Last days in NZ :(

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Auckland was the last stop on our travels around the North Island. We drove there on Thanksgiving and then said bye to our talkative driver, Don…one thing I was extremely thankful for. Our professors gave us pumpkin and apple pie to celebrate the holiday but it wasn’t the same as the Mangine Thanksgiving that I missed out on!! I hope you guys ate lots of GBC for me!!!

We walked to the grocery store to make tacos for Leah’s bday dinner but we didn’t get to go out that night because we had to study for our final in the morning. The final was a written paper on our laptops in the basement of the hostel. It was such a weird setting and format that it didn’t even feel like I was done with the semester when I handed it in!! This semester flew by and I feel like this trip to Fiji is just another mid-semester break.

That night was our last night in New Zealand L It was also Melissa’s 20^th birthday so we had twice the reason to celebrate! My whole school group went to a Mexican restaurant for our Final Supper. At the end of the meal each person stood up and said a little something about what the semester meant to them and what they are going to take from it. It was such a bittersweet dinner because it was the last time that all 31 of us would be in one group after spending 3 months together.

Way before this semester began, the travel agent offered everyone a stop in Fiji on the way home. I didn’t know anyone on this trip at the time but assumed that most kids would take her up on the offer. It turns out that Melissa planned for a week too but Alexa, Bird, and Leah just booked flights home. I was especially bummed about it because Bird and Leah became two of my best friends but they both go to Union. Saying goodbye to them was such a hard thing to do but I know that I’ll be visiting Union next semester!!

These past few months have been absolutely amazing. This semester was an experience of a lifetime but it’s not over yet…I have a week in Fiji before coming home!!!

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Photos

Tacos for dinner
Melissa, Leah, Bird, me, Alexa..eating tacos for Leah's bday

Final Dinner
The HWS/Union group and professors at Little Mexico for dinner on our last night in NZ!!