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