Inside Student Blogs

Mary Stewart Auckland, Fall 2012

My name is Mary Stewart. I’m a Clinical Psychology student with a Studio Arts minor at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am an unabashed nerd and spend my free time reading, writing, and drawing. I’ve always got my head in the clouds. I believe that makes New Zealand, or Aotearoa (“Land of the Long White Cloud”) an appropriate destination for my study abroad experience. I’m thrilled to be going out to spend my time in a beautiful new world. I know that its people and culture will have endless lessons to teach me.

Mary's Posts

• Home for the Holidays

  11/28/12 • (0)

  I’ll have been home for two weeks as of tomorrow night. It doesn’t feel like that long, yet it feels much longer. I don’t know how but I will somehow continue dealing with having been gone and come back.

  Auckland, New Zealand, return, Study Abroad, Travel

• 

  Landscapes: Eyes to Ink

  11/26/12 • (0)

  I’m so glad I had the time to plop myself down in the sand next to Wakatipu and sketch out the snow-capped mountains while I once more got quietly sunburned (resulting in a sweet tan line below my leggings which I will forever associate with this drawing).

  albert park, art, Auckland, Nature, New Zealand, Queenstown, Travel

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  Middle Earth: In Which I Write About What I’ve Resisted Writing About

  11/26/12 • (0)

  Is Lord of the Rings a mascot for this country, or is New Zealand a mascot for Peter Jackson’s screen adaptation of Middle Earth?

  Auckland, economy, lord of the rings, movies, New Zealand, Queenstown, Study Abroad, Travel, Wellington

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  Queenstown

  11/19/12 • (0)

  Of course I’d been hearing of Milford Sound for four months, and yes I was hoping I’d get to see plenty of the Southern Alps. But that can’t really prepare you for seeing them.

  Auckland, beauty, homestay, mountains, Nature, New Zealand, Queenstown, south island, southern alps, Study Abroad, Travel

• 

  The Markets

  10/30/12 • (0)

  The passageways between stalls are usually so cramped you end up dancing with strangers as you make your way through. It’s easiest if you keep to one side, focusing for example on the arrangements to your left, and coming back around the other way. That way, you can dig into tables of teacups on saucers, [...]

  art, Auckland, crafts, homestay, markets, New Zealand, shopping, Study Abroad, the city, Travel

• It’s Just Studying

  10/25/12 • (0)

  So that’s the thing about school. It sort of transcends place. That very “sameness” of academia is one of the things I’ve always loved about it.

  Auckland, homestay, New Zealand, Study Abroad, studying, Travel, university

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  Away

  10/16/12 • (1)

  Climbing into my last month in Auckland, New Zealand, I have been thinking a lot about how I will talk about this country after I am gone. When I put 8,000 miles between me and this country I’ve called home for 4 months, how will I remember it?

  Auckland, food, homestay, Nature, New Zealand, Reflections, Study Abroad, Travel, Weather

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  When a Road Map’s Not Enough

  9/27/12 • (0)

  This past weekend I took a two-day trip by myself down to Rotorua, a city in the central part of the North Island. The reason, I told people, that I was going alone is because I could easily justify wanting to experience by myself the movie set of The Shire from The Lord of the Rings.

  Auckland, Matamata, New Zealand, Rotorua, Study Abroad, Travel

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  Ancient Hills & Ambling Streets

  9/21/12 • (0)

  Having never been to the South Island before, Dunedin enchanted me. It hasn’t got the constant rush of a metropolis like Auckland or like Minneapolis.

  animals, Auckland, cities, dunedin, homestay, Nature, New Zealand, Study Abroad, Travel

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  With a Lagoon to Protect Us

  9/10/12 • (0)

  Rarotonga is a unique kind of island that began as a volcano which exploded and sank into the water, leaving the peaks that became its mountain range above water.

  adventure, Auckland, Cook Islands, Field Trip, foods, homestay, Nature, New Zealand, Rarotonga, Snorkeling

• Accents

  8/24/12 • (1)

  For fun, here’s a condensed list of some of the turns of phrase I hear around Auckland: Trainers. Sneakers are referred to as trainers, like in the UK. And of course, jandles are flip-flops.

  accents, Auckland, New Zealand, Observations, Study Abroad, Travel, university, words

• The Hills and the Ocean

  8/16/12 • (0)

  Over the weekend I was at several – Omaha and Mattheson Beach, out of the metropolis and further up on the North Shore, and I have some thoughts about them and the other sights of the weekend to share.

  aotearoa, Auckland, bach, hills, homestay, New Zealand, ocean, scenery, sightseeing, Study Abroad, Travel, water

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  Lords of the Lake

  8/08/12 • (0)

  These black swans came here from the harbor long ago but were hunted nearly to extinction, at which point they were brought to Western Springs with clipped wings to keep them close.

  aotearoa, Auckland, birds, Nature, New Zealand, places, western springs park

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  Always Listen to Your Hosts

  7/23/12 • (1)

  Many times today I thought to myself, Why would I ever want to leave?

  adventures, Auckland, food, k-road, ponsonby, shopping, the city, walking

• International Bonds

  7/17/12 • (0)

  I can say with confidence I am looking forward also to learning everything I can about the Maori people.

  Auckland, homestay, New Zealand, Orientation, University of Auckland

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  Piritahi

  7/09/12 • (0)

  We couldn’t enter the marae until we were called. With two Maori women at the head of our group of American college kids, we proceeded slowly onto the lush green grass just beyond the entrance to the marae — only when the woman waiting with the other Maori people greeting us began to sing. Her [...]

  Auckland, fall 2012, Home stay, marae, New Zealand, Study Abroad, Tramping, trip, waiheke

• A Formal Farewell

  7/05/12 • (1)

  Every new beginning has a prologue. A decision; a disaster; maybe a miracle.

  Auckland, Home stay, New Zealand, Pre-Departure, Study Abroad, Travel