Aotearoa. Translating to "land of the long white cloud," the word used by the native Maori people to call their home: New Zealand. Before I dive into how absolutely amazing my New Zealand experience was, here is a great story full of miscommunication and confusion. It all started when we arrived to terminal 2 at the Melbourne airport, the international terminal, the terminal for international flights. We check in at the Jetstar kiosk and go through security, having all four of our bags checked for liquid amounts. We finally get through security and head to passport patrol, only to be stopped, as our passports would not register. A security officer asks to see our boarding passes, and tells us we are supposed to be at terminal 4 since we have a transfer in Sydney, which is a domestic flight. Confused but going with it, we head to terminal 4, go through security, have our bags checked yet again and finally get through to the gates to sit down and rest. About an hour goes by where we grab some food, and I decide to see if our gate number has been posted. Well, our gate number has not been posted and, in fact, our flight is nowhere on the board. I ask a security guard about it and he is just as confused as I am, and tells us to talk to the Jetstar staff at the information desk. So, we leave the terminal, head to the info desk, where we are told we are supposed to be flying out of terminal 4. But our flights not on the board?? After about 30 minutes of back and forth and confused info desk workers, we get told we were supposed to be in terminal 2 all along. Annoyed, with an hour before our flight leaves, we run back to terminal 2 and pass through security for the third time (finally with only having one bag flagged for checking), go through passport control and make it to our gate just as they call for our flight to board. We then make it to Sydney, have a five-hour layover, get on a cramped plane for three hours, make it to Christchurch, New Zealand just to find out our checked luggage is still in Sydney. We got our luggage two days later but man, I do not think I have ever had a more chaotic travel experience. Long story short: you get what you pay for... Now, back to the better part of our trip. I can honestly say I do not think I have ever come across a country more naturally beautiful than New Zealand. While many western countries are known to suppress their native roots, New Zealand embraces them with open arms - celebrating the indigenous Maori people and traditions, using the eastern Polynesian language and culture in everyday life. The topography of New Zealand was formed by volcanic eruptions and glaciation (or by the Maui tale - see Moana for context), making it a natural beauty. We stayed in the city of Christchurch for our five-day adventure and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The city itself is quaint and cute, full of shopping centers, parks and demolished buildings. The demolished buildings are not necessarily "cute," but they add to the history of the country that is being written each and every day. Christchurch has a history of earthquakes, suffering from a 4,558 episode from 2010 to 2014, leading to the loss of countless lives and mass destruction throughout the city. Since this episode, the city is slowly but surely rebuilding. We spent a good amount of time exploring the city, including the beautiful botanic gardens. In addition the exploring the city, we took advantage of the convenient public transport system to adventure around the surrounding areas. We took a bus to Sumner Beach, discovering the quaint little town and natural rock caves. Rock climbing is not my strong suit, but I slowly made it on top of the cave to gaze upon the vast ocean and the beautiful town built along the mountain. The antithesis of the new, modern houses built along the natural, antiquated land is truly a magnificent site. We also took a bus through the port hills to the Port of Lyttleton, where we took a ferry across to Diamond Harbour, told to be named because one of the early settlers observed the sun reflecting on the water and thought it looked like a thousand shining diamonds. And yes, the myth of the name says it all. We spent a day exploring the nature trails along the harbour. I have never been more keen to walk for hours - the pictures say it all. We also took the Christchurch gondola up the valley and caught a glimpse of the Chirstchurch cityscape, the Canterbury Plains, the Southern Alps and the Banks Peninsula. A sight that did not disappoint. Thank you for sharing your beauty, New Zealand. I hope to be back someday. xoxo, Samantha PS: In reference to my last post, I thankfully came home to no unwanted critters running around my room :)
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Welcome to the most random list of advice. Ever. In light of my current adventure to New Zealand, I figured I would post some pre-traveling tips for a short trip that have saved my life (literally). It is hard to think of everything you have to do to plan a trip amidst studying and the chaos of life in general, so hopefully this toggles your mind on random, easily forgotten stuff!
