I have learned so much since I have been in
New Zealand. Every day I understand something newabout this culture or about
myself. I've learned I am more independent than I ever thought before, making
choices to better myself in many aspects of my life. From reading my blog it
may seem like I'm going on adventures every day, that's because I am. Every day
that I am abroad is a whole new adventure in itself, filled with opportunities.
I don't have to leave Dunedin to experience new and exciting things, although I
do go on weekend trips quite often. I'm not even half way done with the
semester, but I can say if you every have an opportunity like this--take it
with both hands.
The semester is approaching the halfway
mark and everything seems to be due at the same time. My first lab report
supplied me with a big wake-up call. I have always been a bright student and excelling in my science labs, but things a wee bit different here. One of the
biggest differences I have noticed is the amount of writing expected in health
science courses here is considerably more than in the states. My major has not
prepared me for the type of academic writing that is expected here, but I’m
learning. The kiwi accent is one of my favourites, but some of the words are
hard to get over. In the states we call the smallest blood vessel in the body a CAPillary
but here it is called capILLary. Also, ischemia is iSHemia which cracks me up
every time. I probably sound ridiculous when I speak medical terminology in
class, but that’s okay I’m the American girl who forgets her height in centimeters anyways.
Classes have been going pretty well, I have to develop an exercise program and
present a case study for my final projects in two of my classes. These are both
things I have done in previous classes but it is wonderful how a new
perspective can teach you so much.
After being here for a while I realized that New Zealand doesn't really have a specific "cuisine", everything is pretty westernized. There is however a ton of seafood, given our location. I tried squid for the first time--actually pretty delicious!
There is also this... That I will not be trying. Marmite is New Zealand's Vegemite.
I attended my first rugby game recently, Go Highlanders! It was pretty awesome to experience this here in New Zealand.
The student section is called "the zoo" and people will dress up as animals.
As for my most recent trip, I have now
completed one of nine Great Walks in New Zealand! Melissa, Noelle and I finished
a 60km track around the Te Anau area. It was much more physically demanding than I had
anticipated, but oh so worth it! We backpacked the entire thing and I have
never felt a bigger sense of accomplishment. Here is our experience...
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| And so the journey begins! |
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| I met a sheep farmer on the way to Broad Bay. He told me all about his 10,000 sheep, I also had a lot of questions! |
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| Campsite at Broad Bay |
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| Broad Bay |
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| We left camp at 6:30 a.m. the next day to start our 10 hour hike to Iris Burn Campsite |
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| Couldn't see much until there was a break in the trees, and we realized we were above the clouds. |
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| Finally made it to tree line! |
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| The Fiordlands (where this track is located) get a lot of rain and have fragile flora, so we saw a lot of these walk ways throughout out journey. |
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| They don't call this the walk above the clouds for nothing... |
Luxmore Hut, you can sleep here for around $50/night but we just stopped for a quick break.
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| This bee was gigantic, I was terrified. |
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| This helicopter dropped two people off at the hut and then took off. |
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| This leads down to Luxmore Cave, a really sweet side trail |
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You can look, but don't touch. These were similar to the caves I went repelling in up in Rotorua.
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| Noelle and Melissa checking out the cave | | | | | |
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| And the journey continues... |
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| You can't beat this lunch spot with these people! Yes, that is a toilet as well. |
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| Have you experienced serenity? |
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| That's me, and I did THAT! |
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| We passed two of these emergency shelters along the way. |
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| Weather can get gnarly out here, especially in the winter. |
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| Up and back down in one day |
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| These trees were just the darnedest things |
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| Little bit of a landslide |
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| The Big Slip |
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| So many ferns |
So much green...
This is the back-country hut we stayed at for our third and final night
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| Inside of the hut we stayed in on our last night |
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| Shallow Bay |
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| Water like glass |
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| This swing bridge was just what I needed |
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| The last bridge to civilization |
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| We made it, some how..some way, all 60km |
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| Kepler (check) |
CHEERS!
CA
