Author Archives: etr5030

1 week down

I’ve been here a few days and it has definitely been a really interesting transition. Not too many massive differences but enough to make it so weird so I’m going to share some of them and the flow of the last couple days.

I live in Stevens hall and my flat (like an apartment/ floor) consist of only 5 people including myself. 4 girls and 1 boy. There was supposed to be another boy moving in but he never showed up. Oddly enough everyone in this flat ended up being Americans even though the rest of the whole building is either kiwi’s (natives) or Europeans. This school does not do roommates which is a little different from Penn State where you have to request a single. So there are a little over 2,000 students here about 50% being international and everyone has a single room. Each room has one power outlet which I thought was rather interesting, I ended up needing to buy a power strip, and it has its own switch that is supposed to be turned over when not being so used so power stops flowing to it entirely.

Lincoln is also really big on recycling and composting used materials and food. There are recycling bins everywhere you look and at meals all food and drinks go into a bucket and is then carted off to be composted.

Public transit is really big around here so as soon as we got here the RA (Claire) suggested we get a pass to get into town. There aren’t even school buses around here, either kids ride bikes or they get onto the public bus in large groups. It’s well-known that the school kids all sit in the back all together and adults sit in the front when school is let out. It’s also not uncommon for the driver to let kids off right at their driveway.

I have always considered myself a big environmentalist and want to improve the way people treat the world around them so to see that in New Zealand that so many environmentally positive things are a norm is really refreshing.

I’ve spent the past couple of days attending events on campus that the school organizes so people can get to know each other (one of the benefits to a small school.) The one I enjoyed the most had to be the “Silly Sports Day” yesterday where all the halls made up teams and played football (soccer), ultimate frisbee and volleyball. My hall did really well and we managed to take 3rd in ultimate frisbee, 2nd in volleyball and 1st in football.

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I also managed to find myself in a rugby tournament this week with another girl from my hall. We ended up being the only girls there and because of us they had to change it to be a touch rugby game. It turned out not to be that hard to figure out how to play but hard to be good. Thus, the boys ended up playing around us more than with us and I still ended up getting hit pretty hard a few times by boys twice my size and will be feeling it for days.

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(Don’t worry I did catch the ball)

It’s also rather common for people to walk around barefoot. Kids get on the bus barefoot, go to meals, stores, class and play sports all without shoes or socks. I’ve tried it a few times but without built up callouses it can get a little painful walking along the sidewalks or gravel.

The school also organized a little bus tour around Christchurch and some of the neighboring towns to help us understand more of the layout of the area. We got a chance to see one of the beaches where they give surfing lessons, which I plan on doing very soon, downtown Christchurch and some of the damage that took place last year.

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IMG_4580.JPGFlowers in the cones in honor of those lost in the earthquake a year ago.

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This area sustained the most damage from the quake last year. It caused the cliffs to fall apart along the edges and thus brought the backs of houses down with it.

Classes start tomorrow so the hope is that it will be a great chance to meet some more people and make some good friends. Oddly enough I’m considered a sociology and tourism major here since they don’t have Community, Environment and Development. I must say I do enjoy the way their schedule is set up because Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are the only days I have all my classes, Wednesday I only have one and Friday I’m free which I have learned is not abnormal.

So I will be sure to post soon and talk about classes and meeting more people here.

Till then stay beautiful everyone. 


Location: Christchurch, New Zealand

Greetings from Te Whare Wanaka o Aoraki

Ladies and Gents I have survived the 25 hour flight. A little worse for wear but I’m pretty sure I’ll be alright. Nevertheless, let it be known that I’m not at all looking forward to heading back to the U.S and having to do that all over again.

Starting at Dullas International airport I was set up with problems right away when one of my bags was grossly over the weight limit of 50lbs (which by the way is way too low an allowed weight considering how far I had to go in the end.) So some shuffling around of clothes had to take place while my brother and I had to intermittedly run back to the parked car that was not allowed to be parked where it was to avoid getting a ticket. After that was solved and I was all checked in he was not allowed to go past a designation point and I was forced to say my goodbyes and begin my journey on my own.

