Although classes were done, school work continued. Plenty of papers needed to be completed, and one exam needed to be taken. However, there was still some fun to be had before most of the study-abroaders went home! On a windy spring afternoon, we held a picnic in Kingston’s Fairfield Park. Organized by Philip, Jen and Alison, it was an afternoon complete with refreshments and sporting equipment. It was a nice opportunity to see everyone from British Life and Culture just one more time, and outside of the classroom setting. We engaged in some football (soccer to Americans) passes, as well as rugby passes, neither of which I excelled at, but found enjoyable. The highlight of the picnic was the touch rugby game, during which Philip and Jen captained each team with vigor.

I did not engage in this, but was amused from the sidelines. The game of rubgy still baffles me…

Although this splendid picnic in the park marked the end of the study abroad experience for some, I would stay in UK for over another month. It turned out to be probably the most exciting, productive, and surreal month of my life!

To celebrate the end of classes in early May, my friends Niki, Laura, Christine and I planned a long weekend in Wales. We took the National Express coachbus to Cardiff, the Welsh Capital, and stayed in the city for a couple of nights. Although our hostel was based in Cardiff, most of our sightseeing was done in the countryside and in the valleys.

On a gorgeous Sunday, we ventured to Caerphilly Castle. Vacated for centuries, Caerphilly is very much a ruin. Today it exists as a museum, a reception venue for weddings, and it is also a popular hangout for fishermen and dogwalkers. Its location is not on a great crop of rock, but rather simply the green hills of the Welsh countryside. An interesting fact about Caerphilly is that one of its towers out-leans the leaning tower of Pisa!

Wandering the grounds of Caerphilly was one of my favorite experiences in the United Kingdom. The green hills, wonderful weather, and minimal crowds all made the day so peaceful, and I had wished I had prepared a picnic.

Although it doesn’t have the ceremony and the trimmings of Windsor Castle, Caerphilly provides quite the playground for anyone who ever dreamed of exploring the remains of a medieval castle! Complete with a water-filled moat and a bridge, it is perhaps the castle I had always wanted to see in reality.

On a drizzly monday morning, we travelled by bus to the Rhondda Valley in search of its famous mining community of the past. At the Rhondda ValleyHertiage Park, the four of us were given a private tour by an ex-miner named Terry. We wandered the mining facilities, and even went a bit underground to see a reconstruction of the real mines that lay far down below.

Later that night, before catching our bus back to London, we went to Cardiff Castle.

I had fallen asleep on the busride from the Rhondda Valley back to Cardiff, so I was rather dazed and exhausted while touring the famous castle of Cardiff. However, I took some great pictures from the top of the fortress, and walked through the drizzle to go back home.

Well here I am, back in upstate NY after a good five months on the other side of the world.

It’s sort of funny that the one thing that every and anybody wants to know right off the bat is “How was it?”… Taking that question into consideration on the spot, about half a million experiences, faces, lessons, landscapes: memories… everything that I gained while in New Zealand runs through my head, and with a deep breath the only thing that I can respond with is something along the lines of, “Great!” With a smile.

Even stepping back and taking the time to write about what I’ve taken out of New Zealand is very difficult, and I’ve got to say that I’m rather pleased that I kept a journal with me while over there! Study abroad, I imagine, opens up different opportunities for each individual who goes, and likewise each person takes out what they learn for themselves, depending on where they are at that time in their life, and can reflect on it in their own way…

However, something that I’m sure holds some similarities for most travellers is the leaving and returning… I had a very difficult goodbye to say to New Zealand: friends and home. But when considering how meaningful each goodbye and everything that seemed at the time like a loss was, the experience was, at the same time, pretty spectacular to be able to experience… My mom has always said, “It’s better to leave a place before you’re ready than stay too long” afterall, which is so true! I’d rather only have great things that are drawing me back to a place to remember than simply remember wanting to leave. I mean, who would really want that for a memory?

I returned to the US in a state of exhaustion, emotional drain and lack of sleep, but I was welcomed by a friend of mine in the LA airport whose sight cheered me up instantly! I was in my home country again! The first thing that I remember noticing was the sound of what seemed to be an all around exaggerated American accent- everywhere! And then I noticed how slowly the clouds were moving across the sky compared to the constantly fast moving sky of Wellington- the windy city!

