Foreign Correspondents: Mariel Edokwe in New Zealand

Even though I love Midd, by the end of my sophomore year I was ready for a break that was more long-term than summer. I was excited to be studying abroad in New Zealand at the University of Otago, a university with almost ten times as many students as Middlebury, and was ready to meet some new people — not to mention that I was eager to escape the U.S. given the recent political climate. 

As I got ready for the (long) three flights that would transport me to the other side of the world, I didn’t have many expectations. I didn’t want to know anyone that I was going abroad with and sought to truly experience this journey on my own; while this mindset made things a little scarier, it also felt even more exciting. 

When I got into North Dunedin around 10 a.m., I was sleep-deprived and not really in the mood to converse with the other students on my shuttle from the airport. Little did I know that some of the people on this bus would turn out to be great friends. Everyone seemed to know each other either through independent study abroad programs or due to how they all pretty much came from the same four schools (University of Denver, Saint Lawrence, Dickinson and Boulder). This made me a little anxious for the first few weeks, but as I texted my Midd friends, I was reassured that everything would be okay — and it has been! 

I’m currently sitting here in my queen bed in a large, single room with my three other flatmates/ good friends in the rooms next to me or across the hall. I have just two weeks of classes left, and have had many opportunities to see some amazing places and do some amazing things — like jumping out of a plane 15,000 feet above ground! I’ve made some friendships that I think will last a lifetime and have discovered myself as a person with this new level of independence that I’ve been given. I truly would not change this experience for the world and am so grateful for all of the people that helped make this opportunity possible. Moral of the story: go abroad for at least a semester!

I am also grateful because being in a new place for three months (which will turn into five before I know it) has made me value my life at home in New Jersey and at school in Vermont so much more. I love it here and nothing bad has happened — no culture shock, etc. — but I miss my family, friends and our way of life back home more than I imagined. I’m not really “homesick,” but I am excited to have my two months of vacation with family and go back to school in January where my best friends and I can share stories from our time abroad. I promise that I won’t come back claiming that I’m “so cultured” having now spent a few months in a different country, or claiming some newfound maturity after being allowed to legally drink. I will, however, be the same person that I was before, just with a smile on my face that’s even bigger now as a result of having participated in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that has made me look at my life in a new way.