IES Abroad Auckland

Growing up in the middle of farmland leaves you wanting a different setting for yourself. This is why I chose New Zealand for my study abroad experience. New Zealand is known for its beautiful mountains and extensive nature. I craved a new view. New Zealand brought me this and so much more. I was fortunate enough to partake in study through IES Abroad whose advisor was of Maori culture. Throughout the semester, I became immersed in the Maori ways of life; learning about their values and history. I learnt more about myself the first two days on Waiheke Island than I had in a lifetime. However cheesy it may sound, I made lifelong friends and pushed myself in ways I could only do there. I welcomed the feeling of learning a new campus with new classes and people. The University of Auckland offered all the courses I needed and challenged me just as much as I am at Miami. Being time zones away from my family was new to me, but I have never felt such a true happiness that I felt being in New Zealand.

I really enjoyed my program in Auckland. I lived in Parnell Student Village and loved it. The flat was great. I had my own room and shared a kitchen and living room with my four flatmates. The walk to campus through the domain was beautiful. There's lots to do in the city of Auckland and it's very safe. There's lots of programs at the university for exchange students and it's easy to meet people from all over the world, although it can be hard to meet Kiwis as they tend to keep to themselves. Classes were good but they were all lectures. There was group work or creative ways of learning. So lectures could get pretty boring.

I studied abroad in Auckland from July to November (UoA's "semester 2") and had an amazing time. I took a rather relaxed couse load so I could focus more on the "abroad" part of study abroad- joining clubs, making new friends (local and international), and traveling around the country on weekends. Afterwards, I was able to spend a month backpacking around the South Island of New Zealand and another 10 days in Thailand and Cambodia- I would highly recommend all of this. Since the semester ended in November and my next semester didn't start until January in the US, I was able to go on this incredible adventure at the end of my trip.

Study abroad is a daunting possibility on numerous levels. For some, the prospect of a foreign language may be terrifying while for others it may be the distance from home. For me, the necessity of being alone and needed to make new friends was incredibly scary. Ironically, it ended up being the friends I met in New Zealand that made my whole experience phenomenal. There is something unifying about choosing to study somewhere so remote and so wild as New Zealand and I quickly found that the qualities that drew me to such a place were qualities shared by my peers. This being said, I would have never have discovered this if IES had not provided such a safe and easy social transition. From day one, they united us (the 24 American students) as a team and through meals, activities and field trips we explored our new city and we developed our new friendships. All of the experiences I had in New Zealand would stand alone as spectacular however they would not have been possible without the tight knit group of people I found. Therefore, if you find yourself day dreaming of weekend hikes to snow capped crystal blue pools or through golden green forests (all while taking college courses and gaining credit of course) I could not recommend New Zealand more. Also, on the possibility that you (like I) are daunted by a novel social scene- fear not. The aspects that draw you into New Zealand will be mirrored in the people you meet there and although on the surface they may seem quite different, you are all united in this experience.

I cannot recommend this program enough. The staff at IES are so kind and willing to help with anything and everything you might need. They also have awesome orientation programs set up to help the group bond and get an introduction to the culture. We got to spend two nights on Waiheke Island (just a ferry ride away from Auckland), where we stayed in a Maori marae (meeting house for the native New Zealand peoples).
New Zealand itself is simply wonderful. From the amazingly kind-hearted people to the incredible outdoors, New Zealand offers an experience you will never want to end!

My experience in Auckland, NZ, through IES is next to none. I was immediately immersed in the culture and felt right at home. The program director was extremely easy to talk to and he did so much to keep us updated on local events around the city, safety issues, and special discounts that aided with our frequent traveling! I never had a negative experience with IES and they had a perfect combination of organized events and time to explore. If I were to ever study abroad again, it would definitely be through IES. Furthermore, New Zealand is one of the AMAZING places on this planet. With postcard landscapes everywhere you look and people that are truly the most hospitable people I've ever encountered, it is a country that just cannot be beat (not to mention their food is unbelievable!!!). I have come back from this trip a different person - more adventurous, confident, and grateful. New Zealand has managed to steal my heart and I fully plan on moving there post-graduation at some point. So for anyone considering either IES as a program or New Zealand as a country, I say GO FOR IT! You won't regret it.

One of my goals and expectations of my time abroad was to travel as much as I could. I learned so much from planning and going to different places, and I'm so grateful for those experiences. Traveling was what made this semester stand out from my past semesters. But the times I did something spontaneous or said yes to a sudden opportunity were surprises that also made my experience worthwhile. I appreciate those unplanned moments as much as the ones I'd been anticipating the whole semester.

In high school I never even thought studying abroad was something normal kids did, just those who spoke 5 languages and were wealthy enough to travel. Once my sophomore year of college started I realized it was something possible for me too. Right away I made it my mission to make studying abroad possible. I had to change my degrees around a bit, load up on classes, and I saved all my gen ed classes for going abroad. Picking a place to go was difficult, but it ultimately came down to New Zealand because I wanted to experience nature like I never had before. Next I had to pick my program provider and I ended up choosing IES because they offered extra excursions and the option for homestay.
The University of Auckland is a beautiful and accessible campus, even though it's significantly larger than what I'm used to and I had no problem finding my way around after exploring the campus before classes started. The quality of learning there may be better or worse depending on where you come from; I had 2 wonderful classes and professors, 1 decent one, and 1 bad one. It would be helpful to look up reviews of professors if you can, though I think most classes only have one professor teaching it. The thing I disliked most about classes abroad was the size and style of teaching. I'm used to class sizes around 20-30 people, intimate relationships with other students and the professor, and tutorial style teaching all the time. It was quite a change having over 100 people in every class and adapting to lecture based teaching. It encouraged me to procrastinate since I'm not the best at managing my time and priorities. One thing I would recommend is to take a culture or history class pertaining to your country, my Maori studies class was by far one of the most engaging and interesting classes I've ever taken as a student (I had a wonderful professor and many guest lecturers).
It was a little hard meeting people in my classes because they were not interactive classes like dance, music, or philosophy, and because they were not first year classes so people already knew their classmates. Even though I hung out with locals in clubs and bars, the other IES abroad students became my best friends there outside of the classroom.
Adjusting to life in another country was easier than I expected, I only had a learning curve with public transport. I got lost many times but nice people on the street always helped me out! It's also incredibly easy to get absorbed in the city life and forget about your studies in another country because sometimes it seems like you're on a vacation instead of on an exchange. Thanks to my study abroad experience I can't wait to keep on traveling. I can't picture myself tied down to a desk anymore.