Week two has come and gone in my new hometown and looking back on it, I’ve decided to label it as the week of many firsts. This week was the first week of classes, and with that came a rigidity to my schedule that I hadn’t dealt with the week before. Luckily for me, my schedule of classes has worked out in such a way that I have Friday’s off every week. This was done completely on accident, but I’ve learned through other students who are studying abroad here that having Friday’s off is a common goal when creating your overseas class schedule. For anyone planning on studying abroad, I would highly suggest researching classes thoroughly beforehand to see if this is possible for you. Studying abroad is all about maximizing your time and every day counts. Having a three-day weekend every week makes planning trips around the country a million times easier.
I’ve found that classes in New Zealand are a bit different than in the States. For one, every class has lecture times as well as something called a tutorial. From what I can gather, a tutorial is comparable to a lab or a discussion class in that it is designed to be a small classroom setting where students can more intimately interact with each other in order to get a better grip on the subject. Most classes have a tutorial that meets once a week, but it’s also possible that they are scheduled biweekly. I haven’t had a tutorial yet, they start this week and I’m looking forward to being back in a classroom with twenty students instead of a lecture hall with hundreds. One of the perks of moving forward in college is the smaller classroom sizes, and to suddenly have three giant lecture classes is forcing me to adjust my studying habits to that of the freshman in college version of me.
Not only was this the first week of classes, but it was also the first week where I got to really explore New Zealand. During orientation week, I joined the tramping club, and this past weekend was the first trip of the year. For those of you unfamiliar with New Zealand slang, tramping is the word here used for hiking. Not only does the club go on hikes, but they also go camping and have orienteering competitions and all sorts of other interesting activities. The trip I just went on was a three-day, two-night camping and hiking experience. I went back and forth probably about twenty times about whether or not I wanted to go. I had never gone camping before and I was totally fine with keeping it that way. However, for me, studying abroad is partially about pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, so with some convincing from my family and friends, as well as a lot of overpacking, I boarded to bus to drive to our destination, Paradise (and yes that’s actually its name).
After a beautiful five-hour drive, we arrived in Paradise. Luck was not on my side as my flat mate and I set up camp. For one, it was pouring rain. Second, after fifteen minutes of fumbling with our tent in the dead of night we came to the realization that our tent was broken. Completely useless. And to top it all off the tent fly we found to sleep under had holes in it. Unfortunately for me we didn’t realize that until the next morning when I woke up in a soaking wet sleeping bag and a puddle under my head. To say that my first night of camping was miserable is an understatement. It could only go up from there. The next morning each group headed out on their hike. My group chose one of the supposedly easier ones to Lake Harris. Despite the continuous pouring rain, the hike was breathtaking. The water in New Zealand is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine water clearer than what I saw on that hike. The views were amazing, and I’d even say that the two hours straight of uphill climb was worth it for the sights I got to see along the way. One thing is for sure though, New Zealand easy hikes would be considered much more difficult in the States. Seven hours later we made it back to camp for a cooking competition. Spending the night eating food and hanging out with the people I met on my hike was one of the best experience I’ve had in New Zealand so far. The craziest part of the night happened when the president of the club brought out two sleeping bags for their annual worm wrestling competition. I had never heard of this before, but it was pretty fun to watch. People took turns zipping themselves up completely in the sleeping bags and wresting on their knees without using their hands or feet. I have no idea if this is something that people do back in the States, but if it’s not I definitely want to bring it back. The rest of the trip went by really quickly, I got a much better night’s sleep, and the next morning it was time to say goodbye to the campsite. While I enjoyed the experience, I was happy to say goodbye. Camping is hard. I think I’m more of a bed and roof kind of person, but just the same I’m grateful that I did it. This past week has shown me that stepping outside of my comfort zone can be really rewarding, and I’m ready to continue doing it for the rest of my time here in New Zealand.