First time studying abroad

This semester was my first time studying abroad so I did not really know what to expect when I came to the University of Auckland. It did take a bit of getting used to, but now I am really enjoying my experience here. I have found the study abroad office to be a great resource; they have been very knowledgeable and have given me helpful answers to any questions regarding the university that I have had. One thing that I did not expect was that the University did not really help international students to become involved in the campus community. I came here by myself and the first few weeks of class it was quite hard to know who to talk to or how to succeed in the University environment because there wasn't really any events for me to get to know other local or international students (and lecture sizes are large so its not easy to meet people there either). However, I found a lot of different and interesting clubs here and eventually ended up making most friends through those. Another aspect of studying abroad here that I did not expect was how different the class environment is. I appreciate how much the lecturers take students into consideration through class reps and I really like that lectures are recorded and posted online right away. The city of Auckland in itself is a great urban environment (though quite expensive compared to what I'm used to). I really enjoy exploring all the cool restaurants and shops and a lot is in reasonable walking distance of the University. Overall I love the experience in Auckland and would recommend it!