Sam Fellows

Exchange Report

Getting to the USA

I got up a 3.30am on December 31st, in order to drive up to Auckland from Tauranga to catch my flight to

the US. I was very excited as I had never been to the states or overseas for a long period of time. Once at the

airport I checked in. At this point I became familiar with the beginning of the intense scrutiny around

travelling on a student visa. Luckily, I had all of my documents in a travel wallet, which I would highly

recommend as at some points you are asked for the same documents several times from the same person so

it makes it easier to have them close by. After going through security and boarding my flight, I was seated

next to another student who was from Auckland going to study in New York.

The Air New Zealand flight then arrived in Sydney for a stopover. Going through security in Sydney I was

treated to a thorough frisk search and questioning in a side room by the Australian boarder officials, who

seemed to be suspicious of an individual travelling on a student visa.

Following this I boarded my United Airlines flight to

LAX. I was seated next to a lovely lady from

California who worked for the airline and gave me a

lot of good pointers of things to do and see. Although

the flight was not bad I would definitely recommend

flying Air New Zealand as I did on the way back as

there was slightly more leg room, the food and the

staff were also a little bit better.

Flying into LA I was immediately astounded by the size and the haze of the city. Upon landing I

experienced further scrutiny from the customs staff, however by this point I had memorised most of the

questions in relation to my study in order to prove that I was really there to study and not to start a new life

under the guise of studying. After walking out of security I was confronted with my first major airport,

which was more like a small town. I then tried to find my way to the Southwest Airlines terminal in order to

leave. After walking to the other side of the airport I found the terminal and waited for my Southwest flight

to see my friends in Seattle for New Years eve. I found that travelling in the US Southwest was the cheapest

and best airline, they are one of the few that offers free checked baggage and the staff were always friendly

and helpful. Additionally if you check in at the earliest possible time online before flying you are one of the

first to get on the plane so can claim a window seat in order to get a good view of whichever city you fly out

of and into. http://www.southwest.com/

Plane to LAX

Seattle

After a stopover in Oakland, I arrived at the Seattle

airport. I then caught my first ever monorail to meet

my friends in downtown Seattle. We then walked

the short distance to pikes place market a small

boutique set of shops famous in Seattle.

http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/ We then met up

with some of their friends for dinner before heading

out the New Year’s party on one of their friends

boats on the Washington Harbour. My friends posed

for a photo in front of the original gum wall, which

used to be located outside a nightclub and patrons waiting in line began

to stick chewing gum to the wall and it has kept increasing since then.

We got to the dock and drove the boat out to a pontoon to watch the

New Years fireworks from off the buildings in Seattle, mainly the space

needle. It was cold but an awesome experience.

Gabe and I on a pig in Pikes Place

Seattle City

Pikes Place Market

The Gum Wall

Fireworks On the Pontoon

I then spent another four days with my friends exploring Seattle. I saw my first squirrel and mole hill. I went

to Gasworks park, the Freemont troll, the art gallery, the museum and the first Starbucks. I also got a sim

card for my phone. I would recommend whoever you go with you get a data plan. This made it easy to use

google maps on my iphone which has a public transport option that tells you exactly what bus or train to get

on when and where to transfer in order to get where you want to go. I also had my first frozen yoghurt,

which I got addicted to at UCSD and went to my first Wal-Mart and Costco.

Seattle City

Gabe, Sarah and I The Original Starbucks

Space Needle Troll

San Diego

I then flew down to San Diego on the Thursday before I was able to move into UCSD on the Sunday. I

stayed in a hostel and explored the city. I would recommend this to anyone coming to UCSD as it was a

good way to explore San Diego and get a feel for the place before moving up to La Jolla to study. My

favourite place I went in San Diego was Balboa Park. It has numerous museums and galleries, many of

which are free and has been around since the Spanish were in control of San Diego with lovely Spanish style

buildings. It is also the location of the San Diego Zoo, which I would also highly recommend. I also got my

first taste of authentic Mexican food from one of the many delicious and cheap Mexican restaurants. I am

craving authentic Mexican food now and would love to have some again.

San Diego Harbour

Balboa Park San Diego Hostel

Rugby

That weekend was also the first game of rugby I refereed in the US. This was a good way to travel around

Southern California as well as meet many lovely people who were warm and friendly, this led to being

invited home for meals numerous times. Rugby was very different in the US played on rock hard grass or

artificial turf both with temporary goal posts. I was good to see rugby building in the US, especially among

younger children. In my second weekend there I refereed the UCSD mens rugby team and was asked to help

coach. This was an awesome way to meet students interested in rugby at UCSD as well as improve my

rugby coaching skills. Additionally I was invited to referee at the Las Vegas Invitational sevens tournament

and got free tickets to the international sevens and free hotel for the week.

Outside Qualcomm Stadium Refereeing rugby at Fallbrook High School

Putting up temporary goal posts in LA Rugby in Riverside

UCLA for UCLA vs UC Berkley Fields for Las Vegas Invitational

A little taste of NZ in Vegas at rugby NZ vs Australia (we won)

Representing NZ

UCSD

That Sunday I caught the tram and bus up to La Jolla to move into UCSD. I lived in International House an

apartment style complex on campus. These were very modern, clean and comfortable. The apartment had

four bedrooms three of which contained my American flatmates and the other containing me and my

Australian roommate Matt. Although there were more single than shared rooms in International House I

decided to try for a shared room to have the experience of a roommate. This ended up working out very well

as Matt and I came in January which was the middle of the academic year this meant that we at least knew

one other person and made it a little easier to negotiate for the first few days. I would thoroughly

recommend International House for anyone going to UCSD and have even become Alumni Ambassador

http://ihouse.ucsd.edu/alumni/alumni_ambassadors.html. That week I started classes, I took an acting paper,

a gender studies paper and an immigration paper. I decided to take these as they were the type of things I

wouldn’t usually study and because of the number of compulsory papers in my degree would not be able to.

