I arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand on February 6th after a LONG journey. My journey started in Omaha, Nebraska where I got on a plane and flew to Los Angeles. This was one of the worst parts of the trip. I had a six hour layover in LAX. I entertained myself by calling all my close friends and talking to them before I left for good. At 10:30 PM, I was able to board the plane headed towards Auckland. The thirteen hour journey went fast despite me being claustrophobic and hot during the extremely full flight. One of the hiccups I found during my 30 hour journey to the University of Canterbury was that my baggage landed in Auckland and that I had to go through customs there. Everyone I talked to said everything would head straight to Christchurch. I’m glad I listened to my gut on THAT matter. So this is a forewarning for everyone, make sure to check your baggage because you never know what will happen.
After a long, hot flight, I made it to Christchurch and to the University. I found out that I was on the early side of arrival. No one was there, besides one of my roommates that went on a weekend trip. I spent Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday not knowing what to do with my time. I got groceries and wandered the mostly residential area that didn’t offer much to do. No other students were really on campus until Saturday. Both of my roommates ended up being other students from the U.S., which is nice to know they are going through the same things as I am.
Probably most of you are wondering how different New Zealand is from the U.S. as I sure was wondering this coming here. For the most part, it really isn’t that different. They have some of the same shops, brands, and eateries that we do a.k.a. Starbucks, McDonald's, Subway, KFC, and a bunch more. The biggest difference is that they drive on the opposite side of the road, which takes some getting used to.
Other than that, not much has happened on this side of the world. I’ve started to meet people as they’ve arrived on campus and am attempting to navigate my way through a world that is slightly different than the one we are used to. I probably won’t have a lot to say until after classes start on the 17th, but I think I’m really going to like it here.
Hello
Goodbye
Good Morning
Until we meet again,
Kayla Ragaller