The 5 hours to San Francisco was relatively uneventful and I was treated to an awful Justin Timberlake movie to which I can’t recall the name and read a bit. The immediate problem in this leg of the journey being that my carry on was too large to fit in the overhead compartment, most likely because more things had to be put into it so I wouldn’t be charged $200 for an overweight bag.

Once in San Francisco I had about 4 hours to kill until my next flight and had planned on storing my bags and walking around in the fresh air until I was told that it would cost me $60 for both bags to be stored so I decided to enjoy the free wifi instead and sat around for a while surfing the net before it was announced that any ticket given not my Air New Zealand was no longer valid and it was required that I got another. This ended up being a good thing though because I ran into another girl who had been on my last flight from Washington D.C and we started to talk only to find out that we as well as about 5 others in line were all studying in New Zealand though in different places. A majority were doing a program called Australearn and were going to be in the Hamilton area. But I did chance upon a boy by the name of Brandon that was coming here so we spent a good amount of time talking and walking around the Auckland airport trying to find our gate. I really didn’t expect to meet so many people who were coming to study here.

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The 13hour flight was not as painful as I thought it would be but it also wasn’t great either. It was nearly impossible to sleep comfortably and I often felt the need to walk around to stretch out my legs. But each seat did have its own television stocked with recent movies, games and music.  I ended up watching “Warrior,” “Drive,” and “(500) Days of Summer. But most of the flight was dedicated to trying to sleep. I must also mention that the flight attendants were really nice.

In country, after the short flight from Auckland to Christchurch (I did take some shots of the beautiful landscape while in the air but they are on my itouch and can’t be sent without wifi so that will come later) , I was picked up with some others by a shuttle and brought to campus  (ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD) and have spent the last several hours sleeping, getting unpacked, meeting my mates in my pod (there is only one guy on the floor so far but there should be another soon along with 3 girls not including me) and walking around campus.

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(Recreation center/ dining hall, Library and Rugby Pitch)

Only complaints so far are that the internet in the dorms is VERY limited. We only get 5 gigs for every 2 months! The RA warned against Skyping in the dorms because it drains the gigs really fast so I will end up doing that on “hot sports” near the Library and Dining area.

(Small side note: since the last earthquake the dining area had to be moved into a gym off the recreation center. Besides that there isn’t too much damage to campus.)

Hope you enjoyed the long update. Much love to my friends and family back home <3

Until we meet again stay beautiful.


Location: Christchurch, New Zealand

I leave tomorrow!

First I have to say THON on to everyone at PSU! <3 FTK

It’s the day my flight and by now I have gone from nervous to just sheer anticipation. I just want to get there already and start meeting people and exploring the island. Many of my friends back in State College have been asking me how I feel and right about now I just want to be on that plane now! Today will be spent with my family, a classic dinner and family games farewell and I’m rather looking forward to it just so we will all be together.

Besides all that the biggest thing I’m dealing with right now is packing. I have tried really hard to get nearly everything to fit into the suggested one suitcase and ladies and gentlemen that did not happen. I ended up with 2 suitcases, 1 backpack and 1 carry on. I’d tried really hard to get everything to fit in one suitcase but then my mom reminded me of a few things I forgot and I ended up needing another. Nevertheless, I did get a few helpful tips from my family that did help save space. One is to put underthings and tank tops in zip lock bags, push the air out of them and then seal them. This makes them really flat so thus they take up less space. Like a space bag. The second helpful little tip for space saving is to roll shirts and pants (kinda like a hot dog.)

So my plane takes off around noon this Sunday and I will be there Tuesday our time but Wednesday there time (if I have that right.) What I really love is that the school sends a car to come pick me up at the airport so I won’t have to lug around my bags. I have no idea who my roommate is or when she will be getting to school so I’m pretty nervous about that too. To be honest I hope she’s a native so I can have my own guide but if she’s not then we can be lost together. Which reminds me of another really useful thing that the school does, there will be several mixers taking place for study abroad students to meet other study abroaders, advisers and natives that are willing to be our friends and help us out.

