Category: New Zealand: TEAN at Otago

Two more jam-packed weekends in New Zealand… No matter how much of this beautiful country I explore, there is always so much more to see.  Last weekend, I went on a road trip with three of my friends.  I have recently rekindled my baking obsession and brought along heaps of homemade muffins and chocolate chip…

Easter has just passed and we are officially on mid-semester break here at the University of Otago! While the majority of international students leave for their South island road trips and vacations to Thailand and Fiji, I’ll be staying here in Dunedin! I know, that must sound quite boring, BUT my cousin from the Cook…

So recently I have been asking God what I did to ever deserve my time here in New Zealand. This place is too good to be true! This week included a trip to Piopiotahi (Milford Sound), also known as the “eighth wonder of the world.” It was the first time I camped in thirty degree…

So, I think it is safe to say that New Zealand is the most beautiful place on planet earth! I cannot believe that the half way mark of this journey is tomorrow. It is too soon to think about leaving, because I feel like I just got here. These past two weeks has just been…

Kia Ora whanau! (Hello family!) “Kia ora whanau” is a common greeting here in Aotearoa, even the professors say it. I’m slowly but surely picking up on all of the New Zealand slang. “You’re alright” is translated into “You’re welcome and “Ka pai” is a common Maori phrase, meaning “understand”, “ok” or “good.” Classes are…

Kia Ora! It is March 3rd here in Dunedin and I have officially wrapped up my first week of classes. These past two weeks have gone by so fast. O-week welcomed in the international and first year students. O-week consisted of back to back concerts, meeting people from all over the world and settling in…

Week one in Queenstown has been absolutely AMAZING! It is February 17th and I feel like I have experienced so much of New Zealand already. TEAN has jam packed our orientation week with so many fun activities! On our first day, a Kapa Haka (Maori performing arts) group came and taught us a traditional Maori…

Anyone who knows anything about the University of Otago knows about the famous Hyde Street Party.  The day is very similar to the Rollins College Fox Day, except it is always on a Saturday and is planned weeks in advance.  In its history, the Hyde Street Keg Party (as it was originally named) was a…

The highlight of these two weeks has been my trip to Queenstown, followed by a ferry tour around a beautiful place on the west coast called Milford Sound.  A ‘sound’ is a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land.  First we spent a night out at the bars in Queenstown trying to…

The past two weeks have been full of beach trips and a little sight-seeing around the town of Dunedin.  The closest beaches are St. Claire and St. Kilda which are known for surfing, but the coolest beach we’ve been to is Tunnel Beach.  The entrance to this beach is, as the name implies, a tunnel…