Lindisfarne Exchange

During this past summer, we had the pleasure of receiving a Warner exchange grant to Hastings, New Zealand to attend Lindisfarne college. We would like to thank the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, and Mrs. Scholer for this amazing experience. Through our journey from Nashville, Tennessee to Napier, New Zealand, which in total was a 30 hour trip, we were lucky enough to not experience jet lag and enjoy the beautiful sights of the New Zealand landscape.

View from the plane.

Stepping off the plane, we were quickly acclimated to the mild Hawkes Bay winter. Directly after, we were taken to be fitted with our poppy red Lindisfarne attire. After being fitted we were taken to be introduced to our teachers and various Lindisfarne staff. Noticing our jet lag catching up with us, our families took us to our separate homes to rest, where we were able to watch game 7 of the NBA finals and experience a staple of American culture through the eyes of an outsider.

Throughout our exchange, our families exposed us to a vast plethora of New Zealand culture in our trips to Wellington and Rotorua.

Maori Church

Exhibit from Battle of Gallipoli Museum

Geothermal vent in Maori village

Josh and host Steve in Hobbiton village.

Our time on the ski lift at the luge resort

Another highlight of our foreign experience was participating in the national sport, rugby. Proving to be naturals, we picked up the sport quickly and became contributors to the team.

On the prowl.

Post game picture

By far, the best part of our trip was enjoying the many beautiful sights the country had to offer.

View from Josh's host house.

Wellington city

Lake Taupo

Final Sunset in New Zealand

Again, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Warner family, Mr. Gioia, and Mrs. Scholer for this amazing experience.

Ryan Barrick: New Zealand Exchange 2014

            After close to thirty hours of travel, Trice McCullar and I stepped onto the tarmac of the fairly tiny airport in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. The airport was only a mile or so from the coast, and the brief flight from Auckland had us taking pictures out the window the whole time.

 The view from the small New Zealand Air jet’s window

            After hosting James Weeks for a month when he came to MBA on exchange, we had become good friends. He introduced me to his family who were all welcoming. A few days after my arrival, Titouan Alliod arrived from France. James’ younger brother, George, was hosting him as a French student learning English. Dinner was homemade by Mrs. Weeks almost every night, which was always a great time due to Titouan’s heavy accent. He learned words all the time and seemed to find everything American hilarious. The other great household events were rugby games, during which the whole family was required to sit on the couches adjacent to the wood burning stove (constantly watched over by George). Everybody takes rugby very seriously in New Zealand, and they are always deeply taken aback by the notion that American Football is an equally revered game. Its seemed like many of my new mates frowned upon our “wearing pads.” The whole family would stand up and scream at the TV for the New Zealand All Blacks as well as for England, since the whole family moved from England to grow grapes for wine and take on a hundred or so sheep.

           

            The Weeks’ vineyard.

            Attending Lindisfarne was always a blast. Quick thanks to Charlie, Craig, Willy, Dougal, Geordie, Jamie and Danyon for making us feel so welcome. The first major difference from MBA was the uniform. Depending on the day of the week, you either wore a red blazer or a blue sweater over the white shirt and tie. Gray wool slacks and black dress shoes were also mandatory.

Our classes included Spanish, Media Studies, Classics, and Art/Design. The block schedule confused me the whole time but seemed to work very well for everyone else. For me, the most enjoyable parts of attending Lindisfarne were meeting new people every day and learning to play rugby after class.

The final week was a school holiday, and I spent it fishing in and around Lake Taupo, which was formed by a massive volcanic eruption. It is the largest lake in the country, and helped me to understand how pristine the environment of New Zealand really is. The water is so clear that you can see the bottom at a depth of nearly 30 feet. The streams that feed into the lake are equally clear, and hold some of the largest trout in the world.

