New Zealand's University of Otago
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
Florida International University (FIU), a relatively new educational institute. A university who has since its inception welcomed all to study. Who prides itself on diversity, development and being "Worlds Ahead." In the short time FIU has opened its doors to the world it has built itself into a global partnership with universities from across the globe.
One such University is the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. A university which is 8,375 miles away from FIU. To put this in perspective, this is a trip that takes over 20 hours of flight time, crosses over enough time zones that upon arrival you are losing an entire day. and is almost the farthest from Miami one can get before coming back around.
For all the distance I traveled, for all the flights I endured and the jet lag that followed it was worth it. I got a chance to see things people only dream of. I got the chance to do things people work their whole lives to do. I got the chance to study and learn from people whose culture was vastly different from my own.
During my time in New Zealand I got the chance to see the city of Dunedin, travel the country with friends and learn from professors whose world view was entirely different from my own.
I was once asked how have these experiences changed your perspective of the world?
To which I responded, I don't think it has changed my perspective of the world, the shape of it is still what it was, but the I can slowly color it in. Like filling in the lines in a drawing book.
The shape of the world never changes, just our understanding of it.
Florida International University (FIU), a relatively new educational institute. A university who has since its inception welcomed all to study. Who prides itself on diversity, development and being "Worlds Ahead." In the short time FIU has opened its doors to the world it has built itself into a global partnership with universities from across the globe.
One such University is the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. A university which is 8,375 miles away from FIU. To put this in perspective, this is a trip that takes over 20 hours of flight time, crosses over enough time zones that upon arrival you are losing an entire day. and is almost the farthest from Miami one can get before coming back around.
For all the distance I traveled, for all the flights I endured and the jet lag that followed it was worth it. I got a chance to see things people only dream of. I got the chance to do things people work their whole lives to do. I got the chance to study and learn from people whose culture was vastly different from my own.
During my time in New Zealand I got the chance to see the city of Dunedin, travel the country with friends and learn from professors whose world view was entirely different from my own.
I was once asked how have these experiences changed your perspective of the world?
To which I responded, I don't think it has changed my perspective of the world, the shape of it is still what it was, but the I can slowly color it in. Like filling in the lines in a drawing book.
The shape of the world never changes, just our understanding of it.