Kia ora to all friends, family, Whitman community members, and anyone else reading this!

Welcome to my blog from New Zealand! I arrived in Dunedin just over a month ago now, so a lot has already happened. I’ll try not to bore you with too many details, but I have so much to share! I’ll split my first-month reflections into two posts, so look out for another one coming soon :) 

Travel Experience:

Oh boy, it was an experience for sure. Between United messing up my tickets, Air New Zealand losing one of my bags, and the shuttle to campus forgetting about us, to say it was stressful is an understatement. I spent about 37ish hours traveling, and something managed to go wrong every step of the way. On the plus side, though, I slept for almost half of the 14 ½ hour plane ride from Houston to Auckland.

My tips for you (and my future self):

• don’t fly United if you can help it
• be prepared for the airline to lose your luggage (I know at least five people at my program were missing at least one of their suitcases)
• relatedly, get AirTags or some other tracking device to put in your luggage for when your luggage does get lost
• stay calm, cool, and collected—everything will work out in the end (even if it takes forever and a half to get to that point), and being stressed will just make you more stressed

Re-O Week:

I arrived on the Otago campus about a week before classes began, and it was filled with orientation events, including presentations and seminars, club and resources fairs, a campus tour, and other activities that allowed us to get to know each other! I found these all to be super helpful in easing the transition to a new school and country where I didn’t know anyone, although because the year was already halfway over for everyone else, these only helped so much. No matter how many resources they could have provided us, there was still going to be a sense of isolation from others on campus who had already been here for a semester. If you come to this program in Whitman’s spring semester, though, these negative feelings will likely not be as strong since you’d be starting Otago’s school year alongside everyone else. My biggest recommendation for you, no matter which semester you choose, is don’t be afraid to talk to people! I know it may seem scary, especially for socially anxious introverts like myself, but I promise that others will also feel nervous about starting conversations, so take the initiative and start one yourself. Re-O week also allowed me to get to know my flatmates better and explore the city before our schedules became crammed with classes.

School Events: 

There are always events happening around campus, and there’s something for everybody to enjoy. One of my favorite events so far has been the Matariki Night Market. Matariki is the Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) term for a specific cluster of stars (I don’t know the name, I’m not an astronomer), and the holiday typically marks the beginning of the Māori new year. To celebrate, the school put on a Matariki Night Market, with food trucks, independent artists selling their work, live music, and more! Sadly, I took very few pictures that night, but here are a couple I do have.

This event was another great way to bond with people and make new friends while introducing me to a new and different culture.

Recently, there was also a Full Moon party (even though the moon wasn’t full, which I’m still slightly confused about) at the Otago Museum across from the central library! It was only open to Otago University students; and had all sorts of activities, from photo booths to science experiments to a butterfly enclosure to palm reading; overall, it was a fun weekend event with friends!

P.S. If you want a more personal look into my experiences here, follow me on my study abroad Instagram account @kiwi._.kiley :)