Sam Fellows
Exchange Report
Getting to the USA
I got up a 3.30am on December 31st, in order to drive up to Auckland from Tauranga to catch my flight to
the US. I was very excited as I had never been to the states or overseas for a long period of time. Once at the
airport I checked in. At this point I became familiar with the beginning of the intense scrutiny around
travelling on a student visa. Luckily, I had all of my documents in a travel wallet, which I would highly
recommend as at some points you are asked for the same documents several times from the same person so
it makes it easier to have them close by. After going through security and boarding my flight, I was seated
next to another student who was from Auckland going to study in New York.
The Air New Zealand flight then arrived in Sydney for a stopover. Going through security in Sydney I was
treated to a thorough frisk search and questioning in a side room by the Australian boarder officials, who
seemed to be suspicious of an individual travelling on a student visa.
Following this I boarded my United Airlines flight to
LAX. I was seated next to a lovely lady from
California who worked for the airline and gave me a
lot of good pointers of things to do and see. Although
the flight was not bad I would definitely recommend
flying Air New Zealand as I did on the way back as
there was slightly more leg room, the food and the
staff were also a little bit better.
Plane to LAX
Flying into LA I was immediately astounded by the size and the haze of the city. Upon landing I
experienced further scrutiny from the customs staff, however by this point I had memorised most of the
questions in relation to my study in order to prove that I was really there to study and not to start a new life
under the guise of studying. After walking out of security I was confronted with my first major airport,
which was more like a small town. I then tried to find my way to the Southwest Airlines terminal in order to
leave. After walking to the other side of the airport I found the terminal and waited for my Southwest flight
to see my friends in Seattle for New Years eve. I found that travelling in the US Southwest was the cheapest
and best airline, they are one of the few that offers free checked baggage and the staff were always friendly
and helpful. Additionally if you check in at the earliest possible time online before flying you are one of the
first to get on the plane so can claim a window seat in order to get a good view of whichever city you fly out
of and into. http://www.southwest.com/
Seattle
After a stopover in Oakland, I arrived at the Seattle
airport. I then caught my first ever monorail to meet
my friends in downtown Seattle. We then walked
the short distance to pikes place market a small
boutique set of shops famous in Seattle.
http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/ We then met up
with some of their friends for dinner before heading
out the New Year’s party on one of their friends
boats on the Washington Harbour. My friends posed
for a photo in front of the original gum wall, which
Pikes Place Market
used to be located outside a nightclub and patrons waiting in line began
to stick chewing gum to the wall and it has kept increasing since then.
We got to the dock and drove the boat out to a pontoon to watch the
New Years fireworks from off the buildings in Seattle, mainly the space
needle. It was cold but an awesome experience.
The Gum Wall
Gabe and I on a pig in Pikes Place
Seattle City
Fireworks
On the Pontoon
I then spent another four days with my friends exploring Seattle. I saw my first squirrel and mole hill. I went
to Gasworks park, the Freemont troll, the art gallery, the museum and the first Starbucks. I also got a sim
card for my phone. I would recommend whoever you go with you get a data plan. This made it easy to use
google maps on my iphone which has a public transport option that tells you exactly what bus or train to get
on when and where to transfer in order to get where you want to go. I also had my first frozen yoghurt,
which I got addicted to at UCSD and went to my first Wal-Mart and Costco.
Seattle City
Gabe, Sarah and I
The Original Starbucks
Space Needle
Troll
San Diego
I then flew down to San Diego on the Thursday before I was able to move into UCSD on the Sunday. I
stayed in a hostel and explored the city. I would recommend this to anyone coming to UCSD as it was a
good way to explore San Diego and get a feel for the place before moving up to La Jolla to study. My
favourite place I went in San Diego was Balboa Park. It has numerous museums and galleries, many of
which are free and has been around since the Spanish were in control of San Diego with lovely Spanish style
buildings. It is also the location of the San Diego Zoo, which I would also highly recommend. I also got my
first taste of authentic Mexican food from one of the many delicious and cheap Mexican restaurants. I am
craving authentic Mexican food now and would love to have some again.
San Diego Harbour
Balboa Park
San Diego Hostel
Rugby
That weekend was also the first game of rugby I refereed in the US. This was a good way to travel around
Southern California as well as meet many lovely people who were warm and friendly, this led to being
invited home for meals numerous times. Rugby was very different in the US played on rock hard grass or
artificial turf both with temporary goal posts. I was good to see rugby building in the US, especially among
younger children. In my second weekend there I refereed the UCSD mens rugby team and was asked to help
coach. This was an awesome way to meet students interested in rugby at UCSD as well as improve my
rugby coaching skills. Additionally I was invited to referee at the Las Vegas Invitational sevens tournament
and got free tickets to the international sevens and free hotel for the week.
Outside Qualcomm Stadium
Putting up temporary goal posts in LA
Refereeing rugby at Fallbrook High School
Rugby in Riverside
UCLA for UCLA vs UC Berkley
Fields for Las Vegas Invitational
A little taste of NZ in Vegas at rugby
NZ vs Australia (we won)
Representing NZ
UCSD
That Sunday I caught the tram and bus up to La Jolla to move into UCSD. I lived in International House an
apartment style complex on campus. These were very modern, clean and comfortable. The apartment had
four bedrooms three of which contained my American flatmates and the other containing me and my
Australian roommate Matt. Although there were more single than shared rooms in International House I
decided to try for a shared room to have the experience of a roommate. This ended up working out very well
as Matt and I came in January which was the middle of the academic year this meant that we at least knew
one other person and made it a little easier to negotiate for the first few days. I would thoroughly
recommend International House for anyone going to UCSD and have even become Alumni Ambassador
http://ihouse.ucsd.edu/alumni/alumni_ambassadors.html. That week I started classes, I took an acting paper,
a gender studies paper and an immigration paper. I decided to take these as they were the type of things I
wouldn’t usually study and because of the number of compulsory papers in my degree would not be able to.
