Goodbyes All Around

This is it.

Our last day in New Zealand.

And our last day of our study abroad experiences.

To say the least, it's all been remarkable. Before this, Paul had never even been outside of the United States (except for Canada). Caitlyn had been to Italy but nowhere else. Now we've both been blessed to not only visit but also live in two incredible countries, each unique in its own ways. We wanted to take some time to reflect on everything we've seen, learned, experienced, and been through over the past ten months.


If you've kept up with us throughout our experiences, then you'll recognize a lot of the things we're going to talk about here. We'll each speak about our own thoughts and memories. More than anything else, this is a summary and reflection on our travels for ourselves. But we would be very happy if you'd like to read it, so please do so!


Paul


For me, this experience has made an enormous difference in my life. Peru was the first country I ever lived in besides the United States, immediately throwing us into a world of Spanish-only speaking and Latin American culture. Lima was incredible: modern and wealthy in some areas, run-down and poor in other areas, but always full of life and energy. The trips we took each brought new lessons to mind.


This is the thing I remember most about Peru, and the thing that I think will affect me the most in my life: the energy. I don't mean crazy, fast-paced, high-strung energy. Nor do I mean that ambiguous and cliche "energy" which people always nonchalantly attach to various cultures around the world. What I'm talking about is something that is never mentioned or talked about in Peru, neither among Peruvians nor among us visitors, it's just something that is observed. If I could pinpoint exactly what it is, I would, because it would make it much easier to explain. But it's one of those nice things in life which you understand yet can't describe. It may the fact that wherever you go, music is playing. Perhaps you're talking down the sidewalk and every shop is playing music, or you're at home and host mom loves playing CDs and radio on full blast (mine did, and I love it), or maybe you're down on the beach and all the cars driving by play music while others on the beach play music on their own. If not the music, maybe it's the language. If not the language, maybe it's the city culture. Whatever it is, it's something I love.


I guess by energy I mean the way people live, on a day-to-day basis as well as on a person-to-person basis. Like every other society in the world, there are gossips and liars and just bad people in general. There are high rates of crime in the city and high rates of poverty in both the city and mountains. People starve, people are corrupted, people are taken advantage of (in more than one way). And those who are wealthy enough to be able to ignore all of that, usually do just that: ignore it. Despite those things, the energy you receive when talking to any given person on the street, or in a shop, or in a restaurant, or in a home, is different than most you receive from people in the United States (at least in my own experience). There is a calm, and an overall positive feeling, when talking to the majority of people I met while in Peru. I believe every culture, including our own American culture, has beautiful things about it. For me, in Peru, that beautiful thing is the energy. I could live around those kind of people for my entire life. And having experienced such love for these people, it stirs a fire in me to explore other nations and cultures.


In terms of the experience itself, predictably, the things which affected me the most were the language and the trips we took with our program. Speaking Spanish constantly (except between Caitlyn and myself, or with other students in our program) leads you to start thinking in a different way. Sometimes I would catch myself thinking in Spanish, meaning the thoughts come in a different order just as the words do. It's a great experience thinking that way, though I still prefer English thinking!


The trips, every one of them, were just about perfect. Our first trip was to Caral, the oldest civilization in the Americas and located in a mountainous desert. It was amazing to see the old pyramids. Our next trip was the largest, going to Cusco and the surrounding areas, and of course Machu Picchu. Needless to say, amazing once more. Our final trip was to Chincha, the home of most Afro-Peruanos, and although it was a short and simple trip, for some reason I still remember it very well. Everyone in the group was so happy, and calm, and relaxed during that trip. It's one of the nicest memories of Peru for me.


Among the people we met, the courses we took, the trips we went on, and the things we experienced, it all is one golden memory within my mind. It was such a (great) shock in cultural differences, speaking a new language, living in a different way, even thinking in a different way. I can't wait until I return there, as I certainly plan on doing so.


***


After our nice two-month break back home in Ohio, we left for our second study abroad experience in New Zealand. The time here has absolutely raced, having gone by faster than our time in Peru. Though there are major differences, the country which New Zealand is most similar to is Australia, in terms of culture. It's a mix of European and American culture, though there is definitely a higher weight given to European culture.


For me, it wasn't the people here that made this great. The students in our program were great, and we became close with three of them, which is something we were unable to do in Peru. But the people I'm talking about are Kiwis, otherwise known as New Zealanders. They're all polite, but just that. Most I interacted with seem to discourage absolute honesty and hold prejudices as well. You know that person that you know who says they're not prejudiced, but then acts in ways that makes it obvious they are? That's how I would describe most people here. Polite, attempting to seem fair and balanced, but actually not. They are nice, and there are many things about them which are great things to respect, but in the end it wasn't the people here that made it magical for me.


