Great people, program, place

By late November, the weather in Wellington began heating up, reaching the low 70s every day-- just in time for us to be heading back to the states in a few weeks. Around this time, all of us on the program were thinking about our families back home in America, missing them despite having the time of our lives on, quite literally, the other side of the world. In both an effort to make us feel at home and have a concluding get-together, lead professor and host Charles decided to have us over for a thanksgiving dinner. Along with his family, several friends, and a few of our host parents, we ate turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and all the other traditional staples of the holiday. Although there was no football, and even less fall color (it turns out maple trees are not a thing in New Zealand), it felt like home. Between the bond we students forged together and the family setting created by Charles and the other HECUA staff, it made what could have been a tough time to be away one of the best thanksgivings ever.