Nelson and Abel Tasman Visit

Hey everyone

Hope all is great back in MN, I'm sure everyone is starting to get ready for the start of the neverending holiday season. I've been busy here in New Zealand, with classes wrapping up I've had quite a bit of school work to finish up with. But I've also been able to do some more traveling around New Zealand with my latest journey to the northern part of the South Island. I was able to call on the hospitality of some wonderful rotarians in the town of Nelson, and visit with the local clubs as well. Nelson is known for beautiful sunny weather, although I visited during a rare rainy week:

However it was still great, and I got to do some hiking on the Abel Tasman Coast track. This track is follows the beautiful coastline, a lot of people enjoy kayaking and camping in this area:

The tides can be a bit tricky to navagate aorund, as evidenced by these pictures of a boat on the shore:

These pictures were taken just a couple hours apart! The weather was quite nice, although not quite warm enough for a swim (trust me, I tested the water!). As I mentioned, I was able to stay with some rotarians during my visit, and here is the gorgeous view from one of their houses:

Not a bad view to wake up to every morning! I was also able to do some exploring in a couple towns surrounding Nelson, and drove up the windy Takaka Hills track. Although the driving was a bit difficult, the view at the top was definitely worth it:

After visiting a few clubs, I made my way back to Christchurch driving along the east coast. I made sure to make a stop in Kaikoura along the way, and had some delicious crayfish from a local stand. Just a couple more picture just outside of Kaikoura:

Although I'm a bit busy with school and rotary presentations for the next few weeks, I'm very excited to have a visit from my mom at the end of November! I've missed her very much, I can't believe I will get to see her in just a little over a month! I will report back then will some more pictures of our journey around New Zealand, and hopefully some good stories as well!

West Coast and Akaroa

Hello

So it's been a bit of time since my last post, but I have some great picture to make up for it! I can't believe 6 months has already

gone by, I feel as though I just arrived in NZ yesterday. I have been staying busy with school, rotary, and trips around this beautiful country! Recently a fellow rotary scholar studying in Dunedin came to visit in Christchurch. We met at the Rotary conference in Wellington, her name is Melissa and she was joined by her partner Daniel. They were only here for a short time, but we managed to take a short trip to the nearby town of Akaroa. Akaroa is about a 1 hour drive outside of Christchurch, located on the Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region. It is a magnificent harbour and overlooked by craggy volcanic hills:

I had great fun with Melissa and Dan, they even made me fajitas one night which for anyone who knows my cooking ability is aware this is quite the favor! I was also lucky enough to have a visit from another friend back home, his name is Pat and he is a student in California (but originally from MN!). We rented a car and took a trip along the west coast of New Zealand. The drive was beautiful, the land is this region is very scenic with exquisite coastline, mountains, native bushland, and some rain forest as well. It is also known for it's rainfall, up to 6,000 mm per year! We decided to stop in the small town of Fox Glacier, and got to climb on an the actual glacier for which the town is named!

We drove through to Wanaka, a small ski/snowboard town in the Otago region, and the drinve through this region was wonderful:

We then ventured up to the gorgeous Lake Tekapo. I've already visited with my brother back in April, but I was still amazed at how magnificent this area really is.

Pat also made friends with a few of the locals....

Overall both trips were excellent, I love getting out and exploring New Zealand. I think my next trip will be up in the city of Nelson, where I am hoping to make a few presentations to the local Rotary clubs, I will keep everyone posted! -Christina

Australia!

Hello everyone!

Sorry for such a long delay since my last post, it ha

s been a busy time here in New Zealand!  It is exam time, and I have been busy with school and rotary events.  It is so hard to believe I have been here for about 4 months now, I feel very settled in my life here.  I recently went to the rotary district conference at Mount Cook, which is on the west coast of the south island.  I got to meet rotarians from different parts of new zealand, other international rotary representatives from the states, europe, and south america, and listen to some amazing speakers!  One of the speakers was a kiwi that lost his legs during his youth and recently climbed mount everest!  He was very inspirational to say the least.  The beautiful surroundings weren't too bad either:

I also recently took a trip to Australia, a whirlwind 6-day journey through Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.  I went on the trip with a friend I meet on the plane ride over.  Her name is Amy and she is from Wisconsin but I have already forgiven her for that (just kidding).  We started out trip in Brisbane, which is located midway up the east coast of Australia.  The city itself was very beautiful, a bit smaller and more manageable than Sydney and Melbourne:

And to the lone pine koala sanctuary to hold koalas and feed kangaroos!

