Winter Break 2024 Participant
I found it so rewarding to get to hear the differences between New Zealand and America. It was so interesting and neat to see just how vastly different the two countries are. Such as in New Zealand they drive on the left side of the road instead of the right. They also have different sports such as cricket and rugby they are really popular instead of football and basketball like America. They also have different names and pronunciations for things compared to what we say here and so it was really fun to talk to the locals and see what things we say differently. For example, we found out that in America we pronounce apricot completely differently than they do in New Zealand, they also say rubbish instead of trash and take away instead of carry out. With regards to sustainability one thing my group pointed out was that people in New Zealand care about the environment and becoming more sustainable because they are concerned for the wellbeing of their land and the plants and animals that occupy it. They care about sustainability simply because they want to make the environment around them healthy again. For example, they are worried about the water quality of their rives and the pollution in the harbor because of the impact that it has on local ecosystems and populations. However in contrast people in America are interested in sustainability in a more selfish way. For example many people in America aren't worried about poor water quality because of their concern for the animal populations, their first thought is often concern for themselves due to the fact that their drinking water comes from polluted looking rivers. Another example is food. People in New Zealand are working towards organic farming practices in order to reduced the environmental impact of pesticides and chemicals running off and getting into the water systems and affecting wildlife. However, in America people are attracted to organic options because of the fear that pesticides cause cancer, and so they choose the more sustainable option incidentally because it is the one that benefits them most. And while there isn't anything wrong with the different viewpoints, it was really interesting to compare what I see most often in America to what the people we spoke to in New Zealand were saying. And while this doesn't account for the whole population, some people in New Zealand may not think like this just like how some Americans might think differently from this as well. But either way, it was really rewarding and interesting to see all the differences between the two countries.
Winter Break 2024 Participant
One thing I learned is that just going exploring and getting to know your surroundings is the best thing you can do, as well as to be careful but not worry so much about getting a little lost or turned around. One of the best things my group did was start walking around and trying to orient ourselves with where we are, as well as practice taking the metro to familiar locations so that when we have free days we would be comfortable taking it longer distances. Doing this at the beginning of our trip helped things to go a lot smoother since we took the time to walk around and even though we risked getting a little lost, by a couple days in we we able to have a good general idea of where we are and what's around us. This really helped when we had to find certain buildings for classes or certain meeting spots for getting back together as a group. It was also a really beneficial thing to do since by the time our free day came, we made plans to take an hour bus ride to the beach and since we had experience going on the bus for shorter distances, we knew how to properly navigate which busses to take to get to the beach which likely saved us a lot of trouble.
Winter Break 2024 Participant
I learned a lot about the economical and political influences that really determine how sustainability is implemented.
