Study Abroad at the University of Auckland, NZ

Coming to New Zealand, I had no idea what to expect. Through my university back home in America and my exchange program, they tell about a lot of the customs and slang, but they can't prepare you for actually being in the country. I learned quickly to adjust to living in the heart of a vibrant city, surrounded by the ocean and other eager students. I've also learned a lot about many other cultures, not just New Zealand. In my flat, I have a Chinese, Singaporean and an English flatmate, as well as having talked to many other international students. As a whole, this experience has served to broaden my horizons and help me learn how to connect with people from a different background than myself.

As an indigenous studies student, I spent most of my time in Māori studies papers and have not regretted a minute of it! The staff and fellow students within the department are kind from the very beginning and take great care of their role as tangata whenua in making everyone coming through feel welcomed. Out of all the places on campus, I was never made to feel as much at home as within the Marae. A huge shoutout and thanks to all those within the Māori studies who work so hard to provide such a space for Māori and other students!!

Being able to go overseas to study isn't only because it's a great experience for your working life, it's also a great opportunity to travel the county and experience the culture. I have traveled all around New Zealand and have done everything from bungee jumping to cruising in the Milford sound. A semester or year abroad is the best experience you'll ever get as you'll also make friends for life which means you can come back to visit in the future, or they can come to you. How much better can it get?

During my mid sem break (which I was pleasantly suprised was 2 weeks long) I went skiing at Mt Ruhpehu. Being only 4.5 hours away from the snow is truly awesome as being from Queensland, Australia, its a LOT further than that. The mountain was as beautiful as I've been fortunate to come to expect from this amazing country and even though the weather wasn't great that week, the time we spent in doors with the people at the lodge were some incredible times in their own right! The beautiful landscape and wonderful people make Auckland a totally unique and enjoyable place to study (not to mention all the nearby parks and surrounding beaches!)

I am a study abroad student from Norway, and I am studying at UoA for two semesters. In the following paragraph, I will tell about an awesome day hike about one hour north of Auckland.

A few weekends ago, some friends and I decided to do a track in Waitakere Rangers that I had discovered on Instagram. Just to have said that, one can get lots of inspiration and explore many unknown places by following other students on social media. This time I was made curious on this tramp by a Swedish friend, who had posted an amazing picture of a person climbing a ridge with a beautiful ocean view.

It was the morning for the hike and the weather looked promising. Our 7-seat car was filled up by five Norwegians, one Canadian and one Estonian. The road was winding, but we arrived without any feeling car sick. The tramp started along a river in the forest. I had promised a view, and in the beginning it did not look very promising. The picture of the ridge was still in my head, and I tried to tell the others that we would see the ocean soon. Suddenly, through the tree, we could glimpse the ocean. Everyone was so excited and lined up take a picture. Not the greatest view I though, and new there was more to come.

After a nice lunch break in the sun, we only had one more hill to conquer before the track reached its highest point. The forest was less dense, and the ocean and beautiful landscape on the opposite side of the fjord were revealed. It was so such a great moment when I could finally experience the moment from the Instagram picture. Small islands, a long black beach, flowers, sun and great friends. We had a long break at the top, enjoying the nature. I was satisfied and the day had become perfect.

The study abroad program or overseas program is a really good way to meet new people, a new culture and a new language. I am so glad I chose NZ, and am looking forward to explore much more of this wonderful country!

New Zealand is a beautiful country and I love that I'm here. As for UoA there are some cons and pros, as with anything. Cons is that UoA is lacking school spirit. Coming from University that goes wild during welcome week and loves to celebrate school spirit, I missed that here. The introduction for incoming exchange students was just informative... but didn't include any fun events. I don't think the study abroad program coordinators put much effort into it - it was just a few hour event (compared to a week of fun events at my home uni). As for the pros: lots of great clubs (though you have to pay about $20 to sign up for each club which can get pricey) that organize awesome events. And of course fantastic people that make this experience fun!

In general, I am very happy about being an exchange student at the University of Auckland. The courses are challenging, the atmosphere good and Auckland is a nice place to be a student.
However, it is very hard to get to know people so I would have enjoyed some more introduction and "get to know each other"-days for the international students, and maybe also a bit more events during the semester.

During the mid-semester break, my friends and I headed down to the South Island for a trip. I am amazed by the beautiful scenery of the South Island. We do not even have to a tourist attraction to be wowed by the scenery. The drives during the road trip we took were all really enjoyable because the roads went by the lakes and mountains. The lookouts along those drives are also well-placed and such good spots to stop, breathe and take in beautiful pictures.