Life in the Big City
Part of what
makes Pacific Program so intriguing as a study abroad option is the number of
places that I get to visit as a study abroad student. What I didn’t realize
was the interesting mixture of urban and rural areas these places would end
up being. The rural areas gave me a calming perspective on life, isolation, and
friendships, but the urban areas I’ve been to have been just as valuable to my
learning experience.
I’ve spent my
entire life in either the metro Atlanta or Atlanta areas which are suburban and
urban environments respectively. Both have made large city environments feel
natural and like home to me. Many people describe feeling crushed or oppressed
by city life, but I see city life as full of opportunities and culture. Wellington
was the first big city that we visited as part of this program.
Based on my
personal experiences, I actually never would have considered Wellington that
big of a city, but it’s the second largest city in New Zealand. The feel of
Wellington is something that must be experienced, but I will
attempt to describe for those who cannot cross the world. Wellington is a place
full of the friendliest people with an interesting mixture of both Maori and
Western culture. Evidence of New Zealand culture is everywhere in the form of
free museums, art, and architecture. The strangest part of the entire place is
that you feel as though you can walk anywhere in the city in an hour. After a
couple weeks, everything feels familiar to you and it feels like home. You know
the street names, the shortcuts, the best places to go. In my six weeks in
Wellington, I felt as though I had made a new home for myself. I believe I had
this feeling because of both the city of
Sydney was the
second, and only other, big city that we visited while on Pacific Program.
Unlike Wellington, it wasn’t a city where you felt comfortable after a couple
of weeks and it never felt like home to me. The amount of people on the sidewalks
would be claustrophobic and the streets were eternally confusing with their
5-way intersections. By the time I left, I had figured out how to get to a few
places by walking and a few by train, but not much else. Even the fact that I
had to take a train showed a large disparity from Wellington since I couldn’t
walk the city comfortably. Part of the joy of walking is taking in the view and
instead I was underground looking at concrete walls to navigate to where I
wished to be.
While I enjoyed
the activities that I did in Sydney, I missed Wellington. I didn’t think I would achieve such a level of comfort anywhere
while abroad and I found myself surprised that I could do so over 8,000 km away from
home. Both Sydney and Wellington were vastly different from my own hometown of
Atlanta, but I can find parallels in both places with where I come from. Things
that I like and many that I don’t, but none of the three are the same. Yes,
they are all urban spaces, but each is unique. The uniqueness of the urban environment
is something I didn’t think that I would learn while abroad in the Pacific, but
this program has surprised me once again.
I realize now
the subtle nuances of what makes a city feel like home and how liking one city
doesn’t mean that you will like all urban environments that you encounter. I’m
actually thankful that Sydney wasn’t my favorite city because it led me to
these realizations. Going back to Atlanta, I hope to be able to see elements of
both Sydney and Wellington in my city because, after my travels, that would
make Atlanta feel even more like home to me. My goal when I return to Atlanta
is to better appreciate the city that I live in and to explore its wonders
more. I have in the past been too caught up in schoolwork to explore as much as
I should to truly appreciate my city the way I have Wellington and Sydney. I
believe I can change that when I get back to better appreciate the uniqueness
of the place in which I live.
~S
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