Milford Sound /by Steve Allen
Hmmm, what to do this Fall semester? How about let's stay in Columbia. Let's enjoy the same old spots, the same old friends, the same old halls. Or not. Let's go to Tamaki Makaurau instead. Sound like a plan?
In case you care about where you're going before agreeing to go there, you might want to know that Tamaki Makaurau is actually the Maori name for Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand.
And what's Maori? It's the language of the people who've lived in what is now called New Zealand for about 700 years. They make up about 15 percent of the population now.
So what else might interest you about New Zealand, besides for the fact that we have an exchange program there? No doubt, you know that the Lord of the Rings was filmed there, and for those of us who've seen the movies and some photos (click here and here), that's not much of a surprise. While it's the North Island that's the most populated, it's the South Island that is home to the famous Southern Alps, which run almost 300 miles from end to end. The highest peak is over 12,000 feet and the range is home to over 3,000 glaciers larger than a hectare.
In case you care about where you're going before agreeing to go there, you might want to know that Tamaki Makaurau is actually the Maori name for Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand.
And what's Maori? It's the language of the people who've lived in what is now called New Zealand for about 700 years. They make up about 15 percent of the population now.
So what else might interest you about New Zealand, besides for the fact that we have an exchange program there? No doubt, you know that the Lord of the Rings was filmed there, and for those of us who've seen the movies and some photos (click here and here), that's not much of a surprise. While it's the North Island that's the most populated, it's the South Island that is home to the famous Southern Alps, which run almost 300 miles from end to end. The highest peak is over 12,000 feet and the range is home to over 3,000 glaciers larger than a hectare.
Waterfront /by Jarn Godfrey
If you go to New Zealand, you're probably (definitely) going to check out South Island. If you have the time and money, you could actually go on what the National Geographic decided was the 9th best adventure trip in the world: a 14-day escapade where you can go snorkeling, sea kayaking, backpacking and biking. But don't limit yourself! There are tons of options when it comes to adventuring in New Zealand.
"OK," you say, "I want to go. New Zealand. Beautiful. But nature isn't all I care about, you know. I want to meet lots of interesting people, and I want to make sure the university is up to par. What would New Zealand give me as a journalist, anyway?"
Good questions. Necessary questions, obviously.
If you want to know why the Auckland Institute of Technology thinks you should study there, click here, and if you want to learn about the degree program and courses you might take, click here. And click here to see the newspaper that you'll be writing for. And if you're worried you'll be sitting in the middle of a bunch of gorgeous mountains and a lot of sheep (there's more of them than people in New Zealand!), don't you worry. Auckland has about 1.3 million residents (somewhat larger than CoMo, right?), and the uni has almost 30,000 students, 2,000 of them international.
And now I'd recommend you do some research. Who knows, you might be an AP correspondent there one day. Wouldn't do to start the adventure without reading up.
"OK," you say, "I want to go. New Zealand. Beautiful. But nature isn't all I care about, you know. I want to meet lots of interesting people, and I want to make sure the university is up to par. What would New Zealand give me as a journalist, anyway?"
Good questions. Necessary questions, obviously.
If you want to know why the Auckland Institute of Technology thinks you should study there, click here, and if you want to learn about the degree program and courses you might take, click here. And click here to see the newspaper that you'll be writing for. And if you're worried you'll be sitting in the middle of a bunch of gorgeous mountains and a lot of sheep (there's more of them than people in New Zealand!), don't you worry. Auckland has about 1.3 million residents (somewhat larger than CoMo, right?), and the uni has almost 30,000 students, 2,000 of them international.
And now I'd recommend you do some research. Who knows, you might be an AP correspondent there one day. Wouldn't do to start the adventure without reading up.
By the beach
As usual, we have our staple reading: this State Department page and WikiTravel. Then there's everything you can dig up from the New York Times: (1) a blog post about traveling cheaply on South Island (2) a Frommer's intro on the country (3) this article about extreme sports in New Zealand, and (4) this great article about exploring New Zealand's "Fiorland." And if all that's not enough, you've got to check out this Travel and Leisure article.
If you're not busy reading those and still reading this blog post, then remember. Application deadline: April 5. Coming up pretty fast... Click here to learn how to apply.
by Fedor Zarkhin
If you're not busy reading those and still reading this blog post, then remember. Application deadline: April 5. Coming up pretty fast... Click here to learn how to apply.
by Fedor Zarkhin
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