23 years old, well traveled, but still a bit green behind her ears, Swiss-born chocolate-obsessed Olivia is hungry for more and leaves her perfectly organised life behind to start from scratch.

She decides to enroll in a Tourism diploma program in a country where there are fifteen times more sheep than people, they have ice cream called "goody goody gum drop", where central heating is replaced by electric blankets and Xmas is celebrated in summer. The idea sounds exciting and fun. And absolutely insane.

Far away from home and all by herself, she soon realizes that traveling through a country and living there are two completely different shoes. Being separated from her familiar environment and social circle makes her try harder and she achieves things she only dreamed of back home. Such as running a Marathon, tramping around Stewart Island for eleven days by herself or completing a degree in her fifth language with receiving three awards along the way.

Olivia adapts to the relaxed Kiwi attitude and at the same time learns to respect her upbringing. She starts losing up and doing things the Kiwi way: Walking around barefoot and have loads of BBQs in summer, supporting the mighty All Blacks, moan about Australians and watch DIY TV shows.

Make yourself a hot chocolate and blob on your couch to read about the life of a young and not quite grown up Swiss Miss that undertakes some serious soul searching in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Have you ever dreamed of traveling around the world? Do you wonder what life on board a freighter is like? What do I do all day? Do I fit the psychological profile of a freighter traveler? What kind of electric plug do I need? What is it like to be on the bridge and watch the captain and pilot maneuver our ship into port? Do they speak English? Will I get seasick?

Around the World by Freighter tells you all this and so much more in day-by-day detail.

Would you delight in watching a group of Polynesian women line dancing in Tahiti? How about wandering through Singapore's Chinatown at midnight? Sit back and travel hour by hour through the Panama Canal. You might prefer seeing London from a double-decker bus. Would you refuse a cabin search by a Saudi Arabian Customs official?

Around the World by Freighter travels 31,184 miles to all these locations and many more.

Have you ever wondered why we can't drink sea water? What is an antipode? If only there were a simple explanation of latitude and longitude. What does our weather look like when viewed from the moon? Did Amerigo Vespucci really discover America? What is it like to travel through the center of the earth and for that matter, where did our earth come from?

Around the World by Freighter's School Days will answer these and countless other questions.

This is a book for potential freighter travelers, armchair travelers, and anyone interested in basic facts about our world. It is a detailed, light-hearted account of a trip around the world on a modern container ship. As a bonus, on those dull days at sea, you will learn some interesting trivia about our planet. On your return home from this world trip you will comfortably be able to say " been there, done that, learned this."

Being mugged at knife-point by a friendly taxi driver; suffering from frostbite on various appendages; being mauled by some of the many ravenous stray packs of dogs which roam the nation; attending weddings, hunting expeditions and beauty pageants - discover these and more mis-adventures which befell the author during his 10-month jaunt across the largest, most intriguing and exasperating country in world. Unearth for yourself the untold joys of Russia's very own International Women's Day, Maslenitsa and New Year's Eve celebrations, in a journey which stretches from Vladivostock to Murmansk, and takes in the history, architecture and customs of over 30 towns and cities en route, and includes a special detour section through China and Mongolia.

Reading this book is designed to give both a humorous and factual insight into the land down under thus enlightening the reader to this very different part of the world.

This is not just another book extolling the virtues of Australia. Rather it is a series of stories written by an Australian. The stories give a concise view of life in Australia and include information on the geography, climate, animals, people, major points of interest and culture.

Australia is a country comprising a whole continent and as such it was essentially cut off from the rest of the world until not much more than 200 years ago. That enabled the oldest living culture, the Australian Aboriginals, to survive and thrive and, since colonisation by Britain in 1788, we now see a nation that has the descendants of that ancient Aboriginal culture living alongside people from all over the world. Australia is now both an ancient and a modern society with a living standard amongst the highest in the world - and our "fair go" culture plays a very large role in that achievement. Fiercely independent and democratic, Australia and Australians are indeed unique.

I trust you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it, and maybe you will join the many millions of people who visit Australia every year!.