My 2013 EAP exchange program experience at the University of San Diego
I remember arriving at Los Angeles airport on the 5th of January, and hoping that I had done all the
correct paperwork to be let into the United States of America. The man at customs asked me
questions in a stern but appropriate manner and so I answered
them as sure as I could. These questions were about my student
visa, where I was studying, what I was studying and general kind
of inquiries. After what seemed a long 5-6 minutes, he smiled,
nodded and said “Welcome to America.”
To then get to San Diego, I caught a popular form of transport, an
Amtrak train, which took around two hours from LA. One of the
most memorable moments on that first day was making my first
friend out of a helpful stranger situation, in the train station before
departing for San Diego. Not only was I helped with directions on
how the entire train transport system worked, but on arrival in San
Diego, this family gave me a lift to my host university campus,
gave me an international adapter so I could charge my electronics
and showed me important highways in the city to remember. It was
all very overwhelming but a complete blessing and I wondered if
everyone was this lucky whilst abroad.
It definitely took a week or two before I felt settled in. I mean moving across the world and uprooting
your life for a year isn't the easiest thing to get used to. However, one of the most important things I
learnt was it does get better, so much better in fact. To the point that when your year is up and you
have to come home, the idea of leaving is the new idea of arriving, sad and homesick like.
I don't think I would have had the same incredible experience at UCSD if I didn't decide to apply and
get into the International House on campus. This was a major access to the social side of an
exchange I was living and creating friendships with people from all
around the world who were in the same boat as me. Students on
an exchange, away from what they know, away from friends and
family and so with this common ground it really strengthens
interactions on a positive level. I can now say I have best friends
that I will of coarse
visit one day soon, all
over Europe South
Africa, South America,
Canada, some fellow
Australians, yanks
from all across the states, and it really blows my mind! The
International House had constant cultural events inviting
everyone to participate and share parts from their country.
I found a few other kiwis from other NZ Universities and
we all came together to teach people about Aotearoa, and
Māori culture and things we had all learned in primary
school perhaps, like our whakapapa. Although myself and
others, whom had no Māori in us, we could still completely
celebrate all parts of NZ life and culture and it was truly an awesome thing.
The systems that UCSD had in place was another thing that took time to get used to, picking and
dropping classes, your online account, checking emails from professors but again living on campus
helped because I could literally just ask another student for help. It is important to feel like you can
always ask for help when you need it, my international office
on campus was so great to talk to about any questions I had,
especially when it came to requesting a new DS-2019 for my
sponsored summer work in New York. There were certain days
a week, anyone could walk in and book a 15 minute
appointment with one of the advisers, which was super
convenient and flexible between lectures.
UCSD has a massive campus, very large in size, taking about
25 minutes to walk from one side to the other, hence why they
have two shuttles that run around the campus loop, one in counter clockwise, to help students get to
class on time, and you could look on the UCSD online app for how far away it was and even track it. I
found this to be a very modern and forward thinking initiative, and one of the many ideas it seems NZ
might be a bit behind on. Not exactly this specific shuttle idea, but ideas of the nature that really look
into the demand and need of students and then
making it a reality in practice.
I really loved the city of San Diego, its coastal
beaches are stunning, and the beach that ran
parallel to the university meant beach access
between class for a surf or a swim or just to go
down and do my weekly readings. The school
shuttle also made La Jolla Shores part of its bus
route for the oceanography center there, making it
even easier to get to and from. San Diego is a very
spread-out city and on public transport it takes an
hour to get downtown, one way, this was a
downside. Not having a car and trying to get
around on the buses was at times a nightmare, but after making enough friends you did have access
to go places with them, like the grocery store.
Something that sounds obvious that I thought I
had covered in preparation is budgeting, that
would be one of the biggest things I couldn't
stress this more to future applicants. Know how
much you need for accommodation, all the fees,
like health insurance etc. Know how much you
want to spend ideally each week and cater in
advance to have spare money for things that
come up like events you had never planned to go
to attend, pleasure leisure. I know that some of
my greatest highlights were the things I hadn't
saved for such as Spring Break in Mexico, or the
musical festival Coachella. Things I couldn't
really afford but did anyway, all thanks to my
family but still it was not a position I would put them in again. All in all I had the best year of my life,
learning at a new and highly renowned college, making lasting friendships from all over the globe, and
encountering new ways of life, cultures, and lifestyles has really opened my mind as a person. It has
helped me grow and develop and just know myself more - what I want in life, what I don't. I wouldn't
give up this year abroad experience for anything, no amount of money compares to my 2013 abroad
thanks to this programme I found at the University of Waikato. It really did change my life.