Obviously this list does not account for everything that needs to be done before you take your weekend adventure, but I found that more often than not, these tips are commonly forgotten beforehand and can lead to a disastrous trip. I am posting this as I sit in the airport, realizing that I forgot to take my trash out. A prime example as to why I should have reread this post before I left. Hopefully my empty box of Tim Tams does not attract any unwanted visitors... Stay tuned. xoxo, Samantha Stressed is an understatement. Week 8 of 12 is approaching, and it's starting to dawn on me that the semester (and my time here) is almost halfway finished. How?! I feel like I stepped off the plane yesterday. So much has happened within the past two months, it's so hard to wrap my brain around it all. I've been here for two months!!! It's so surreal to me. And of course with the semester quickly winding down, assignments are piling up, and my stress levels are through the roof. I'm currently writing this article with a charcoal face mask on, and The Greatest Showman soundtrack blaring in the background. Self-care mode has commenced. I always find myself turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms as a way of dealing with stress and anxiety. And by unhealthy I mean locking myself in my room, binge-watching Supernatural on Netflix and stuffing my face with popcorn until I can't procrastinate my work any longer. It always seems like such a good idea at the time until I start having to pull all-nighters just to get my assignments finished on time, adding way more stress than necessary. I reckon this isn't the most efficient studying method. Thankfully, I'm trying to take a different and (hopefully) more beneficial approach to deal with the intensity of the end of this semester. Fingers crossed! I have four 10-page research papers and a photography portfolio project due at the end of October. I hate having everything due at the same time, I never know what to start with or even when I should start working on them. From now until then, I'm trying to work on one assignment at a time and get them done well before the due dates. It sounds like a good enough plan in my head so why not try, right? I've started working on one paper and my photography portfolio, so hopefully the motivation carries on until the very end. If I can keep this progress up, I'm definitely rewarding myself with a Supernatural marathon. Without a doubt. A month and a half sounds like a good amount of time to get all of this accomplished, but unfortunately the upcoming breaks are my prime traveling times. I have a few trips planned before the end of the semester that I'm so so so excited for, but I feel like these final assignments will be giving me nightmares until I get them done. Obviously my trip planning is not the most ideal or efficient, but I am determined to make it work with my schedule. It sucks when you realize that studying abroad isn't all fun and games. Finding an opportune balance between work and fun here seems nearly impossible - I want to explore the country as much as I can, but I also need to focus on my studies. I feel like it's easy to get caught up in the novelty of exploring a new country and just completely forget the whole reason you're abroad. The rest of the semester is going to be absolutely insane, so stay tuned to see how I make out with dealing with everything and for an update on my upcoming trip to New Zealand this week! This is my first real trip here, and I'm so excited. I've heard so many great things about the country and I can't wait to explore it firsthand! In the meantime, if you ever feel stressed like me, here are some pictures of cute Australian wildlife I've encountered so far :) xoxo, Samantha When I started my college search process junior year of high school, I had no clue what type of school I wanted to go to; however, I knew I didn't want to be a small fish in a large pond. Fast forward an extensive search and many road trips later, and I ended up at Susquehanna University in the (very) small, rural town of Selinsgrove, PA, home to just under 2,200 undergrads. Fast forward a little more time to the present, and I am attending La Trobe University right outside the city of Melbourne, VIC, home to around 36,000 undergrads and grads. To be quite honest, I was always against going to a big school for the fear of dissipating into being just a number. And yes, my fears came true when I realized I really am just a number at this school (like literally, my email address is my student ID number, and my main identifier is my student number, rather than my actual name), but I'm also so much more. I could honestly go on and on about the differences between my two schools, but I won't bore you with the nitty gritty. However, there are some major changes I've undergone to adjust from going to a small, rural school in the US to a big, urban/suburban school in AUS. Whether these differences are dependent on the size of the school or the culture of the country is where the lines get blurry, but they are still worth noting nonetheless: 1) I am a number. My student ID number is everything to me. It's how I sign my name on attendance lists, fill out paperwork, and headline my papers. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. Yes, going to a big school makes it a bit harder to have personal relationships with faculty, but it's not impossible. I feel as though the same amount of help is offered here as it is back home, it's just really up to you to seek it out. 2) Everyone commutes. I think this may just be an Australian thing, but only a very small portion of students actually live on campus at any university here. This makes meeting for group work an absolute nightmare. 3) Teach yourself or fail. Independent learning is a major component to education here. Most classes have one lecture and one tutorial per week, and neither class is mandatory. All lectures are recorded to watch online at any time, and tutorials just reiterate what was said in the lecture. Personally, I only have four physical classes to attend throughout Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Some of my classes are blended, meaning I teach myself the course material online and only attend a tutorial to ask questions. I have absolutely no exams, rather, just a few online quizzes here and there. I have way too many research papers to write. This is the biggest change for me so far. At first I didn't know what I was going to do with my four day weekend, but recently those "free" days have been consumed by writing paper after paper. I've never been exposed to such independent learning practices before, so it has been a big wake up call for me to realize that I really need to get myself together and organized to do well this semester. 4) There's actually stuff to do off campus. Another big change for me. Don't get me wrong, I love the quaint town of Selinsgrove, but I can't help but get frustrated on certain days when I want to do something new and have exhausted all options because I have no car/everything is too far away. Here I can just hop on the tram or a bus and travel throughout the city/suburbs so easily. It's a blessing for those days when I can't look at another paper anymore and just need to get out to explore. However, definitely not a blessing for my wallet... 