ifsa-butler nz newsletter s1 2013

7/28/2019 IFSA-Butler NZ Newsletter S1 2013

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IFSA-BUTLER INFORMATION HEALTH & SAFETY TRAVEL ADVICE NZ STAFF TOP TEN REMINDERS HEALTH

NEWS AND REVIEWS PROFILES ANTICS SAFETY TIPS FACTS & FIGURES TRAVEL BIOS STAFF NEWS

GETTINGAROUNDENTERTAINMENTSTUDYADVIC

EQUESTIONS&ANSWERS

QUESTIONNAIRESRECREATIONPOSTCARDSFROMHOMEEVENTNEWS

SEMESTER 1/2013 NUMBER 2

IconicImages

GoodTimes

DeliciousKai!

AwesomeAdventures

Bunch ofFives

MorningTea


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Contents

The IFSA-Butler NZ Oce is working to reduce our environmental impact. Please pass this publicaon on or recycle when you have nished enjoying its contents.

Kia ora! The end of the semester is rapidly comingto an end. I hope you have managed to tick most

of the things off your personal bucket list and some

off ours too. Thank you for the amazing entries to ourIconic Images Challenge and congratulations to thewinners! We have included a selection of the fantasticphotos in this edition of the newsletter.

As you make your preparations for your homewardjourney we want to prepare you a li tt le bit for whatyou might experience once youre back on US soil -apart from some fabulous weather as you escape ourwinter! Please check out the piece on Reverse CultureShock on page 5. I definitely experienced this whenI returned to New Zealand after more than two years

abroad. I kept switching off the radio because I cringedevery time I heard the broad Kiwi accent over theairwaves.

As well as lots of great pictures, we have our usualbunch of 5s from the Victoria and Massey students,a special afternoon tea chat with a local Vic studentand a South Island visitor to our office in Wellington,some awesome entries for Student of the Month andgreat accounts of your adventures near and far.

Encourage other students to study abroadthrough IFSA-Butler by applying for the IFSA-Butler Ambassador programme, well send you more

From the Editor

IFSA-Butler NZ

99 The Terrace, Wellington 6011Website: http://newzealand.ifsa-butler.org/

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (04) 471-0145

information about how to applybefore you leave. Also join the IFSA-Butler Alumni pageon Facebook. I have enjoyed getting to know many of

you this semester, your SSCs have all mentioned whatfabulous groups you have been. Best wishes for yourexams and your final weeks in New Zealand!Sian Munro, Editor

4 Awesome Breaks

3 Morning Tea 6 Bunch of Fives

5 Reverse Culture Shock

AscenefromtherecenttriptoDoubulSound

7 Haere mai ki te kai

8 Student of the Month

10 Iconic images


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GF:So whats been happening?

MS & WH:We have done the firstfloor of Te Papa. The colossal squid

was really interesting and genuinely

huge!

WH:Last night we went toHawthorn lounge which is a

boutique bar on Tory street. we

also hit some

free pool at The

Bristol on Cuba

Street.

GF:Cool,they are both

very much

Wellington

establishments,

quite different.

What else is on

for the week?

WH: I havebeen studying

Maori Society

at Victoria

University, and

we are going

to go down to

Archives New

Zealand in town

and sight the Treaty of Waitangi.

GF:Awesome! The IFSA Butlerstaff did this about a year ago

when one of our American

colleagues came and visited. It is

very, very impressive.

MS:We are also going to go for awalk around the Botanic Gardens.

GF:Oh, great, the BotanicGardens are immaculate, and

there are some very Iconiclocations which Wellington is

renowned for, especially from the

top of the cable car.

WH:Saturday night well probablygo back to the Bristol!

GF: Behave! Ok guys here are

some quick res in regards to

your experience so farwhat is

your go to snack in NZ?

MS: Captain Ben Fish and Chips they do a great chicken burger.

WH:A two li tre tub of hockeypokey ice cream.

GF:Favorite place so far?

WH:Fiordland National Park- undisturbed wilderness andbeautiful views.

MS: Picton; really scenic andI really enjoyed my first timeKayaking.

GF: Best night out?

MS:During Orientation weekthe Macklemore and Ryan Lewisconcert was awesome.

WH:We went and watched NashTown County at Hawthorn Lounge,it was really cool.

GF:Moneysaving tips foryour IFSA Butler

buddies?

WH:Bulk driedfruit at MooreWilsons! Great

energy for outdooractivities. Also

going out forlunch instead ofdinner, it is the

same amount offood at almosthalf price!

