lifebuoy

I'm a 20 year old german from Hamburg ___________ follow me and a friend through Australia, Vietnam and Thailand! ___________ anything less to describe travelling is just inaccurate

[joeyrk]

From the highlands of vietnam to Angkor Wats mesmerizing temples, southeast Asia has been the best part of my eastern travels. Ending all of this while hanging out with thai friends in Bangkok seems just as well!

[joeyrk]

Boating on the Whitsundays

[joeyrk]

My East Coast trip is on its last third and the time so far has been just very troubled, though exciting. After my Castaway ( http://www.1770castaway.com.au )trip initially being cancelled, due to a horrible plane accident with one deceased person a couple of weeks before my dates, my spirits were lifted again by the message that the trip was still going to happen. Quickly I realized that I was going to be on one of the first trips after the crash, which had me concerned about the atmosphere of the trip. The Survivor trip is based on the movie "Castaway" and simulates three days of being marooned on a small island having to fend for oneself. After a couple pro and con thoughts I found myself convinced to go, which was the best decision to make. Sergio, our guide and Bruce, our pilot where the two that were directly involved in aiding at the crashs site, at which they did a heroic job. Without a doubt both of them are some of the strongest and most interesting personalities that I have ever met. They allowed us to ask any questions that we had, explained and most importantly made my/our trip one of the best I have ever had. The three day tour allowed us to fish, kayak, sand dune surf, go hiking, swim... hell, I even speared a stingray. It was truly a blast and I think the group in return lifted the crews spirits by showing respect for their work and passion and being thankful for all their energy. My heart today is with the families of the affected and with every one involved. Also a big thank you! to all the Castaway crew!

[joeyrk]

surfing my first hard and small board here in Noosa. Stoked!¡

[joeyrk]

After finishing a whole month of working up my finances in Sydney, I am now up the eastern Coast of Australia! 1st stop BYRON BAY Loads of Surfing in Byron and the easiest lifestyle I have seen since Hawaii. ☮️

[joeyrk]

On the 8. I made my way out of bed at 4 am and up the hill to the lighthouse. Views were worth it! Follow Ups on the way

[joeyrk]

Soon we will need to start working in sydney. The last couple of days we enjoyed with @leonbergmann and two other friends visiting the blue mountains and blackheath.

[joeyrk]

exploring Sydney at night last night we ended up finding neat photo locations off the Harbour Bridge.

[joeyrk]

rüfüs & hayden james at harbour life tonight!

[joeyrk]

Having to wait another 5hrs until getting your room when arriving with heavy bags is nasty but even more after a 30hr-flight. So lets see the city then! impressions of turning into singapur and garden in sydney

[joeyrk]

I never dreamed that I would meet people like this, and I am thankful I did. After almost a week back in Hamburg feelings are mixed: on one side Germany is playing in the Worldcup-final on sunday, and it is nice to meet all these old friends, but on the other hand all these changes are exhausting as well. Friends come friends go during a year like this but the bad part is that you realize who left at the end of the year. Also I got so close to my whole host-family over the year that I kind of feel like I'm doing an exchange to Germany.

Joey

[joeyrk]

This year was most certainly the fastest of all the sixteen I went through. Last Sunday my host family dropped me off in Omaha, which was one of the most depressing moments of the whole year. On the other hand I got to see many friends I met during the year in Chicago.

After Chicago the next stop for me was Washington D.C.. Here we already had a lot of fun meeting each other and also visiting with representatives from our host states governments. 

Tonight is going to be my last night in the US and we already made it a good one, because we had a little party. Tomorrow we will be able to sleep in and then we will board the plane at 3:00 pm.

[joeyrk]

I stayed with another exchange student's host parents for two days to go to several museums, do volunteer work & go to a Yankees baseball game in Kansas City. 

The Kansas City Royals lost 4:2 but after the game there was a firework show.

[joeyrk]

I just came back from our State tournament. We did not only have a terrific season and broke many records, but also have a lot of fun in the past two months. Thank you East Mills! Also with May comes the tornado season and Iowa had a couple bad storms already. I am looking forward to my last month in the States while many of my exchange-friends are already back in their home countries. Joey

[joeyrk]

Last week we had our senior and junior prom. I had a date too. It was very different to what I am used to for dances, in germany we usually ballroom dance etc. 

[joeyrk]

So this is the closeup to my Hawai'i trip now. It was an extraordinary experience, which I did not expect. I found so many friends, I don't even remember all their names. 

The last two days were depressing because everyone wanted to stay longer but now it is over and exchange-life goes on. 

The fish on top is the national fish in Hawai'i: the Humuhumunukunukuapuwa'a - sounds like a joke, but it isn't. :D

Joey

[joeyrk]

Hawaii part 2...

On the plan on wednesday was surfing at six in the morning for the second time. Otherwise the trip took us to paradise-like beaches, Hard-Rock Café Honolulu, Pearl Harbor and a hike to the Diamond Head Mountain. Everybody came together so close in less than a week and nobody really wants to leave this fabulous place. Also this trip, so far, was very educating in the aspect of cultural diversity - the group consists of 14 different countries!

Mahalo and Aloha ♥