5) It takes more than 15 minutes to walk across campus. This didn't bode well for me when I almost missed my first class of the semester resulting from not leaving enough time to walk to class, while also not accounting for the fact that I could get lost. And I got very lost. La Trobe University's Bundoora campus, the one I'm on, is the largest campus in the Southern Hemisphere. Definitely not the quaint Susquehanna I'm used to. The size helps with getting a nice workout in walking to and from class everyday, but it sucks when the weather is rough (which has been happening almost every day so far, got to love Melbourne winters). I've been learning recently that different is not always a bad thing. This change of pace at La Trobe is quite refreshing in contrast to my Susquehanna experiences. Despite seeming like a number at times, I have embraced this change with open arms. Approaching new situations with an open mind is so important, and I'm glad that this mindset has made adapting to this new life all the more easy. I love coffee. Extreme emphasis on the love part. Seriously, I have a passion for the stuff. I find nothing better than starting off my day with a fresh, tasty cup of coffee for fuel. And I literally mean nothing is better, because unfortunately I have a caffeine addiction, and on those rare days when I do not get my daily cup of joe - well let's just say... things get ugly. Post-arrival, I had heard many great things about how seriously Australians take their coffee. Quite honestly, I was extremely excited and curious to experience it myself. In America, I usually keep things simple with my coffee order anywhere I go: either an iced or hot black coffee with almond milk. I absolutely love a good light/medium roast coffee paired with the nutty taste of almond milk. The thought alone makes me so happy. My first coffee ordering experience in Australia was... well... a tad awkward when I realized things were not as cut-and-dry as one would expect. Here's how things played out:
As I sipped my strong yet tasty cappuccino, I remained puzzled as ever, pondering why I could not just order plain coffee. Upon further extensive research, I began to realize just how seriously Australians take their coffee - or should I say, espresso. There are nine ways Australians make their coffee (or at least all that I have seen):
Basically, you can get any espresso variation your heart desires, but to my dismay, I can not get my regular coffee with almond milk at just any café here. To top off this shocking news, iced coffee is not a thing here either. Yes, you can order an iced coffee, but you are going to get espresso mixed with ice cream - which sounds really good, but unfortunately it is not the most ideal daily pick-me-up. Through all this confusion and research, the verdict is still out on which type of espresso I enjoy most. As of now, my go-to is a long black with almond milk or a cappuccino with almond milk, but I am always trying new types every once in a while. To sound super cheesy, this experience in Australia has only made me more of a coffee connoisseur than I was before. Every trip I take off campus, be it a 45 minute tram ride or a three hour plane ride, I look for a café that seems promising. Every so often I strike gold and find a café with cold drip or filter coffee - which seem to be the closest things I can find to my home order. Those days are absolute blessings. Slowly but surely, I am growing accustomed to the bitter and rich taste of espresso - it definitely does the job of a caffeine pick-me-up for sure. My only concern now is returning to America to find that my black coffee with almond milk isn't strong enough for me anymore... A few days ago I started my 23-hour journey, full of emotions, crappy food and five hours of sleep, to Melbourne, Australia. If you follow me on social media you're probably confused out of your mind right now, but long story short: I'm just getting around to posting my blogs for the semester. The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind of every emotion you can possibly imagine. I hopped off the plane (from 90 degree to 40 degree weather), arrived at La Trobe University, got to my room and was instantly consumed by a series of panic attacks. Now, for those of you who know me, you know that I'm horrible at talking about and showing my emotions. However, everything is so overwhelming, I can't keep my emotions to myself: I just travelled for an entire day, flying halfway across the world to live alone in a foreign country for five months. It still feels so surreal, and I really do miss home already (despite what I tell my parents). If I'm going to be honest, this whole 'girl-with-no-emotions-turns-very-emotional' thing has been lasting for a few days (and I am quite over it); however, a lot of people are reaching out to me, asking me how I am and giving me advice. It has helped a great deal knowing that even though I'm all alone, I'm not. If there is one thing this past week has taught me, it's that your emotions and feelings are completely valid, and everyone handles big life-changing situations differently. A word of advice to everyone going abroad in the upcoming weeks, and the future in general: I think it is so important to power through the jet-lag and your emotions for the first few weeks abroad. You may feel inclined to lock yourself in your room, sleep all day, binge-watch Netflix and call home every chance you get, but in all honestly, that just digs you deeper into the homesick hole. Find a group of friends to explore with, I promise it's easier than it seems (every international student is in the same boat as you, and every national student loves making friends with internationals). Some days you may really have to dig deep and find the courage to leave your room, but you will be thanking yourself in the long-term. While I have been going through some rough moments, I have also taken advantage of pretty great opportunities to explore this past week. After the hustle and bustle of check-in (and then re-checking in because we checked in at the wrong place) died out, a group of us four Susquehanna students + a few new friends from the Netherlands and Australia set out each day thus far to explore both the surrounding town of Bundoora and the nearby city of Melbourne. My campus has a plethora of bus and tram stations to explore the city and the neighboring area, and I can already tell that this is going to come in handy the next few months. I'm still adapting to this whole living alone in a foreign country thing, and to be honest, I don't think I will ever fully get the hang of it, but I'm learning that it is ok. It's so hard to prepare yourself for an experience like this, and I only wish that I could have known what would come of this first week or so. It's so hard to tell how you are going to react to a completely new situation that you have never encountered before. But, in reality, I think the unknown is the beauty of it all. Will I like living in this city/country? Will the homesick feeling go away? What will become of me in the next five months? These questions frighten yet intrigue me in every way. Stick around to travel alongside me while I learn to answer these questions openly and genuinely. xoxo, Samantha |
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September 2018
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