NEW YORK, NEW YORK

To be fair, we did stay at a hotel which was in New Jersey, but still. Most of our time spent at the Soft landing camp was in New York.

How do I even begin to describe New York? It was amazing, I loved it. It didn't quite become my favorite place in the world, but still, pretty neat. I learned some pretty cool stuff from our super cool tourguide of eight hours total. Our orientation classes weren't for waste either. Did you know that if you have ten dollars in your pocket and no debts, you're wealthier than 25% of Americans? Yeah, pretty rough, huh. It broke my heart to see so many homeless people in the streets.

Anyways, the day we got there was still the 13th, and it was  h o t. We were all pretty tired of traveling for over twelve hours, and when we finally got out of the Newark airport, we got a full clothed sauna experience in the humidity and heat of the East Coast. Luckily, the air conditioning in our bus saved us from melting.  Our hotel was neat, we got a lil information what we were going to do, and our staff ordered us food. Me, trying to be healthy and ethical chose to get the vegan salad, but unfortunately it was disgusting, so I barely ate any. That much for the ethicality. Also, may I add that our group was probably the biggest of all groups of exchange students that year or any year of Explorius, with 156 students from all over Europe.

The second day started with a slightly healthier version of American breakfast and a lesson of Adapting to American culture. Next stop was Downtown New York. Bare in mind that this was my first time going there, so I was hyped, to say the least. We had lunch in Grand Central Terminal, you know, the place where Marty sneaks out in Madagascar and Melman sticks his head in the cool clock. Yeah, that. Riding a tour bus through Manhattan, we stopped at one specific flower pot to take an optimal picture of the Empire State Building and in another place the same with a landscape of Manhattan. We could also see the tiny Statue of Liberty from there. The rest of the day was spent wandering in Downtown, Chinatown, various stores and Chipotle. An actual mention that we visited the World Trade Center memorial as well. 15 years have went by, but the topic is still sensitive for Americans. May the victims rest in peace and their loved ones live smiling.

The beginning of the third day was pretty much identical to the second one, so after eating lunch we headed to Broadway, Times Square, Rockefeller center, and all that cool stuff. We even got to see the Friends house, so that's pretty cool. I think my pictures here speak better than me, so just check them out. It was awesome.

The last day was basically just about Central Park and Jersey Garden's mall. We got our picnic lunch from Whole Foods, and I immediately fell in love with that annoyingly pricey store. Bought myself a backbag for school and a lotion from VS, and they were freakishly cheap, even for an outlet mall. But, the day went by quickly, as they tend to do, and back at the hotel I had to pack everything ready for an early leave the next morning. Utah's calling, bébé!

Nyt on New York koettu, Vapaudenpatsas, Empire State Building, Central Park ja Times Square nähty. Oli kyl ihan mahtava kokemus. Ei olis haitannu jos oltais oltu muutama päivä pidempään. Olisin halunnut päästä Rockefeller centerin huipulle napsimaan esteettisiä kuvia, mut jonottaminen sinne olis vienyt vähintään puolet meidän vapaa-ajasta + kaikki mun käteisvarat, joten päätettiin skipata se kokemus.

Noin kaiken kaikkiaan New York on mulle vähän sellanen epäilyttävä ja hieman epämielyttävä paikka sen suuruudessaan ja ihmispaljoudessaan. En haluu kuulostaa sellaselta ihmiseltä joka ottaa kaikesta vaan negatiiviset puolet esille ja valivali, koska sitä en oo. Sanonpahan vaan, että jos menet New Yorkiin ja oletat postikorttimaisemia ja pilvenpiirtäjiä, niin niitä saat, mutta saat myös kämäsiä katuja, roskapusseja ja kodittomia ihmisiä joka kulmassa, ja puolialastomia ihmisiä jotka huutaa sulle ja sun kavereille jostain tuntemattomasta syystä. Mikään tästä ei kuitenkaan tarkota, etteikö sulle tulis ikimuistoisia ja sydäntä lämmittäviä muistoja, upeita kokemuksia ja kuvia tulevaisuudelle. Ja kuten sanottu, olis siellä voinu olla pidempäänkin, enkä valittais jos pitäis sinne uudestaan mennä. Vaikka paikka ei ihan ollut satarosenttinen, niin kyllä se kokemus oli.

p.s. Tänään on kulunut tasan 15 vuotta WTC-iskusta, ja halusin saada tän julkaistua tänään, ihan vaan sen vuoks, että siellä muistomerkeillä käytiin ja musta oli kaunista miten jokasen siellä henkensä menettäneen syntymäpäivänä heidän nimelle asetetaan valkoinen ruusu.