Then we were off on a night train/bus ride to Sydney.  After a couple cups of coffee, we ventured around the city and got to see the famous opera house:

And the next day took a trip to the Blue Mountains National Park:

A quick plane ride later we arrived in Melbourne, and took a walking tour through the botanical gardens and other parts of the city. 

We saved the best for last with a trip on the "great ocean road", which is a 243 stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia.  This included the beautiful rock formations of the twelve apostles:

and the tower of London:

I just arrived back in New Zealand, and I am happy to report that not only did I have an amazing trip to Australia but I am also swine flu free!  I hope to go back to Australia sometime soon and see the rest of the amazing country.  Well that's all I have for now, I will report more soon!

A Tour of the South Island

It has been a little over 2 months since I arrived in New Zealand, and time is flying by!  I recently had a break from classes and a visit from my brother.  He arrived in New Zealand around mid March and was traveling around the North Island and the northern part of the south island before coming to see me in Christchurch in the beginning of April.  We decided to take a "tour of the south island" and visit some of the amazing cities and beautiful scenery of the lower half of the South Island.  Before heading out, my brother joined me at one of the weekly meetings of my host club, the one I happened to be presented at!  Needless to say he felt very welcomed by my host counselor and all of the Papanui club Rotarians (my brother and i are in the front, Josh another rotary scholar on the far left, then Jill and Allan Bain my host family).

 

Our adventure first started in Dunedin, which is a eastern coastal town with a proud Scottish heritage.  Dunedin also is home to the world's steepest hill on Baldwin Street, and of course we had to walk to the top!

Next we traveled to west coast to stay in Te Anau, a city located next to many hiking trails of the South Island.  We tramped (hiked) along the Kepler Track which is one of the New Zealand Great Walks  which allowed me my first experience with the dramatic and varied landscape of this country.  Tramping is an recreational activity involving hiking over rough country carrying all the required food and equipment and is an important part of New Zealand culture. We climbed up and walked across mountains and I can safely say that I have never seen such amazing views of nature:

After our 4 day tramping adventure, we decided to visit Queenstown which is located in the south-west part of the south island.  This is a resort town built around an inlet on Lake Wakatipu and has magnificent views of nearby mountains.  We also decided to be daring and do the world's first permanent commercial bungee at the Kawarau Bridge Bungee.  It was a exhilarating experience i will not soon forget.

The last stop of our journey took us to Lake Tekapo, one of the largest lakes in New Zealand with the bluest water I have ever seen.  This color comes the "rock flour" in the water created by a glacier moving across the land's surface.  The milky quality of the water with the beaming sunlight from above cause the brilliant blue color.

Unfortunately our adventure had to come to an end, but has gotten me excited for more travels around this magnificent country.  I really enjoyed tramping in the outdoors and want to do more of it soon, hopefully in northern parts of New Zealand.  I am also excited for an upcoming Rotary district conference that will take place at Mount Cook on May 8-10.  Other ambassadorial scholars and myself will be presenting at the conference, which should be fun.  I'll update after the conference with more info soon! 

Kaikoura

It has been almost a month since my journey to New Zealand, in some ways it feels as though I have been here a day and in other ways it feels like a couple years.  With school, Rotary, and trips around this beautiful country I have definitely been staying very busy.  

Although I am very happy I took a break before starting grad school, my brain has been working overtime to catch up.  So far my classes are all very interesting, they are Human and Animal Neuropsychology, Behavioral Interventions, Behavioral Pharmacology and Teratology, and Developmental Psychology.  I've found the the teaching style is a bit different here, and it has taken me a little time to adjust to the laid-back Kiwi instruction methods.  Laid-back does not translate to no work though, I have quite a few presentations, papers, and tests throughout the year.  I realized how much I missed being in school, and being here has reignited my passion to continue my graduate studies in clinical psychology.  I soon will be helping out on a research study that looks at the effects of prenatal methadone exposure (methadone is a drug used to treat opiate addiction) on the child development, and later a study examining intergenerational transfer of parenting attitudes and behaviors.  I think both experiences will be really great, I really respect the researcher running these studies (she is my developmental psychology professor).

