University in New Zealand

New Zealand is a great place to study geology and spend lots of time outdoors. Christchurch is still fairly quiet for a city, as it is still recovering from recent earthquakes, but living there for a semester proved to be a very good experience. It was a good cultural experience to see how the city has responded to the earthquakes and come together as a community.

I was initially very disappointed to learn that IES had discontinued the homestay option for this program, but in the end I was very satisfied with my student apartment, which was a great way to meet other students and engage in university social life. Some students in my IES group did manage to arrange a homestay, but they had to arrange it themselves without any help from IES.

The IES program was often quite disorganized, but the on-site program director, Eunice, was wonderful and was always very approachable and willing to help. The best part about studying abroad with IES was the organized mid-semester trip to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It happened to rain a lot while we were there, but Eunice managed to reorganize our scheduled activities so that we managed to fit everything in (Biking, snorkeling, hiking, etc.)

As a direct-enrollment program, this program is best for people who are able to take their own initiative to interact with the local culture and people.