The End of a Great Month


I would have to say that my biggest challenge was using the phone cards in New Zealand. Most payphones in New Zealand don’t take coins, they use other phone cards. So I bought one of these phone cards, but got an error message every time I tried to use it. It was not until our last day when we were at the airport that I noticed where this card said “this side up.” Once I figured out how to use my phone card with regular phones I decided that the direction were more complicated than necessary. 

My fondest memory was the Tongariro Crossing. This may be because it was one of the last things that we did and therefore fresh in my memory, but regardless of that, it will be a long time before I forget that hike. Some people might think that my fondest memory was of finally completing the long hike, but I most enjoyed the time during the hike. Surrounded by a variety of volcanoes, craters, and lakes I was thoroughly impressed by my surroundings. I loved seeing a full spectrum of vegetation from bare rocks to sparse mosses then tall grasses and finally lush green trees. 

Years from now I know that I will always look back 
at my pictures from this trip with nothing but fond memories. I would like to thank the professors, TA, and everyone else who made this trip possible. I would also like to thank everyone in the group for giving me awesome people to share an awesome month with.