Submitted by Michael McClosky on the 2017 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Computer and Information Sciences…
Christchurch to Te Anau. Te Anau to Milford Sound and back. Te Anau to Queenstown. Queenstown to Mt. Cook Village to Christchurch. Christchurch to Nelson and back. 1,500 miles in 7 days.
To put this program in perspective for people from the United States, 1,500 miles is nearly the distance between Montreal and Miami. Combining this trek with 30 hours of teaching experience in the field, the rapid development of an educational game and various other excursions for hiking and sightseeing, and a reader can start to get the feel for how packed this program was.
In addition, trying to find my way around a new city, learning its public transport system, trying to understand phrases, dialects and thick Kiwi accents and consistently reminding myself to be very careful when crossing the streets (as they drive on the wrong side of the road here), has demanded more mental energy than I ever would have assumed going into this program.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is not meant to bemoan my situation. It would be a massive understatement to say that this program was incredible. The things that I’ve seen and the experiences I’ve had in this country were truly once in a lifetime opportunities and I’m sure that I’ll miss the proximity to the natural beauty and the wonderful summer weather.
Even though this program has been an amazing one, a tour de force of the South Island, I’m looking forward to the slower pace of things upon returning. I know that the departure from such a beautiful country will be bittersweet, but I’m okay with returning to my boring little house in boring little Newark, Delaware. Below are two of my favorite pictures from the program:
