She'll Be Right: Settling into Routine

For some context from the title, “she’ll be right” is a common New Zealand saying to essentially say: “Things will be okay,” and I think it’s the best phrase to sum up how my first few weeks have been here. When the lingering craziness of my travel to New Zealand subsided, the homesickness kicked in. I had anticipated it, but I was shocked at how quickly I already missed my friends and family. The worries I had before, like if I was going to make any friends or enjoy my classes, were still in my mind and therefore I was missing familiarity. I’m all for leaning into the unknown, but that sure does come with some discomfort! The best way I could combat that discomfort was through my optimism, the idea that things would indeed work out and be okay in the end (after all, I’m here for a pretty long time so something’s got to stick!).

Three weeks later, I can confirm that yes… it all worked out.

To start, the gorgeous campus with culture around every corner definitely helped to ease my mind. As much as the winter air is a shock to my sunny-summer-South-Carolina mindset, it is actually really refreshing! Nothing like your hair getting styled by enthusiastic winds in the morning! Classes starting also helped immensely, because the worry I had about whether or not I’d like them was instantly relieved after the first week. From a fun class like Food Writing (which led me to try famous NZ fish and chips) to a really informative one like Environmental Planning, I was hitting all the marks with each criterion. I mean, I’m even liking my Computer Science class, who knew?!

Additionally, it goes without saying that the environment here is absolutely astounding. The views I have been able to see even in just three weeks have been absolutely crazy, with rolling green hills and gorgeous blue skies. Also, my living area has lemon and orange trees sprinkled about, so I get to wake up to the sight of fruit! How peaceful! I also want to mention that the weather is quite moody here, but due to abundant rain there, is always a rainbow (or a double rainbow) around! I think I’ve honestly seen almost ten rainbows since being here, which is phenomenal. Above all else though, I’ve got to talk about the people. I have met some of the most interesting and wonderful people in this study abroad experience already. My roommates (excuse me, flatmates), have such sunny personalities that made me feel so welcomed. Two of them are also international students, so we’re able to bond a bit over that. The other exchange students are just as awesome, and we have already gone on a good couple of adventures together (one of those includes a Barbie movie extravaganza outing)! You’ll see it in the pictures below, but I’ve really created a sense of community for myself here, which is all I really wanted. I honestly wish I could talk to pre-departure Raeva and say; “don’t worry about anything at all!” Hey, hindsight is always 20/20 right?

So, as I'm writing this and eating ice cream with my flatmates while we watch Netflix, I can really confirm that things are okay, honestly even more than okay. Things are great! I know that I will have some low moments, and I know there will still be things I’ll always miss in Columbia. Saturdays at Willy B might become Saturdays at FMG Stadium Waikato, or the Columbia River Walk might become the Hamilton River Path, and that’s okay! I know now that I’ve got a community here to keep me optimistic, and so many cool experiences ahead of me to look forward to. For instance, I’m heading to Hobbiton this weekend so that will definitely be an interesting experience (my precious….)! With love and fish and chips, Raeva :)