Harvey Scholar Travels - Caleb in New Zealand

Kia Ora (Hello in Maori)! I spent the Spring 2017 semester studying in Christchurch, New Zealand where I took a combination of engineering and humanity courses. Studying abroad has always been a goal of mine because there is so much culture to experience outside of your home university. After sophomore year I decided that it was time to make it a reality and began researching schools. One of the first schools that caught my eye was University of Canterbury and I did more digging into what sort of activities NZ had to offer. It only took about 2 hours of looking at pictures of people catching record trout fly-fishing, bungee jumping, and of the landscape before I knew it was where I wanted to study.

After a fall semester full of paperwork for things like visa applications and pre-approving credits to transfer back to CSM, I couldn’t believe how close I was to flying halfway around the world for 5 months! Sure enough, February came and I boarded a plane at a rural Colorado airport and my journey began (officially!). The first week was similar to the start of freshman year as I spent most of my time meeting other students from around the world and exploring my new home. A friend group of nearly 20 students formed and we spent every following weekend exploring what New Zealand had to offer.

One of our first trips was a three-day weekend to Wanaka where we camped, hiked, swam, and explored the nightlife.

Here is the view from the top of Roy’s peak, a famous hike off Lake Wanaka.

A view of Blue Pools where we jumped off the bridge into glacial runoff.

Schoolwork picked up as we moved closer to midterms. I took both a Maori and New Zealand history course to learn about material I wouldn’t be able to in the US. I also took a couple engineering courses to ensure I would be on track to graduate, but I really enjoyed all 4 professors I had. They were very knowledgeable and willing to help me succeed, even as a foreign student. The students in my classes were also always willing to give me rides to field trips, help with homework, and include me in their groups for projects.

The mid-semester break at UC is 3 weeks long, so 8 of our friends went in and rented two camper vans to take to the North Island for two weeks. During this time I learned how to drive on the left side of the road, which became extra exhilarating each time I approached a round-a-bout.

Atop the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, another popular trek in NZ.

Touring Hobbiton.

Exploring the Sand Dunes near Cape Reinga at the Northern most part of the North Island.

After dropping off our beloved camper vans, we all flew to Queenstown, also known as the Adventure Capitol of the World, and for good reason. While here various members of our group went kayaking, fly-fishing, bungee jumping, rafting, sky diving, hang gliding, and hiking.

A world-class brown trout from a river flowing through Fiordland National Park

Finally break came to an end and I re-entered the reality of school. The second term was full of new engineering projects and field trips around Christchurch. My engineering project was designing a wheelchair capable of climbing 3 stairs. I was put in a group with two kiwis and a student from Denmark. We had a great final design and I got to experience some different engineering educations from other countries.

The last week of finals, most of us American students were done testing and trying to fit in our last few adventures before we had to leave the country. This meant one last road trip!

The start of the hike to Franz Josef Glacier

Liza on the Moeraki Boulders (big, round rocks in the middle of nowhere, on a beach)

Most of the gang outside the Cadbury Chocolate Factory tour. I never thought I would be able to eat enough chocolate to feel sick, but I did.

Finally, on June 28th I returned to Colorado on a 14 hour flight, disoriented and culture-shocked. I ate Taco Bell at 1am that night and it has never tasted so good. Studying abroad in New Zealand was the best college experience I could ever hope to have, and I am very grateful for my opportunity to do so.