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Here at AUIP we are accustomed to the excitement surrounding an emperor penguin sighting; wildlife spotting is one of the highlights on our Antarctica program and each year we receive many photos of a variety of penguin species in the natural landscape of Antarctica. However, we were not expecting the news and subsequent photos and videos from our own shores! The…
Continue readingAlyse Horn, 2011 New Zealand student blogger, writes: Fox Glacier is found in South Westland, New Zealand and has been recorded to advance at up to four meters per day, and guess what? We climbed it on Tuesday. Just another tag to the awesomeness of New Zealand’s diverse ecosystem, the glacier is found surrounded by rainforest. Huge amounts of snow and…
Continue readingAlyse Horn, 2011 New Zealand student blogger, writes: The sites just keep getting better. On Tuesday, Penn State and Virginia Tech explored the wilderness of Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park. The mountains don’t even look real. I just want to reach out and touch them, but even after a four-hour hike they are unattainable. During our day hike it was…
Continue readingAlyse Horn, 2011 New Zealand student blogger, writes: Traveling to New Zealand is a task within itself. After leaving from Newark Airport in New Jersey at 5 a.m. on Monday, I finally made it to Christchurch, New Zealand with my group around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The time difference here has really taken a toll on my body, as I find…
Continue readingWhat’s been read over 8,000 times? This AUIP blog, of course! Here are some fast facts about our blog: We have 146 posts to date, including this one. Our highest traffic day thus far was October 15, 2010, the day after we announced the 2010 Photo Contest winners with this News Brief entry. We just introduced a new category titled…
Continue readingAlyse Horn, 2011 New Zealand student blogger, writes: Finally, I have been blessed with the chance to experience the most diverse country in the world: New Zealand. During my freshman year of high school, my then English teacher gave our class an assignment to research the different countries in the world and write an essay on our dream country to…
Continue readingA highlight of all students on the New Zealand program is climbing Fox Glacier on the West Coast. Fox Glacier Guiding tells us more about the experience: The fascination of the glaciers has brought visitors to the West Coast for decades, but the establishment of Alpine Guides Westland at Fox Glacier in 1974 formalized guided trips to the glaciers and…
Continue readingIt is now a little over two months since the devastating February 22 earthquake hit the city of Christchurch. There are parts of the CBD that still resemble a war zone but the remainder of the city and region are open for business and it remains the gateway to the rest of the South Island. On March 18, the National…
Continue readingStudents, it’s likely you’ve found yourself stopping by the local grocery store on the way home from class to pick up pre-made sushi or canned soup to have for dinner when you’re too tired to cook, much less stay awake through a restaurant meal. Right? Just because you study abroad, doesn’t mean you can’t do the exact same thing. Almost…
Continue readingKula Eco Park is the breeding center of endangered Fijian wildlife and a free hands-on environmental education facility for Fiji’s schoolchildren. AUIP students on the Fiji program spend time here to learn about Kula’s initiatives. Kula Eco Park shares with us some of their recent breeding successes: Fiji is home to three species of rare iguana; Brachylophus vitiensis, Brachylophus fasciatus…
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