This past weekend was amazing in more ways than one. There was an organized road trip to Dunedin, which is 5 hours south of Lincoln University. You'd be surprised how far 5 hours takes you on such a small island. We were almost near the most southern point of New Zealand. Again, blows my mind to think about where I am geographically; I don't think I'll ever get over it. We stayed in a hostile in the very center of the city so we were able to walk to just about e...

Last weekend was amazing and I am really looking forward to this coming weekend! Over the few weeks I have been here, a group of 3 other girls from CSU and I have gotten to know some of the Kiwi students. Last weekend we went with the Kiwi students to Akoroa, which is a small French town on the eastern coast. It was absolutely beautiful. On the way there, which is about an hour drive, we stopped at the first sign of the coast. This was the first time I had seen t...

We started classes yesterday and I think it is safe to say I underestimated the difficulty of taking classes in New Zealand. Luckily, the classes are small and the professors are overly generous with their willingness to help the international students (still can't believe I'm studying internationally, wow!). I am taking mostly sociolgy courses and, of course, wine 101. The sociology courses I am taking are upper level and focused primarily on New Zealand current...

It's only day three of being in New Zealand but I already feel as if I have been here for weeks. Settling in has been way easier than expected and I already feel like I know the majority of the international students. Many of the NZ students don't arrive until this weekend because they are still on "holiday". Those that I have met, though, are so welcoming and friendly. This morning I walked into town, which consists of only a post office, pub, and grocery store...

I still haven't wrapped my head around the reality of being in New Zealand, but I have been here for almost a full 24 hours now. We got to campus yesterday around 11:30 am on Julyl 3rd (4:30pm on July 2nd Colorado time). It scares me to think that I am so far ahead "in the future" so I just consider home to be six hours ahead... It's easier to figure out the time difference that way too. My cabin, or "flat" as they call it here, is a five minute walk from the ce...