Not Too Shabby, Abbie

For a world-class nerd like me, one of the best things about New Zealand was the bookstores. In the States, bookstores are rapidly disappearing. Used bookstores are almost nowhere to be found! They are a dying breed and a bit of my heart is dying with them. In New Zealand, however, you can still find them tucked away in street corners or resting peacefully beside shopping centers. They. Are. Everywhere! So here are five reasons why we need to keep these beautiful places alive. 1. There's something for everyone Collectors, connoisseurs, and amateur readers alike can wander into these beautiful stores and get lost in the piles of books that stretch haphazardly from the floor to the ceiling. They have children's books, reference books, histories, biographies, textbooks, classics, mysteries, overrated YA fiction, etc. Anything you are looking for, you'll probably be able to find it there. 2. They're frozen in time Modern book stores are so worried abou...

Never have I felt so dark and depressed in a museum as I did stepping into the modern art exhibition in Wellington, New Zealand. I felt like my soul went wading through a tar pit. I felt tired. I felt... wrong. We were wandering the streets in search of a new adventure when we stumbled upon a gorgeous building with interesting, glass windows, and stone etchings reaching three stories up. As soon as we saw the words "City Gallery" we sauntered right in. The inside was surprisingly empty. The front hall had nothing to show except for a vast entryway, some strange pipes, and a glass elevator. When we headed upstairs to where we thought the artwork would be, we quickly realized that this was not at all what we were expecting. The whole thing, sounds, visuals, frighteningly blank walls... all of it was awful and grim. I consider myself a fairly spiritually tuned-in person, so when I walked through the strange and bizarre exhibits, I knew in my very soul that it wasn...

Some people love to travel, some people hate it. There are pros and cons to the whole experience, of course, and sometimes the process of adjusting is really difficult. Lucky for you, I took note of the things that required some adjustment in New Zealand, so you'll be better prepared than I was for your trip down south! Here are some things that my Study Abroad friends and I struggled with. 1. No Wifi New Zealand is a little behind the times with access to wifi. The airport has very slow, low Gig wifi accommodations,  and only for a limited amount of time. The hotels are also subpar with their bandwidth. Some of us got local Sim cards that provided a small amount of data to use as we were out and about as well. But the best way to stay connected was to take a trip to the local library, which was awesome. 2. Sunburn There's a hole in the Ozone layer down undah', which means the sun is angry and cruel. You can feel the difference as you step outside and in...

Auckland, New Zealand This bustling city can be overwhelming for a first-time tourist. There are so many activities to do and so little time! To make your life a little easier, here are 5 things you MUST DO while you're in this beautiful paradise! 1. The Bay of Islands  Up in the far northern corner of New Zealand lies the gorgeous Bay of Islands! Beach after beach awaits you in the quiet north, just past the rolling emerald hills and grazing sheep. Kiss goodbye to the terrible traffic and noise as you drive along winding roads to end up at the most breathtaking and picturesque beaches in the world! While you're there, be sure to stop at the Manganui Fish Shop for their world-famous fish and chips! You won't regret it! 2. Hobbiton  For a Lord of the Rings fan, a visit to the set of the Shire is an absolute must. When Peter Jackson and crew rebuilt the hobbit holes for The Hobbit , they decided to make it a permanent tourist attraction. Wander ...

Sunrise I am not a morning person.  It's not really by choice, I physically cannot function before 8 AM. Often, I'll get really sick in the early mornings, but by the time noon rolls around, I'll be perfectly fine.  So it shouldn't surprise you that I don't see sunrises. I don't really believe in them. Besides, I grew up in Colorado, where the sunsets are spectacular as the sun goes to bed behind the jagged Rocky Mountains and sets the sky on fire behind their silhouettes. Why wake up at 5 AM to see a subpar sunrise when I can just look out my window at dinnertime to see that? But when you're in Bay of Islands with the most beautiful beaches in the world for just one night, sunrises are mandatory.  I got myself out of bed around 3:30 with a pretty rough sickness, (it's like my body knew I was going to make it get up too early and jumped the gun on me,) but when dawn broke, it's like everything wrong vanished with the night. We ...

New Zealand, New Playlists Millennials and their music... it's like we can't go anywhere without a prepared playlist to narrate the vibe of our lives, almost like we're living a movie montage! Well, if you ever find yourself in New Zealand and in desperate need of that perfect playlist to match your mood, here are the best songs to play in the must-see major cities Down Undah: Auckland, Dunedin, Queenstown, and Wellington. Auckland Auckland is the closest thing to real big city life here in New Zealand. This playlist was tricky to compile, since the city takes on different vibes walking among the skyscrapers, past street murals, along small outdoor mall shops, and finishing the day with a trip to the beach. Street musicians are everywhere in Auckland, playing old classics with open guitar cases lying at their feet. The sun bathes the city in heat nearly all year round, so as you're walking under the clear blue skies in search of an ice cream cone, pop in some hea...

"The land of the free and home of the brave." As an American citizen, I've heard these words so many times they've lost meaning to me. I always hear them and picture a soldier staring into the distance with an American flag waving behind him as a trumpet blares the national anthem. But ironically enough, it wasn't until I left my home country that I found what it means to be from the land of the free and home of the brave. Freedom is walking arm-in-arm down the wharf wailing High School Musical tunes at the top of your lungs, careless of the stares. Freedom is getting milkshakes at 9 AM and gulping down the entire thing, even though you were never really hungry in the first place. Freedom is staying up with your friends until 1 AM watching a movie that everyone hates, but you're enjoying the company too much to turn it off. Freedom is flirting with a stranger because there's nothing to lose and you can become that version of yourself you...