I’ve spent more than fifty hours on airplanes over the last few weeks, not even including time in airports. It feels great to finally be back on the right side of the world, even though I’m not exactly home yet. After Tokyo, I flew to Holland to see my family which was really great even though it was only for a few days. From there, I took a short trip to Germany to be on a great TV show. While I’m usually not a fan of the cold weather, it was fun to have some snow and experience the great Christmas spirit up there in Germany. My latest trip was back to the warm side of the world in Sydney, Australia. Here in Sydney, the sun is shining and the Christmas season looks pretty different from Europe. I will be here for a few days until the start of the Sydney to Hobart race on the 26th. Then I will be off to Hobart, by plane unfortunately, because I am too young to actually do the race. But I am in the delivery crew that will take Akatea back to New Zealand from Hobart. Sydney is awesome so far and I am happy to be back in much better temperatures than Europe. I’ve already met up with some good friends from yachts I met along my journey and I’ve explored a lot around town, as I am determined to get over my jet lag. Well, I have pretty much had jet lag for the past few weeks straight. When I finally got used to Tokyo time, then it was off to Europe, and then as soon as that felt normal, I was off again. Well, now that I’m right next door to New Zealand, it can only get better from here. Hopefully I will be back in New Zealand by the beginning of January. I’m looking forward to continuing to organize my life there. After I passed my school exams, I got accepted to Maritime School which will start after the summer holidays. It’s really exciting but I still have a lot to arrange and prepare for it. It will be a great opportunity, as I will be studying for a few years toward my goal of becoming a captain on the big mega-yachts.

Laura