This brings me to the drinking age in New Zealand and how more relaxed the atmosphere around alcohol is in other countries. The drinking age for those who don’t know is 18 and they will actually be serving beer and wine at these school run functions. As someone who studies sociology I’m quite interested to see the dynamic of the room and how it will function with alcohol present.

I also wanted to mention how small this planet is! In doing this study abroad I have discovered that one LTC back at Penn State has a lifelong friend from the military that has lived in Christchurch for over a decade and he helped me contact him so I have someone to turn to if I need any help. I also learned that my next door neighbor’s wife was actually born and raised in Christchurch and that’s where they met. They go back there once a year and will be heading there the day after I leave. They offered to show me around a bit so that will be nice as well.

Lastly a word to travelers, I have recently learned that everything that can go wrong before the trip will and you will always feel like you have forgotten something. So far I’ve managed to have to deal with getting a flat tire and having to replace all my tires and my phone breaking last night (perfect timing.) And of course I will always feel like I’m missing something but as long as I have my passport I can get into the country and then buy whatever I’m missing.

But I digress. Hopefully I will have plenty to post about when I am finally in country and will have plenty of pictures.

Until next time my friends

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Location: Fairfax Station, VA

Waiting for take off

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(Me (left) and my friend Shay (right) at an Equestrian team dinner)

Hello Hello!

I spent a lot of time trying to decide what I wanted to post and if I would even post before I left the country, nevertheless, here I am. So I will start by telling my readers a little about myself!

My name is Ericka Roberts and I am a sophomore at Penn State University, University Park campus. The second part of my sophomore year will be spent at Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand. I studying Community, Environment and Development (a relatively new and little known major) with a specification in International Development. I am also studying Sociology (with a major interest in demography) and International Agriculture. Along with my studies I ride for the Penn State Equestrian team and absolutely love it.

It’s suggested that in the first entry bloggers talk about what they expect from their study abroad, preparation and all that. So I am just going to say that I am beyond nervous for this impending trip and going to the complete other side of the world! Don’t get me wrong I am so excited and I have been waiting for this for so long but nevertheless this is my first time traveling out of the country without my parents (who are both military, so we have lived all over the world) and both my brothers. It’s just a new feeling knowing you won’t have that support system when you come home, or just 4 hours away in the case of me going to PSU and being from Northern Virginia. But I know world travel is what I want otherwise I wouldn’t be spending my college career studying to get a job that has me do just that. This is just the first step toward getting used to that really being on your own in a foreign place feeling. I know I really want this. I am mostly looking forward to traveling all over both the islands, maybe even taken a flight to Australia, and learning about the Maori culture. That’s why I am trying to take at least a class or two on them hopefully through a sociology class. But really the more time I can spend outside exploring, hiking, and taking pictures the better.

The last thing I am going to address today is this packing fiasco. Like any other person my age I put my trust in Google to give me some advice on what to bring, what to leave and the major things not to forget. So far it’s been rather helpful besides the little tip I keep seeing about only bringing one suitcase of stuff and a carry on (not counting a purse)…this must be a suggestion for a man! You cannot tell a woman she should limit herself to one bag! What about all my jeans, skirts, swimsuits, dresses, suits, shoes, t-shirts, sweaters, pullovers, scarves, coats, shorts, workout clothes and anything else I require! I have to have options; I have to be ready for any fashion situation. One suitcase won’t cut it unless I make some serious sacrifices. Anyway, I will be sure to address it in my next post once I get to New Zealand (on the 21st of Feb.) and let everyone know how that went.  

The next post will also hopefully also include a few pictures once I get to Christchurch (if I decide not to post until then) and will fill you all in on how the 25 hour flight went, my roommate and how the campus is in comparison to Penn State.

Until then,

stay beautiful everyone!


Location: VA, USA