Living, Studying, Exploring in Auckland

I applied the study abroad program in March 2016 and received my offer in April. I couldn't forget how excited I was on the day offer came to my mailbox. Before came to Auckland, I had been expecting for several months and searched information about every aspect about New Zealand. In April, I watched a travel show on TV called XFun China. The hosts explored delicious food in the whole New Zealand. The cuisine shown in film looked really fantastic and attractive. And this film made me feel more excited about studying abroad in Auckland. Help from The University of Auckland and information on websites made me fully prepare for studying, living in Auckland.

I arrived in Auckland on 13 June after 13 hours flying and I was a little tired. The weather on that day was cloudy. My hometown is Chengdu. The weather in Chengdu is always cloudy without sunshine. So when I saw the dark cloud in Auckland’s sky, I was a little disappointed. But now, the blue sky and sunshine make me fall in love with this beautiful city. As we all know, good weather always make people in good mood. Auckland’s weather in winter is very special, there was sunny seconds ago, but showering later. No time for reaction. It is really like baby’s mood. In addition, wind is so strong in Auckland because it is a coastal city. Sometimes I feel that I am almost blown up. I haven’t been to Wellington, world's windiest city. But I want to experience how unbelievably strong the wind is in Wellington.

Let’s talk about studying in The University of Auckland. When I first attended the class, I couldn't get used to teacher’s talking speed. Therefore, there was nothing to get at the first class. And after the class, I felt exhausted because I had to pay much attention to hear what lecturer said. It took me about two weeks to fit in English teaching environment. After that period, I find I am totally attracted by the class. In every class, lecturers bring out new knowledge basing on previous class smoothly and illustrate important points in various ways. At the same time, lecturers and students communicate much in class. During the communication, I can have deeper understanding of the knowledge. Of course, I will join in the communication and discussion sometimes. That is a good way to practice oral English and thinking in English. But nothing is perfect, I get a thing really disturbs me for a while. That is many people talk in silent study area and the sign is like invisible. This phenomenon in Faculty of Engineering is serious. Hope the university can improve it.

Overall, I think study in The University of Auckland is fantastic. I can’t forget this experience after finishing my study abroad in UoA.