Submitted by Parker Chan on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology…
Another week has passed by and I’m starting to understand why everyone who’s come to New Zealand falls in love with the country. The landscape is so beautiful and the people in general are just genuinely kind here. I’ve been able to have great conversations with everyone whom I’ve spoken to, whether if it’s at a restaurant or on one of our hikes. There is one thing that I’m still having some struggles with and that’s traffic patterns. Now going into this program, I even thought “how hard could it be to look right then left instead of left then right”. Boy, was I wrong about how difficult it is to change that habit. This entire time, I’ve had to consciously think about looking right then left and although I’m slowly starting to remember it regularly, I’m worried that when I come back, I’m going to have to change it back and struggle again. This past weekend, we were given our first free weekend, so we collectively went to Queenstown which is considered the “adventure capital of the world”. I have one piece of advice for those who come to this area; do something that scares you and take that leap of faith. You only have one chance to come to Queenstown so make your stay here as memorable as it can be. This program has been unreal to say the least and although we’re at our halfway point in the semester, I’m going to soak up as much as I can with the remaining time I have left.
