WHERE THE WIND GOES: November 2012

Just over two weeks ago we had our farewell dinner as a Lake Forest College group at the Skytower, which is the tallest building in New Zealand. The views of Auckland were beautiful and we ate in the revolving restaurant as the sun set; it was neat to pick out all the areas that we have spent a lot of time at over the past few months. The three course meal was delicious and it was really nice to have the whole group together for one last event before we all parted ways on our own adventures.

The only thing unsettling for me was the fact that it was a farewell dinner. It really seems like not long ago that we were landing in Auckland and going through orientation. I remember feeling that the farewell dinner on our schedule seemed so far off. And just like that we were all sitting there reflecting on the amazing time we had and looking forward to our final travels and returning to our family and friends back at home.

Unfortunately, this meant it was time to say goodbye to many of the incredible people I have met here. I'm confident I will see many of them again in the future, but it wasn't easy parting ways. I said bye to Martin and Matthias who I had the privilege of traveling with throughout my time here. I hope to visit them in Germany someday. I stayed up all night (eating pizza and ice cream!) with my flat mate Emma until she left for the airport to visit China and Europe before returning home. I also was lucky to go out to dinner with Savanna and he mother before they continued their travels onto Australia. Savanna and I spent our last Wednesday night here as we did our first and many other Wednesdays in between by visiting our favorite bar with our favorite DJ in the Viaduct Harbor called Outlaw Bar. It definitely felt like the full circle was taking place as we sat on the same bench we have for months overlooking the water and shared a teary goodbye to our time in NZ together. I will be parting ways with the rest of my flat mates and other friends I have made along the way this week. I feel so fortunate to have met so many amazing people here and everyone of them will always hold a special place in my heart.

Amongst all the final events, final nights out together, final dinners, and final days together, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on my time here and what I have learned from the day my airplane landed until now. I have learned so much about myself, my capabilities, and what my priorities are. I learned how important it is to maintain relationships with those that are already in your life and to constantly make bonds with new people. I learned that traveling is so important to discovering who you are and learning about our incredible planet. I learned that the best experiences begin when you leave your "comfort zone" and most importantly, I learned it is far more important to collect moments, instead of 'things'.

While I can't say I'm having an easy time accepting that my study abroad experience will soon be ending, I'm happy to I chose to study abroad and even happier that I chose to do it in NZ. I still have a few more adventures planned before heading back to the states to my family and friends who I miss very much. Leaving New Zealand will be one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I take comfort in knowing that I will return here in the near future.

How lucky I am to have something that

makes saying goodbye so hard.