In 34 days, down to the minute, I will be on an airplane on my way to Auckland, New Zealand. I will begin, what I expect to be possibly the best four and a half months of my life.
Let me explain, I am spending a semester at the University of Auckland, through The Education Abroad Network's Study New Zealand program. Although I will have the support of this program, I will be attending the home university there as well as living with Kiwis (a nickname for New Zealanders) and other international students. I chose to go to New Zealand, rather than Germany as I was originally intending because I wanted to truly be immersed into a culture. I did not want a study abroad experience in which I would simply be with 30 other Americans, in a particular country, taking classes in English. I wanted to live with the native people, study with them. I did not want to just feel as if I was on an extended vacation for which I was being awarded credit by my home institution, Drake University, but rather to feel like I truly was a student at that university. New Zealand offers me a diverse, different culture from the U.S. It is a blend of European, British and Asian. Few know that New Zealand culture is, in fact, different from Australian culture—they take that very seriously.
Why Auckland? I figured, if I'm going for a different experience, let's make it truly different. Auckland is New Zealand's biggest city, with a population of 1.4 million. Moreover, the Uni there is the biggest in the country and quite unlike Drake's. Whereas I am used to an undergraduate population of approximately 3,800 at Drake, with class sizes usually ranging from 6 (any of my Rhetorical Criticism buddies out there reading this?) to 20. At the University of Auckland, they have 28,000 undergraduates and hundreds of people in their classes. I will admit, I'm a bit nervous, perhaps scared even, but I am up to the challenge.
Back to my paperwork journey to get to New Zealand. I think, I'm crossing my fingers anyway, that I only have one last paper to submit before I can study abroad. I had no idea how much paperwork this would be! But, according to the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, D.C. my student visa (which will be exchanged for a student permit that allows me to study in New Zealand, once I enter the country) and my passport will be on its way back to me. Thank goodness! So, as I began, the countdown stands. I have no idea what I will have waiting for me when I get there, other than an awesome five day orientation from my study abroad program. But what I do know, is that I can't wait to find out!
