Kia ora (Hello) family, friends, and anybody else reading this. In about 4 days, I will be embarking on a wonderful adventure to New Zealand (NZ), with the purpose of studying biology. The time difference between NZ and California is 21 hours, so even though I depart on January 3rd, I’ll be arriving to NZ on January 5th. I will be in NZ for about 4 months and will try to post at least once a week; sharing with you some of the crazy things I’ll experience, the people I’ll meet, and of course my feelings about everything.
I’m going to be honest, I am pretty anxious. I have never been outside of the U.S, except to visit family in El Salvador. During my trip to NZ I will learn about Maori culture and language, what life in the extremes is like (for example life in extremely cold weather like -15°C), how to collect scientific field-based data, identify different plants and animals, about ecology and evolution, conservation techniques, and other related topics. In addition, I’ll also see glow worm caves, ride a helicopter, go whale and dolphin watching, visit hobbit houses, go to the Rugby Sevens (I dare you to look it up), and so much more!
As I prepare for this trip, I’m fitting my clothes, snacks, shoes, toiletries, school supplies, etc. into a one large backpack and a single duffle bag. I have been told I will be carrying most of it most of the time. Although I will have lectures at Victoria University of Wellington for part of my stay in NZ, a large portion of the trip will consist of traveling all around conducting experiments, and exploring new sights. This will definitely be a trip where I’ll gain many first time experiences. I hope that you’ll keep reading as I continue to post. For now wish me luck on my 13hr direct flight- I’ve already bought trail mix, dried mango, and a 90 piece elephant lego set to keep myself from boredom. During this trip I hope to stay away from social media, but will be blogging here and checking my email (grodrigu94@gmail.com), feel free to email me. Thanks!