minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave. Run run run! Run like death is gnawing on your heels! Run like there's a horde of bears on your back and somebody stuffed blueberries into your pocket! Joakim's bag is dropped and stuff falls everywhere, he tells us to 'GO ON WITHOUT HIM!' (Cliché!) since he figured that if one of us gets there we can stop them from closing the gate. When I reach the gate all the passengers have seemingly boarded. The attending personel notifies the crew that the stragglers have finally showed up! We get on the plane, sweating (and as on multiple occasions refered to by my travel mates 'red in the face'). Joakims bag bursts open once more just as he enters the plane and his stuff flies out over a flight attendant. We get to our seats in the end of the plane and sit down, using the safety manuals as fans (That's about the only thing they're good for :P)

Whilst inspecting the safety manual I discover that onboard this plane you can not bring FERBIES. Out of all the things they ban Ferbies, it quickly became an internal joke and later I suggested we dress up as Ferbies just to see what they do. Seriously, imagine a giant f**cking Ferbie trying to board a Quantas flight when it clearly says that they're not allowed!

The flight I won't say so much about since it was pretty much always the same thing. Falling in and out of sleep, finding that you fel asleep on your travel mates shoulder or vice versa was common. The first part of the flight I watched 'The Boat that Rocked' and I found it was actually quite a good movie. It was refreshing to see Seymour Philip Hoffman in a role like this. The overall feel of the movie was good, just awesome british comedy associated with Rock 'n Roll. Linn didn't fare to well on the flight and had to go lie down and later a nice attendant allowed her to go into a secluded room to rest. I usually don't get sick in cars, airplanes or on boats which only makes me feel worse for the people that do. I felt incredibly helpless since there wasn't really anything I could do to make the flight better, I'm always happy to help but when I want to and I can't it just feels crappy, I feel like it's somehow my fault or something, but I digress.

We had a quick half hour stop in Bangkok and it worked pretty well for all of us there, I think Linn felt a bit better but I can't really know for sure. The first part of the flight to Sydney took roughly ten hours I think, everything is sort of hazy right now. The second part took eight hours and during that flight I slept. Joakim, Me, Rebecca and Linn watched Anastasia (Disneys interpretation) on the plane but both me and Linn fell asleep in the start of the movie. On the later parts of the flight we played some cards and slept some more.

Finally, Sydney! Here we parted with Sofia, Rasmus and the other guy who I just can't remember the name of! Damn my short memory span. From seven to four. We had four hours to spend on the airport before our plane to NZ would leave and we spent it chilling, eating, playing some cards and starting up a LAN Party next to the gate. When we first visisted the gate we found several other students carrying EF bags. During the flight we had all been conversing about an eight swede that was headed for New Zealand but none of us had seen her. Another girl called Linn homing from the sweet city of Gothemburg. We finally found her and she was creeped out to hear that we had loudly been conversing about her on the flight and she still hadn't heard anything eventhough she was sitting right in front of us.

MARCUS! MARCUS! I believe that was the name of the fourth guy, though.. I could be wrong..

We boarded the plane to Aukland and me and Joakim immedietly took a liking to the pilot who provided us with a view of Sydney (Check the pictures) but not only that, he switched of the seatbelt sign rather quickly. We flew over the ocean and clouds provided a spectacular show for us. The flight was a meagre three hours (dwarfed by the flight to Sydney it felt like nothing). Linn and Rebecca fell asleep rather quickly, Gothemburg Linn sat a row behind us and was pretty quiet. Joakim and me played HEROES THREE! Awesome game. We didn't get that far though before Lunch was served and by the time we had finished the food my computer was decharged. Shortly after we got ice cream served to us (Which made the pilot and his crew even more awesome!)

We speculated over whether or not we should wake up Linn with our ice cream like Joakim had threatened but we decided that we were way to nice to do something that cruel (Plus she looked to sweet when she was sleeping!)

When we got to Aukland the pilot provided us with an awesome view. Rebecca and I cited Lord of the Rings landscapes as we flew over the countryside of New Zealand. Our words were justified, we say Eriador! The Dead Marshes and on the Horizon Mordor! The green hills and farmlands of the Shire followed after. We got of the Airplane and met up with some EF people. They led us to another terminal and helped us check in our bags. Linn voiced our thoughts and said she was hungry. It was true, my stomach had been trying to strangle my brain since Bangkok. We found a McDonalds and got some food, on a sidenote: for forty extra cents you could get your soda turned into a slushie, which is awesome.

After the food and a conversation with the Danish EF student we went to the gate and sat down. We discussed the nausceous feeling we all felt and in we came to the conclusion that it was because we were all nervous. Joakim and Rebecca went of into the gate an hour before Linn and me and got onto their plane headed north. Linn and me started talking to a Canadian EF student we found sitting next to us and wrote a bit in the scrapbook provided by my brother. The time passed and we boarded the plane. It was quite a different plane than we had boarded before, propellers and whatnot! A strong wind blew at us as we boarded and it almost claimed my hat. Linn and I wondered how we would survived two hours on the plane to Nelson with the nausceous feeling but both of us actually fel asleep rather quickly. We arrived in Nelson after roughly two hours and apparently two minutes early. We were met by a myriad of people and amongst these stood my host mother along with Yanik (The German Exchange Student) and Linn's host parents.

Linn and I said goodbye quite quickly with a hug (Hugs are awesome by the way)

I found my bag and got into a car with my host mother Sascha, Yanik and his host mother. In my semi-concious state I could not provide such good conversation but we kept a little bit going.

It's 10:40 and I'm sitting semi councious in a car on my way to where I'll be staying. A friend of my host-mother is sitting in front of me humming to the radio which is playing a collection of music that seems to belong in the past. 'Sex Bomb! Sex Bomb! You're my sex bomb!' she sings and that's the final thing I recall before I fall asleep. I wake up and the car is pulling up next to a KFC where we get some food, great timing to because I hadn't eaten anything since Sydney. I got back in the car and we got back on the road.

Before long we arrived at our destination and after I had eaten I was showed around. I'll summarize this place with one word: AWESOME. I'm living in a room which is a few steps from the larger house, I've got my own bathroom to.



I can't think of anything else to tell you the reader right now but if I do I'll be sure to write it here so check back for the next update!

Toodles
Axel the Amazingly Awesome