Study Abroad at the University of Otago in New Zealand

In a sentence, my time in New Zealand was the most transformative, exciting, and time warped five months of my life. I loved every second of my time in New Zealand. I'll start with the academics because according to my dad, that was the reason I was there but I'll explain later, and you've probably heard before, study abroad is not really about the studying. The University of Otago is a far cry from my small liberal arts school in northern Washington State, as it is home to 24,000 students all whom work hard and play hard. In my labs I got to meet Kiwi students and work closely with professors, teaching fellows and peer demonstrators. I got to experience work on the research vessel the Polaris and see more of my adopted Otago region because of it. I loved the hands off teaching style that allows students to take their education into their own hands, I wasn't used to not having someone check up on my work, seeing if I was comfortable at with the material and at first I struggled. I was unsure how to study without a test every two weeks to prepare for, but after the first month I fell into stride and loved being responsible to manage my time.
Like I said before however, it wasn't the academics that made my adventure most memorable. It was the people and the places. I lived in University run housing, UniFlats and loved every minute. The flat housed 6 students, myself, two other americans, two kiwis and a brit, in a complex of 8 identical flats. I couldn't have loved my flatmates more and the whole complex became a family, with shall I say social events being held almost every night and weekend trips to the mountains and lakes and natural beauty of New Zealand being a regular occurrence. It was my time with these people who helped transform to be more willing to say yes, who got my blood pumping as I leaped off a bridge and who made time fly. There is so much more to be said about why you should go to NZ, the ample opportunity for professional networking, the ease of traveling around the country, the friendliness of the locals and so much more but to sum up, I loved my time abroad and can't for the next adventure.

Within the first month of arriving in New Zealand, I had already checked several things off my bucket list, some of which I didn’t even know were on there! One of those adventures was a trip to the West Coast.
After a class that went 3 hours past its scheduled time my entire flat and one other in our complex set out for what turned out to be the most challenging and rewarding trip of my life, so far. We drove about 4 hours from Dunedin and camped right outside Wanaka. It was the middle of winter and FREEZING! We piled into tents after throwing on a few extra layers and woke up in time to watch the sunrise. Had it been just a little warmer, it would have been the perfect start to the trip.
After another long drive, we arrived on the West Coast at the start of the Copland Track. This 23km track to the hut we stayed at began on a beach. We were surrounded by tropical foliage for the first hour or so of the hike. Through the course of the track, we crossed several rivers, both on wire bridges and by just walking through the middle of them, we climbed boulders, and we saw the foliage and birds change as we climbed in elevation. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, however, I was in terrible shape and felt like my legs were going to give out at any time. It took us about 6 hours to arrive at the hut and I haven’t was ecstatic to sit down! I felt like I had just conquered the world, while everyone else had just barely broken a sweat. We spent the night hanging out in the hot spring, admiring the snowcapped mountain and getting to know each other. I made several new friends that night and got closer to others.
That night, the warden came to the hut and told us that the track had closed while we were on it due to weather and that we could stay an extra day or be extremely careful the next day. We decided to trek through the rain. The rivers had rose and the mud was terrible, but we made it out without any problems. The 45kms total were the most strenuous thing I have ever gone through, but afterwards I was ready for the next one. I ended up doing 3 of the great walks, as well as many other hikes. Without the Copland track, I definitely wouldn’t have seen the beautiful nature that I was exposed to.

Before my experience abroad, the word "home" made me think of my parents house which I grew up in. While studying for almost half a year in New Zealand, I now think of the small student flat that I stayed in as my second home. New Zealand proved to be an adventurous, exciting, and friendly place. Whether I was watching the sunset and yellow eye penguins on a beach near campus, or summiting one of the many cool mountains, I had a smile on my face and a content feeling in my heart. For an outdoor enthusiast, the University of Otago was the perfect choice for a semester full of learning, growing, and fun!

This country has everything an adventurous outdoors student could want. Even in the local area surrounding Dunedin, there is so much to explore (if one has a car). The peninsula is packed with great spots to sight see, rock climb, surf, and explore. University of Otago students foster a fun lifestyle that allows for lots of socialization. Overall, the south island offers so many opportunities for all sorts of adventures regardless of the activity.

Not only are all the teachers friendly, but they are incredibly direct and clear with their teaching style. The material covered is both stimulating and enriching, providing a diverse teaching style from the U. S.. Students have 3 teachers, who specialize in their own individual topics, to one course (in sciences) compared to the one in the states. My zoology classes consisted of publish readiness lab writings and field components. Aside from academics, Otago's backyard has the steepest street in the world, beautiful hike/tramp tracks (such as Silver Peaks), and some of the greatest mix of chill and entertaining Kiwis you'll meet. Not to mention incredibly accommodating international housing staff! The beauty of colorful sunsets and nightly milkyway will be missed; hiking/tramping is not the same outside of New Zealand!

I have never been the biggest hiker, but I knew if I were going to New Zealand I would have to become one. While abroad I went on the most challenging hike I have ever done. Two of my friends and I set out on a two day forty six mile hike early one Saturday morning. I set out confident, thinking how hard could this be? Boy was I wrong. We endured every weather condition possible; rain, sleet, snow, hail, wind, and occasional sunshine. It was tough and at times I just wanted to give up. However, giving up is not an option when you are miles away from a town. So I pushed on and that day completed the first twenty miles of the forty six mile hike. We stayed the night in a hut and the following morning set out back home. That day was absolutely grueling. I was sore, it was cold but the views made all the hard work worth it. I have never seen anything as spectacular as I did that day. We pushed on and twenty six demanding hours later made it back to the car. The sense of accomplishment after completing a hike I never thought I could do, is a feeling I will never forget.

This was the best five months of my life. I was able to experience independence in a safe and somewhat familiar environment. I was able to travel, make friends, and embark on a multitude of outdoor adventures.

Otago University is the best university in the southern hemisphere. The professors are outstanding and love to help international students. Definitely recommend joining the tramping club as it's a great way to go on organized, overnight hikes, and you can also meet a lot of people! Dunedin is a beautiful city and it's pretty easy to travel around the south island. The community is very warm and welcoming and I will always be a scarfie at heart.