As my time in New Zealand is dwindling down, I have had lots of time in between finals to reflect on these months at the University of Otago.
Although I am very open about the struggles I have had here, I believe that everything happens with a purpose or at the very least, one can always learn from every experience they have. No, New Zealand is not my dream location in this world, I have had the great opportunities to see amazing things and experience cultures that are massively different to those I am used to back in America.
Something that astounds me is the period of time given to complete finals here at the University of Otago. The examination period stretches from October 17- November 12! This is quite a long time in comparison to Rollins College back home where I complete 4 finals in a week and a half! While this excess amount of time has been great for relaxing (and hopefully one last trip in about a week to see Mt. Cook and Lake Tekapo – some of New Zealand’s most desired spots to visit when traveling here), I have felt time slow down as my days are fairly open in schedule. I have filled my time with a lot of trips to the gym, hot yoga, visiting Dunedin museums, as well as some Netflix binge watching that I am not ashamed to admit!
As I prepare for my last two finals, I think about what I can learn from my academics here at the University of Otago. For one, I never again will take Rollins’ small class sizes for granted ever again! I only got to become familiar with one of my professors here to the point where he knew my name and it was only because I was struggling so much with the content and came in frequently for extra help. I found this incredibly strange and while on the one hand, I do not expect one person to know hundreds of students personally, it is simply what I have been used to since I started school in kindergarten. Another thing that I have learned is to not underestimate the power of your voice as a student. I am well aware that I am the black sheep here in terms of not having the most amazing study abroad experience that makes me want to rave about my time here. I am notoriously known as the one who when asked about my experience, I hesitate and give a disappointing “Well…”. In being this person, I have been contacted by MANY people wanting to hear about what went wrong with my experience so that my feedback could hopefully solve future issues for more students coming to study abroad. I have never felt like my opinion has mattered so much and this has proven that more critical, or sometimes negative, feedback can be the most important feedback given.
My next, and last, blog post I plan to hit my top highs and lows of studying abroad here with a list of advice to future students who are searching for where they would like to study abroad!