From High School Exchange to University.

If we're not Facebook friends I figured I'd let you in on a (not so little) secret - I got into University :D Woot. Yay me. 


This wasn't at all guaranteed since I was only in year 13 for 6 months (if that) so I was stressed about meeting the requirements. However I did it. I got 60 credits among four subjects and got a subject endorsement for English.. Yes that probably did confuse you. However just know that - Nicole did good. 


Needless to say I am excited about starting at AUT already. I'm studying Communication Studies (which was my subject choice at my first choice university - yay). I've chosen my classes already, not that there was much to choose as most of first year are required. But it looks like this; (I believe if you click on them they get larger)

And semester two looks like this

Yay for not having to start before 10am and not having class on Fridays. I have a feeling I'm going to love University :) 


Will update later maybe. But you know how good I am at that ;) 

Home sweet home

So I've been home for 7 months now. And no I never did get any better at blogging. That doesn't mean I died though. So I figured I'd come on and update a little since I'm still getting quite a few internet hits on this site. Thanks to everyone who's visited it!


So instead of working chronologically with my experiences (i.e continuing where I left off) I'm gonna let you know how I'm doing now. 


A lot has happened since I've been home. I'm 18 now. An adult. It's kinda scary. Now I have to be mature and grown up. I'm still working on that.


In November I finished high school. Since I got back I was pretty stressed, trying to finish year 13 in six months rather than the usual 9 - 10. But I did it. Results will be out in just over a week though so then I'll know how well I really did. I've applied for University, to study Communications at AUT starting next year, but it will depend on my results.


At the moment I'm on Summer break. I visited my wonderful family in both Palmerston North and New Plymouth around Christmas which was nice, as I hadn't seen most of them since before I left America. I got back in Auckland before New Year and have been working since. I deliver pizza at Domino's now which is really awesome. I love my job. Everyone I work with is so nice.

I went to my school ball in July. It was very different from
America, but I still had a lot of fun dressing up fancy with all
my childhood friends.

I also really want to go back to America to visit my friends. This will greatly depend if I get into university though. My wish would be to see my fellow Junior class graduate cause graduation is such a huge deal in America. However if I go to university the breaks don't align correctly. So I have major decisions to make. None of which can be made until I have my school results back. So for now I wait. Which really blows.


Since I've been back, adjusting to my life in Auckland has been hard. I never got home sick for New Zealand when I was in America, but I now that I'm home I find myself getting home sick for America. When you leave your host country, you know that you're coming back, you have a deadline. When you leave America, you don't know when you're going to be back. It could be a year, it could be ten. No one really tells you what it's going to be like when you finish your exchange. Before I left New Zealand I got tons and tons of mail from EF telling me about what to expect when I got to America, but I never got preparation about coming home. Like anything it just takes time to adjust. And adjusting is hard. You have to work at it every day. I still have to work at adjusting myself to being home, even though I've been home for 7 months. Nothing has changed since you left, but being away has changed you. 

Myself, my Dad and Nana in New Plymouth since I've been home.

That's about all for now as an update on my current situation. 

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns, or if you're lucky enough to be going (or on) an exchange yourself. My email is nicolealeisha@gmail.com.

Happy travelling!

I am back.

I have finally finished my history project (a major reason why I haven't been updating my blog) so now I'm back.. 

In the next couple days I'll try to update about Prom and graduation and all the other happenings that I've been up to.. 

Here's my history project if you're interested though.. We had to create (in a group) a 10 minute documentary on the Free Speech Movement of the sixties.. A LOT of work, but I learned a lot too :)

I am terrible.

Dan, Myself, Brittany and Chad at prom

I'm still a terrible blogger.. Weird, who would've guessed.. It's nearly been a month since prom and I haven't written anything yet.. I'm sorry! I've been swamped with homework! This weekend we've had the Pops concert which is about 3 1/2 hours of music put on by the school.. I'm in concert choir, girls chorus, and two ensembles. Bellow you can see one of our songs where I have a one line solo. It was a lot of fun, last night was the first night and tonight is closing night..

The seniors are graduating next weekend and before long school will be out. Time is going so fast! 

