Submitted by Christina Le Febvre on the 2020 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering…
I had only left the country once prior to my trip to New Zealand – it was to go to Germany when I was 1 year old. Of course, I do not remember that trip at all. When I got accepted onto this program to New Zealand, I was extremely excited to expand my global citizenship by traveling abroad.
It has now been one week and I am having a wonderful time. There are 35 students on this program as well as two Teaching Assistants and two Professors. Traveling with so many new people really opens up the opportunity to learn new things from them and take on new perspectives. For example, we are currently living in flats of six people. At home, I live in a single room in a residence hall so I do not really get the chance to live and cook in conjunction with others. New people also opened up the opportunity to experience the country with a fresh group of students.
One of our adventures took us to a very high point in Christchurch, New Zealand. A small group of us, motivated by one of our assignments to visit locations around the city, took a ride up the Christchurch Gondolas. From the top, not only was I able to see the city of Christchurch, but I gained a whole new perspective on the other side of the mountains.
Perspective taking can happen between people every day, but sometimes it is the literal definition of seeing the world from a new perspective that really resonates with us. 