Get out and explore!

I studied abroad at the University of Auckland last fall in 2011 and had the most memorable and enjoyable experience of my life.
The only downside to studying abroad was that I was not able to get my chemistry class to count for credit towards my major. So definitely make sure that you check with your home university for credit transfer.
I stayed in a dorm called the International House and I absolutely loved it! The majority of these rooms are singles and every floor has a lounge space. The rooms were comfortable and bed linens were provided for every student. This dorm was a mix of about 50% kiwi students (mostly 1st year students) and 50% international students from all over the world. I feel that a lot of people who lived in homestays did not meet too many people outside of their exchange program. Apartment living was nice, from what I hear, but I think living in a dorm is the best way to meet a lot of new and different people. In addition, this particular dorm had its own cafeteria and this is how most students met each other and socialized. But, like most campus dining halls, the food variation was not the greatest and there were not many choices for each meal. There was always a vegetarian option though.
In terms of academics, I was completely satisfied with 2 out of my 4 papers. My Spanish and New Zealand Youthwork papers were great and I loved the teachers. My Educational Psychology paper was boring and my Physical Chemistry paper changed professors 4 times for each topic change and I did not like that very much. The class sizes were good though. About 20 students in my Spanish class and about 40-60 for the other three lecture style papers. The work load was not bad at all, but for my lecture style papers, the majority of my grade was determined by one midterm/research paper and one final. Also, I loved having two weeks of spring break and one week of "reading period", the time in between the end of classes and finals.
My favorite part of being in a new country was definitely travelling. Every chance I got, I would rent a car from Jucy with a few friends and go somewhere new. We visited places all over the north island, such as Rotorua, Taupo, Matamata, and Pureora Rain Forest. There are so many outdoor and adventurous activities to do, like bunjy jumping or hiking, but there are also a lot of other, tamer, activities, like a set tour of the Shire (LOTR) or visiting the zoo. In addition to this, for spring break, two friends and I flew down to the south island and rented a camper van for two weeks. We traveled around a good majority of this beautiful island and had the time of our lives! We flew into Christchurch and witnessed the devastating effects of the earthquakes, saw the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park, went catamaran sail boating in the Tasman Sea, took a boat cruise around Milford Sound, jumped off the canyon above the Shotover River in Queenstown, and ate chocolate at the Cadbury Chocolate Factory in Dunedin. So my advice to anyone studying abroad: Get out and explore! I think it is so important to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that each country has to offer.