It was very interesting to see the slight differences in taking classes in the US as well as experience

viewpoints on race and gender within these classes.

I was shocked at the size of UCSD with around 30,000 students and a campus size of 2,141. There were

numerous shops a bus service, restaurants, bars, a running track, gym, four swimming pools and numerous

other facilities. This made it like its own town. Additionally the makeup of students was interesting with

44% being Asian American, 24% Caucasian American and 12% Hispanic American.

The only disappointing thing about UCSD as it is a Division II school and is largely focused on academics

so does not have big sporting games or big hype around sports games and events. There is however a lot of

school pride shown by the number of individuals wearing college branded clothing and the fact that almost

everything you use is UCSD branded. However both the university of San Diego and San Diego State

University as short tam and bus trips away and have large sporting programmes to fulfil this need in addition

to UCLA not being too far away either.

One interesting thing was the patron of UCSD was Dr Suess so many of the building are built in a quirky

Suess style and many of the clothes you can buy have Dr Suess branding.

UCSD Library Pavlova, Lammingtons, cake and Tim Tams

1 for Australia day

UCSD School book Beach across the road

Our Appartment International House

Our room UCSD Foodcourt

International House Dr. Suess and Cat in the hat statue

Engineering Building In Front of shops

The rest of USA

While at UCSD I also spent a few weekends travelling around Southern California through rugby and stayed

with a friend in Orange who I had met while she was on exchange in New Zealand and her boyfriend in LA.

They took me to see a lot of the sights as well as many places to eat and try different food.

Amtrak to Orange Chapman University Law School

Rosco’s Chicken and Waffles (Snoop Dogs My first real American hot dog

Favourite restaurant)

All you can eat Sushi Superbowl Cake

UCLA Breakfast Burrito

In-N-Out Shooting Range

Laguna Beach Disney Land

The Cheesecake factory

After studying at UCSD I then spent about a month travelling around the US and staying with friends who I

had met when they were on exchange in New Zealand. The first place I visited was Oklahoma to see my

friend Kevin.

Cookies Kevin’s mum made for me The Golden Driller

Route 66 Me on the University of Tulsa football field

Bacon Soda True words

Sausage Biscuits American Bison on the Tall Grass Prairie

The Blue Whale Oral Roberts University

I then flew to meet one of my friends, Katie Sue, from high school in Alabama, after we had explored the

Troy campus we went to Panama City Beach for a bit of relaxation with some of her friends. This was also

the first time I had seen and swum in an ocean that wasn’t the pacific ocean.

Troy University Football Stadium Troy University fountain

Panama City Beach Going for a dip in the Gulf of Mexico

My first snow cone with Katie Sue

I then caught the bus to see another friend from high school, Rachel, in Tallahassee, Florida.

Florida State football gym Florida State volleyball gym

Florida State volleyball locker room Florida State University Circus

Following this I travelled to Washington DC to stay with another friend I met while she was on exchange in

New Zealand. I was overwhelmed with the size of the buildings and monuments and loved exploring the

museums, galleries and government buildings.

American University The White House

Washington Memorial WWII memorial and Lincoln memorial

Lincoln Memorial Martin Luther King Memorial

US Legislature US Supreme Court

I then caught the train to see my friend James, who came to New Zealand on an exchange, in New Jersey he

showed me around NJ as well as Philadelphia and New York.

Lake Hopatcong New Jersey The Jefferson Diner Once voted best diner

Time Square Central Park

Freedom Tower at ground Zero Statue of Liberty

Following this I caught the train to meet my friend Erika, who I met while she was on exchange to New

Zealand. She showed me around Boston then New Hampshire.

Boston Harbour Fenway Park

Getting ready to paint eggs for easter Our eggs

University of New Hampshire USS Albuquerque

Durham New Hampshire

After staying in New Hampshire I then took my last train ride of my exchange to Maine to see my friend

Tyson who I met while he was in New Zealand on exchange.

Portland Light House Life sized chocolate moose

I then caught a flight to Las Vegas to meet up with my friends who I had spent New Years eve with in

Seattle. My friend Gabe had just finished participating in the Blo Kart world champs in Nevada so we were

celebrating that and my leaving the US.

Our Hotel Pool Hanging out by the pool

The Strip

On the Monday my friend Jeff and I caught a plane to LA where I stayed the night before flying back to

New Zealand the next day. I was glad to see the smiling faces of the Air New Zealand staff welcoming me

onto the plane but sad at the same time to be leaving after such an amazing trip. I flew into Auckland then to

Tauranga on a Beautiful warm sunny day at the end of April happy to be home but glad and grateful that I

had the opportunity to go on the exchange.

I would highly recommend that anyone considering going on an exchange does it. It is such an excellent

way to meet new and different people and live within a new culture and not just be a tourist in their country.

It helped me to see new and different viewpoints as well as challenge my beliefs and the way I see the

world.