What made this place magical for me, just as with Peru, was the energy. But this isn't the same energy at all. In Peru the energy of the culture at large is nice, but the energy of the people is perfect. Here it's the opposite: the energy of the people is nice, but the energy of their culture is perfect. Just as with any other country, New Zealand has political problems and social problems, but overall I can understand why it's constantly touted as one of the best places on Earth to live. With a population of four million it's not even half the size of the state of Ohio (in fact it's nearly just a third of the size), so it's never played a major role in the world system, which I think is a major advantage. Everything here is modernized, with a few exceptions: the internet isn't the best (mainly due to the physical distance from most other countries in the world), they don't use central heating or central air, and costs are quite high. But besides these things, it's about as utopian a country as one could get I would say. Even the way they treat the native population (the Maori), although not perfect, is far better and greater than probably any other country with European-native relations.


This is not to mention the absolutely, without any doubt, marvelous landscape. This mountainous, hilly, green, forested environment has always been my favorite. Having lived here for four months among such beautiful landscapes has been wonderful. Every day we get to see the ocean, cradled on the edge of mountain ranges. And travelling, we've seen whales in their natural environment, gone white-water rafting in the cleanest river I've ever seen, and seen the vast majority of the locations that were used in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. I can sincerely say that I don't believe I will ever find another place in my life where I will love the natural surroundings so much. I love the nature in Ohio, always have and always will, and love nature really wherever I am. But New Zealand takes the cake, easy. The way they take care of their environment, preserving the nature all around them, and the work they do here to prevent pollution and resource depletion, is a model which all countries (including the US) should follow.


Here the culture change wasn't as drastic as with Peru, since the language here is English (although Maori and Sign Language are also official languages) and the culture is entirely Western. I'm actually very glad for this, because it helped me realize that a place doesn't need to be entirely new or different or strange for it to be beautiful and unique. I suppose I already knew that, but this confirmed that in a way that nothing else could. Although the culture is very similar, there are also endless differences which still interest me today. Even just it's position on Earth, so far from most of the world, so close to Antarctica, mountainous and oceanic, is amazing. I saw more exotic wild animals in the actual wild here than I'd ever seen before in my life: whales, dolphins, seals, just to name a few.


Like Peru, New Zealand will remain as a golden memory within my life experience. I also intend to return here some day, because I know that this country has even more to offer to me than all the greatness it has already given.


***


Both of these journeys, both of these countries, both of these cultures, have impacted me immensely. I have a legitimate travel bug now, an urge to explore growing within me to explore the entire globe. Yes, I know that's corny, but it's true. I'm almost certain I could keep writing about both of these places, both of these experiences, for a solid week or so. Obviously, I can't do that. So I'll stop here before I keep trailing on. In short, this experience of studying abroad and living abroad has been one of the very greatest of my life. I look forward to continuing my travels in the future. There's an entire world out there, and i can't wait to see it.


Caitlyn

This past year of living and studying abroad has been the most incredible experience of my life thus far.   I have had the opportunity to see beautiful places, meet awesome people, learn about different cultures, and test out living on my own.  On top of all that, I’ve been able to experience it all with Paul, which made the experience 100 times more meaningful.

First semester we travelled to Lima, Peru, and I was super excited to improve my Spanish proficiency while we were there.  Upon meeting my host mom for the first time at the IFSA office, I knew that I was going to have a very comfortable, warm home while staying in Peru.  Conchito was a big part of what made my experience so happy and memorable.  She was kind, helpful, affectionate, and always made me delicious meals.  We still keep in touch over email, and I sincerely hope that I get to go back to Peru sometime in the near future to see her again.

Besides, life in my home-stay, our IFSA group and program director were great and added so much to the experience.  Although Paul and I didn’t become super close with anyone in the group, we all felt so included, cared about and loved by everyone there.  The group was like a big family, and I’ll never forget our Thanksgiving celebration which was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had.  Everyone was so happy to be together, and we all started over-flowing with tears when many of use chose to go around and say what we were thankful for.  Lali, our program director, was a major reason for the close knit relationship our group had.  She made every person feel included, and she created a safe environment for everyone to learn, share and grow.  Lali dedicated so much of her time to organizing trips for us, helping us to figure out how to ride combis or choose classes, and she was always available when we needed her.  Most important of all, she truly loved every one of us, and that made all the difference.

In Peru, we also got to visit many amazing places.  We went to Caral, the oldest civilization in the Americas, El Carmen, a small village filled with Afroperuano culture, and of course, Cusco and Machu Picchu.  While all of the trips were great, the trip to Cusco is still my favorite thing that I have done during this year of studying abroad.  We got to visit farmers in the depths of the Andes mountains, play with sweet little girls at a shelter, and climb all the way to the top of Wayna Picchu.  I will never forget the amazing feeling I got when I reached the top of Wayna Picchu, the breeze on my face and Machu Picchu laid out below me.  It was an overwhelming feeling of relief, humility and awe. 