Since I returned to the States, I’ve continued to notice a number of other differences between places, caught up on a whole lot of necessary sleep, and I’ve slowly re-acclimated to the hot weather! Though I didn’t return home right away, it’s taken the past 2 1/2 to 3 weeks of being back in the states to feel fully recovered, and I’ve got to tell you, everybody was right! Now that I’m back and settled, I’m antsy as to go on another overseas adventure!

While I can’t tell you everything about New Zealand that I have experienced, I do hope that I’ve been able to do justice to the small, beautiful country down under.

Other than a thanks for reading my blog, I lastly want to tell ANYBODY who is considering study abroad to do it. You will not have an experience and travel opportunity like it any other time!

-Alida

“You alright, yeah?” is a typical greeting among British youth. I hope you are alright indeed, and I apologize for the posting silence. As finals are now done, I have been travelling around the UK, and seeing things that I have always dreamed of.

I returned from Switzerland and Germany (a ten-day trip) on the Queen’s birthday. It was really a fitting day to fly back. During my time in Europe, on the continent, I was homesick…or rather, home-base sick, for the UK. Upon landing, I vowed to myself that I would dedicate the rest of my time abroad this semester to seeing the UK and all that it has to offer!

To celebrate our return to England, my friends and I went to Cambridge. Like Oxford, Cambridge is a university town, but with much more open space. The highlight of our day was our punting boat ride down the river Cam, which weaves its way past the various college campuses!

Just two days later was one of Britain’s biggest holidays: May Day! The first of May is a Bank Holiday, but more importantly, the cermonial start of Spring! Kingston had its very own May Day festival called “May Merrie”. The local park green was completely transformed into a fairground, with rides, games, booths, puppet shows, and a jousting competition. I honestly forgot I was just right around the corner from my flat!

Barely over 3 weeks left here in New Zealand, classes just finished yesterday, and
I’m finally blogging something about Victoria University! To confirm
the curiosity of those of you wondering whether or not I do actually
attend university here, I do! As a matter of fact, I am enrolled in
three courses here (called, “papers”). There are four victoria
University campuses throughout the city of Wellington, two of which I
attend. Though I live a 5 minute walk from Pipitea campus, which is
primarily Law and Commerce, I take classes up hill at Kelburn (the
main Uni campus) and at Te Aro, which I walk 25-30 minutes through
the city to get to.

Each course here is worth slightly more than classes at home as far
as points/credits go, and therefore a minimum of 3 classes will
enroll you as a full time student. However, the classes require a
bit more work, as there are three hours/week of class time per paper
and another extra hour of the week allotted to a mandatory tutorial.

Most classes require students to buy “Notes” which is basically all
of the readings photo copied and binded together in one big book,
cutting down the number of books necessary to be purchased.

One of the classes that I’m enrolled in, and my favorite, is Maori
123, Culture and Society. Funny enough, a vast majority of the class
consists of study abroad students, and a few kiwis (many of them
Maori). In the class, we’ve basically learned the background of the
indigenous culture of this small South Pacific country, and the
di/progression of it throughout the past centuries. It’s been an
incredible way to understand much of the atmosphere of this country,
and a great way to involve myself with some Maori traditions with at
least a little understanding of their background, passions and
beliefs. I would highly recommend a Maori class of some kind to
anybody studying abroad over here in New Zealand!

I’m officially done with Uni on June 16th- my last final exam, and then I have 10 days left to find some more adventures before I join the rest of you back home for summer… What’s everybody up to, anyway?

See you all soon :o)

…Is a beautiful city right on the harbour of Oriental Bay on the southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. The city skyline can be seen while walking down along the harbour.

…Is Windy!

and is full of all sort of plants, both indigenous and introduced.

…Is the capitol city of New Zealand. One can stroll right outside of Parliment as they please- night and day! (Amazing, huh?) There are also free tours of the buildings on the hour daily. The far building is known as “The Beehive” here in Wellington. Apparently that end was meant to have mimmicked the other half of Parliment, but they ran out of room! The older half is made up of solid marble blocks taken from various places throughout New Zealand.

…Has everything within walking distance. Weekly I walk across the front of Parliment, working my way to the local grocery store, New World.

…Is the home of the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere, second in the world only to The Todaiji temple in Nara, Japan (Northern Hemisphere).

