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!

Re: Rina Binder-Macleod Blogs Entry

Final Blog Entry

Well, it is all over now…or is it?  I feel like what I have experienced and learned through this trip will resonate through my life although the impacts of the trip may be subconscious and I may not attribute my actions to lesions learned while in New Zealand.  But, isn't that the learning process?  Our thought processes and decision making are a result of previously learned lessons.

In respect to my goals for the trip, I feel like I reached my goals of being able to properly analyze and understand the natural environment.  We definitely learned how to analyze the beaches to a degree previously unimaginable!  Previous to this trip, I had no idea how many classifications there were for a beach!  In addition, on the biology side I never imagined being able to identify shells or marine creatures. 

Also, in the academic region, I feel like I learned about prospects of further education in a natural science (potentially going to grad school?).  I had never really thought about graduate school, but learning about the research that Art, Doug, and Adam do I am becoming interested in exploring this option for the future.  But, who knows?  Life is all one big journey; you can't plan too far ahead in the future!  I will end on that note, I wish to continue my journey through life learning and exploring.  I just have to remember Doug's advice to "keep your feet wet and your eyes open."  Bon voyage

Rachel Schnaitman – Final Blog Post

Reflecting upon my travels through the land of the birds brings back so many amazing memories. Between arriving bleary-eyed at Auckland and leaving Christchurch after our Antarctic adventure I have experienced the time of my life. Being a wildlife conservation major I have a great love and appreciation for nature and animals and my main objective for this trip was to see and learn about things that I could never experience anywhere else in the world. Coming to New Zealand definitely made that dream come true. I got to experience nature at its finest and to see what the last settled country looked like in all its majestic glory. Though I would have liked to spend more time looking at all the flora and fauna New Zealand has to offer, I think I have achieved my goal. I saw so many different bird species that I never would have gotten to see in Delaware unless I was visiting a zoo.

I can't exactly pinpoint the highlight of the trip because what I enjoyed most was the pleasure of experiencing New Zealand for the first time with wide open curious eyes. I really loved all of the new experiences I got to experience in New Zealand and being a first time foreign traveler. I enjoyed the culture, the food, the flora and fauna, the scenery, and so much more. As I look back I wouldn't change anything about the trip. I got to do and experience so much more than I ever dreamed possible and I loved every minute of it. I think this trip has definitely opened my eyes to the world beyond the US and has made me all the more curious and anxious to experience other countries and cultures.

I think my favorite location that we've visited would have to be Raglan/Whale
Bay. First of all, I was beyond excited to know that I was visiting a world-famous
surf spot. Being a surfer myself, there was a certain kind of excitement that
built up for me as I walked down the hill and gradually caught glimpses of this
massive, black sand surfing beach. I think I actually exclaimed aloud "Oh my
god, this is the biggest beach I've ever seen!"
Not only did this spot appeal to me because I love to surf, but also because I'm a
geology major. Playing with the magnets in this black, magnetic sand was so
fun (and nerdy). I actually made sure I filled up the entire sample bag so I had
enough sand to bring home with me. I love to go to places where I can take what
I've learned in my geology classes and actually think like a geologist. I
immediately began to wonder where the nearest volcano was that produced this
amazing magnetic sand. I was also completely amazed at the grain size of
Raglan's sand. It was so incredibly soft and fine that whenever the wind blew,
gusts of sand blew with it. I just finished my surficial processes class, so I
started to think about the kind of weathering that had to have occurred to cause
the sand to be so fine. I was also really pleased to "read" this beach based on
what Art has taught us. Raglan was a perfect example of a dissipative beach
because it was extremely flat, exposed, and wide with lots of wave energy going
on. I got really excited when Art had us dig that giant hole so he could show us
the heavy magnetic mineral placers formed by storms. It made a lot of sense to
me because I've taken surficial and I was just really pleased to see what I've
learned in real life.
At Whale Bay, I was really interested in the type of rocks that all of the intertidal
species had made their homes on. I'm pretty sure they were just massive chunks
of vesicular basalt and I love when I get the chance to try and identify different
rocks. I especially love New Zealand in general because I've seen so many young,
igneous rocks here, which is a change to what I usually find on the east coast of
the States.
Some cool biology that I noticed at Raglan was these tiny purple shells sitting in
the sand. There weren't very many shells at all on the beach itself, so I was
shocked to see these tiny, delicate, bright purple shells sitting in the black sand.
There were tons of flora and fauna at Whale Bay. I was really happy to have
found the catseye turbo and the two kinds of sea stars. It's funny that the
cushion star was so cool and special to me and it's one of the most common sea
stars in New Zealand. Rocky intertidal zones are just some of the greatest places
to explore and every time I'm at one, I feel like a little kid again, climbing
around at Beavertail Lighthouse in Rhode Island.
I've had some really amazing experiences in New Zealand so far, but I think
Raglan and Whale Bay most successfully stimulated my inner coastal geologist,
marine biologist, surfer, and child.

