Student Bloggers

Kia Ora! Greetings from Dunedin. After a seamless string of flights from Madison to Chicago to Los Angeles to Auckland….I arrived in New Zealand on February 16th! It’s weird to think that February 15th, 2017 never existed for me and never will due to the time change I experienced flying over. Oh well.
In Auckland, I met up with my orientation group: about 50 other young people just as clueless and curious as I was. We explored the city and humiliatingly tried to test out our Kiwi accents. It rained the entire time we were there, but that never took away the splendor, only made for a bad hair day... or three. We went to the beach and swam in the ocean. To you that might not seem like a big deal, but it was quite magical for me to be honest.

After a day in Auckland, we traveled a bit south to Rotorua, a town famous for its geothermal landscape and rich Maori culture (Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand). We stopped to see an Agrodome farm show, which consisted of sheep shearing and cool herding dogs. It made me want to find a nice young sheep farmer to marry and just stay in New Zealand forever. We also stopped for a guided tour at Rainbow Springs, which is just as magical as is sounds. There, beautiful clear ponds were teeming with life and I saw a KIWI! Not the fruit, not the nickname for New Zealand people, but a real life Kiwi Bird. Pretty cute. That night we soaked in some natural hot springs at the edge of Lake Rotorua.

The next day we went to Waiotapu, a breathtaking (and super smelly) geothermal park. I witnessed the Lady Knox geyser erupt. No big deal, but Knox is my last name so it was probably destiny. The geology of the area was extremely ancient and majestic: boiling mud, bright green pools, weird sounds and smells. Some of the sounds even made it into The Lord of the Rings Mount Doom scenes. After that sensory overload, the group headed to a big hill where we got into plastic balls and raced down the hill. New Zealand is weird, right? It’s called Zorbing! Take a peek.

What happened that night was probably my favorite part of orientation. We traveled to the Tamaki Maori Village and received a Maori welcome, watched traditional Maori song and dance, and ate a traditional meal prepared under the earth. Experiencing a little slice of this rich culture was beautiful, not to mention the delicious food. A common New Zealand dessert is Pavlova, similar to lemon meringue pie topped with whipped cream and peach slices. YES PLEASE.

The next morning, we got up early to catch our plane to Dunedin--the final stop. We arrived in the afternoon heat and were each dropped off at our flat of residence. All of the sudden I was walking into the place I now get to call home for the next four months! I almost forgot that I am supposed to be studying here, not just having fun. I’m not sure if I’ve truly realized where I am yet. These things often take time to sink in... I’ll keep you posted!