This is the Victoria University Law School on Pipitea Campus (One of 4 Vic campuses throughout Wellington)

…is easy to commute in and out of. There is also a free shuttle from the Railway Station to the Interislander Ferry Terminal for connection between the two islands!

…has artwork everywhere. This includes that all too famous bucket fountain designed in the 70s and still standing in the center of Cuba Mall. It’s uncertain whether the design of the fountain which splashes unaware people as they stroll by the lovely commons was intentional or not… Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan (Better known to many as the Hobbits, Frodo and Merry) Peed in this fountain, which has only increased the fame of this bizarre contraption.

…Also has entertainment everywhere! (This includes various musicians, singers, fire eaters, unicyclists, beatboxers… performers of all ages, talents… you name it!) Live entertainment can be found at any time of day or night on Cuba Street.

…has a national museum! Along with the permanent exhibits that take you through the history and progression of New Zealand, the is currently a temporary Lord of the Rings installation.

Unfortuantely, photos are not allowed in this particular exhibition, but I can at least give you a taste of what was inside:

This is a 1:12 scale miniature model, and the only one needed for the entire film. “They filmed it dressed up in four different ways, then put the shots together digitally… Corsair Ship: Made by Weta Workshops. Made from timber, urethane, fabric, and paint.”

…The Exhibition is up through August, so, you know… if anybody happens to be in the area :o)
http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/Tepapa/

Wellington!…

…has Civic Square, a big, beautiful open commons right near the harbour.

It’s lined and decorated by various pieces of art as well as a gallery, the Visitor Information center (”i site”) and the city Library. If you get a membership at the city library, there are 3 dollar video rentals for a week!

… Is gorges?

???

I can remember sitting at my kitchen table back home in Groton, NY staring at what felt like an infinite number of options of where to live here in Wellington, New Zealand. I could flat with other uni students throughout the city, I could live with a family in the Wellington area, which would provide me with food and a place to sleep, but on the other hand I would have to find transportation daily into the city, and I’d be farther from other students. I could take advantage of the flatting provided through Victoria, which upon deciding to do, was presented with even more decisions! Did I want to live right in the city? What campus did I want to live near? What halls seemed to provide the most (electricity, furniture, internet, heat, etc…) and what combination of these was the most appealing? Did I want a meal plan? or to cook for myself? what were the best prices? Yikes! Decisions decisions (not exactly my favorite thing to make!)

I eventually came to the decision to live in the flats provided by Victoria, and Stafford House sounded pretty good to me, so I put it down as my first choice, and got in!

Stafford house is on the beginning of The Terrace and not a 4 minute walk from the Parliment buildings. There is a delicious coffee shop right next door, as well as a dairy. The Terrace is parallel to Lambton Quay, one of the busiest streets in Wellington, and it provides about a 20 minute uphill walk to Uni… (You’re lucky if you’re not dripping in sweat by the time you get there- even on cooler days!)

Stafford at eyelevel looks just like the base of any apartment building. There’s a glass awning over the entrance, so many people tend miss the overwhelming feeling of dizzy verticle stripes at the simple tilt of their head, but the modernized zebra-look is what helps Stafford to stand out in Wellington (though, there is one other building in the city painted up like a big zebra).

This is my view as I leave stafford every day to wander the city of Wellington.

In the lobby of Stafford House, there is a World Map with pins for everybody to share where they’re from. There are students from everywhere here- Aside from Americans and Kiwis, there are a number of Aussies, Europeans (from Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, Norway, Finland…) Asians, and Pacific Islanders, Indonesians- All in Stafford House! Everybody wants to come to New Zealand! (And I honestly can’t blame them ;o) )

Moving on to my flat!

Stafford house provides each fully furnished flat with a kitchen, a table and chairs, a bathroom, washer/dryer, and a couch. (And three bedrooms…) It is so nice to cook for myself, and be able to decide just what I want to eat. The pictures on the wall just so happen to be from the gorges town of Ithaca, and with one of our chairs that has fallen apart, my flatmates and I were able to rig up a decent television stand!

There are three bedrooms in each flat, all differently shaped and sized. I have only one window, but because our flat is quite high up, I get a decent amount of sunlight through my window.