I have my flights now and I'm leaving here on the 31st and arriving in New Zealand on the 2nd of May, but I will write more about that later when I have some time. For now I have an hour before I have to be at the concert and another page to write of a sociology paper due tomorrow with an accompanying presentation I haven't finished yet.. Last minute cramming, argh. 

But do not worry, I am still having a wonderful time and I will update you soon! I haven't forgotten about you.

Nine Months.

As I was looking at my cellphone at the date after I thought I'd better update my blog, it struck me. I have been in the United States for 9 months today. It's crazy how fast time has gone. Nine months ago I was standing in Auckland airport with Mum, Dad, Nana, Bridgette and 7 of my closest friends, excitingly awaiting the unknown. Today I watch the Seniors count down 18 school days until they have finished high school, and the rest of the school count 24 school days until summer vacation. 

April means Spring

Look at me, updating my blog in under a month.. I think it's a miracle! 


It is now April and the weather is getting better. This is good seeing as I'll be going back to winter when I return to New Zealand.

Natalie & I at NHS, see previous post

This week soccer started, yes Brittany and I are out for soccer in the community team. It's high school (grade 9 - 12) plus one middle schooler. It's mixed, so boys and girls, and Brittany and I are the only girls on the team.. Brittany had never played before and I played for a couple of years a while back so we're not the next Christiano Ronaldos, to say the least. I'm really enjoying it so far though. Because it's community soccer we don't practice nearly as much as the other sports, like we practiced for cheerleading. We practice three times a week and have games on Sunday afternoons. The first practice was on Thursday, we had one today (Sunday) and then we have one Tuesday, possibly Thursday too, and then our first two games are on Sunday which will be fun.


Apart from that, nothing else has really happened since my last post, except that I got to Skype my wonderful sister Veronika after church today for the second time since she left. That made my day :)


Just keeping it short and sweet for now,
Have a fantastic day.

Bad at blogging.

I'm very terrible at blogging. Not gonna lie, for a couple of weeks I didn't even think about blogging.


Last weekend was St Patricks Day, which is really big in Emmetsburg.. Everyone becomes Irish.. It was fun though, there was a parade and a "Miss Shamrock Pageant". Everyone was happy and the weather was pretty nice, by that I mean it wasn't in the negative Celsius.


This weekend was the last weekend for show choir, which I've been helping backstage with. It was lots of fun, think Glee, but much better choreography and not professional singers. Bellow is the introduction to one of their songs. There are 44 performers (singers and dancers) and 11 band members. The group has learned and performs five songs; Beautiful Day / I Can See Clearly Now, Love Goes On, If You Believe, Never Been Any Reason and New Divide.

My subjects this semester are all going really well, I enjoy them all and I've got either an A or an A- in them which makes me feel accomplished.. 

Dan, Myself and Brian at the NHS evening

In other news, Brittany and I have signed up for the mixed community soccer team which starts in April which will be fun.

The third weekend of April is also our prom which is coming up rapidly.

In the past month I've entered the Individual Speech contest where I competed in Districts and State.. I got a I (highest score) at Districts which meant I went to State where I got split Is (Two Is and one II), which means overall I got a I. I wrote my own speech on Organ Donation which had to be under 8 minutes, it was 7 minutes or just over.

BriAna and I at the Miss Shamrock Pageant

Tonight we had the honor society dinner which I did my individual speech for.. It went well. It was a supper recognizing students that maintained a high (3.20+) GPA (grade point average) for three consecutive semesters. I couldn't qualify because I've only been at Emmetsburg for 1.5 semesters.

Apart from the above, I don't think anything super exciting has happened in the past month.. But I will try my very hardest to blog more, even if I consider the things less exciting..


Oh, I did find out today who was chosen to be camp returnees. Unfortunately I wasn't chosen but Bryce, from New Zealand, and Camilla, from the Netherlands, were! I know they'll be great mentors. 

Myself, Natalie and Mara at the NHS Banquet

That's all for now though, if I keep trying to think of more to write I'll just continue to put this off and it won't be posted for another three weeks..


I hope you are all well :)