Give us a little intro
I am a junior at Eastern Michigan University studying Psychology and Criminology. I like to coach gymnastics part time and enjo reading, baking, and traveling.
Why did you pick this program?
I chose this program because of everything the price included. A lot of other programs will have the price but all the excursions and food are extra, but with Pacific Discovery everything in the itinerary is included with your price (besides air fare). I've always wanted to go to New Zealand and saw that PD had a New Zealand and Fiji summer program. I thought that was awesome to be able to go to both places! I also liked their Facebook page and how you could see the program photo albums and actually see people doing what you'll be doing. The program also mentioned that the groups are small which appealed to me because I didn't want to be in this huge touristy group. Lastly, I chose this program because you got to travel all over New Zealand and have a chance to give back to the earth through volunteering. Pacific Discovery came off really genuine to me, and they really are!
What do you tell your friends who are thinking about going abroad?
You need too! "Nothing can substitute experience." You learn so much about yourself and meet so many amazing people when you go out of your comfort zone and travel abroad. Immerse yourself in another culture and see how other people are living around the world. It's amazing that we all share this world but live in completely different ways. Life is too short to live your life in one place, go experience the world:)
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Pack light! You are constantly unpacking and repacking because you're on the move so much and it's much easier if you pack light and you won't have to keep track of so much stuff. Bring a filtered water bottle too! If you have motion sickness I also recommend dramamine because there is a lot of driving and boat rides. Lastly, have an open mind and do everything you can while you are there. (I skipped out on a sunrise hike up a mountain in Fiji because I was too tired and still regret it.)
What's your favorite story to tell about your time abroad?
When we first got to Fiji I thought everyone was saying "Hola" to us, and I took a couple Spanish classes and knew that meant hello so I kept replying "Hola!" After a couple of times people in my group were like "are you saying hola??" and I said "Yeah..?" and I was then informed that the people were saying Bula, which is a way of saying "welcome". So I felt very dumb but everyone else had a good time laughing at me. I look back now and laugh too.
What was your favorite experiences during the trip?
I have two favorites. One was white water rafting. This was on my bucket list and it was everything I expected and more. Starting out it was almost calm and I remembering thinking "okay this isn't that scary." All those thoughts went out the window when we approached a waterfall. It's the biggest commercially rafted water fall and I was terrified. Our raft ended up tipping over and I thought I was a goner. But I got pulled out of the water by people on another raft and so did everyone else. Once we got ourselves together, we watched the other rafts go down and helped other rafts that tipped. It was scary but oh so fun and a major adrenaline rush.
My second favorite was visiting Hobbiton. It was so cool to see where the Hobbit and other Lord of The Rings scenes were filmed. They take you on a tour and at the end you get to hang out in the restaurant. It was a really fun day!
I also want to mention how much I loved the volunteer placements. They were in beautiful places and during downtime you can explore them. It was super peaceful to not have internet or phone service and just being able to live in the moment and have genuine conversations with other people.