It might be too early to reflect on my experience on the whole-I certainly expect Australia to be a big part of that too-but I don't think it's too early to reflect on some of the individual experiences that I have had here in New Zealand.
I am really proud of everything that I have been able to see here in New Zealand. With a country as small as New Zealand, it would seem easy to see it all. And certainly it is a lot easier here than in most countries. But it is still by no means easy. I probably saw a lot more than most of the people that studied abroad with me, in a lot less time. While many of them will be staying here until the holidays, I have the luxury of being able to go home early without feeling that I could have done more. In fact that was part of my strategy. If I ever wanted to come back, there is plenty that I could still do.
Things I wanted to do before that I ended up doing:
Marlborough Wine Region
Queenstown
Surf
Zorb
Hangi
While this list may look awfully short, I think thats because I didn't know what to expect coming in.
Things I did that I didn't expect:
Bay of Islands (by far my favorite North Island spot)
Bungy (Never thought I would do it)
Glacier hike
Thermal Pools
Caves
With all of that said, I could definitely make another trip here. I think there is a lot of the world that I would want to see first, but there is plenty left for me to do here. Not surprisingly, much of it is the more expensive experiences...
Fly fishing in Taupo
Golf Cape Kidnappers
Take the Tranz-Alpine train from Greymouth to Christchurch
Skydive Fox Glacier
Dunedin
I've said it the whole trip, but I don't think that any one feature of New Zealand (geologically) is unique. But it is such a unique country. Why? Because where else in the world can you find all of this in a country this size? Nowhere. And I say that with much confidence. It's amazing that a country this small can hold so much beauty and different terrain.
Here are some answers to questions you may have about New Zealand:
Favorite city?
Wellington would be the place that I would most like to live, but it gets boring as a visitor the fourth time you go. As a visitor, Queenstown really lives up to the hype. There's so much to do-it's a one-stop-shop New Zealand.
Favorite activity?
The Cape Reinga bus tour. It really included every aspect of New Zealand. Scenery. Ocean. Extreme sport. Sheep. Fish and chips. Maori culture. It was all there.
Favorite destination?
South Island was awesome, but I think Bay of Islands takes the cake here. Best weekend trip in New Zealand in my opinion. Two and a half days, and you can really see it all. Unfortunately we only had two.
Biggest differences in school?
I think that if I were putting in 100% effort, (which admittedly I'm not because I'm pass failing all four classes) I would numerically be getting the same grades that I get at Furman. The difference is the letters that correspond with those numbers. 75 is an A-? Get me this grading scale at Furman! I would have a 4.0.
Biggest cultural difference?
New Zealand is a bilingual country. So everything is written in Te Reo as well as English. There weren't a ton of cultural differences, but this stood out, especially on campus.
Best food?
This was probably the biggest letdown of New Zealand. The food just is not that much different from the US. Less pork. More potatoes. Thats about it. One nice thing though is the quality of fast food. You don't feel as gross eating it because New Zealand actually has quality control standards. US could learn a thing or two...
Where to next?
I really want to do Thailand. I tried to make it happen while I was here, but it just didn't make logistical sense. In the end, I'm happy with how I did it all. But I am still insanely jealous of my friends that made it to Thailand. Doing the whole Europe thing is probably in the fold as well.
I will reflect on the greater experience on the whole once I get back stateside. But figured I would wet your whistle with this. Sorry about the word vomiting!
Wilson
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