The 4 Stages of Being Abroad

And just like that, classes were over. For good. One whole semester. Done.

Yesterday we had a barbeque and a huge water fight in celebration of the last day of class. I saved my camera from death by water, so unfortunately I don’t have any pictures, but I (and everyone) was absolutely soaked from head to toe.  It started out with innocent little water balloons and turned into buckets full of water getting thrown and dumped on people.  F-U-N.  That night I ended up hanging out with the other kids in my hall on “the hill” and then got persuaded to go out with them, but escaped back to Uni before I got dragged into town (success).  A movie sounded like a muchhh better idea.

This morning I’m headed to Auckland via the trusty NakedBus.  From Auckland I will attempt to find a bus that will get me to Red Beach.  Assuming that I make it that far, I will then be picked up by my WWOOFer host!  All I know is her name is Leonie.  We’ll see how this whole things works out, but hopefully I will actually physically make it there.  I will be staying with Leonie and her 2 kids, working around their house and in their organic veggie garden and just being a part of their family for the week!  I guess I'm just trusting that this family is sane and not crazy... I guess we shall see.

Pip and me

Piggy back from Pep

Last semester, when I first knew that I was officially going to be spending the fall semester in New Zealand, one of my Furman friends, Whitney, gave me a little tutorial.  So here I give to you…

The Four Stages of Studying Abroad

Stage 1: “Dang! This is AWESOME!” 

When I first got here, that was exactly what I said and thought.  Of course, there were LOTS of adjustments to be made, but overall, I was so taken aback by the rolling hills, beautiful sky, surplus of rural-ness, sheep, and everything else.  I’d say this stage lasted about 2.5-3 weeks.

Stage 2: “Ok, so I’m actually going to be living here for a while. I better start figuring things out.” 

I think stage 2 officially began when my computer took the dive off the deep end.  For the first time here, I had to figure out streets, phones, buses, etc.  Besides that, this stage consisted of getting acquainted with the city, transportation, hostels, inter-city buses, and locations of cities around Hamilton.  I think the fact that I was going to be here for so long really hit me when I started to get into a school/everyday routine.  It started to feel more like life and less like a vacation when the assignments piled up.  The thing that really helped me during this stage (and stage 3) was finding the church that I have been going to for the past few months.  It was such a blessing to be able to add that (and Sunday lunch at the Hemmes’) to the weekly routine.  As a rough estimate, I was in stage 2 for about 6 weeks.

Stage 3: “AM I EVER GOING HOME?!”

Oh gosh. This one was HARD and I am beyond glad that it’s OVER! Hallelujah! You know that feeling when something just seems SO far away that it will actually never ever get here?  Like New Years or the Super Bowl or Anna starting kindergarten or that huge exam or the dreaded dentist appointment or just the weekend… Most days, and still, it felt like November 5^th was an eternity away (I’m making it sound like I came over here just wanting to go back home, but that’s not how it is/was at ALL!).  My stage 3 was probably lengthier than most people’s and it was definitely happening in conjunction with stage 1 and stage 2.  It seems like the thought of home and how much I have missed it came especially during downtime.  I tried to keep busy on the weekends and during the day, but there’s always going to be downtime, and I actually love downtime, but I don’t love being homesick—so unfortunately this was a hard balance and maybe actually impossible.  Anyways, during stage 3 I longed for home to the MAX.  Knowing myself, I KNEW I was going to get homesick over here long before I even left… I mean, after all, I was that girl who always had to have my mom chaperone school field trips and didn’t stay the night at friends’ houses until about 10^th grade. Let’s be real here, it was expected.  I was prepared to just get over it over here though I guess.  It’s not like I could just hop on a plane real quick and go home or anything. It was definitely a blessing that I wasn’t able to be home in an instant though because after watching that Braves game a few weeks ago, I would’ve done that in a heartbeat. Stage 3 may have lasted the whole time, but especially the month of September.  Oh home…

Stage 4: “But wait, I’m not so sure I want to leave yet!”

And now stage 4 is in full swing.  Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’m not so sure I want it to be coming at me so fast.  It’s an even mix between wanting to be home and not wanting to leave at the same time.  It’s starting to hit me that the friends I’ve made over here are going to be staying here and not coming back with me.  I’ve also started to realize that I’m still getting to know people and it’s so hard (and rude) to just up and leave in the middle of that whole process.  It’s sad to think that I would have to fly all the way back here (and empty my bank account) just to hang out with the people I’ve met.  Thank goodness for technology!  I don’t think I could stand to be away from my family for any longer than I have already, so I will indeed be going home, but I just wish I could bring NZ with me.  I guess I’ll just have to come back :)

Interesting Observations:

-wardrobe=closet

-“neckminit”=”and then the next minute” Example: “The last thing I knew I was standing up, and neckminit…” or sometimes the word is just blurted out randomly.  I like this one, but I'm not quite sure I fully understand how to use it.

-“hard out”=”really intensely” or “INTENSE!” Example: “She was biking hard out yesterday” or it can be used just as a response to something intense someone says.

 study time in town the other day