Diary

Rotary Club of Port Pirie

Diary entries of Madlen Stringer

Saturday 7th of August 2010 - 03:54:29 PM
End of Summer : C
Well what a busy Summer I have had as you can see previously! Estonia was so much fun and I loved it! It was so pretty. We go to to go to an old town which was as it sounds an old town!!! All the people working were dressed in old clothes and it was great to see. I was so tired from walking all day and we had to get up at 4am to go there and got back at 1am. That week we also went to the Summer Cottage. As my host sister had already left for Mexico it was just me, my friend Hanna and host parents. It was really nice. We were there for two nights and it was good to relax and enjoy the summer. It is also cool to play in the waves after the big cruise liner ships have gone past. Last week, 31/7 I changed host families. I am now a resident of Tuohittu! It is nice here but 15km from the town so I havent been able to really do much. I think once school goes back it will be okay. I have two older host brothers, 22 and 23 and a younger host sister 18. Although only the host sister lives at home but the 23 year old does for a month or so. It is pretty here and everything is so green. Its so great to look at. I start school next Wednesday although I am not going for very long as we are going to meet the 'newbies' which are the new exchange students in Tampere. It should be so fun to meet them all. Although I think that there are only like 10 of us Aussies going and about 100 or maybe more of them! It wont be as exciting as when we met our 50 or more oldies and there were only 20 of us. Today I went to a market in Perniö my first home town. I was helping the Rotary to sell paintings and handing out little cards about 'mikä on Rotary' or what is rotary. People were a bit reluctant to take them but when I spoke the little Finnish I knew it was okay. The weather here is starting to rain more and more now. Apparently it will rain a bit everyday soon. Then get darker then hello snow! I cant wait. It was 24 today so still 'warm' but humid as it was waiting for the rain. Cant believe I have been here over 6 months now and cant believe I only have like 160 days left of exchange. Where has the year gone and why has it been so fast. I guess time really does go faster when you are having fun : D



Tuesday 13th of July 2010 - 09:36:38 AM
My Finnish Summer
WELL! What a busy summer it has been. Busy and hot. It has got up to a lovely 30 degrees here the last few days and while I would think thats beautiful in Aus I think its damn hot here! I will start from after EuroTour. The day I got back I spent 4 days in Keuruu in middle Finland for the mis summer celebrations. The sun was amazing and up for 24 hours a day at this point! It was so beautiful to see and so weird at the same time. You never really were sure what the time was. Got back and had to say goodbye to one of my American Exchange Student friends. It was very sad and we all cried. The next day I met my 3rd and final host family. I will be living in the country and while that is nice to see Finnish countryside it is also bad because there are no busses and I wont be able to go into town to do anything with friends. I left for Lapland or the very top of Finland the next day and we go to go to Norway. It was a 16 hour drive to Ivalo, the town we were staying in. We went to Norway for one day and it was gorgeous. Just how I imagined New Zealand to be actually. So green and so many sheep. As its colder as you go north many of the mountains still have snow or it was melting leaving beautiful waterfalls coming off the mountains. I got to see so many reindeer along the road and had to stop many times. I even got to see where Santa lived as he lives in Finland and not the North Pole. We will go there in November with my Rotary Club and District though. I got back from there and the next day I went to A music festival, Ruisrock. It was VERY hot (31) and I didnt get sunburnt though which was great. I went with my councelors daughter who is also my friend. The next day I came to Turku Summer College to be an English tutor. I also get to learn a bit of Finnish so thats great for me. When I get back I will go to Estonia for 2 days then my host families summer cottage then change host families. It has been a very busy June and July for me. I cannot wait to get a sleep in as I only really have 2 days free. The first 2 weeks of August will be nice to just relax in before school I think. But I dont know what my 3rd host family has planned and it might be nice to do something. Looking forward the months of Summer I have left in Finland before the Autumn and a chilly winter ahead.



