Category: New Zealand: TEAN at Otago

This past weekend I traveled to Mount Cook where I hiked the Hooker Valley Track and visited Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo. It was one of the best weekends of my life. I have never been so in love with New Zealand as I am now. When I woke up on Saturday, I woke up…

About a month ago I tried out for the women’s intermural basketball team and ended up making the varsity women’s basketball team here! This has by far turned out to be the most positive, fun, and phenomenal experience I could have ever wished for while studying abroad in New Zealand! Joining the Otago University (OU)…

I just recently returned from Thailand where I spent my “fall” break in Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phi Phi, and Phuket. The past week and a half that I spent in Thailand were some of the best days of my life! Prior to this trip, I had never before been to Asia and it was quite…

A few weekends ago, a friend and I drove to the west coast of the Southern Island of New Zealand where we camped in Te Anau, and then traveled to Millford Sound the next day. We had horrible rainy weather the entire time, but it made for some of the most beautiful sights I have…

So far, things are going great! Last week I found out I made the University of Otago Women’s “B” basketball team, and I am so excited to play basketball competitively, in New Zealand! I also recently traveled to Christchurch where I hiked “Taylor’s Mistake” trail. It was an absolutely amazing experience and I kept having…

These past few days have been hard. The village I visited in Fiji, Soso; which I blogged about in my previous post, was completely destroyed in Cyclone Winston. When I heard about the destruction of the village I had come to love, I was speechless. I saw many of these people, literally days before they…

On my way to New Zealand, I made a detour and stopped in Fiji along with multiple other students who would be studying abroad in New Zealand this semester. Fiji is by far one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to! We stayed on the remote island of Naviti which is a…

I am so excited to take off for New Zealand where I will be studying at the University of Otago in Dunedin! I have traveled internationally quite a bit, so I am not too worried, however, I have never lived in another country for more than about two weeks, so I think this experience will…

The day had come for my departure and sure enough, this optimist tried to have adventures until the very last minute. Truly, staying up until 20 minutes before your departure for your flight seems like a great idea, until you decide to take a nap which you almost missed your plane for. Nevertheless, I have…