Some New Zealand Reflections

I remember waking up on my last morning in Wellington and having my heart sink at the sight of my empty-looking room. For the past six weeks, Weir House was my home base. No matter where my weekends took me, I had somewhere to come back to. Somewhere to call my home in the southern hemisphere. 

I learned much more in New Zealand than I ever could have expected. It was where, for the first time, I really felt like I developed opinions about political systems after experiencing New Zealand's Parliament. I finally understand why endangered species are so important to keep around and the different ways to go about protecting them. I understand why people go on seven-hour hikes, and that maybe I’d like to do another one someday. I was able to experience some of the most majestic scenery in the world with new friends.

It’s almost hard to put into words what exactly I’m gaining from this experience. For me, I feel like just in these first six weeks, I have a greater appreciation for everyone and everything in my life, as well as the greater world around me. Gallivanting around the world is incredible, but I’ve realized that I don’t ever want to live too far from my family. I have a new appreciation for traveling, but also for being able to call the United States home. There are some luxuries that we simply take for granted – like fast internet and large glasses of water (I still don’t understand why every water cup here is smaller than a teacup).

And then of course there are all the things I have experienced that I never thought I would. While it’s fun, it takes a lot of trust in people to make yourself fall off a cliff and make sure they don’t let you die. I never thought that I would enjoy seeing scenery in a kayak as much as I have in the past few weeks. I never, ever expected that my first time experiencing class 3 rapids would be hanging on to a little sledge. I survived a seven hour hike through a volcanically active area. There’s so much more I could say but this post would become unbearably long.

One of the most important things I’m trying to keep in mind here is to enjoy the small, unexpected moments- like finding that beautiful black-sand beach on our way to Waitomo our first weekend and stumbling upon Brisbane’s giant Ferris wheel that lights up purple at night. The world is a wonderful place, and sometimes we all have trouble remembering that when we have an assignment due or appointments to make. If there’s one thing I’ve learned here, you can always make time for the things you really want to do. The things you “need” to do will get done well at some point, and you’ll learn to sacrifice the things that are slightly less important in order to get them done. Sometimes I think New Zealand does a better job prioritizing than America does.