When I was originally thinking about study abroad, I thought that most of my time would be going on trips and exploring New Zealand, and classes would be important, but that wasn’t the biggest focus. Honestly, I was partially right about that, but I just finished the first step in the exam process for my classes, and it has been a very school-oriented two weeks. I turned in two of my final essays, had 4 internship interviews, and have exams in the next week and a half. Safe to say that it was a very busy two weeks. I lived in the library trying to make sure that I was still on top of everything. Part of what made this difficult was trying to make sure that while my essays were being turned in, I was still connecting with recruiters from the United States. The time changes and interview prep were a lot harder than I thought, and because I go to a much bigger school than DU, and because I’m an international student, I was unable to meet with anyone to help me prepare for these interviews.

As I said in an earlier blog post, I am an accounting major and had interviews with all of the Big 4 firms. I would do two a week and run them a day apart, which is not as much time as I would have liked to have to research the firm. After two long weeks, all my interviews, both essays turned in, I finally felt that I could relax. This was perfect timing as my flat had planned to go up to Lake Tekapo for the weekend, and I was feeling completely drained. We left late on Friday and made the 3-hour drive up the coast, and finally went inland to the mountains. The water at Lake Tekapo is known for being the bluest in all of New Zealand, and it did not disappoint. We got there so late that we just had dinner and went to bed. The next day, we made the drive out to Mt. Cook National Park, which has New Zealand’s tallest mountain in it.

Unfortunately, we had terrible weather, pouring rain, a wind warning, and the temperature was just a little above freezing (it snowed the next day). So, while our hiking plans and even seeing Mt. Cook were put on hold, we still managed to see part of the park along with the visitor center, which doubles as a full museum of the park’s history. We made the long drive back, where the weather cleared to the point of bright sunshine, and we went to Tekapo Springs, where they have heated pools that look right onto the lake, plus a sauna and steam room where we made some friends from Tasmania. They told us about their adventures all over the world and their goal of finding the most interesting sauna experiences that they could. We finished up with dinner at The Fishtail before getting prepped for our night in the dark sky reserve. Tekapo has virtually no light pollution, and people come from far and wide to see the stars. My flat and I walked out to Church of the Good by the water, where we spent the next 2 hours stargazing. We left a little before midnight when I couldn’t feel my hands or feet anymore. The next day, we made the drive back home and stopped at the most famous pie shop in New Zealand.

Now that I’ve had a weekend away, I need to start preparing for exams that start on the 31^st. Before I have to sit for anything, I’ll be driving up to Christchurch with my two friends, Asha and Josh, so that we can work on a goat and fruit tree farm for the week. But that is a blog post for later in the week. Until next time!