MS:Keep aneye out for theflagged savings atthe supermarket,a simple onebut genuinelyeffective!

GF:Great to see you both. Itscool that you are able to hostyour friend in your new city, Will.

Maybe Matt can reciprocate

during your break. I hope you

both continue to have a fantastic

semester, making the most of

this special opportunity in NZ.

Will Hoover recently hosted his fellow Oberlin College buddy Matt Stokes (who is currently studying in Canterbury)in Wellington, during Matts mid-semester break. SSCs Sian and Guy caught up with them for a coffee. Tim-tamsand a chat.

Sian with Will (right) andbuddy Ma.

Note: Please clear your guestswith your accommodationproviders, and if you are not able toshare accommodation with guests,Backpackers are only $23 - $25 anight, which is very cheap!

Morning Tea


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UAK student Thomas Bowen took a wrong turn and felt the full force of Southern Alps weather, and CanterburystudentAngela Perretti gets her first taste of sleeping in a tent.

Awesome Breaks

Thomas: What we thought wasHarman Pass was actually arockslide, going straight up toessentially the middle of nowhere.The cl imb up was around 60degrees and we were often crawlingon all fours, praying that our nextstep would not falter and send usshooting down towards the bottom.

We were two-thirds up the rockslidewhen we realized our mistake,pausing us to catch our raggedbreaths on asmall patch ofgrass before

making theeven more treacherous descentto the bottom. We fanned outas we headed down so that theperson above would not send awave of cascading rocks onto theperson below. Fortunately our tripdown was uneventful if not nerve-wrecking and tiring. We slippedseveral times but with almost nosecondary rockslides.

When we reached the beginning ofWhitehorn Pass the seriousness ofthe hike began to dawn on us. This

was no Great Walk, there were nohand rails, rangers or easy ways outand if we ran into serious troublewe were essentially on our own. Iwas certainly caught off guard bywhat I saw. Up ahead was a bridgemade of snow, breached on bothsides by sheer rock walls and overtop of a decently sized river. Thetrick was in finding where to set ourfeet down; we could barely keepour footing on the rockslide sides,

the middle was of questionablethickness and all of it was incrediblyslick. The process was slow butrewarding as we weaved our waythrough the terrain, sometimeshugging the rocky sides, sometimestip toeing across the middle, alwayspainfully aware that one slip couldshoot us off of the edge at the start.The best part was walking along

the huge cracks and crevices in theice - it was exhilarating to see thatthe ice could and might fail.

What was supposed to be themost beautiful day, the lake on topof Harman Pass, quickly becamethe most miserable part. We werebuffeted on all sides by stingingrain and broke out into a run to getto the other side. Often ditching thepath, a few times my boots sankdeep into the mud and I fell behind.The way back down was s lowand agonizingly technical; eachstep had to be carefully planned

and the wind on a few occasionsforced me off my feet into the sideof the mountain. These next fewhours were the most intense butalso the least documented andleast remembered. I buried my chininto my chest and kept pushing,occasionally waiting for Pat andAlex, occasional ly being waitedfor by them. After a few waterfallcrossings and another trek into apseudo-swamp we stumbled uponthe hut and rushed in. Almost asif Mother Nature was grantingus mercy, the instant the door ofHarman Hut shut, the real stormshowed its face. It was only laterthat we learned that a hurricanehad touched down not too far fromus in Hokitika and this was thecause of the foul weather. The raindid not let up that day and pickedup as the night approached, so that

we decided to skip dinner and startrationing our food. We took turnskeeping the fire going but gave upas nightfall came.

Angela: I took a trip with one

my friends Adam deep south to

Dunedin. We spent the first night

camping by a lake which was a

wakeup call for me since I never

been camping before. It was cold

during the night, something I was

not keen for but handled as best

I could. The next morning was

spent catching up with his friends

What was supposed to be the most beautifulday, the lake on top of Harman Pass, quickly

became the most miserable part.......Thomas


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to travel to Mt Cook.I was unaware of the

fascination his Kiwi friends had for

snow, so when the weather called

for snow on our journey to Mueller

Hut they were ecstatic! I was a bit

confused because when I hear

there is snow I am the opposite of

excited, but that did not stop usfrom spending the night at MuellerHut. The next morning we watchedthe sunrise over Mt. Cook fromMt. Oliver (recommended by thestaff). It was worth waking up at7:00 and going out in the cold.It looked like we were above theclouds and on top of the world. We

It was worth waking up at 7:00 and going out in thecold. It looked like we were above the clouds and on topof the world.. .. .. .

