My Favorite Semester

I spent my sophomore spring semester abroad in Auckland, New Zealand. It was a phenomenal experience that I think about at least once a day. The country itself is so green, clean, and open once you got outside of the major cities. The cities, though, still were incredibly eco friendly with green spaces and were safe so that you could walk around and feel safe. The nightlife was fun as well, and I often spent my afternoons after class walking throughout Auckland streets and discovering hidden gems. Of course, I could not have enjoyed my time in New Zealand nearly as much without the support of IFSA. I never felt isolated or alone with the help and support of my onsite coordinator. We had weekly catch up meetings with snacks and coffee to debrief any troubles we had during the week, whether it be midterms or homesickness. My IFSA group was incredibly close knit, so we often spent nights out or days studying together too; but our relationships were definitely enhanced due to our united IFSA experience. After all, when we first arrived, we all arrived nervous and vulnerable. However, after our 3 day orientation in the middle of nowhere, we had grown quite close through shared meals, games, and group activities.
The University of Auckland is a top notch institute to study at. I took my professional electives there, and was lucky to be able to take classes in a wide range of subjects (public health, history, business, and environmental science). I highly condone taking a pacific studies course to fully understand the origins of New Zealand.