Study Abroad Adventure!

Living in a new country for over 4 months is a challenging experience on it's own, and trying to explore the area and culture and also study on top of that can be overwhelming. It's also very rewarding, though, and very much worth it because no matter what you end up doing you'll end up learning amazing new things about the country and yourself (as cliche as it sounds, it's true!). Even though at first I was frustrated with the extra paperwork I had to fill out to participate in the BCA program on top of the rest of the paperwork to study abroad, it was well worth it. The BCA program really helped me fully enjoy my semester in Dunedin by providing excellent support and resources.

The BCA program helps you get set up with the necessary preliminary steps to studying abroad, such as helping inform you about visas, registering for classes, and providing a handbook with useful background and tips about your destination. They prepared me for traveling in ways I didn't even know were necessary, which I am thankful for. The most helpful part of the program though is the absolutely amazing on-site coordinator, Ashely. It was beyond helpful and comforting to have someone to answer my questions and provide local knowledge and guidance throughout the my time in Dunedin. She's caring, always available to answer questions, and made us feel like we had a little family when we were halfway around the world. It's so reassuring to have the support and expertise of the BCA program when you're so far from home.

Dunedin itself is very much a student city, and especially living in the University Flats (which BCA helps arrange) I was surrounded by both Kiwi (New Zealand) students and other study abroad students hoping to make new friends and explore New Zealand. There's always something to do both on campus and in the city, and there's great access to local hiking and beaches just outside Dunedin. Needless to say, it's easy to take short and long trips and to find friends interested in coming along! The BCA program's built-in trips are awesome as well, and visiting a sheep farm and a marae were both fun and provided great insight into New Zealand's farming and Maori (native people) culture.