Today’s blog post comes to us from Wagner College student & API blogger Melanie Derosa! She’s studying abroad with us in Auckland, New Zealand.
Although I have only been here about two weeks, I’ve definitely had some wild experiences while living in Auckland!
Getting to New Zealand
So getting to Auckland was definitely very challenging for me. My flight from Newark was delayed which made me miss my flight to Auckland. I then had to stay overnight in a hotel in San Francisco and fly to LAX in the morning. Well… all flights to LAX were delayed due to wind so I had to wait in the airport the entire day! I finally got on a plane to Auckland at 11pm.
The travel really did stress me out but I figured that it could only go up from there right? … Wrong. Once I landed I found out that the airline had sent my luggage to LAX without me ever going there. Now here I am, alone in a foreign country, no luggage, 2 days late into my program with API, jet lagged and miserable. API luckily sent a taxi to pick me up at the airport and bring me to my hostel. After spending a couple days with the API group, we checked into our dorms and things started looking up!
First day on our own!
My friend, that I met through my program, and I went exploring throughout the city and decided to go to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. On our way there, we got a little lost and ended up on a small and interesting hike through a cemetery. We did make it to the museum and it was absolutely amazing! There was also a lantern festival happening at the same time so I got some delicious Malaysian food!
More adventures
The next day a student had posted in our international student group chat asking if anyone wanted to go on a hike. I made the last minute decision to join and I am so glad that I did! I joined a small group of students on a hike to Rangitoto and it was as beautiful as it was exhausting.
The best part about this hike is that it led me to meeting some of my closest friends here in Auckland. The friends that I have made here have made settling in so much easier.
Living in Auckland
Now I have adjusted pretty well and each day here is offering new friends and adventures. My classes have just started as well. I am so thankful that I met such great people to help me get through this crazy journey. I have to say, living as a student in Auckland is pretty great. Everything that I could possibly need is located near the student dorms and the Auckland University of Technology, as well as API, have been so helpful and understanding throughout this whole process. I can’t wait for the adventures to come!