Wednesday 30th of June 2010 - 03:54:27 PM
EuroTour : D
Well about my Eurotour!!! gosh where to start. It was so amazing. I wont give you the same 4,500 word one I have Mum and the others but I will do my best.. We went to 9 countries, my favourite was Denmark, Copenhagen. The people were so nice and they spoke really great English. We went to the oldest theme park in the world but I got to see one of my friends throw up so thats not cool! I went on all the scary rides which I haven't before so it was fun. We got to see Princess Mary's house and we were all so proud that she was Australian! Germany we went to on the way there and the way home. We went to Bremen on the way there and it was nice. Nothing really special I didnt think but we didnt really do anything there. But the city was so beautiful and in the centre there were so many old buildings. In Berlin we got to have some shopping time! In Austria we didnt really do much it was just a pass through place. We had beef schnitzel there for lunch though. It was so good to eat schnitzel as Austria seems like the only European country that has them. I missed them so much as I love them! It was a nice place but the people were a bit rude. Monaco was so beautiful. Its only like 500 hectares or something but so small. It was definately the prettiest place with the best views! It was all over the side of hills and all the houses were so nice and expensive looking. We were there for like 5 hours only or something but it was so pretty. France was good but bad. The people were so rude but seeing the Eiffel Tower was so great. It was so big and you dont realise it until you get under it. I couldnt believe the whole time that I was at the Eiffel Tower. It was the first time that I really felt so far away from home but in a good way. We got a free day in Paris so we went sightseeing with some friends. Saw Notre Dame, Louvre and so many other cool things! One boy got his wallet stolen from his pocket and didnt even feel it but secret Police saw them and tackled the guy. One girl got €500 taken but didnt get it back. You really had to watch your bags, that was the worst part about France. We spent 3 days in Italy. We went to Venice, which was beautiful but so expensive. We had to take a waterbus to get there and we got to go on a Gondola ride. It was so weird to think that people really do need to take boats just to get out of their house. On our free day we spent it at the beach. Along the Mediteranian Sea! It was so great to just lie and relax after many days of traveling. I thought Italy was nice. We got to go to Verona too. Belgium we were in for a day too. We got free time mainly and then had lunch and were on the road again. I think free time was the best as you got to explore and make your own mind up about the city. There was nothing really special about Belgium, Brussels but it was so pretty. Everywhere we went was really pretty! Sweden we werent long at. It was only a pit stop to get off the boat and keep traveling. We had a quick tour of Stockholm but didnt get out the bus. It was cold and rainy that day though so it was okay! I really liked looking at Stockholm, I thought it would have been nice to know the history of it. And lucky last, Holland/Netherlands. We were always on the go here and didnt get any free time. This was because we were in Amsterdam! We went to a cool cheese and clog factory. I bought one of the demonstration clogs and got people to sign it for me. Like all the Exchange friends that are leaving in July before new ones come. We got to go to Anne Frank's hiding house. It was so amazing. You actually got to go into the house behind the secret bookcase and see everything. You werent supposed to take pictures but I did! We got to go on a waterbus tour of the city. There are more then 2,500 people living in boats! Now for my summer plans! On Friday I am going to the top of Finland, Lapland with my current host family. It takes 16 hours to drive there but thats from one end of the country to another! We are also going to Norway : D I will come back and go to a Summer College thing where I get to be an English tutor. Then I come back and we will go to Estonia for a few days then go to the Summer House before I move. In the months of June and July I only have 4 days where I am not doing something...Good old Summer Holidays! New and last host family! I met my 3rd host family yesterday. I will have a sister 17 and two brothers, 22 and 23! They are really nice but I didnt meet the 23 year old brother. I will be there for 6 months I think or I will move back to my first host family in November. Its a really pretty area and its kind of in the middle of no-where but im used to that!!!! Its all so pretty and green but it will be interesting to see it in the winter The weather has been so great. About 25 degress. Everyone here thinks its so hot but I think its just perfect weather! It hasnt rained for a while. It did on EuroTour but we were really lucky. It didnt on the free days and only when we were on the bus! See you at the end of the summer and in my new host family : D

Eiffel Tower : D	Salo Exchange Students	In Anne Frank's bathroom mirror!