It was very interesting to see the slight differences in taking classes in the US as well as experience
viewpoints on race and gender within these classes.
I was shocked at the size of UCSD with around 30,000 students and a campus size of 2,141. There were
numerous shops a bus service, restaurants, bars, a running track, gym, four swimming pools and numerous
other facilities. This made it like its own town. Additionally the makeup of students was interesting with
44% being Asian American, 24% Caucasian American and 12% Hispanic American.
The only disappointing thing about UCSD as it is a Division II school and is largely focused on academics
so does not have big sporting games or big hype around sports games and events. There is however a lot of
school pride shown by the number of individuals wearing college branded clothing and the fact that almost
everything you use is UCSD branded. However both the university of San Diego and San Diego State
University as short tam and bus trips away and have large sporting programmes to fulfil this need in addition
to UCLA not being too far away either.
One interesting thing was the patron of UCSD was Dr Suess so many of the building are built in a quirky
Suess style and many of the clothes you can buy have Dr Suess branding.
UCSD Library
Pavlova, Lammingtons, cake and Tim Tams
1
for Australia day
UCSD School book
Beach across the road
Our Appartment
International House
Our room
UCSD Foodcourt
International House
Dr. Suess and Cat in the hat statue
Engineering Building
In Front of shops
The rest of USA
While at UCSD I also spent a few weekends travelling around Southern California through rugby and stayed
with a friend in Orange who I had met while she was on exchange in New Zealand and her boyfriend in LA.
They took me to see a lot of the sights as well as many places to eat and try different food.
Amtrak to Orange
Chapman University Law School
Rosco’s Chicken and Waffles (Snoop Dogs My first real American hot dog
Favourite restaurant)
All you can eat Sushi
UCLA
Superbowl Cake
Breakfast Burrito
In-N-Out
Shooting Range
Laguna Beach
Disney Land
The Cheesecake factory
After studying at UCSD I then spent about a month travelling around the US and staying with friends who I
had met when they were on exchange in New Zealand. The first place I visited was Oklahoma to see my
friend Kevin.
Cookies Kevin’s mum made for me
The Golden Driller
Route 66
Me on the University of Tulsa football field
Bacon Soda
True words
Sausage Biscuits
American Bison on the Tall Grass Prairie
The Blue Whale
Oral Roberts University
I then flew to meet one of my friends, Katie Sue, from high school in Alabama, after we had explored the
Troy campus we went to Panama City Beach for a bit of relaxation with some of her friends. This was also
the first time I had seen and swum in an ocean that wasn’t the pacific ocean.
Troy University Football Stadium
Troy University fountain
Panama City Beach
Going for a dip in the Gulf of Mexico
My first snow cone with Katie Sue
I then caught the bus to see another friend from high school, Rachel, in Tallahassee, Florida.
Florida State football gym
Florida State volleyball gym
Florida State volleyball locker room
Florida State University Circus
Following this I travelled to Washington DC to stay with another friend I met while she was on exchange in
New Zealand. I was overwhelmed with the size of the buildings and monuments and loved exploring the
museums, galleries and government buildings.
American University
The White House
Washington Memorial
WWII memorial and Lincoln memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Martin Luther King Memorial
US Legislature
US Supreme Court
I then caught the train to see my friend James, who came to New Zealand on an exchange, in New Jersey he
showed me around NJ as well as Philadelphia and New York.
Lake Hopatcong New Jersey
Time Square
Freedom Tower at ground Zero
The Jefferson Diner Once voted best diner
Central Park
Statue of Liberty
Following this I caught the train to meet my friend Erika, who I met while she was on exchange to New
Zealand. She showed me around Boston then New Hampshire.
Boston Harbour
Getting ready to paint eggs for easter
University of New Hampshire
Fenway Park
Our eggs
USS Albuquerque
Durham New Hampshire
After staying in New Hampshire I then took my last train ride of my exchange to Maine to see my friend
Tyson who I met while he was in New Zealand on exchange.
Portland Light House
Life sized chocolate moose
I then caught a flight to Las Vegas to meet up with my friends who I had spent New Years eve with in
Seattle. My friend Gabe had just finished participating in the Blo Kart world champs in Nevada so we were
celebrating that and my leaving the US.
Our Hotel Pool
Hanging out by the pool
The Strip
On the Monday my friend Jeff and I caught a plane to LA where I stayed the night before flying back to
New Zealand the next day. I was glad to see the smiling faces of the Air New Zealand staff welcoming me
onto the plane but sad at the same time to be leaving after such an amazing trip. I flew into Auckland then to
Tauranga on a Beautiful warm sunny day at the end of April happy to be home but glad and grateful that I
had the opportunity to go on the exchange.
I would highly recommend that anyone considering going on an exchange does it. It is such an excellent
way to meet new and different people and live within a new culture and not just be a tourist in their country.
It helped me to see new and different viewpoints as well as challenge my beliefs and the way I see the
world.