The international buddy programme here at VUW has been a huge success. I definitely don't regret signing up to this. My buddy has been great and organised alot of socials. It's been a great way to get out of the small international loop.

I have been living in Wellington now for about one and a half months. The city is awesome to live in, I love being able to walk/run down to the waterfront in no time at all and the general views I get when walking around are also outstanding - seeing snowcapped mountains in the distance. I have not managed to travel outside of Wellington much yet due to the University work being relatively full on (as you'd expect), although there is a two week break coming up and I have planned a skiing trip with the University's Snowsports club. I have also had some time to plan out my travels after the trimester is over - I've been given some insider information by the Kiwi's I live with about where to go in particular.

With respect to my degree programme, I'm following four courses which offer a decent challenge, but all the lecturers are incredibly approachable so any problems I have with the course or assignments can be easily resolved.

I have one problem with this place, and that is their heating. In general I've found that most of the houses are pretty cold - especially with it being winter at the moment. The place I'm staying doesn't have any form of central heating, insulation or double-glazed windows. This is, however, a little niggle, and is definitely worth being a little cold to experience this amazing place!

Definitely a great place and it's made even better if you put in effort and make things happen.

Classes: I'm a science major so I can't speak from other degrees. All of my classes were at the Kelburn campus which is pretty centrally located. Business and Law classes are about a 30 minute walk away. Standard lecture classes and then you have "tutorials" that you sign up for and it's a smaller tutor led review session. This is where you'll have most of your "homework". Large assignments every 2-3 weeks. I also had labs that often overlapped lectures which is totally normal. Skipping lectures is a way of life here. Most professors will record them and post them online.

Housing: I recommend living in University Hall. Wai-te-ata is closest to campus and town, really nice interior, houses 5 but its also really loud when it rains because its a tin shack. Te Kotahinga is more traditional apartments. Uni Hall arranges alot of events which is why I recommend it. I also advise living with other internationals. Kiwis aren't as friendly. Other internationals are looking for friends too and it makes it alot better. Just do it. If you want to live in a catered Hall, Te Puni village is the best in my opinion. The rest are out of the way and run down.

Social life: Clubs exist but arent as big as they are in say the US. Drinking is still a college pastime here. But alcohol is also more expensive so be wary. $8 for wine, $20 /12pk, $40 for hard stuff. Bars are really cool and the people in them are mostly students or young people. Mish Mosh, The Establishment, and Boogie Wonderland are fun places. Lots of bars and restaurants have specials on Wed night so...do that. And remember, you're only abroad once so live it up! You'll remember and cherish this experience forever.

There was this one crazy afternoon where me and my friend took off to Brooklyn Hill to conquer the Brooklyn Hill Wind Turbine Walk with groceries (think cabbages and carrots) and school stuff in tow. The sun would be setting in a few hours, and we were uncertainly unprepared; I was wearing extremely inappropriate shoes for navigating muddy trails and my friend was lugging her laptop in her backpack. Nonetheles, the proximity of Wellington City to Mother Nature was too close to deter us. I really like how city and nature can coexist side by side and the wonderful blend of city and nature - my room has a spectacular view of the nearby mountain range, albeit at the price of aching calves from climbing hills to get home - gives you the urge to go out and EXPLORE. On a more serious note, learning at VUW is really conducive. For instance, controversial topics such as transgender community are freely discussed in the classroom (all in the name of learning, of course!) To end off, I really can't wait to explore the rest of The Land of the Long White Cloud!!!

Victoria is a really lovely uni, I am completely based on Kelburn campus and I love it, it's a really nice campus, the buildings are lovely and it's really easy to find your way around. My course are really interesting and stimulating and I alway know who to go to if I need support or help with anything. I live in the Katharine Jermyn catered halls and I really like it, it's really nice being in the city.

I had and amazing experience in Wellington, and Victoria University was the responsible for that in most of the time. I met great people from all over the world, and had the funniest moments. Also had the chance to learn with highly capable professionals during the lectures and tutorials.

Studying in VUW so far has been awesome. The professors are really approachable and knowledgeable. The students here are also very friendly and keen to share. Wellington is also a really scenic place with many tramps to go on! Though of course there are even more outside of wellington, so if you like hiking, this is the place to be.

Vic Uni was an active campus. There were a lot of clubs to join and I enjoyed the classes I took. They were challenging at times but not extremely hard.
I did my program through Globalinks (now merged with ISA) and that is where I made my closest friends. I had good roommates as well. Additionally, I like where I lived. I was in the Wai-te-ata apartments. When we had a problem, we would call housing and they would come out within a week. Our couch was awful though, there was a giant hole in the center of it and it was rather dirty.