Adventures Down Under with the Friendliest People Past Review
By Amelia Jones (Middlebury College) - abroad from 07/16/2018 to 11/07/2018 with
University of Canterbury: Christchurch - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Abroad was extremely worthwhile and I learned so much while I was there. It was a very independent experience for me - the first time having a single room (in my entire life), I didn't go with anyone else from my home university, and I traveled alone to Australia and Japan while I was there. I learned a lot about myself and had a lot of personal growth while I was there, and coming home I feel much more confident, mature, and like I have a greater world perspective.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes were much easier than my home university, but graded in a very different way. Instead of having many assignments with less significant weight (as my home university does), Canterbury has few assignments that are heavily weighted. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I liked the living arrangements, but I do wish that they did a better job of a questionnaire before housing is assigned so that I had flatmates with similar interests / habits. |
| * Food: |
N/A, I did not go to the dining halls but instead cooked all the food for myself. The grocery stores were very close so I found this to be very easy to get food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I feel like it was difficult to feel super integrated just because the New Zealanders, while friendly, are not going to go out of their way to bring you into their friend groups. Clubs are a good way to get to know people, and I found that this was where I made some local friends. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Healthcare is extremely accessible and easy to do. |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe the entire time. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I really love New Zealand, but I found that Christchurch was not the city for me. I love the outdoors and doing things like camping and hiking, but at the same time I do like to go out for a night on the town sometimes, and in Christchurch that is a bit difficult because the downtown area is very quiet and still rebuilding. I wish I had gone to University of Otago in hindsight. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
I cooked all of the food I ate by myself and never went out to restaurants (or maybe went once a month). I also am passionate about cooking so I tended to spend a little more on more quality produce/spices/etc. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Definitely make your own food and meal prep for the week - this will end up saving you money and also teaches you how to cook. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish that I had known more about the social aspect of the university and more about the cities themselves. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Creative Writing: Short Fiction |
| Course Department: | English |
| Instructor: | Christina Stachurski |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I liked this class, not necessarily because of the teachers (though I did love one of the two teachers), but because I had never taken a creative writing class at my home university and was intimidated to take one there. We read great short stories in this class and I enjoyed writing stories. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
New Zealand Biodiversity and Biosecurity |
| Course Department: | Biology |
| Instructor: | Jim Briskie, Pieter Pelser |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I really really enjoyed this class. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is going abroad to UCanterbury. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Business, Society, and the Environment |
| Course Department: | Marketing / Management |
| Instructor: | Anne Marie Kennedy |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I really liked this class, and the subject was super interesting. It was also a great way to understand not only a global perspective, but a very local New Zealand perspective of sustainability. |
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