This week marked our last week in the first block of the semester. Over the course of these 4 weeks, I took Operations Management and Australian Life and Culture. I really enjoyed both of these courses and it was very unique to learn from professors at different institutions. I learned a great deal about the history of Australia and about their current state of social affairs. Throughout the course, we identified many similarities between the social and economic aspects of the US and Australia. We took our final exams, wrote our essays due on Saturday, and then we’re able to enjoy the long weekend.
Over the weekend, I travelled to Queenstown, New Zealand. I really love to hike and be in nature so I was really excited to explore the diverse landscape. The first night, our flight landed later in the evening so we just walked around the town to see the little shops and to grab some food. The next morning we hopped on a bus to go to the Fiordland National Park and visit Lake Te Anau. The weather in New Zealand was pretty chilly and it was a shocking difference from the warm, sunny Australia. The mountains had snowy peaks and they were beautifully structured. We did a boat tour to go see the Glow Worm Caves and then watched the sunset over the lake. It was so peaceful here and I really enjoyed getting out of the busy, city.
The next morning we got on another bus and did a tour of the Milford Sound, similar to the one we did on the Great Ocean Road in Melbourne. We got to stop at all of the stops and our tour guide gave us so much amazing information about the history of the land. The rivers were ice blue from the melted glaciers and we could see waterfalls coming out of the sides of the mountains. The water looked like it was falling in slow motion because it was so high up and that really helped put into perspective how gigantic the mountains really were. Milford sound was where the Tasman Sea mixed with fresh water (top 25 feet of the sound was fresh water and the bottom half was salt water). The smallest waterfall along the side of the mountains was as tall as Niagara Falls. The one of the tallest peaks in the Fiord was almost double the size of the Empire State Building. I was really grateful to be able to travel this weekend and to explore the world! I think that I shockingly enjoyed New Zealand more than Australia
