About Meghan

Email: upson@oswego.edu

Posts by Meghan

From New Zealand to America, It’s Bittersweet

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I am home from New Zealand, it was an awesome semester. I am back in Oswego now and living it up in Funnelle but I think the most important thing is all the photos and memories. I will miss my friends so much. I made friends in Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, Sumatra, China, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Fiji, and a whole bunch of South Pacific and Polynesian Islands.

It was the experience of a lifetime, I had some the of best times and learned so much. FYI New Zealand knows how to throw a good party. They also know how to study hard and get those grades. The classes I took there were some of the toughest I had ever been in by a long shot. I don’t know how I managed. I think it was just the drive that if I didn’t get all my stuff done then I would miss out on a weekend trip to the hot springs or the caves or just everything

I am back in Oz though and ready to take on the world. I am tired and only been back in the country for 1 week today but it is all worth it because Oz is where my home is at.

Check out my photos from my South Island trip. If you go, go to the South Island. It is so beautiful and clean that you can even drink the water. Its 98.8% pure water that runs from glaciers and mountains into blue rivers, it is so gorgeous. If you get the chance, do it. Don’t ask questions, just go because my pictures will never do it justice.

The Southern AlpsSeal ColonyThe beautiful and dangerous Tasman Sea
The Frans Josef Glacier

Kia Ora Bro, This place is sweet az!

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Beautiful Day in Auckland, NZ!In the Hamilton, NZ Botanical Gardens.Winter in JULY! Too bad winter here is 60 degrees and sunshine :)Tacky photo in front of the University sign!Hugging Gandalf after Caving in Waitomo, NZ.Caving in Waitomo, NZ.

Translation: “What is up brother, welcome, this is a cool island man”

Emersion in the isles of New Zealand has begun. I have 3 classes worth 12 credits back home that are more academically diverse and varied than I have ever been in. It was totally worth every minute and penny to come here and do this.

I am taking International Marketing, Advertising Branding and Identity.com, and a Negotiation and Persuasion class. Honestly though, they are crazy hard and I wouldn’t recommend taking 400 level courses while abroad.

I am homesick but staying busy. Leaving America really makes you appreciate it a lot more. The political issues that they have here are overwhelming compared to America. I know we fight a lot between parties and we have plenty of issues but there are a whole lot more over here.

It is a lot of fun but the food here is really different. Everyone’s favorite thing is mince pies (mince meat in a flakey crust) but they are so weird tasting to me. The weirdest thing is that they don’t know what a biscuit is! You know hot delicious biscuits that we like to eat with strawberries and cream at the dining hall or where ever, yeah they have never heard of them. They call a store bought cookie a biscuit. It is so crazy. I am going to make my Kiwi friends biscuits though, it will be a grand adventure soon to come.

One of the worst things yet though is that one of my best friends here is from Arkansas and I picked up some of her accent, now I say “Yall”. I am forever going to be made fun of back in NY. 🙂 You got to love it though, a New Yorker gone southern in so many ways.

Check out the pictures and video and do not forget to Keep it Ozzy!

Journey to Kiwi Land

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I have been on a plane for almost 2 days now. Overall the trip has been successful. We will be touching down in about an hour. I did find a place to live, it panned out last week but was a little bit close for my own nerves. I will be living in a place called College Hall. Creative right? I am very excited though I get to be transported by some international shuttle, it sure sounded cool in the brochure. I have to say though that the staff at the University of Waikato are great so far, they arranged practically everything for transport.

I still don’t have classes to attend though. Everything is topsy turvy because there was a mix up in my return dates. I will have to take finals in the states or make special arrangements to take them early in NZ. It’s a good thing that their international center has free international calls because BASAC and Career Services are going to have become even tighter to try and figure this out.

(BASAC = Business Advisement Center. Career Services = Part of the Compass in the bottom of the Campus Center with career advice, graduate school searches, internships, volunteer stuff and everything that you could think of that you could need. The staff at both places is so great. However if you are a business student, go to Lisa at BASAC; she is my personal favorite, she always figures it out. I will be calling her as soon as it is a normal hour for Oswego again. I wrote this at 5am July 2 in NZ and 1pm July 1 back in Oz.)

Cruising through the skies, thinking of everything to put it bluntly, crazy days ahead but it is going to be one of my best adventures yet.

Be Ozzy.

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Goodbye to my love…Oz

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Hi, my name is Meg and this is my first blog ever. It is pretty exciting, but I think it is just because it is a novelty for me. I am kind of nervous, because as everyone knows, once it is on the Internet, its on there FOREVER. I believe this is quite ominous at the least.

However, you will soon learn that whatever I post is probably about the on goings of oz, my crazy jam packed life, and various odds and ends. I rarely have time to get into too much trouble, or at least too much trouble by my definition.

Just got back from a trip to Louisville, Kentucky, it was crazy. Lots to do, a lot of art oddly, horses at Church Hill Downs and great golf. Check out the cool jockey photo! It was a last trip/get together with my best friend to celebrate my leaving of Oz…which you find out more below 🙂

I had to say goodbye to Oswego on May 15th. I will not be back for school till January for spring semester because I will be spending this summer and my fall semester at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. I am still taking courses for Oswego, just at this sister program in NZ. It is the study abroad opportunity of a lifetime and I couldn’t be more anxious.

There is a lot of paperwork that is required for the program but it is almost done. I just recently discovered that my NZ housing contract is lost at the Oswego post office. I am infinitely disappointed with that post office, I never seem to get my things.

Alas I don’t know if I have a place to live in NZ but hopefully it will work out soon.

Be Ozzy