How time flies!

Tomorrow, I have a pretty huge final in my most challenging class here…so, thought I’d take a quick minute to blog. Makes sense, right?

Anyways, I’ve been preoccupied studying for my other finals (one of which was this morning). The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur of studying, socializing, shopping, and exploring-not too much structure.  I really just wanted to post because today marks one week until my flight back to the states. It’s weird starting to say goodbye to people, such as my friends at uni and some of the faculty I’ve bonded with during my stay. I try to keep goodbyes quick and casual because, I, like many people, hate goodbyes. My friends left for a mere day trip yesterday and I thought it was terrible. It’s insane to think in just a week when I say bye to them, I won’t get to hang out with them the next day. But, back to the moment, there’s still so much I have to look forward to and appreciate with my friends here in New Zealand!

Something I found interesting is that most of the European exchange students are staying here an extra month and traveling here, Australia, Fiji, or anything of the like. On the other hand, most American students are heading home about a week after finals end. I thought this was an interesting difference. I don’t know if it’s financial, cultural, academic scheduling, or what, but it makes me wonder about the value and perspective different cultures put on travel. 

Now, not to get sappy, but it seems like I was just counting down one week until I left for my study abroad and now it’s almost over. It’s mind blowing how much this feels like my normal way of life. With my final tomorrow and then travel, I may get a quick blog entry in before I depart, but, most likely, the next time I blog will be from California…ah. My friends and I all fear that when we return home the semester will seem like it was just a dream and didn’t really happen…I hope we’re wrong!

Location: Auckland, NZ