Well I know I seem to have gotten a little behind on my weekly regular entries. I like to think that I write such lengthy and involved entries that it's hard for my brain to recover in a week (but really that's just me making up long-shot excuses for procrastinating). So now it's nearly 2 a.m. on a Wednesday morning and I'm at my computer blogging. I've just finished up studying for the evening for an exam which is on Friday. I'm by no means done preparing, but I'm at least done for the night/morning which is a start. I suppose I didn't get as much done this past weekend as I would have liked (it was a three day weekend because it was the Queen's birthday this past monday, so hooray for monarchies). However, I did get to go out and have a grand time with friends and sleep the days away, which is something I think everyone needs now and again so I'm not too upset with the lack of time I devoted to studying (what an exemplary scholarship student I am, huh?). Anyway I've been packing in the past few days with reading and note-taking and will be packing the next few with review and practice tests. I'm not too worried about the test, I think it will be manageable and then after that it's one class down three to go.
It's very odd to be at the tail end of classes. As much as I'm looking forward to going home, I've realized how fast the past four months have gone. In fact I can kind of hardly believe that I've been over here that long. In some ways it feels like an eternity and in others it feels like an instant. I'm not really conflicted about leaving here, but I think the fact that the time felt like it went by fast probably is a good aspect in terms of my enjoyment of the experience (I guess you could go with the sure-fire saying of 'time flies when you're having fun'). I guess I've just kept busy with classes and trying to adjust and absorb a new environment that I haven't really stopped to watch the days go by. Yet here I am with 25 days left in a foreign country I may never see again (who knows where my life travels will take me, but it's not like America where I know I'll return again and again). I think it's going to be very odd to say goodbye to people I've gotten to know so well, yet may never encounter again. I haven't really focused on acknowledging that aspect of it yet. I think everyone has their utopian views of the world, where they picture themselves staying in touch and seeing all their friends again in their future. I guess it's easier to stay in touch given the age of technology we're in, but technology doesn't make distances any shorter to travel across (yet at least).
I guess I'm kind of in the mode of one day at a time right now. Both academically and socially. I've got only a little bit of time in between tests (I don't consider a week to be an entirely large amount of time to study for two finals, especially when one is modern world history) so I'm trying to get assessments ready and done with as they're thrown at me. It's working well so far, but that might be because I have yet to have a final exam, we'll see how I feel about my prior sentiments in about four days. Anyways, I keep going back to thinking about how drastically different my experience has been than what I expected it to be initially. As I've mentioned before, this is neither good nor bad, this experience has been what it's been and I wouldn't necessarily change anything about it. I think I just came in here expecting to be completely immersed in a new culture and immediately in love with the country. Neither of these has happened, but I've definitely adjusted to my surroundings here and acquired a fondness for the country over the span of my stay here. I'll be somewhat sad to see it all go, but I will also welcome New Hampshire and Boston with open arms. I find that I've missed the big things and little things about home. The personal relationships I have with friends and family are obvious, but even beyond that all the minutiae of life at home at school have taken a permanent residence in my mind for the past few months.
I also guess I expected to be a somewhat different person coming over here. What better environment to change your persona than in a country where no one knows your name or face. While I have a grown a mighty manly (read: scruffy) beard, I don't think I've changed anything. However, I've learned some important things about myself. Namely, that I like who I am and am comfortable in my own skin. That's more than I can say for a lot of people, and while I know I have shortcomings and faults, I am largely happy with the person I've developed into. For example, I expected to come over here and be a much more outdoors-oriented person, since New Zealand is known for it's natural beauty and scenic landscapes, however, this didn't really happen. I did spend three weeks traveling, camping, etc. across the country which I enjoyed immensely, but I realized that I'm not an outdoors person and I'm okay with that. I've adopted the view that it takes getting out of your comfort zone to know where it is to begin with. I'm not a huge fan of hiking, camping, fishing, etc. What I do really do enjoy though is doing things that other people really enjoy as a way to get to know them better. I would not know the people I went on that trip half as well (hell even a quarter as well) as I do now had it not been for doing all of those things on that trip. There are things that you can only find out about people given certain scenarios and situations. People show their true colors when you're around them 24/7 for three weeks crammed into a packed tiny car and doing every activity with them.