Monday 24th of May 2010 - 11:08:00 AM
Summer Cottage
Well I havent really done that much since I got back from Russia. I have been to our Summer Cottage. It is on an Island and there are 2 others. It is a small Island but still had the privacy that you cant see or hear people in the other cottage. I went with one of my host sisters and the Mexican Exchange Student. It was great to lie on the rocks under the 'sun'. There was also a small beach but it was nice. We got to go fishing and I caught a boat! We also saw the boats going to and from the small Islands. I think we saw 3 or 4 in total. It was great fun to be on the Island and we saw many animals including bats and ducks. Hopefully we can go there and stay for a couple of days next time. Although I hope it doenst get too boring. The weather is about 25 degrees but today it has dropped to 18 and is raining. Perniö my old town flooded but my host families house was okay as it was on a hill. I am still having the best time here and just yesterday had my 4 month anniversary. We leave for EuroTour in 13 days. I cant wait it is going to be a trip of a life time!



Monday 10th of May 2010 - 04:12:22 PM
RUSSIA, St Petersburg
Well I am back from Russia and what a wonderful time I had. Gosh, it was so amazing. It is so beautiful. We left at 7:40am Thursday morning and pretty much spent most of the day on the bus. Customs was easy to get through and only took about 45 minutes which was good cos we have 35 people on our bus. Driving into St Petersburg I felt so sad cos the houses are what we would call unlivable and there is so much litter and rubbish around. It made me so sad to see it all. The people dont want to fix their houses incase they get invaded or robbed. Russia is such a dangerous country for pick pocketing and crime. Its also the country with the highest suicide rate. Thankfully we cant back with all 91 students though! One girl did get her Ipod pick pocketed though. She said her and some other people ran after him and he had a knife so they stopped. They reported it though and the Police had the security footage. Apparently they are repeat offenders and Police are going to try and get it back for her. On Friday we started the day with the Hermitage Museum tour and it was the most amazing place I have seen in my life. There are over 1000 rooms and if you want to look at each one for 1 minute it would take you over 9 years or something. It was so amazingly beautiful I cant even explain it. We then went on a small tour of the city and it is so amazing, I can see why it is the most beautiful city in the world. There is a lake or something that runs through it and it is so beautiful with boats and tourists. That night we went to the Ballet. It was so great. I thought it was one of the best things about the trip. The ballet had famous pieces from famous ballets. It was so cool to see the dancers get right up onto their toes. The dancers also did the girl in the music box. Its like when the girl gets on one toe and points the other in the air and the man spins her around. It was so amazing and something I have always wanted to see. Now I have! Some people got into trouble cos they had alcohol and of course we arent allowed to have any. It was their own fault though we were warned. Some people also got in trouble for sneaking out and into other rooms which is so dangerous in Russia. You almost got run over just crossing the street even at the crossings. It was crazy. On Saturday we went on a sightseeing tour. It was great to hear about the history and culture of St Petersburg and it is so amazing to see all the palaces and temples. I loved them. They are all golden and coloured and have amazing shapes. We went to a traditional Russian Folklore Dance that night and that truly was the most amazing this of the trip. It was so entertaining and I could have sat there all day and watched it. The guys and girls we such good dancers and were doing the most amazing tricks and spins. We headed back to Finland on Sunday after stopping at the markets before the border. It was crazy, all the vendors trying to sell you things and throwing lollies at you to try. I was a bit reluctant to try them but they were good! We crossed back over the border and I got back to Salo at 7:40pm. It really was the most amazing and fun filled weekend I have ever had in my life. I loved it so so much and would do it again in a heartbeat. I made some amazing friends and it will be the first and last time I will see some of the students. I would recommend anyone to go to Russia and inparticular St Petersburg.

Just one of the houses. Up to 3 families may live in here!	St Isacs Palace!	Beautiful Palace

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	End of Summer : C
	My Finnish Summer
	EuroTour : D
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	FAZER and Russia

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