As a recent graduate, the most common question I have gotten asked over the past couple months has been, “so, what are you doing next year?” What people do not expect you to say as an answer to that question is that you are going to be teaching abroad in South Korea for a year….

I’m no longer a student abroad, I’m now a vacationer. I’ve traded in my backpack, boots, and school books for my suitcase, hiking boots, and guide book. It’s weird no longer “living” in New Zealand. I can’t exactly say I live here anymore, as I no longer have an address here. I would also say…

About 6 hours north of Auckland, through pastures of cow and sheep and past many rolling hills, the New Zealand journeyer gets to a very special Maori location, more commonly known as Cape Reinga, the Northernest tip of New Zealand. At this location one can stand next to a lighthouse where a sign post indicates…

Wellington spoke to me in a way Auckland never did. I think that’s because Wellington is a sutler city, not screaming for attention with its car alarms and endless construction (Auckland for ya). Wellington is very put together, busy main roads are limited and instead the majority of the city consists of sculptures, boardwalks, and…

I’ve been to many lakes in the states. Some big, some small, and let me tell you, they are some of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. The small lakes glitter from the suns rays as they lay cradled within a forests grasp, pure and free from the touch of man. The large…

In the States, especially in Massachusetts, going to the beach has a standard meaning. There’s the cutesy beach towns, crab shacks, ice cream stands, boardwalks, and white grainy sand that leads down to a more or less flat tide of ocean.This is how I grew up going to the beach, and when it comes down to…

As you cross through the gate everything changes. There’s watchmen there, staring at you as you easily drive through in the sturdy shuttle bus. They must stand there all day, keeping the poverty out. I’m surrounded by Californian style homes and bright green golf courses, the atmosphere you would expect in a suburb of LA,…

I expected paradise. Which I found, I’m not saying Fiji isn’t paradise, I’m just saying that is not the majority of what Fiji is. Tropical islands are always advertised as these incredible getaways with fancy resorts including a minimum of 5 swimming pools, spas around every corner, and endless white sand beaches that look out…

Rotorua, one of New Zealand’s most popular tourist locations, is a smelly town surrounded by lakes with sulfur borders and geothermal vents that send steam into the sky and with it an eggy odor. This is the location of my latest New Zealand adventure. We were warned it would smell. We were expecting it to…

I never knew they designed 7-seater vans so small until this past weekend, when I had the pleasure of riding in the far back corner of one with a wall of sleeping bags at my head and a stack of pads jutting into my side. My toes couldn’t move between the pile of wet smelly…

The following process for Hobbit transformation is geared towards individuals who a.) are currently studying abroad in Auckland New Zealand, b.) have no car, c.) want to spend as little money as possible and d.) are willing to sacrifice the proper amount of the following necessities: hygiene, sleep, food, and water. Step 1: Set an…

Based off of the couple days that I have been in Auckland, here is some terminology to help an outsider get accustomed to New Zealand life. “Kiwi” – New Zealand’s national flightless bird, but more commonly referenced as a person who is native to New Zealand. I’ve only met a couple kiwi students so far,…