We talked to you at orientationabout experiencing culture shock

while you settled into life in your

new home. Some of you have

spoken to me about how you

feel like youve adapted to the

Kiwi way of doing things in some

aspects of your daily life. We call

this process acculturation. You

might not expect it, but when

you get home youll probably

experience some form of ReverseCulture Shock. Its different for

everyone, you might settle back

into life without a hitch and feel like

youve never been away. For others

it can be hard and you can feel a

bit isolated from the people and

experiences you left behind. I have

outlined a few coping strategies

below to help you deal with reverse

culture shock if you do encounter it.

Embrace the shock: Reflect onthings you thought were frustratingor plain ridiculous while you were

could have spenthours up therejust gazing uponthe mountains andseeing occasional

mini avalanchesin the distance. Abreathtaking startto my three weekbreak and thebest tramp I haveconquered in NZ.

in New Zealand and relish what youappreciate about home.

Keep busy at home: Dont expecteveryone to drop everything tosee you. While youve been in NewZealand having a wonderful time,theyve been getting on with theirlives. Have some plans workedout before you return home, it canbe hard if you have nothing to doexcept sit and wait for classes to

start.Keep in touch with your

experience: Expect interest frompeople back home, but dontexpect them to sit through athousand photos of places andpeople they dont know. Chooseyour best photos, print them offand show those to people. Whenyou want a nice distraction you canflick through your photo album andreminisce for a few minutes.

Keep in touch with your new

friends from NZ: No one will

completely understand what youhave been through. Sometimes alack of interest is veiled jealousyand its probably not surprisinggiven that you will be talking aboutnew friends you have made andadventures you have been on. Ifyou stay in touch youll be able tore-live the memories from time totime.

Promote your study abroad

experience at your home school:

While websites are great becausethey allow people to browse at their

leisure, prospective study abroad

students will get more out of a five

minute conversation with you than

they would from an entire website.

Until you are back home, you maynot realize the full extent of howmuch you have changed, matured,learnt new life skills and had lifechanging experiences. Remember

and appreciate what you havegained, but enjoy where you are at

home as well.

How to tackle Reverse Culture Shock


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We posed a bunch of ve deep and meaningful questions to our Palmie students, and this is how they answered.

Bunch of Fives

PatrickCope CarolynLawrence

Bestthingabout

Palmerston North:Asense ofhome, seeinglots ofpeople you knowand anice communityfeel.

Best saying youveheard in NewZealand:Knackered, sweet as,

andheaps.

Best meal youve hadin New Zealand:InDevonport, North Shore, I had tunasteak,accompaniedbyartichokes and asparagus with apoached egg on top, it was del icious!!!

Best 24 hoursin NewZealand: Walking theRouteburntrackwith friends from home, having aglacierswimand the stars at night wereunbelievable.

Best pieceofadvice fora studentcomingto New

Zealand:Take everyopportunitywhich popsup!

Best thing you have learned in NZ:Morethings candefine you thanjust one! Manythings contributetoahappyand meaningful life- people, places, and whatyoudo! Youdont haveto havejust one passion!

Best thing about Palmerston North:Naturewalks, a lot of scenic areas and

greenspace, alsogoodbars, Shooters in

particular. Palmyisalsoa very community

orientated city.

Best mealyouve had inNew Zealand:I lovelambanyway it comes, it is a real

treat coming fromAmerica.

Best NZ saying: Sweet as!

Best 24 hours in New Zealand:The

New ZealandExperience Weekend,wine

tasting, and gett ingtosee thedifferent

parts ofNew Zealand.

Best pieceof advice for astudent

comingtoNewZealand:Getto know

Kiwis, it easy toget toknowthem over a

beer at a pub or ahouseparty.

Best thing about Palmerston North: Nature trails, interesting architecture compared with theunifrom housing at home, and the great thecommunity feeling.

Best NZ saying:Cheers gives asensethat everyone is buds.

Best meal youve had in New Zealand:I have been working on my own Jambalaya a Creole dish, Cajun chickendish which originatesfrom the southern states.

Best 24 hours in New Zealand:The volunteering and cultural weekend, experiencing the rugbygame, and getting myhandsdirty for a good cause.

Best piece of advice for a student coming to New Zealand:Get out of your comfort zone, getinvolvedwith clubs on campus.

Best thing you have learned in NZ: Expect the weather to change all the time.

Richard Kiline


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Paxton Lewis

Best thing about Palmerston North:Nice size to it and good communityfeel of the place.

