Week 8: Wrapping Things Up

Kia ora from Auckland, for the final time.

Since it's been my final week in New Zealand, emotions have been varying wildly for me. I love it here because the weather and temperature are nice unlike Indiana right now and I get to explore new places multiple times a week. Being plunged into the cold winter with very little to do and enjoy is going to be quite difficult for me. At the same time, I do miss my friends and I'm excited to get back into the swing of things. In short, I've not known what to think about coming back to the States.

But enough of that. I want to share what I've done this week. On Tuesday, I grabbed dinner with several members of my cohort to get together one last time before we went our separate ways, returning to the States or staying behind to do some travel. It was good to see them again before leaving. On Saturday, I went to Shakespear Park with a former global gateway participant who has remained in New Zealand since her placement ended in July. It was fun to meet someone new who has been through similar things and wanted to share a new experience before I left for home. At Shakespear, we walked through the bush, beach, cow pastures, and cliffs. Today, Sunday, my host family took me to Muriwai Beach, which was really neat because it is one of the black sand beaches on New Zealand's west coast. The waves weren't as strong as they usually are, but typically they can be quite dangerous. I did not swim though, as the water was the coldest I've ever felt. After this, we came back home, then I walked around Cornwall Park which had a large monument similar in shape to the Washington Monument in D.C., and several pastures with sheep.

The rest of my evening will be spent winding down from my final adventures before tomorrow when I take a tour of the nearby Sugar Factory before hopping on the plane back to America. I'll keep you updated on my transition back to life in the States!

As I reflect on and reach the end of my time here, I've started to preemptively miss life in New Zealand. I've come to love the city of Auckland and all the neat places there are to explore. There are so many new things I've experienced being here, but there are enough things I haven't gotten to do in the country that will pull me back one day! I've gotten used to life here, it is hard to believe I'll be in the air making my journey home to Indiana at this time tomorrow. I've come out of this experience as a different person than I was before and ready to take on my next journey abroad! This has been a very valuable experience for me, and I am quite satisfied with how much I've done and grown over the past eight weeks. However, I will miss it terribly. All the more reason to return and visit later on!

Bye for now!