Emily Barnes // University of Auckland
I’m now well in to the second half of the semester here at Auckland which is strange as all my friends back in Manchester have only just started. And to be honest, whilst I have been having an amazing time here, it has made me feel a little homesick, hearing about everyone back home reuniting after summer and doing things together whilst I’m here on the other side of the world stuck writing essays and lab reports. Over the summer it was easy to push life back at Manchester to the side as I was out here having an adventure whilst they were all either working or just chilling, all dispersed across the UK. But, now everyone is reunited back in Manchester and I’m the one left out whilst they’re all starting third year it has thrown me a little. However, I think it will just take a bit of time for me to readjust to this new normal!
Feeling homesick is something that is certain to hit everyone at some point during a year abroad, however I think it’s important to remember that in general, you’re almost definitely having a more exciting, interesting and rewarding experience than you would have had back home. I’d advise trying to keep busy when you’re feeling down, organising to meet up with people and to also plan lots of things for the upcoming week so that you’ve constantly got something to look forward to. I’ve also found video calling friends from home also helps, as it makes you feel a little more involved in uni life back home. The time difference can make this pretty funny though, as last week I videoed my friends whilst they were dressed up ready to go out, yet I’d just woken up and was eating breakfast!
Anyway, I’ve had an amazing month or so out in New Zealand since I last wrote. Mid semester break has been and gone, in which I went on a week-long field trip down to Gisborne for one of my classes. Part of the reason I came here was to learn more about coastal geography as it isn’t really offered in Manchester, so to actually go out and study wave processes in the field was really cool and interesting. We spent the week out on a shore platform working with wave pressure sensors, wading in water up to our knees at times and even got chased by a lone seal one afternoon!
The second week, I flew with a couple of friends down to Christchurch in the South Island where we picked up a car and drove it back up to Auckland. This was probably my favourite week here so far as we got to see such a diverse range of different landscapes, including snow capped mountains, volcanoes, beaches and lakes – all in one country! It was also nice to chill out for a bit after an intense first half of the semester. I’ve also been on a few weekend trips out exploring the North Island – one to Taupo, an area with lots of geothermal energy and hot springs, and out to Mt Taranaki which is a huge standalone volcano in the middle of an otherwise flat area of the west coast.
These trips have made me realise just how much there is to see and do here in New Zealand and that even with a year to explore, it’s still going to be a push to see everything I want to!