Best saying youve heard in New Zealand:

Keen, No Dramas.

Best meal youve had in New Zealand:

Open steak sandwiches, with avocado and mayonnaise, delicious!

Best 24 hours in New Zealand: Carolyn and I had 24 hours in Taupofollowing the cultural event, in which we went skydiving, bungy jumping,star gazed in natural hot pools and had some drinks at the local bars.

Best piece of advice for a student coming to New Zealand:Embrace the laid back culture of on,YOLINZO (you only live in New Zealand once!).

Best thing you have learned in NZ:There is more to li fe than school. At home I feel sometimes peoplefall into the trap of being so academically focused they forget to take a step back and have some fun andexperience new things!

UAK Students Bri, Anne, Elizabeth, Alex and Alex cooked up a storm at Unilodge recently for a decadent night of sweet

avoured indulgence. We bring you their favourite recipes.

On a cold Thursday night some of the Auckland Uni students gathered in the Unilodgeto take on the challenge of baking in an overcrowded kitchen during the dinner time rushhour. Their mission: to make the ever so popular Oreo Truffles and three ingredient sconeswith Jam & Cream. Even in the tight space they managed to successfully enjoy eachothers company whilst making delectable desserts. The five students may now proclaimthemselves as culinary artists if they so wish.

SconesIngredients:

4 cups self-rising flour300mls cream

300mls lemonade

Directions: Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Mix

ingredients together and roll onto floured bench.Cut into 12 and bake for 10-12minutes. Cream andjam to top, or al ternatively you can mix in cheeseand top with cheese for cheese scones.

Oreo TruesIngredients:Cream cheeseOreo Cookies

Dark melting chocolate

Directions:Crush cookies.Add cream cheeseand roll into balls. Melt chocolate and dip ballsinto chocolate. Place onto nonstick paper and

leave to set. ENJOY!!

Haere mai ki te kai!


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Student of the Month

Entry 1: Will Hoover, WGTN

Wilderness adventure

I recently returned from an 11day, 148km backpacking trip inFiordland National Park where Itraveled from Queenstown outto the coast and back again onthe Hollyford, Pyke, Big Bay andRouteburn Tracks. Along the way,I gathered more interesting andexciting stories than I can possiblytell here, but some highlights were:sharing a hut with five fishermanwho shared their fresh caught, 3kgbrown trout with me. Meeting thelocal eelman, Ol Brucey who hasbeen living alone in the wildernessfor 30 years. Discovering oldfence posts, with barbed wire still

attached, from an old cattle yardin the area. Having a fantail landon my walking stick as I was goingdown the trail. Being within armsreach of a baby seal. Meetingsome hunters collecting crayfishand paua and being given a pauato fry up myself (they dont call itsteak of the sea for nothing). Andfalling asleep camped under a rockoverhang listening to stags roarfrom across the lake. Every moment

of every day on my trip was filledwith awe-inspiring moments.Snow-capped mountains, glaciers,waterfalls, trees draped in moss,crystal-clear rivers, and lakes likemirrors were around every turn.It was without a doubt the mostamazing trip I have ever taken.

Entry 2: Anna Fetterolf, UOT

Journey into the unknown

I have always been interested in

learning to scuba dive, but neverquite sure if I would like it. DuringO-Week, Dive Otago had a tentset up offering a student discountto do the PADI certification coursefor open water diving. It was a signthat I should just do it. The course

lasted two weekends, one in a pool

at Dive Otago and the next in theocean around Dunedin. The firstweekend we did all the basics,and I was surprised by how muchI enjoyed it. There were six of us inthe class, four Kiwis and myself andNorah, another Butler student. Ourinstructor had just returned from avacation in Fiji diving with sharks -awesome stories to strive for.

The real adventure took place inthe second weekend when wedid our open water dives. Thefirst day we got all our equipmenttogether and headed out to theMole at Aramoana. As we went

over our dive plan, we found outwe were diving a shipwreck, whichwas an old WWI ship that wasbrought back up and scavengedduring WWII before it was sunkagain. Diving in a pool is nothingcompared to the ocean. Of courseit was freezing, so we had thickwet suits with warm clothesunderneath, but once under thesurface, what you see makesyou forget the cold. There were

Here are the Student of the Month nominations for this newsletter: tales of four very different adventures but all taking

the participants out of their comfort zones in one way or another. Vote for your hero on the IFSA Facebook page.