I guess the same could be said with the larger experience I've had over here in New Zealand. This is something that really can't be replicated in any way shape or form. All the things I've done over here and the people I met have been in the context of this trip and this experience. I guess you could really say that about any stage in life, but I feel that it's especially true when you're halfway around the world with a whole lot of people around that you don't know in the slightest. Well now that I've expanded an individual insight, from a road trip, to my experience in New Zealand, to all my past/present/future life experiences that's as good a place as any to wrap up this entry. I'm sorry to not have exciting news on the happenings over here halfway across the world (in the future mind you), but seeing as how the majority of my time will be taken up with academia in the next few weeks, you'll have to deal with my ramblings in the next few entries. Oh and sorry for the lack of visual stimuli in this entry I am too tired/lazy to pick out good photos and insert them into the entry (and yes, I am that lazy right now).
It's very odd to be at the tail end of classes. As much as I'm looking forward to going home, I've realized how fast the past four months have gone. In fact I can kind of hardly believe that I've been over here that long. In some ways it feels like an eternity and in others it feels like an instant. I'm not really conflicted about leaving here, but I think the fact that the time felt like it went by fast probably is a good aspect in terms of my enjoyment of the experience (I guess you could go with the sure-fire saying of 'time flies when you're having fun'). I guess I've just kept busy with classes and trying to adjust and absorb a new environment that I haven't really stopped to watch the days go by. Yet here I am with 25 days left in a foreign country I may never see again (who knows where my life travels will take me, but it's not like America where I know I'll return again and again). I think it's going to be very odd to say goodbye to people I've gotten to know so well, yet may never encounter again. I haven't really focused on acknowledging that aspect of it yet. I think everyone has their utopian views of the world, where they picture themselves staying in touch and seeing all their friends again in their future. I guess it's easier to stay in touch given the age of technology we're in, but technology doesn't make distances any shorter to travel across (yet at least).
I guess I'm kind of in the mode of one day at a time right now. Both academically and socially. I've got only a little bit of time in between tests (I don't consider a week to be an entirely large amount of time to study for two finals, especially when one is modern world history) so I'm trying to get assessments ready and done with as they're thrown at me. It's working well so far, but that might be because I have yet to have a final exam, we'll see how I feel about my prior sentiments in about four days. Anyways, I keep going back to thinking about how drastically different my experience has been than what I expected it to be initially. As I've mentioned before, this is neither good nor bad, this experience has been what it's been and I wouldn't necessarily change anything about it. I think I just came in here expecting to be completely immersed in a new culture and immediately in love with the country. Neither of these has happened, but I've definitely adjusted to my surroundings here and acquired a fondness for the country over the span of my stay here. I'll be somewhat sad to see it all go, but I will also welcome New Hampshire and Boston with open arms. I find that I've missed the big things and little things about home. The personal relationships I have with friends and family are obvious, but even beyond that all the minutiae of life at home at school have taken a permanent residence in my mind for the past few months.
I also guess I expected to be a somewhat different person coming over here. What better environment to change your persona than in a country where no one knows your name or face. While I have a grown a mighty manly (read: scruffy) beard, I don't think I've changed anything. However, I've learned some important things about myself. Namely, that I like who I am and am comfortable in my own skin. That's more than I can say for a lot of people, and while I know I have shortcomings and faults, I am largely happy with the person I've developed into. For example, I expected to come over here and be a much more outdoors-oriented person, since New Zealand is known for it's natural beauty and scenic landscapes, however, this didn't really happen. I did spend three weeks traveling, camping, etc. across the country which I enjoyed immensely, but I realized that I'm not an outdoors person and I'm okay with that. I've adopted the view that it takes getting out of your comfort zone to know where it is to begin with. I'm not a huge fan of hiking, camping, fishing, etc. What I do really do enjoy though is doing things that other people really enjoy as a way to get to know them better. I would not know the people I went on that trip half as well (hell even a quarter as well) as I do now had it not been for doing all of those things on that trip. There are things that you can only find out about people given certain scenarios and situations. People show their true colors when you're around them 24/7 for three weeks crammed into a packed tiny car and doing every activity with them.
I guess the same could be said with the larger experience I've had over here in New Zealand. This is something that really can't be replicated in any way shape or form. All the things I've done over here and the people I met have been in the context of this trip and this experience. I guess you could really say that about any stage in life, but I feel that it's especially true when you're halfway around the world with a whole lot of people around that you don't know in the slightest. Well now that I've expanded an individual insight, from a road trip, to my experience in New Zealand, to all my past/present/future life experiences that's as good a place as any to wrap up this entry. I'm sorry to not have exciting news on the happenings over here halfway across the world (in the future mind you), but seeing as how the majority of my time will be taken up with academia in the next few weeks, you'll have to deal with my ramblings in the next few entries. Oh and sorry for the lack of visual stimuli in this entry I am too tired/lazy to pick out good photos and insert them into the entry (and yes, I am that lazy right now).
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