The rooms each came with a desk, bed, drawers, lamp and a wardrobe. On the wall to the left of my desk I hung a huge poster up backwards so that friends (and I) can draw on my wall! It’s been one way to make my room a bit more cozy and feel lived in (seeing as I didn’t bring anything to hang up with me).
…You’ll notice the Ginger Beer bottles on my desk. Gingerbeer here is sooo good- sweetened with honey! (Genius!) It’s one thing I think I will genuinely miss when I leave in 4 weeks.

Stafford House takes a lot of pride, I think, in housing so many international students, and to express their appreciation for living with them, Marie and Stewart (The wonderful owners of Stafford), took everybody leaving the building out to dinner just last night. It was such a brilliant way for everybody to interact, and for us to hang out with Marie and Stewart beyond the walls of our building a little.

The food, too, was wonderful! And the proportions HUGE.

Stafford has been an excellent place to live. I feel so situated in this area of the city. The grocery store is close, the Botanical Gardens a 10 minute walk up behind my building, and I know my walk to Uni by heart: the businesses, coffee shops, crosswalks, the tall buildings that reflect the rest of the cityline, and the shortcut through the woods that I take every chance that I get. Marie and Stewart are great, I have had so much fun cooking for myself, and both my flatmates and building…mates have turned out to be wonderful! Stafford has become my home and my family for my stay here- so far away from my home and family in the States…

…And though I can’t wait to return to them, I’ve got to say- it’s going to be difficult to say goodbye here. :o)

The past two weeks have been busy with sunny weather, rainy weather, finishing up big trimester projects and organizing what time I have left way down here. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, I spent my mid trimester break back packing and hiking around the South Island. Despite the rain, I experienced some magnificent views and met some pretty awesome people who I’m sure that I will never forget. While much happened on that trip however, I’d like to reflect a little bit more on my return to Wellington.

Before I hopped on the Ferry and headed to the South Island, I couldn’t wait to get out of Wellington- this city that I had spent the past couple of months living in- I couldn’t wait to check out the wonders of the South and jump into the adventures that it held in store (positive that they would be more brilliant than I could imagine). Ironically, my return to Wellington very well may havebeen the best part ofthe trip! As I was walking down Lambton Quay (pronouced “key”), the biggest shopping street in Wellington, on the way back to my flat, I suddenly realized that it felt different to be there. It was the first time that I no longer felt like I was visiting Wellington, but rather understood that I was returning to it. It was a home base. I entered my building only to be welcomed by hugs from friends I had never hugged before, and exchange some pretty amazing smiles. Throughout the next week or so jumbled full of catching up with friends over coffee, taking walks to my favorite parts of the city, getting to know people better, and decorating the walls of our flat (finally!), I gradually felt more and more like I belong here. That I live here. And so, as it goes, Wellington has become mine. Wellington is a home to me!

I’d like to share a little bit more of the life around Wellington, but due to the raininess that winter brings here on the bay, I’ll have to wait a little while to get some more decent pictures…

In the meantime, I hope that everything back home is going well and that finals are wrapping up brilliantly!

Upon the start of Spring Break, I was in for my most intensive art history lesson yet. Rather than looking at slides of Florentine Art and Architecture, I was actually seeing the churches, palaces, paintings and sculptures with my own eyes! The “Art and Architecture of Renaissance Florence” Study Trip was an amazing opportunity.

We arrived in Pisa and drove an hour south to Florence. One of the most interesting aspects of the Italian landscape was the form of the trees. I always though Renaissance artists were using creative license when painting such vertical and closely-clipped trees, but I saw that the forms were indeed real.

David, the Duomo, and a portrait of the dome’s architect Brunelleschi

The Beautiful Arno River

In addition to seeing the major sites and works, the best part about my experience in Florence was the element of surprise. It was great to stumble upon my favorite pieces that I hadn’t expected to see in Florence, but elsewhere in Italy. I would also like to extend a huge “Thank You” to Ros Ormiston for being such an awesome professor and guide despite the pain of her broken arm.

Hey everybody, I have a lot of catching up to do!

About a month ago, my mother came to visit me here in London, and it was her first time to Britain. I hoped she would be enchanted by this great land and she sure was indeed. How fitting that she arrived the weekend of Britain’s Mother’s Day!

Here we are in “Sticky Fingers”, the Rolling Stones themed restaurant owned by former band member Bill Wyman.

picture from http://www.billyelliotthemusical.me.uk