Hello Everyone!
August is officially upon us. Camp and tournament season is over and I have just returned from a family trip to Alaska. The land out there is incredible, so much so that it's hard to remember that it's of the same country as the lower 48 states. We spent time in Denali, saw Mount McKinley, Haines, Juneau and Ketchikan. My favorite part was meeting both native Alaskans and transplants to the state and learning how different their lives are from anything I've been accustomed to. Bears, sea planes, moose and ice-climbing is all part of a lot of people's everyday routine. I was stunned to learn that Juneau, the state capital, is only accessible by air and sea; there are no roads leading in or out. I highly recommend the trip if anyone is looking for a unique vacation.
Casey and I are not the only travelers among the EC Lax team. Junior Attacker Kanika Misra is settling in in New Zealand and has given us some wonderful insight into her trip thus far:
Give us a play-by-play of your travel from the U.S. To New Zealand, from leaving home in Potsdam to settling in Auckland.
Kanika: So I left Potsdam on June 29th to head out to LA for a few days and hang with Marlee before the long journey to New Zealand. I had so much fun with Marlee - met her wonderful friends and family, went to the beach, shopped around, had sushi (of course), got some Taco Tuesday, and so much more. We definitely covered all the bases during my short visit there. My flight to Auckland was on the night of July 4th and it was about 13 hours which sounds terrible, but I actually was able to sleep through most of it. Since the time difference is 16 hours (EST), it was really strange because I technically never had July 5th in my life because I landed at 6am on July 6th, Auckland time. After landing, I met the rest of the Arcadia University program and they took us to a hotel so we could shower and call home but we weren't allowed to sleep until 8pm in order to try and beat jet-lag. The first three days here were so packed with activities that I can't explain it all but during that time I went to Hobbiton (yes, Lord of the Rings!) and Rotorua, went zorbing (YouTube it!), experienced the culture of the Maoris (the native people of New Zealand), walked through volcanic parks, saw some Kiwi birds, moved into my flat in Auckland, and so much more! It really was incredible - everything about this country is pretty incredible, to be honest. If you want the real play-by-play of that weekend though, check out my
travel blog.
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| Wai Karekare |
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Has school started yet? What classes are you taking?
Kanika: School started last week, so I just finished my second week of classes yesterday. It is almost impossible to get classes transferred over for my major so all the classes I am taking are just counting as elective credits for me. I was still interested in taking marketing classes while I was here though, even if they aren't counting towards anything really so I'm taking 'International Business' and 'Innovation and Entrepreneurship'. I'm also taking two random classes for fun called 'Drugs and Society' and 'Exercise&Fitness: Myths and Reality'. My 'Innovation and Entrepreneurship' class is definitely going to be the most difficult because it's the highest level class I'm taking, but it'll be really cool to learn about the way things work here. I also fully intend on coming back here one day and opening some businesses and making baaaank because so far, we've noticed that New Zealand is about 10 years behind. School is really different here though - there is almost no emphasis on classwork or even attendance, there are few essays and most of the learning is self-taught, but the biggest and scariest thing is that finals at the University of Auckland are worth 50%+ of your grade. In one of my classes, my final is a cumulative test at the end of the semester and it is worth 65% of my grade...I'm a little nervous, to say the least.
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| Hiking | |
Are your classmates from all over? Where?
Kanika: Yes, my classmates are very international for sure. There are a lot of Asians because of our proximity to the continent, but there are a good amount of people from literally all over. It seems like most students live at home while at university in New Zealand as opposed to the US where we all tend to move out and change cities. I live in a university-owned apartment complex, so I've met tons of other internationals just by living here. I've made friends from Ireland, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Norway, and France just to name a few. It's really nice to be able to meet so many different people from such incredibly different places.
Have you had a chance to get to know any New Zealanders? Give us a little info on the culture there.
