Hi dudes,

After a couple weeks in the country, I’m finally starting my blog!! For those of you who don’t know, I’m spending a full semester in New Zealand studying at the University of Canterbury and having a sweet time outside of the USA.  The actual semester at UC doesn’t start until late February but the Frontiers Abroad program starts off with a 5-week field camp touring the entire country before we start classes.  The camp starts on the South Island and tours that island before briefly visiting the Taupo volcanic zone on the North Island and then returning to the South Island.  The whole trip began in Kaikoura, a small, beach-side town in the southeastern zone of the southern island.

I arrived in New Zealand on January 6 (New Zealand date) and hit the ground running.  Naturally, being abroad and away from home, the transition was not that simple.  The adventure truly began when I entered New Zealand in the Auckland airport.  I still had another plane to catch to get to Christchurch, which meant that I needed to grab my bags and recheck them before boarding my plane (that whole international customs jazz).  Unfortunately, my bag was nowhere to be found. I only had a couple changes of clothes in my carry-on along with some books and the rest of my gear was in the missing bag.  It wasn’t until four days later, after many hours of worrying and countless phone calls to the airline, that my bag finally arrived at the doorstep of the UC field station in Kaikoura.  What had saved me in the meantime was the generosity of some of my new-found friends in Kiwiland.    They lent me extra clothes, school gear and anything I needed before my bag was located.  The first few days of field camp certainly weren’t easy but the crew of people here definitely made it a lot better.

More stories to come soon!

See ya space cowboy

Photo cred to Google