Adrienne Vita, the 2011 New Zealand Sustainability student blogger, shares her enthusiasm to immerse herself in New Zealand’s rich culture:

When I first heard about a program that travels to New Zealand over winter break, I jumped at the opportunity to enrol. As an avid traveller, I always wanted to experience New Zealand, not just for the breath-taking scenery but the intriguing culture that accompanies a trip to these islands.

My family has always travelled, so I got a taste for being on the road at a very young age. Between our frequent trips to New York to visit family for the holidays and Hawai’i for summer and winter vacations, I quickly began to realize how many different cultures could be found in just one country.

Come my junior year of high school, I had the itch to travel abroad and get to know another culture. By participating in a school-sponsored trip to travel Peru and help build brick stoves for the less fortunate people in the mountains, I was fully immersed in another culture and knew what it felt like to be culture shocked. It was an experience unlike any other where I came home more knowledgeable than I could ever imagine.

So it was a given that when I heard about the chance to go to New Zealand, there was no way I missing it. I know that this program will be quite different than the one I took years ago to Peru, but there is one thing I’m sure will stay constant: the knowledge and insight I will gain into another culture.

Many people travel to see the beautiful sceneries or to even just say they’ve been to a place. While the aesthetic beauty is a major aspect that draws me in while deciding my destination, the culture that goes along with that beauty is what seals the deal for me.

Here I come New Zealand!