Even though school has been good so far, I think some of best experiences have been with my Rotary club (especially my "kiwi parents" Allan and Jill) and my travels in New Zealand.  The Papanui rotary club meets on Thursday evenings here, and so far I have gone to a meeting each week.  Allan tells me they are known as the "laid-back and friendly" club of Christchurch and I would definitely agree.  They also serve the best food!  Last Thursday was "International Night" and all the rotarians brought a dish from a different part of the world.  There was also a very interesting speaker from the Himalayan trust.  The Himalayan trust is a non-profit organization to help the Sherpa people of Nepal (built and maintains many schools and hospitals in this remote area).  It was started by one of New Zealand's most well-known and beloved figures, Sir Edmund Hillary.  He and a Sherpa mountaineer were the first known people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.  Sadly Sir Edmund Hillary died recently, and the speaker at the Rotary was a close friend and fellow mountaineer who told wonderful stories about their treks and humanitarian efforts in this region.  I also attended a BBQ at the home of Allan and Jill, along with my fellow rotary scholars in Christchurch and some rotary club members.  The food was delicious and we all had an excellent time, I feel so lucky to have such a great host family!

I also was able to head out to Kaikoura last weekend, which is a town on the east coast of the south island know for it's beautiful landscapes and abundance of marine life.  Here are some pictures as promised:

The last picture was the view from my hostel.  Needless to say, I had a great weekend with excellent weather.  The locals were all very friendly, there were quite a few people from Canada and Europe working in the local shops, bars, and restaurants.  I will be going to Wellington this weekend for a rotary seminar for scholars studying in New Zealand, it will be great to hear about their experiences and learn more about New Zealand Rotary.  I will write again soon to report on my Wellington, hopefully with more pictures!

Botanical Gardens and Sumner

Hello all

I am officially over my jet-leg and began my official exploration of some popular New Zealand sites.  I went to the central part of Christchurch to see the beautiful Botanical Garden along the Avon River.  The gardens have a large collection of flora and fauna found in New Zealand, I especially enjoyed the central rose garden and the Townend House as seen pictured here:

The Botanical Gardens are open to the public, and seemed a popular place for Kiwis to walk through during their lunch breaks.  Although the day was a bit overcast when I went, the gardens were still magnificent.  The weather here in general is rather mild and rainy with the exception of yesterday, definitely not similar to the hot and humid Minnesota summers.  I was also able to take a trip with a few friends to Sumner, which is a coastal outer suburb of Christchurch.  It was only about 25 minutes from the university, but I felt as though I had stepped into another country.  Due to the hot and sunny weather the beach was full of people, and some of their dogs as well.  The waters were very clear and blue, a bit too cold for me to swim in.  Here are some pictures I took of the Sumner beach:

Even looking at these pictures now, I still can't believe that I am living in such a magnificent place.  I think with classes starting this week, everything will start to sink in completely.  I am feeling excited to be a student again, especially at the postgraduate level.  There are some classes I am taking which I have studied before, and a couple that are new to me.  I am also learning a lot outside of the university setting, especially some differences I have noticed between the United States and New Zealand.  Certain items are very expensive here, including some of my food favorites, cheese, cereal, and candy (a regular sized candy bar is almost 2 USD!) .  Also cell phones are very pricey here as well, around $60-70 per month for 1 hour per month.  I am learning also to be saying that these products are "dear", which is the kiwi equivalent for expensive.  Kiwis are also very environmentally conscious, and recycling is much more efficient and widely practiced (although a bit more complicated) in comparison to the US.  Many Kiwis don't uses dishwashers or clothes dryers and there is also no central heat, and you use a "heat pump" instead (I guess I figured that one out when winter rolls around).  That is all I can think of for now, I will try to keep an updated list of "Kiwi/American differences" I come across.  I am also planning a trip to Kaikoura (on the east coast of the south island) on the 7-9 of March, so I will have more pictures then!  Whale watching and swimming with the dolphins is are popular activities in Kaikoura, so perhaps the set of pictures will include me watching a whale while swimming with a dolphin.  I can't make any promises, but you never know! 

it has been almost 1 week in New Zealand

So it has been almost a week into my adventure, it is weird to think only a few days have passed.  I have definitely been keeping busy, since the first step off of the plane!  My Rotarians Allan and Jill Bain were at the airport to meet me, as well as a current Rotary Scholar Lane Perry.  They were all so welcoming and helped me to my student housing at the university, and Jill took me around town to get some needed supplies (I can't believe I forgot towels!).   My first dinner in Christchurch was with Jill and Allan, and they prepared me a lovely meal of pork and potatoes so I was very full, happy, and sleepy from the long flight.

