I spent this past weekend in Wellington. After finding incredibly cheap flights with Air New Zealand, Max and I decided to spend a few days in the capital of New Zealand. Flying into the city was absolutely beautiful. Situated on a hilly peninsula at the southernmost part of the North Island, the city of …
Tag Archives: Oceania/New Zealand
Combined Christian Ball – The CCB
I wanted to grow. I wanted to be pushed. I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone. Those are a few of the many reasons I chose to study abroad. It’s funny how quickly I forget them on a day-to-day basis… Several of my friends from Church and Bible study had been bugging …
Marae Visit
This past weekend I went on another IES excursion – a must do for anyone visiting New Zealand and wishing to learn about the culture and people. With other IES students we stayed out at a marae. A marae refers to “meeting grounds” and is central to all Maori communities in New Zealand. The marae …
Queenstown
I am always down for a road trip. Being stuck in a car with people, watching scenery go by out a car window, listening to endless playlists – to me it’s a sign of a good time. This past weekend I traveled with Max, three other American students, and two Canadian students (who had a …
Cass Field Station
Coming back from the Cook Islands I still had another week without class. However I had a field trip for one of my classes, Bio 375, Freshwater Ecology. The field trip was four days and took the entire class to the University’s field station at Cass up in the Southern Alps. We stayed in a …
Vacation from a Vacation
So IES has a little secret. They arrange a field-trip vacation for you over your mid-semester break. When I registered for my study abroad semester in New Zealand I was not aware of this. However, that made the realization all the more exciting when I was told that for my break I would be going …
My Home away from Home
“You have to taste a culture to understand it.” – Deborah Cater I would definitely agree with Deborah on that point. Food is an integral part to a culture, as well as sharing time around a table and being with family. In Christchurch I have enjoyed a homestay with a Kiwi family. Renee, my “Mom” …
Campus Church and Uni-Connect
It was 4:40pm on Sunday and Max and I had just gotten back to Christchurch after an exhausting weekend in central south island for IES orientation. I was exhausted and I wanted to sleep – but Max pressured me to go to church with him. The church service was at 5pm and gathered in “The Foundry” …
I See UC
As a student of Hope College, I have always wondered what that “big school” experience was like. I wanted to know what it was like to have a massive campus, to find my way to class in the maze of a small academic city, and to share a school with thousands of other students. Thanks to …
Abel Tasman – The Great Walkers
This past weekend I was a bit of a rebel – I decided to leave Thursday night and travel to Nelson, on the northernmost part of the southern island with some friends. Did I skip school Friday? Well, yes I did, but I was getting a different kind of education! How this came about was …
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