Saturday, February 6, 2010

final blog assignment - Trevor Anderson

New Zealand Final Blog – Trevor Anderson
Upon looking back on my/our time in New Zealand, I am astonished at how the trip exceeded all my expectations. It's crazy to think of all the adventures we had and all the activities we accomplished. It hit me last night when I was showing pictures and videos to friends and family, that in one month, I (we) were lucky enough to have done more than some people will ever get the chance to do in their entire lives. We climbed and hiked mountains and volcanoes, rode in a bus on a beach, rode on a boat through a "hole in a rock", swam into underwater caves, made hot tubs on a beach, saw sperm whales and hundreds of dolphins, and went surfing, sandboarding, zorbing, black water rafting, bungee jumping, and skydiving. We even played capture the flag, manhunt, and baseball in a foreign country. That is one impressive list that I'm sure as it made mine, made everyone else's family and friends extremely jealous. It's truly amazing how many feats and goals of mine we have now accomplished, and I am sure everyone else feels the same way. I also feel fortunate for going on a program with such a great group of students and professors. Everyone got along relatively well with everybody, and as someone who came into this trip without knowing really anyone, I am pleased to say I have made great new friends.
Also, as someone who has grown up at the beach, it's amazing how much more I learned about beaches and the coasts. It's funny actually how little I did know about the beach. I can now easily and confidently identify different wave types and beach states, describe the sand and sediments, and can classify a variety of shells as opposed to just calling them all clam or snail shells.
New Zealand has taught me to live life without regrets, to take risks, and to just go for it. If I can skydive and bungee jump I now know there's no obstacle out there that can hold me back. I am pleased and surprised to say that not once on the trip, even with the cultural differences, did I ever feel home sick, but am unfortunately now suffering from New Zealand withdrawal. As am now going through my pictures and videos from New Zealand, it is incredible to see everything we saw, from beautiful landscapes to exotic animals, and to be able to re-live the experience. Our month in New Zealand was the best time of my life!

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