Life is sweet as: my first semester at Auckland Uni

By Maja Peach, University of Auckland, New Zealand

As I enjoy the remainder of the long summer between semesters, I have been reminiscing on my time during the first semester in Auckland. I thought I would write a bit about some of my most memorable moments and a little rundown of the incredible 5 months.  

July 

July was a whirlwind of meeting many new people and figuring out a new life in Auckland. I was incredibly lucky to meet so many great people within the first orientation week, including my wonderful flatmates. Classes started just over a week in and another great way to meet some more people. As an Earth Scientist, I loved the focus that my classes’ syllabuses had on New Zealand specifically so I was able to learn so much about the unique and amazing country. I think it is common to find many like-minded people on a study abroad experience as everyone has a similar interest in exploring, openness for change and new experiences. We spent our days studying or exploring new places (on days off of course ;)) and spent our evenings at societies (which are abundant and very well organised at Auckland) or going out for a social night at pubs and clubs (the viaduct area and family bar are a must). 

I joined the climbing society as another way to meet some more people and was also very interested in getting into climbing. The society is a really welcoming community with a lot of incredible climbers who all take part in helping to teach the new beginners so it is a very unintimidating space to learn. We went on the society climbing trip which happened at the very start of the semester. This was still one of the best trips I have had so far and was so much fun. We all drove down to Waipari and camped for 2 nights. We spent the day climbing and spent the evening having pizza and drinks and competing in croc fighting and bench traversing.  

August 

August was another amazing month of Auckland shenanigans and fun times as everyone had properly settled in and established very good friendships. I had my birthday in August and was surprised the morning of with an incredibly overly-decorated flat which had been carried out by my flatmates at 3am. I was surprised with streamers over all the doors, a massive balloon arch, a cocktail shaker and glasses, painting canvases and paints, a ballpit filled with balls and balloons, and a huge photo wall. It was one of the best birthdays I have celebrated and everyone made it so special so I felt very lucky and loved.  

We headed off on our mid-semester trip to South Island as well in late August. I have already written about this in much more detail in a previous blog so I won’t repeat myself again but all round an amazing trip discovering the beautiful South Island.  

September 

September was filled with more fun nights and we got very into themed parties. We had a big Barbie themed party for some friends joint birthday. So everyone had to dress as a different barbie and the costumes were very impressive as everyone really went full out.  

I spent a lot of time in the Auckland domain which was essentially our back garden. I would highly recommend anyone to go and check it out if in Auckland; it is filled with trees and flowers and also the Auckland museum and a lovely place to chill and read a book. 

I also spent a lot of time with the flat girls and our extended flat family as we had 3 girls that lived downstairs who were essentially our extra flat mates. We had cooking nights making delicious dumplings and desserts and started our flat sleepovers where we put all our mattresses in the living room and had a big slumber party. We loved studying at our favourite café in Parnell called Lala’s where the staff are so lovely and let us spend the whole day studying there.  

October 

October was again another month of fun activities and also deadlines. The flat had started a little cocktail show at the start of term called ‘Babes at the Bar’, it consisted of Luci and I as the hosts who would improvise a script every time and make up a cocktail as we went, which was always very chaotic and random but so funny. Our flatmate Emily was the camera woman and we always had the other girls as our taste-testers. We made a lot of these during October at the start of our night outs and have many episodes to look back on now! 

A big group of us girls also went on a really fun weekend away to Ruakākā where we rented an Airbnb and cars and drove down there for a beachy weekend.  

When we got back from the trip it was definitely crunch time for the deadlines and lots of days in the café writing essays and assignments. The uni at Auckland definitely has much more coursework and assignments throughout the term and then less weighting on the final exam as opposed to Manchester. 

November 

November kicked off to a strong start with the final exams whoop! So I actually ended up missing Halloween as I had an exam on the 31^st October and also the 1^st November. But I didn’t feel too sorry for myself as we had a little make-up Halloween a few days later. It seems Halloween is not that hugely celebrated either in New Zealand, as the exchange group were the only ones that fully dressed up on the night and apparently felt overdressed when they went out haha! 

Once exams were all finished a few of my girlfriends and me all went on a long weekend away up to Pukenui and Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairu). The place had a special energy to it, being such a spiritual and sacred place in New Zealand where souls leave the land and journey to the afterlife. It was also so cool to see the meeting of the Pacific and the Tasman at the northernmost point of New Zealand. 

A group of us also travelled to the Coromandel which is a beautiful area full of beaches and trees and stunning scenery. We spent our days walking and exploring and body boarding in the ocean. These last trips meant a lot to us as our amazing American friends were only there for one semester so will not be coming back again. We have all made such deep and wonderful connections and will definitely be staying in contact throughout life. Saying goodbye to people was a very emotional time but we definitely made the most of our time together and it is a semester I will never forget. 

Bring on semester 2!