Anna Feerolf, right

A scene from Wills trip


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fish swarming around and coralgrowing off of the sunken ship. Thescenery was breathtaking. Whenwe surfaced after our second dive,a New Zealand Fur Seal was thereto congratulate us and put on alittle show. It still astounds me thenature and wildlife at our fingertipsin Dunedin.

The next day we headed out toWellers Rock, a relic from an old

whaling village that used to bethere. It was not as nice of a day,but the beauty of diving is thatit doesnt matter if it is rainingbecause you are getting wetanyway.

This dive si te had a strong current,which made our navigation skillsinteresting, and we surfaced quite away from where we were supposedto be. The bottom was much moresilty, but the marine life was justas amazing. We saw a nudibranch,sea horses, sea lettuce, andmany other incredible creatures.Unfortunately, even though it is apopular area for octopi, we did notsee any. I am glad to have chosento cross another experience off mybucket list, and become a certifiedscuba diver in NZ. I have gotten theopportunity to see NZ wildlife belowthe surface. I recommend this

to anyone. I met some awesomepeople and experienced a newworld.

It still astounds me thenature and wildlife at ourfingertips in Dunedin. . . .Anna.

Entry 3: Greg Faxon, UOT

Emerging lm maker

During my time abroad, I havebeen filming my adventures anddocumenting them weekly onYouTube. They help me rememberall of the incredible experiencesI have had here. Over semesterbreak, my girlfriend and I rented acampervan and took a wonderful10-day tour of the South Island.

I collected hours of footage onmy GoPro camera and edited itdown to a 4.5 minute clip when Ireturned. The campervan was arental from Jucy a rapidly growingrental car company that rents toanyone over 18 with no extra fees.They have real ly impressed me withtheir customer service and I highlyrecommend them. I noticed thata large part of Jucys marketingrelies on showcasing great traveler

experiences. When I approachedtheir marketing team with myvideo, they agreed to give me a$600 credit towards all future Jucyrentals in exchange for the rights tomy video. Just like that, I had paidfor the rest of my transportation inNZ (I will have rented four separatevehicles from them by the timeI leave). These videos have alsoinspired many of my friends backhome to study abroad. When they

ask me for advice, I never hesitateto point them towards IFSA Butle r.

The program has blown meaway and I cant wait forthe Doubtful Sound trip!

Greg Faxons links:

Campervan: http://www.

youtube.com/watch?v=dXa6rU_

wDpk.

Orientation:http://

www.youtube.com/

watch?v=ere6xhGTfeI.

And you can view the

entire playlist here:http://

www.youtube.com/

playlist?list=PLDLCK8Dk-BFHbeY_uumRImARBWI6F7JPc.

Entry 4: Thomas Bowen, UAK

Surviving the wilds (see pg 4) and

giving something back

Im coaching a local lacrosse team.

Entry 5: Patrick Burton, UAK

Apple bobber extraordinaire

Here is the picture of me bobbingfor apples as promised. I won the

PSV-wide competition at our faira couple of weeks ago. I got 15apples in a minute -I might starttraining for the NZ National teamsoon!

Greg Faxon

Patrick Burton

[connued on pg11]


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Iconic Images ChallengeHere is a random selection of the stunning images you sent us for the Iconic Images Challenge, in the categories

Off the Beaten Track, City & Campus, Labs and Fieldwork.


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See our IFSA NZ Facebookpage for the winners.

Thanks to al l who took upthe Challenge!

[Student of the Month connued]

Entry 6: Christina Longo, CAN

Nominated by Elise Martin

for solving the forensic

sedimentology mystery for herlab class

Last Wednesday morningChristina went to her geology lab,a little nervous for her upcomingassessment. The teacher had setup a competition for who couldsolve the mystery of the missinglimestone deposits first. Therewere four suspects, each withdifferent alibis, and the studentshad to identify fossils and find

certain clues to figure out who wasguilty. The first one to finish withsufficient evidence would be the

winner. Christina roseto the occasion. Beingthe sleuth that she is,

she was excited for thechallenge. After twohours of intense fossilcomparisons, Christinabelieved she had solvedthe crime! She got hernotes together andpresented her findings tothe class. She was right!The teacher was ver yimpressed, as there was a trick tothe mystery. Two of the suspects

had been working together.Christina left the lab, detective skillsintact, now The Master of Geology

Lab. She walked back to her flat

smiling and fist pumping along theway. She passed me and told methe story and I was awestruck.


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NewZealandis edited and distributed by the NZ Oce, Instute for Study Abroad, Butler University, for IFSA-Butler Students and Sta only.Arcles and ideas are welcome! Email: [email protected] IFSA-Butler New Zealand 2010

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