Kanika: I've met New Zealanders mostly through class or mingling in town. They say that finding and befriending a Kiwi (the name for a native New Zealander) is a little difficult and rare, but it's easier after joining some clubs and getting involved in various things. The New Zealand culture is pretty much based around the Maori culture which is really cool. One of the first days we were here, our program brought us to the Tamaki Maori Village which is basically a re-creation of an old Maori village. There was just so much information thrown at us that it's hard to really summarize it, but http://www.maoriculture.co.nz/maoriculture gives a lot of information if you're interested! I think one of the coolest things we were introduced to was the "haka" which is the traditional ancestral war dance of the Maori people. It is a little scary and super intense, but pretty amazing to watch.
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| Tamaki Maori Village |
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How is lax fitting into your time abroad?
Kanika: I've actually gotten very, very involved with the lacrosse community here in New Zealand. Because it's still in its beginning stages, there is a lot of basic foundation work that is going on all over the country. As opposed to the US where thousands and thousands of athletes play lacrosse, the numbers here are in the hundreds. (Though you have to remember that we have over 300,000,000 more people in the United States than they have in New Zealand.) That said, building an interest in the sport is the biggest obstacle...especially when most people don't even know what lacrosse is. I've met a lot of people here that are very involved and I've agreed to help out with anything they need help with - coaching, reffing, etc. Last week I played in a "social lacrosse" league which consists mostly of people who have never touched a stick before. It was complete chaos to be honest, but it's a learning experience for them so it's all good. Besides that, I've been very lucky to get the opportunity to work with the National Women's Lacrosse team here. I spent a few days with them this past week and they really are a great group of girls - just as dysfunctional as we all are! At this point, I'm helping assistant coach them which is really incredible for me...I was surprised at how much control the coach gave me, she even handed over the whistle a few times! A lot of the concepts (pertaining to lacrosse/sports in general) that have become second-nature to us since we grew up with them are relatively new and kind of foreign to many of them - even some phenomenal players on the national team. My background in coaching and playing other sports has definitely helped me and honestly all the time I spent on the sideline with my ACL did so much for my perspective, in a way I am grateful. They're quickly filling up my calender with various events over the next few months, so I'm really excited to see what's in store for me!
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| National Team Lacrosse Camp |
What is your favorite place you have been so far and where are you planning to travel while you're there?
Kanika: I'm not really sure if I'll be able to choose favorite places during my time here - everything is so incredible and different in its own way. But, since I've only been here for about three weeks now and go to school during the week, I've only traveled out of the city once besides orientation weekend. That one trip was to Piha which is about an hour west of Auckland, best known for its beautiful beaches. We went on a short little hike before heading to the beach which was also incredibly beautiful. Again, my blog will give you a lot more depth and insight to that trip...but most importantly, it will give you pictures that don't even come close to doing the scenery justice, but a taste is better than nothing. As for future travel plans, I really want to try and go as many places as possible while I'm here. Though Australia, Fiji, and Tasmania would be incredible, I think I'll save those for another trip some years down the road and try to get the most out of New Zealand. Right now, I'm having a lot of fun starting to plan out my two week mid-semester break where we are planning on road-tripping around the South Island which I am inexplicably excited about. Dolphins, wine-tasting, long hikes, bungee jumping, and so much more are in my future!
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| Piha Beach |
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Food in Auckland vs. food in Boston. Go.
Kanika: Honestly, there aren't that many foods that are native to the area that I've discovered. Besides their absolute love for chips (french fries), I am convinced that New Zealanders don't eat much else than Subway, sushi, kebabs, and meat pies. Meat pies are really common here - especially mince meat made out of sheep since there are more sheep than people in this country. They also obviously have a lot of kiwifruit and these different ones called golden kiwifruit that are kind of sweeter and hard to describe but people either love them or hate them...I love them. They also have a special sweet potato here called kumara which is really good, and a meringue-like dessert called pavlova which is delicious. You all know my obsession with sushi, so since it's available every 10 feet...you could say I'm pretty happy in Auckland.
Anything else you'd like to share with EC Laxers and fans?
Kanika: I think I've shared more than enough...
If you want to keep following Kanika in her travels through November, check out her blog for more updates and pictures!
