New Zealand Thoughts — Time for Some Reflection

When I signed in for this course, it was rather a choice of curiosity — because I have known so little about New Zealand before! The only thing I have known before was that New Zealand is far far away from Germany, has beautiful beaches and from time to time, earthquakes seem to happen. But fortunately this has changed and my knowledge about New Zealand has expanded during the last weeks. I really enjoyed this course because it covered a wide range of topics stretching from politics over earthquakes to typical food. Thus, this class provided a good inside into the Kiwi culture and their unstressed and natural way of living.

What I liked the most about this course were the flexibility and the openness to current topics and events in New Zealand. This includes on the one hand the posting tasks, which allowed me with the help of the other students’ posting to be up-to-date what is happening on the other side of the world. On the other hand, the weekly in class discussions about topics such as the abdication of John Key, the cows on the lonely piece of land and the earthquake in November made this course very vivid and entertaining at the same time. What I appreciated the most were John Oliver’s comments on current affairs which made me laugh already at eight o’clock course time every Tuesday.

Even though this seminar has already provided a deep inside into the culture and the way of life in New Zealand, there is still a lot that I want to know about New Zealand. In fact, it is rather that I want to experience this culture and especially Christmas on the beach. Hopefully, I have not yet passed three months in an English speaking country abroad. This is why I decided to put New Zealand as my favourite destination right at the top of my list for my semester abroad.