Why did you choose this program?
At first I should mention that I am a freelancer. That means that my home university and my abroad university (AUT) don't have cooperation. On one hand it means that I have to do everything by my own and have extra cost, but on the other hand I was free to chose every university I want. And they also offer support and great help for students who want to go abroad to other countries. So I ask them for help and told them about my wishes like what I want to study and which kind of cities do I like and this was the opportunity I got. I could chose every university. But at least I thought that the AUT would be the best one for me.
Oh, and why New Zealand ? It is the furthest country from Germany and I thought if I will make a study abroad, I want to make it on the other site of the world. The other programs would be the exchange which I couldn't join and the abroad with an internship I didn't want to join. My goal was to improve my English, to see how the students in other countries live and study and to feel the atmosphere. It was not my goal to have a practical training as in a internship.
What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
As I mentioned I'm a freelancer. My home university just explain to me how the courses will be accepted. A huge help I got from Gozealand!. I only had to send them the documents they requested and they communicated with the University, especially with Kenneth the supervisor for abroad student at the AUT. So Kenneth and I wrote back and forth about the courses and communicated every time with the faculty if I could join the selected course. At the end he even send us the schedule to know where and when out study starts.
At least everything was organized by Gozealand! and the AUT. I just had to collect and submit my documents like my passport, my bachelor degree my transcript and the most important thing I had to do by my own was the english test for the required level.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
At first I would tell them to have someone here in Germany who helps with the application and the communication over there. It is a big discharge and help. The second thing is to visit the introduction week to get all information you need. Choose this university which fits in your imagination and where you will feel good. Sure it is difficult to judge a place where you've never been but that is the reason we have all the reviews and the internet. Connect with people and ask them what ever your interested in, even if there are strangers. AUT was for me the best choice I could imagine. It is very different to my university and just a big and great experience. And one of the most important advice is: enjoy it. Don't take it all to serious. Don't sit in your room and just think about the study. Go out, travel, meet people, laugh, laugh and laugh. It is not just a study abroad, it is a section in your life.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
I just had 3 courses what means 8 hours of lectures and tutorials. In this program I did'n have any liabilities so I decide for myself if I visit the lectures and tutorials or not. Sure, there are papers were you have the duty to visit them but this is not conditionally from the program, rather from the paper you choose. So I had much free time. In the first month I used it to travel and to explore the area around and in Auckland.The last month, the month of the exams is the one with the least time for everything else out of study. It is about you how you spend your time. My study was a mix of travellng, relax with friends, to enjoy the cafes and locations in and around Auckland and to study, while the pressure to study increase at the end in the month of the exams.
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
Sometimes it is not a thing what you are afraid of, it is the whole situation, the unknown things. Sometime you even don't know what you afraid of, but you are. Maybe it is more nervous then anxiety ? I could not realize it a very long time, so I did not feel fear. The "negative" feelings I had were, for example, the thought that I would not understand the lecturers.
There are three things I recognize and this is how I overcome bad thoughts about my abroad. The first one was when I recognize that if I let my bad thoughts and concerns dominant me, I will never grow and do new things and someday I will regret it. The second thing was that everything is what we make of it. Most anxiety is the fear of changes and new things, but this is what you need to look someday back, to smile and to say I did it.Now I am ready to tell my stories and not just to read those from others.
What have you learned going abroad?
I learned a very important thing, I really do not know if it is important for you guys but I could say it change my life.
As I arrived I was very interested in what others did, what they saw, and what they made. I compared them with myself.
I think everyone who arrives alone will search people with which whom they can spend their time. But what you need to know is, we are all different. Never spend time with people at places you do not like, just because you do not want to be alone. Just because other people go hiking, does not mean you need to go. Just because other people sleep in hostels and cars, it does not mean you need to do the same. Just because people try to save up money everywhere what becomes stinginess, does not mean you need to do the same. Think about what you like! Think about what do you want to see! Think about which kind of people you want to stay! Think about how you would enjoy this abroad most.
It is not about budget trips, it is not about paying less everywhere. Probably it is one of the most exciting possibilities in your live, at least it is separate section of your live. Enjoy it like you want ! Otherwise you will regret it.