Final Blog Entry- Christina Liaskos

Christina Liaskos
Before getting on the plane, everyone told me that I was going to have the time
of my life. It's not that I didn't believe them; it's just that I had no idea to what
extent I would come to appreciate this entire journey. Over the past month, I
have learned so much about myself and the memories I have made are
something I will treasure for the rest of my life. I have seen the most beautiful
places and I have met some amazing people. I became more self aware and
began to realize what it is that I want to do with my life. I feel closer with nature
and with my surrounding environment. I have grown as a person. What else
could I ask for, really? The definite highlight of this entire journey was the
Tongariro Crossing. Never have I ever appreciated the beauty of a landscape so
much as I did that day. That hike was a pretty spiritual experience; I couldn't
help but become emotionally overwhelmed by the view in front of me. That
image will forever be remembered and it is on my bucket list to return in the
future. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity of a lifetime. I hope
everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did.

Sadly The Final Blog

Ethan Beswick

As I sit here in LAX, all that is left to do is reflect upon the past month, lest I remember that classes start in just a few days.  From our Maori visits to hiking the Tongariro Alpine crossing, there has rarely been a dull moment, save for the last few days at the Uni.  However, Dull is an imprecise word but I use it because the stresses of the journey morphed constantly and kept the trip constantly interesting.  From joy and amazement to practically needing to get away from each other to hiking mountain passes and sleeping (err… studying!) on beaches, we have seen a rollercoaster of every part of our senses over this past month. This is not to say that this trip wasn't an exceptional experience, for it is the ardors of travel that make the situations so memorable.

Before departure, I had made a point to sample the delicacies of the Land of the Long White Cloud, but only after starting to understand the locals and viewing the heralded sights that these small islands have to offer.   I feel that all of these goals were achieved to a degree that I could never have imagined, but let's be honest, you can never have enough good food, so I will work on that again next time I visit.  The bond of cultures in New Zealand is an exceptional combination that has rarely been seen over the years and the sights and sounds and smells should be experienced by all lest we forget what true beauty actually is.  It must not be forgotten the numerous facts and information that I learned from the classes, which is particularly important to me as I truly felt like the stupidest person for 10000 miles when I heard many people discuss the material very early on.

            This trip has shown me a lot of New Zealand but it has also revealed things about myself and others.  This will most likely be one of my last opportunities to travel in such a large group, which has been an experience, but what I will miss is the insightful discussions, lectures, experiences, and information that Art, Doug, Adam, Stu, and every other helpful Kiwi we found was more than willing to share with us.  I have found that it is rarely what you see but in what context and who you share it with, and I am glad that my first experience was with all of you, and you all have the desire to come back and explore the South Island as much as I do.

            We will be the heard of turtles marauding through a field of peanut butter forever.

BBC News - New Zealand girl, 14, uses body-board to fend off shark

That's one tough and resourceful kiwi girl.

BBC News - New Zealand girl, 14, uses body-board to fend off shark