By James Derrick

Time is flying by and I’m now well past halfway through my time overseas already! The last few weeks have been crunch time where, similar to Waikato, it seems like every assignment is due at once. I’ve had to make sure I get everything done during the week so that I still have time to go out and do stuff on the weekends. I’ve done a few more international student tours around different parts of the country too with a weekend trip to the Isle of Skye, a day trip to the Lake District in England and a day trip to Alnwick Castle.

These trips have been fantastic and have definitely been the highlight of my exchange so far. Isle of Skye was amazing and I can see why National Geographic rate it as one of the best islands in the world! The highlight was hiking up to see the Old Man of Storr which we did first thing in the morning after staying at a hostel. We were all pretty tired but the views definitely made it worth it, the weather was perfect too so the visibility was great making it even better. The other day trips were also a great way to see more of the country without having to do much planning or organisation myself.

I have my first exam in a couple of weeks which I’m nervous about since it’s the first closed-book-style exam I will have done since high school. I’ve been spending lots of time studying in my room and at the university library which is something I’m going to miss when I return home. The Tauranga campus is going to seem tiny by comparison!