Story Location: New Zealand
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A Beginners Guide to Adventure in New Zealand
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The move to New Zealand was easy enough. The people are extraordinarily friendly and my diet consisted of fish and chips, Asian food, and the muesli bars. The part of the experience that I didn鈥檛 see coming was my love-hate relationship with nature. In order to immerse myself in the local culture, I took a…
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Redefining Study Abroad for First-Gen Ethnic Minorities
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As the airport鈥檚 sliding doors opened and I felt the chill breeze caress my exhausted, yet excited self after a nonstop 14 hour flight, I began to think about the once-in-a-lifetime journey that was ahead of me. While I was admiring the scenery and imagining all of the thrilling experiences I would soon encounter, I…
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Lady and the Tramping Club: Joining Clubs in New Zealand
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Getting involved on-campus at the Victoria University of Wellington was one of the best decisions I made while studying abroad. Before arriving in New Zealand, I scrolled through a list of VUW clubs hoping to find the hiking club of my dreams. Hiking is something that I鈥檝e always loved to do and I couldn鈥檛 wait…
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Homesickness Abroad: How To Get Over the First Month Slump
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Homesickness Abroad: How To Get Over the First Month Slump Part One: The Slump Ask just about anyone who studied abroad and they will all likely tell you the same thing: it was life changing. Ask me? I will without a doubt agree. But if you would have asked me, 鈥淗ow do you like study…
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How being a first-generation college student pushed me to study abroad
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When the world was thirty-three years younger than it is now, my dad graduated high school with his head somewhere in the clouds, because that was the best place to find the kind of birds he was looking for. Gray ones, camo ones, with bodies that were built not grown, stomachs that guzzled gas not…
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Misinterpreting 鈥淜now the Climate of Your Host Country”
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How I Misinterpreted the Phrase 鈥淜now the Climate of Your Host Country鈥 What I did (or didn鈥檛 do) before I went abroad I thought I was ready to go abroad. I had done my research on the climate there. I knew what to pack in order to be prepared for the weather differences, and I…
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What are Seasons? I鈥檓 From Hawaii!
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The first time I experienced seasons, I was 17 years old. My whole life up until my freshman year of college was spent on a tropical island where 鈥渃old鈥 was 70 degrees Fahrenheit, leaves stayed attached to branches, and the sun never set earlier than 6PM. Nearly every day was a beach day. I started…
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Somewhere In the Rainbow: Celebrating Pride in Wellington
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It鈥檚 my first year of college, and I鈥檓 sitting on the floor in my room making friendship bracelets, because I never grew out of making friendship bracelets (and honestly, I probably never will). I can鈥檛 do anything too fancy, three colors being the maximum number of colors I can work with, but that鈥檚 perfect for…
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5 Tips on Making Wellington Wallet-Friendly
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[caption id="attachment_13013" align="alignright" width="225"] Making Wellington wallet-friendly.[/caption] For me, budgeting became a natural thing to do in college, ever since my first year. Being on my own made me realize just how much things could cost, especially if I wanted to become more independent and didn鈥檛 want to solely rely on my parents鈥 support. College…
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In A World of Possibilities, Why IFSA?
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Choosing IFSA: Why the Program Was Right for Me When it came time for me to choose how and where I wanted to study abroad, the possibilities were quite literally endless. My university allows students to study via a 鈥淒uke-In鈥 program, an approved program, or you can petition for a specific program. The infinite options…
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