Tag: New Zealand

Two Months In New Zealand

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studying abroad • 6 July 2024 – 6 september 2024

It has been two months since I arrived in New Zealand! What a great time it has been. I have struggled to begin writing this blog because I am uncertain how to properly convey the degree of deep significance this experience now holds for me. I have been fortunate enough to have filled every weekend here with a different and unique adventure that has led me to meet incredible people from far and wide. Each experience has given me the ability to grow in ways I did not foresee as an option before landing in New Zealand. To prevent this blog from dragging on I will begin sharing some of my favorite things about my time here as well as ways in which my perspectives have shifted.

Dunedin!

The University of Otago is the most southern campus in the world, and the weather has not failed to prove this! I arrived here in the Winter and it is fortunately now transitioning to Spring. The days have gotten 120 minutes longer over the past two months and the temperatures have increased marginally. I am looking forward to the coming months for less cold, windy, rainy days and more sun! The ocean waters are pretty cold but have made for some great polar plunges.

Campus life is vibrant and has provided a strong sense of energy flow no matter where you are in the university. There are many small food shops around the campus that have become some of my favorites. To name a few: Poke restaurant on King Street offers the most frequent purchase of the best $6 rice balls! Veggie Boys has the cheapest avocados and eggs and other necessities. The Good Earth Cafe has fantastic hot chocolate and coffee and makes for a wonderful study spot. Lastly, Rob Roy ice cream gives two scoops for $4 ($2.50 US!) and has become a staple in my friend and I’s daily itineraries.

The Botanical Gardens are adjacent to my flat and have allowed for some very peaceful morning walks. As the weather transitions more towards Spring they are beginning to explode with color and good smells. Signal Hill is also next to my flat which makes for hard yet fulfilling trail running and scenery. Mount Cargill, the Pineapple track, and walks along the Peninsula are a short drive away from campus and give you a good mix of beach strolling and hill walking.

The architecture here has a diverse blend of historical sights and buildings with a more modern feel. There are beautiful churches and the train station is stunning. The station is also home to the Saturday farmer’s market that I love. Dunedin is also recognized for having the world’s steepest road!

Some of my favorite moments

It is very strange looking back on the first half of this journey to see the things I have done, almost all of which I did not anticipate to have under my belt at this point. I have dove deep into the outdoor culture that New Zealand has to offer. Whether it be short hikes around Dunedin, or tramps deep into the backcountry of the Southern Alps. I’ve been able to ski at the Remarkables Ski Resort in Queenstown which was brilliant. Skiing down the moment with nothing else on my mind but the current moment in time was surreal. Aside from the stunning views, being able to ski at one of New Zealand’s most well known resorts was one for the books. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting random people on trips, and I now cherish the hour-long conversations I’ve had with them, as it turned out that those conversations were often the first and last. There are too many captivating people in this world! Whether it be late nights with friends playing board games or arbitrary conversations, these are some of the more valuable times. The little experiences don’t compete as far as pictures and videos go with the big trips, but they definitely hold the most weight. Aside from the multitude of weekend trips and incredible adventures, some other favorite moments have come from spending time amongst myself. Being able to write these blogs, journal, navigate my life in the kitchen for the first time, running/gym, shopping, reading and so much more have begun to propel me one step closer into the real world and I so heavily appreciate these things as they happen in real time.

insights

Energy and the way that it operates in my life has become much more prevalent since arriving. I strongly believe in the role that energy plays which can generally be described as what you put out must come back. Karma has become my best and worst friend. It has been so rewarding being around people that share endless energy in the form of desire to get out there and tackle the world. This experience has taught me the power in wielding my energy in such a precise way that yields benefit for myself and for those around me. For example, planning a trip is something that requires energy not only for myself but equally for those around me. The importance of balancing this energy becomes a little more like second nature as each day has passed.

Environment change and uncomfortability have been the second and likely most eye opening part of my time here. I’ve stated in prior blogs that cliches exist for a reason, and this is another one of those times. The simple act of physically changing my scenery has given me such a boost of desire, ambition, and aspiration in the many different facets of my life. Upon day one of arriving I felt such an influx of energy to put towards the areas of my life that I knew needed change, or the areas that had been lacking the proper attention for the many months prior. Forcing myself into the uncomfortable state of flipping my environment on top of itself has pushed me to limits I wouldn’t have recognized otherwise. Witnessing my daily habits adapt into something that was now grounded on reaching my fullest potential each and every day is something that I’ve come to learn is only possible by facing the difficulties and beauties of simply changing my environment.

