With being in New Zealand for 3 months now, I can talk about some of the greatest times and differences between here and home in North America. It is crazy to believe that I am here with one week left of classes and then a few weeks left of finals before I have my flight home.

I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of travelling here in New Zealand. Going around the island has included swimming with the dolphins in the Bay of Islands, driving around the very pretty Bay of Plenty, surfing in Piha, wine country in Napier and Hastings, the city of Wellington, the Interislander ferry, beautiful Nelson, the amazing stars in the center of the South Island, and the city of Christchurch. I have also been lucky to see the tropical south pacific island of Tonga, which included the highlight of snorkelling some coral reef.

The greatest adventure that I have experienced would have to be a weekend roadtrip to the north tip of the North Island to Cape Reinga and 90-mile beach. In this trip I saw where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Island clash, which is now my profile picture. I was also able to dune board, visit Cape Reinga, 4 wheel drive down 90-mile beach, and go surfing all in the same day. The trip also included seeing the very impressive giant Kauri trees. And, on our way back home to Auckland, by intention of the German driver of finding a 4wd road that was on the map, we ended up being lost on an area of small logging roads in the middle of mountainous forests for a couple of hours with no service, which involved actually bottoming out at one point on a muddy road. This, what I would call an adventure now, was a situation where thoughts came up like what if we were stuck out for the night, as the biggest fears were a flat tire, running out of gas, and running out of daylight. Fortunately we found our way out, and made it safely to Auckland that evening!

The greatest challenge has been this past week. Part of going to study abroad across the world is that you are away from your family. Unfortunately my grandpa passed a few days ago and so it has been tough being away from my family. Fortunately with things like skype and some good friends here I have been able to get through this and am doing well.

The greatest cultural differences I have found has especially been with the sports. Here, everyone seems to be really into Rugby, Cricket, and Soccer. You barely hear of the sports that are so big back in North America, Baseball, Hockey, Football, and Basketball. This is especially noticeable, being a big fan, especially of hockey and baseball. It has been a fun experience learning about the big New Zealand sports and getting some chance to play them. Some other big cultural differences are where everyone is really fit here in Auckland. I mean this in terms of there are constantly people out walking, running and cycling, as well as playing sports out in the domain, even when the weather is not all that great. There is also the contrast of having no tipping and yet good service at restaurants, and a very wide range of eating options from ethnic food from across the globe. One thing here I will not miss is something very quite subtle yet a bit annoying. That is the two taps in the sink, one with hot and one with cold. It is something quite simple that I deal with, but I guess I take for granted having a single tap take can give you a nice lukewarm temperature. Haha.

There are a couple of greatest surprises I have found here in New Zealand. First off is the contrast in type of sports, with such avid sports fans in Rugby and Cricket, sports I had never before seen until coming to New Zealand. Finally, there is also the most wonderful hospitality and friendliness of the Kiwi people. I appreciate how helpful they can be if you are ever lost or looking for something, and how they go out of their way in the most kind manner to help.