THE BEGINNING

Yes, I cried. It wasn't intended. Leaving home, family and friends for ten months really is something. I've denied my nervousness every time I've been asked, but even I don't believe myself. It's true that nervous isn't the first word that pops into my mind, though; that would be excited. I know this year is going to be beyond amazing.

For those of who dont know, I'm Eveliina, and I decided to be an exchange student the minute I heard such thing exists. I started my exchange process about a year ago, when I searched for potential organizations, and it didn't take too long to know that Explorius would be the one for me. It wasn't too big, and everything just seemed right. I attended an interview and soon got an email that I had been accepted to their program.

During my preparation for the year, I have probably wasted a tree amout of paper for all kinds of forms and applications, got myself vaccinated by a doctor about ten times, and stress eated the entire insides of our fridge for, turning out, nothing. Not to mention all the money that this has consumed. Shoutout for my mom for being such a huge part of all this, love you.

I'm currently in New York, or actually New Jersey, in the city of Newark. We have this Soft landing camp, where we learn all the necessities about adapting to America, the American culture, etc. before leaving to our host families. Obviously we're going to explore the Big Apple as well, but I'll tell you more about it in my next post.

I'd like to write about my thoughts on this mess I got myself into. It's the best mess of my life. I love this mess. Despite the fact I'll live with a family and go to school, I feel more independent already. I would never have guessed that I could do this much by myself. Of course, I haven't had any problems whatsoever, so we'll see how I handle the upcoming. Always hoping for the best, prepared for the worst. There's nothing that could crush me.

Why did I want to become an exchange student? I've always loved (the idea of) traveling and exploring new places and cultures, but a week or two in a country is only a first impression. I want to get to know a country all the way, learn how living in a different environment affects one's mind and behavior, get to be part of a slightly different society. We're all human, but even with all our similarities we have different ways to act. Why USA? I wanted to go to a place where I can learn English, but as much as I love the UK, I wanted to go further. Canada I find a bit too similar to Finland. Australia and New Zealand are amazing, but far more expensive than any other country, so the US was just right. I didn't get to choose the state, but I'm ever so happy with Utah.

Just for your information, all this text above has been written approximately two weeks ago, but because of some technical difficulties, I'm uploading it now. Oh, and if you scroll down, you'll see me and my lil sister's lil photoshoot from before I left.

Mietin pitkään, miten kirjottaisin tätä blogia ja päädyin sitte siihen että kirjotan ensin englanniksi ja sitte vasta suomeksi, koska harjotus on aina hyväksi. En käännä näitä tekstejä suoraan, enkä myöskään kirjota kaikkea sisältöä, niin saatte tekin suomalaiset vähän enkkureeniä.

Elikkä tässä mun piti kirjottaa vähän fiiliksiä ja sen semmosta ennen vaihtoon lähtöä, ei nyt oo ennen vaan sen aikana, mutta parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan. Lähtöpäivänä (13. elokuuta 2016) mulle tuli pieni pupu pöksyyn, mutta kyllä se lentokoneeseen pääsyn jälkeen meni pois. Hetkellinen "en mä haluu lähteä" häipys heti, kun aatteli miten tylsää se olis jos en lähtiskään.

Vaikka nyt oonkin jo USA:ssa, en vieläkään ymmärrä sitä. Kaikki tuntuu niin epätodelliselta. Syy siihenkin, etten myöntänyt jännittäväni, oli se, etten ollut sisäistänyt lähtöäni. Varmaan aika tuttu tunne jokaselle vaihtarille jossain määrin. Meillä on ollut muiden vaihtareiden kanssa semmonen Soft landing camp Nykissä, ollaan opittu vähän maan tavoille ja kierrelty nähtävyyksiä. Siitä teen kuitenkin ihan oman postauksen. (kirjoitan tässä imperfektissä ja enkuksi futuurissa, syy tähän kirjoitusajankohdat... on ollu toiminnantäytteistä ohjelmaa ja vähäsesti wifiä)

Loput tosta enkunkielisestä tekstistä onkin pelkkää liibalaabaa, joten en jaksa vaivautua sanomaan siitä oikeen mitään. Hyvästit nyt vielä kerran kaikille rakkaille suomalaisille ja nähdään pian! Ikävä tulloo, sitä en kiellä, mut kyllä tää vuosi nopeesti mennöö. Ainiin, ja tässä alhaalla näet mun ja pikkusisko-Iitun pikku photoshootin ennen lähtöä.

- Eve