New Zealand
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Settling in at The University of Otago – the magic of UniFlats
Kara Dillon – The University of Otago, New Zealand Moving so far away from home can be daunting in itself, but having to navigate a completely a new life and make new friends in an unfamiliar place can seem an even bigger and scarier challenge. However, my experience of moving to Dunedin and settling in at The University of Otago couldn’t have been any easier due to the help of UniFlats! UniFlats is the accommodation provider which most international students will use when coming to study abroad here at Otago. Not only do they provide fully furnished accommodation which includes kitchenware and bedding, but they also organise events throughout the…
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Travelling Alone for the First Time
Kara Dillon – University of Otago Whether you are a frequent traveller or never travelled before, flying or travelling alone can be a daunting experience. Before making my way across the world to begin my adventure here in Dunedin, New Zealand, I had never flown anywhere by myself. So, the initial thought of spending almost 40 hours travelling and navigating my way through three international airports, seemed almost impossible to me – especially as someone who usually relies on their family to lead the way on every holiday! Despite my fears and apprehensions, I did in fact make it all the way to New Zealand. Reflecting on my journey, it…
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A summer spent in New Zealand pt.2
By Maja Peach, University of Auckland, New Zealand Hello! I have decided to centre this blog around the rest of my summer experiences during my Nov-March break in New Zealand. In my last blog I wrote about my first workaway and roadtrip around the South Island. This blog will pick up from Christmas Eve where I started my solo adventures and began another workaway on my own.
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Summer road tripping through New Zealand: your sign to stay abroad for Christmas
By Maja Peach, University of Auckland, New Zealand Hello! It has been a while since my last blog, and I thought I would pick back up with reminiscing on my incredible summer in New Zealand. This blog is going to dive into the very start of my summer where I experienced my first workaway and a fabulous road trip through the South Island…
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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.
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A spring break full of South Island
By Maja Peach, University of Auckland, New Zealand Away to the South Island we go! As we are reaching the end of first semester, I thought I would reflect back on our spring break road trip back in August. A group of 10 of my friends decided to hire a van and embark on an adventure around the South Island.
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Campervanning New Zealand
By Nicole Dann, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia If there’s one thing to put on your bucket list while on your year abroad in Australia, it is to campervan around New Zealand, specifically South Island. If you’ve seen Lord of the Rings, you’ll know that this tiny island is home to the most breath-taking and beautiful landscapes. My expectations were high yet, I was still in absolute awe. I thought I’d missed my chance to go before my time was up down under, however I was given a last-minute opportunity to fill in a spot with some course mates from Manchester and it turned out to be one of the…
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First week living in New Zealand: pre-departure tips and first impressions
By Maja Peach, University of Auckland, New Zealand One week into living in Auckland and it has been even better than I had expected, with so many opportunities to meet people from all over the world and start experiencing life in New Zealand together. The first week has been filled with making friends, discovering the city, orientation activities, and even a boat trip to a nearby seaside village. I thought I’d start by writing about my tips for what to prepare before leaving and detail some of the highlights of the first week!
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Dealing with the temporary nature of studying abroad
By Emma Colson, University of Auckland, New Zealand Studying abroad is so exciting for so many different reasons, but one anxiety I could not get rid of until I got here was the worry I wouldn’t make any friends. It seems ridiculous now, but it was a real thought in the back of my head – what if I’m on the other side of the world and I don’t really click with anyone? Fast forward 4 months and now my worry is that I’m not going to see those friends for an indefinite period of time after spending day-in-day-out with them for months. That is the temporary nature of…
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Insights into Student Life in New Zealand
By Emma Colson, University of Auckland, New Zealand For me, one of the hardest parts of the application to study abroad was choosing the 10 countries/ universities to put down and even harder, to choose a top 3. The University of Auckland was my third choice, but having been here for over 3 months, I couldn’t be happier that I was allocated here. Having said that, before coming, I had little to no knowledge about the university or the country, so for those interested in what New Zealand has to offer I hope my experience will help you.
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Study v Abroad: How I’m balancing university and travelling
by Emma Colson, University of Auckland, New Zealand If you’re anything like me, the main motivation to studying abroad is to travel and explore another country. Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity to do this, but being a student, the commitment to studying means we can’t run around the country free rein as much as we’d love to. It goes without saying that university has to take priority, but that doesn’t mean you can’t free some time to appreciate the country you’re in without falling behind. So, I thought I’d share my experience so far of how I’ve balanced the two, and some tips on how to get the best…
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The Manc Student: An Unexpected Journey (post-uni travelling)
…A brief account of my journey to Middle Earth (aka. New Zealand, aka. land of beautiful mountains)… Most study abroad students, it seems, save at least a few weeks post-exams (after the official study abroad period) to travel. And why not! Having travelled so far to a place like Australia, NZ was temptation too great to resist. One of my best friends from primary school, Joel, lived in Wellington at the time I studied abroad, so before i’d even left for Australia we planned a grand tour of NZ south island for the weeks after my time at UQ had finished. We arranged the trip with a company called kiwi…