Peru still holds a very special place in my heart, and I really want to go back.  The people there are so warm and inviting, and the culture is incredibly rich.  Speaking and hearing Spanish everyday was awesome and it definitely increased my vocabulary and fluency.  I now feel confident that I can go to any Spanish-speaking country and get along just fine.  I miss living 5 minutes away from the ocean, the beautiful Parque del Amor that Paul and I used to like to go to, the chaotic experience of catching a combi, and the buzz of Spanish constantly surrounding me.  Like I said, I can’t wait to go back.  ¡Te amo, Perú!

***

And of course, this semester we decided to travel all the way to the other side of the world to come live in Wellington, New Zealand.  This experience has been quite different from our experience in Peru, as we live on our own in flats, rather than with host families.  Living in a flat has definitely been a learning experience, and one that I am glad that I have had.  I’ve learned how to better budget my money and shop frugally, and I’ve also been able to practice cooking every single day, which is something that I’ve wanted to do.  I really like cooking, and I’m glad that I’ve had this experience because it forced me to cook every day and figure out how to make food/ingredients last.  I’ve also learned what it is like to live with three other people and to have to sometimes put aside your pet peeves in order to live in harmony and not get on each others’ nerves too much.  Going from being completely pampered and taken care of by my host mom in Peru to completely doing everything myself in New Zealand was an adjustment, but it was definitely a worthwhile learning experience.

The dynamics of our IFSA group here in New Zealand was much different than that in Peru.  While in Peru our group was very tight-knit, here in New Zealand there were lots of little cliques, so Paul and I didn’t really feel very connected with the group as a whole.  However, we did become very close with three girls from our group – Rachel C, Kat, and Rachel G.  Getting to know the three of them has been a really fun experience and I hope that we all can have a reunion back in the US sometime soon.  We spent many nights playing card games, watching Sherlock or YouTube videos, eating pizza or fish and chips, and just laughing our heads off.  We even went on a couple of pretty awesome trips with them.  Having those three as our friends here was an integral part of our experience, and I’m so happy that we met them.

While here in New Zealand we have also been on lots of great trips around the country.  We got to visit the South Island to go whale watching, did volunteer work on Sommes Island, rafted down the Otaki River, went sight-seeing in Wairarapa, and took a weekend trip to Taupo, Hobbiton and Rotorua.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to see quite as much of the country as we would have liked due to budgetary constraints, but from what we were able to see, New Zealand truly is a beautiful country.  The air is clean and fresh, the water is always an incredible shade of blue, and when it is sunny the whole place seems to glisten.  It has been really interesting to learn about the native wildlife here, like the Kiwi Bird and the Tuatara, and we were lucky enough to see much of it in person.  One thing I really admire about New Zealanders is that most of them are concerned with the environment and with conserving the wildlife and bush around their country.  Every country has its issues, and New Zealand isn’t completely clean or environmentally friendly, but it certainly does a much better job than the United States.  One of the things that I will miss the most about living here is the beautiful views you can see by basically going anywhere, even just outside your front door.

Overall, my experience here in New Zealand has been a wonderful one.  Wellington was a great city to live in, and I’ll miss our time spent at the beach and on the Wellington waterfront.  This city also is home to a wealth of museums, theatres and cultural activities, as well as being incredibly clean well-kept.  I’ll miss going to the Embassy Theatre with Paul to see movies, meandering down Courtenay Place, and eating fish and chips on a regular basis.  The one thing that I will NOT miss about this city is the hills.  Nope, I think I’ll be quite happy to get back to the relatively flat topography of Ohio.  Haha.  Wellington is also great because of its connections to the film industry, being home to Peter Jackson’s own production studio, the Weta Cave, and many Lord of the Rings film sites (all of which Paul and I visited during our tour).  I definitely will miss living in this city, where there is always something to do or something interesting to see.  All in all, New Zealand has been very good to us, and it will surely take a place right next to Peru in my heart.  Cheers, Aotearoa New Zealand!

***

After having this amazing year long experience, I am both relieved and disappointed to be heading home. Traveling has helped me to realize how thankful I am for the home and the life I have back in America, and I am ready to head back to Lebanon, see my family and friends, and even start a new year at Miami.  Coming out of this experience, I am just now realizing how much I really have seen, learned and been able to accomplish, and I feel so very fortunate to have had this experience.  Travelling really is one of those things that shows you how little you actually know about the world, and in that it is a very humbling experience.  After this year abroad, I have gained a tiny insight into what life is like in other parts of the world, and it has fueled my desire to travel even more.