New Zealand: And the Adventures Continue

I can’t believe how fast the time has gone! It seems like just yesterday I was flying over here to New Zealand and now I only have two weeks left of classes! Mid semester break came and went in the blink of an eye, but the weather was perfect and the views were breathtaking. I had never seen water so blue and so clear, and I had missed the tropical heat and humidity so much. It was a great break from the Dunedin winter. Not only did my friends and I stay in a beach fale, but we also got to see some of the cool sights throughout the island. We visited an ocean trench, cave pools, waterfalls, and the city market place where we bought some authentic Samoan souvenirs.

Although we had to say goodbye to the warm, tropical, summer weather in Samoa, we came back to Dunedin and celebrated my birthday. It was really strange not being with my family on my birthday, especially since the always come up and visit me at school and take me out to a nice dinner. They did however, send me a birthday gift that consisted of chocolates and a bottle of champagne. I have to say it almost made up for the fact that I hadn’t seen them for 3 months, and I wasn’t going to see them for another 2. Carrying on with my birthday festivities, my New Zealand friends and I went out for a Mexican dinner (which is my favorite), and then my flatmates nd I came back and had some cookies and cream ice cream cake that was another birthday gift! The rest of the week was filled with the usual school work but some more birthday celebration with my kiwi host’s friend’s (who happens to share the same birthday as me) birthday party!

My usual weekend adventures continued on with a tour of the Speight’s factory, which is a New Zealand brewing company, a visit to Slope Point, the southernmost point in New Zealand (which is surprisingly pretty far from the South Pole), a hike to the famous Nugget Point Light House, a quick visit to the Purakaunui falls hidden in the Catlans, a trip to Tunnel Beach, and one of my favorite adventures to this day… Skydiving! Skydiving is something I had been wanting to do since my 18th birthday, and since my 20th birthday had just passed and I was in New Zealand, I figured this was my opportunity. I have to admit as I was sitting in the plane and my skydiving instructor secured me for the jump, I was internally panicking. As the door to the plane open, letting the cold air in I knew that I just had to embrace the fact that I was going to jump out of a plane and free fall for 45 seconds from 12,000ft up in the air. On the count of three, my instructor shoved us out of the plane, we did a complete flip before facing down and letting the force of the wind push my arms up, stretch my cheeks, and give me the feeling like I was floating through the sky! I was probably one of the most exhilarating and breathtaking experiences of my life!

I am having the time of my life here in New Zealand by experiencing things outside of my comfort zone, and taking part in activities that I can’t do back home in Miami. While I do miss my family and friends back home, it is definitely going to be hard to say goodbye to the home I’ve made here in Dunedin.