Travel and its underlying impacts will be something that sticks with me for the rest of my life. I have found so much power that is held from breaking free of a stagnant lifestyle and redirect that energy towards the experiences that come from travel. I have felt as if I am living a constant vacation with a part-time job during the week (both of which I am ironically paying for). My mind has felt so free through the various different aspects of travel. Living life without worrying about the stresses and focusing on the memories is something I hope to never take for granted.

My goal for the remaining several months is paradoxical, but it is to have no goals. To continue letting life take me wherever it it meant to go, that’s it!

Hope you’ve enjoyed, photos and videos below!

THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER

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Arriving in Dunedin, New Zealand • 6 July 2024 –10 July 2024

How does one prepare for a months-long solo adventure? What is the proper way to plan in advance? Rather, should you plan in advance? Should you pack less? More? What is the first thing I am meant to do upon arrival? These are just several questions that were racing through my mind in the many weeks and days before I officially departed from the US. Given the countless directions that these questions have taken my mind, the most efficient conclusion I have drawn is to just catch the current wherever it may take me. There are no correct answers through this entire process.

Forcing myself to be alone and navigate every day without any type of backboard to bounce off of has produced too unique of feelings to explain unless encountered by yourself. However, I can elaborate on what it has taught me and the mindset shifts it has allowed me to embrace. For lack of a better word, walking around in a completely new city is rather humbling. Nobody knows you nor does anybody really care to initiate any sort of unprovoked contact. Nobody approaches you to tell you where to get your food. Nobody approaches you to tell you what the best mode of transportation is. Nobody approaches you to give you any reassurance that you’ll figure it out. This has taught me what it truly feels like to be absolutely free- not in the physical sense- but mentally free in a manner I would never have experienced otherwise. I am forced, and by forced I truly mean involuntarily thrown into a completely new society where being proactive is not a recommendation.

A proverb that has been recycling itself through my mind when reacting to these everyday experiences has been “the world is your oyster.” This proverb is such a landing spot for humans in times of decision making, but what does it really imply? Truth be told, there are a myriad of interpretations and meanings derived from this proverb. It was first seen in Shakespeare’s 1602 play “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and Aliya Uteuova, an outstanding journalist graduate student from the University of Maine, also took part in this analysis. After several interviews and exploration from sources of different backgrounds, she drew two conclusions. What was most commonly shared was the idea that “opportunities await for those people who take advantage of them and make opportunities for that to happen,” which was also compounded with Aliya’s own opinion that “the gray, unattractive body is delicious and beautiful to those who understand the worth of this calcium and iron rich protein.”

When deciphering upon these judgments for myself, I have begun to apply them and hope to consistently apply them during my time abroad. I can choose to call myself a fool for traveling to an island completely solo, or I can choose to view this as one of the greatest opportunities that life has ever given me. What I do know is how beautiful the opportunities are that await even though it seems as if I am trapped in a lonely abyss. Every uncomfortable moment yields such profound newness. Embracing this, alongside the lack of direction, has enabled me to take full control over a life so fortunate to live as I could ever have hoped for. There is insecurity to not knowing exactly what awaits, however the mindsets I have begun to apply consist as follows:

  1. Walking to events alone is OK- you will meet the people you are meant to meet, do not force these interactions because those around you that are meant to enter your realm will enter your realm. Meeting people to navigate all of the opportunities is not an if, but a when.
  2. I know that I will have less “fun” than those who have immediate connections & people to exchange energy with. However, my “fun” will ultimately come from finding my true self along this journey and embracing the long-term growth that comes from not having immediate social outlets.
  3. It is cliche to say that uncomfortability breeds growth. It is cliche to say that change is difficult but beneficial. However, cliches are overused because they. are. true. Everything that is occurring on this journey has been navigated by somebody else, and they have all succeeded in some way.

My time here in Dunedin is finite which only amplifies my excitement waking up every day knowing the opportunities that I will choose to let guide me. Albert Einstein shares the message that “wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” Meeting every opportunity when provided to me during my time here is exactly the path that will further me towards a heightened state of wisdom to wield in a world so ever-changing and unpredictable. The ability to learn this wisdom cannot be accomplished without failure, which is why I must proceed with committing myself to this unpredictable journey!