Thank you so much to Mr. Gioia, the Warner Family, and Lindisfarne College for making my exchange possible. Also would like to thank the Weeks family and the McCleay family for their hospitality. This trip was an invaluable experience for me, and the program’s ability to send so many students around the world really is one of a kind.

Trout Stream near Lake Tapo.

The View from Cape Kidnappers, Hawkes Bay

Sheep in the road.

Interior of a wool shed.

Lindisfarne Campus.

Hurricanes Rugby Game

Dirtbikes at the Reisima's.

View riding dirbikes at the Morice property.

Lindisfarne Exchange New Zealand, Trice McCullar

I took this photo outside the airplane on my arrival into New Zealand.  The view from the plane was spectacular and really got me excited for the adventure I was about to embark on.

This picture was taken in Archie's hometown at the neighborhood surf spot.  Archie's dad took us out on my first day there and was great way to start off the trip.

Me, Archie, and Ryan before school one morning in our school uniforms.  Lindisfarne's uniform was extremely different and a great tradition to the school.

I took this photo outside the window of car as we were traveling to the countryside to go visit one of Archie's friends.

Jack's dog was a cute little pup that followed us around everywhere on the farm.  He enjoyed most of his day chasing sheep with us on the dirtbikes.

I took this picture riding dirtbikes at Jack's with Archie.  This was one of the best parts of the trip for me because the views were spectacular and the scenery was amazing.

The photo above is probably the best picture that I got on the whole entire trip.  It resembles the New Zealand countryside perfectly filled with sheep and clear blue skies.  It was also taken at Jack's farm while we were riding dirt-bikes.

During my trip I drove all the way down to the South Island with my family on their holiday vacation.  We stopped on the side of the road and I took this photo of a seal from a few feet away.

One of my favorite moments on the trip was spent here at a family friends house where we enjoyed the spectacular view off the coast.  Archie's little brother Xander is on my shoulders in this picture.

After school many days I would go mountain biking with Archie's dad on the close by Te'Mata peak.  It was sometimes really scary to be honest but it never disappointed with the view and the rush of adrenaline.

On my trip I often enjoyed lamb chops with an assortment of other fresh sides for dinner.  The chops never disappointed and were always on the menu due to the 48 million sheep that lived in New Zealand.

Archie and I stopped and relaxed at the the top of a chairlift to enjoy a spectacular view during a awesome day of snow skiing in Queenstown. There was not a lot of snow but it was still one of the most unique places to ski.

The town of Napier is where I did most of my shopping with Archie's mom and sister.  The city was very entertaining and had a very cool variety of shops that served as great places to get gifts for friends back home.

Probably the best place to skip rocks in the whole entire world.  The lake was complete glass from end to end and was crystal clear.  A beautiful place that is etched in my memory. 

A usual day at Lindisfarne as the boys move from one class to another.  All the classrooms were in buildings similar to the the one on the right

The sheep pictured in this photo were outside our motel on the way to the South Island and were being pretty noisy in the morning.  This was the closest I ever got to a sheep because they usually ran away madly at the sight of a human approaching them.  

New Zealand is a place that gives me comfort and made me realize how lucky I am to go to a school like MBA.  The trip as whole taught me a lot about how to adjust to new situations.  The change from going to my large American home with only three people living in it to a way smaller New Zealand home with six people was a great experience, because I have never done anything like that before.   The opportunity to have such a unique experience in a country many do not know much about was life changing.  Living with a much larger family gave me the opportunity to have a brother and a sister for the first time and it was something I really enjoyed. I created relationships that will last a lifetime and expanded my passion for the outdoors.  Before the trip I was close-minded and was used to being in my comfortable environment for so long that I did not understand that new experiences make you stronger as an individual.  It is so awesome knowing that you can go all the way across the world and get the same feeling that you do back home.  Thank you so much to the Warner Family for making all of this possible it is people like you that make MBA the special place that it is.  It is hard to put into words how thankful I am for your gift.

Forever Thanks, Trice McCullar