I live in a flat with 4 other girls, I have only met one of them and I hope the others will be arriving soon.  My flat is very nice, it even has a washer/dryer and an oven.  Also I am only a short walk to my classes, and a short bus ride to a mall that contains a variety of stores.  The University of Christchurch is located in a residential area, and the City Center is a short 10 minute bus ride from campus.  I have been so busy enrolling for classes, opening a bank account, etc that I haven't had a chance to look through the beautiful botanical gardens but I am going to try to over the weekend.  I did go into town with another Rotary Scholar from Kansas, Brooke, on Sunday night for a Chinese Lantern Festival to meet Lane and his wife April.  It was full of people, and I had some delicious noodle soup and chicken dumplings.  Lane and April have been in New Zealand for the past 6 months, and are showing Brooke and I the ropes with regard to the Kiwi lifestyle.  Tomorrow I will attend my first Rotary meeting of the Papanui Club, they meet in the evening over dinner.  I am very excited to meet the members of the Papanui club. 

As for school, I had an International Student Orientation yesterday, and Postgraduate Student Seminar and Enrollment today.  I am getting excited for my classes to begin next Monday, all of them seem very interesting.  I have another seminar for my college, the College of Arts, tomorrow and I am hoping to meet some of my professors/course advisers.

I have been very impressed by New Zealand thus far, the people are friendly and the weather is beautiful.  That is all I have for now, more to come soon!

In anticipation of a wonderful year...

Hello everyone!

This is my first official post to document my scholarship period of one year in Christchurch, New Zealand at the University of Canterbury.  As you may or may not know, my name is Christina Shoaf and I received an ambassadorial scholarship from Rotary International. This is a one year academic scholarship to further international understanding among people of different countries around the world.  I will be representing my wonderful sponsor club, the Minneapolis-University club of district 5950.  My official host club is the Papanui club of Christchurch, New Zealand and I will be received by my host counselor Allan Bain.

I thought it would be good to introduce myself/my life prior to New Zealand, talk about what I will be doing in New Zealand, and what I know about the University of Canterbury, the city of Christchurch, and New Zealand.

I've lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota since the third grade with my mom and older brother.  My family and I are pretty close, my grandma lives 5 blocks away and my aunts, uncles, and younger cousins are only a 10 minute drive.  We recently got a golden retriever named Gracie, my new "little sister".  I am going to miss my family very much while I am away, but I won't have to be homesick for too long because I think my brother is coming to visit as soon as April!

Gracie looking very cute.

I attended the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Psychology and a minor in Spanish Studies.  I really enjoyed my undergraduate studies and had a lot of opportunities to participate in psychological research.  At the Institute of Child Development I was able to complete a grant-funded research project at the Cognitive Developmental Research Laboratory and a honors thesis in the Minnesota Child Response Initiative.  I also worked part-time at the Fraser Child and Family Center in the autism day treatment program during school and after I completed my studies I worked full-time as a Care Coordinator at Fraser.  I know that autism has been in the news more lately, but for those of you that do not know much about autism it is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.  So I worked in two rooms at Fraser, each with about 5-6 preschool aged kids with autism or other developmental disorders.  I left this position about 1 month ago to prepare for my New Zealand trip and I miss my Fraser kids very much.  I hope to get involved in an autism program in Christchurch and to learn the differences and similarities in autism treatment outside of the U.S.   In the future I hope to work in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with autism, as a pediatric neuropsychologist or a speech-language pathologist.

So here is what I know about my adventure so far.  I will be attending the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand (see picture) to complete a 1 year graduate program in psychology.  The University of Canterbury is New Zealand's second-oldest university and has a student population of 6,539 students, with 1,605 of them in post-graduate study.  Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, about halfway down the east coast.  It is known as the most British city of New Zealand, and also is home to many beautiful botanical gardens.  I have read that New Zealand is influenced by Polynesian culture, and Kiwis are known for their dedication to rugby union.  I am very excited to learn more about Kiwi culture, and to experience everything I can in the time I am there.

I will update after I arrive in Christchurch, hopefully I won't experience jet-leg for too long!

-Christina