University of Wisconsin–Madison

New Zealand: Audrey Vanderloop

Program: UW Crossroads of Culture and Health in New Zealand, Winter Intersession

Audrey’s Majors: Kinesiology

Audrey, at a distance, on a long, sandy beach. Rocky hills and cliffs are far behind her.
At Victory Beach in Te Matai, the top of the Otago Peninsula walking the beach where we saw sea lions after a class hike!

How were your program academics similar or different from taking classes at UW-Madison?

Being in kinesiology, I love having some of the smaller less formal class settings; I feel like I can learn the most from that and take away more. This class felt like a FIG or a discussion / lab group taken from a larger lecture. Academic and content-wise it was similar, especially considering some of the same research studies that are taught in exercise physiology were taught here but with more communication and involvement in-person daily from the professors.

My experience has benefited my future for how I want to treat patients and the world around me as I age and grow.

What is your most memorable experience from your program?

One of my most memorable experiences was seeing the penguins. We went up the Otago Peninsula to see the blue penguins, which are the world’s smallest. We waited until after sunset and it was amazing, we saw roughly 60 of them. Another is when I went on a hike up Mt Cargill and the Organ Pipes, four of my classmates went with me and I led the hike which was a little under 10 miles and one of the most surreal views I have ever seen. My last most memorable was our celebration dinner, after we gave cards to the professors and IFSA leader, then shared some superlatives which was the perfect way to end the trip.

An intricate, narrow statue with a face at the top. It is in a grassy field.
At the Māori village, this is Te Hana. The story was, Te Hana was betrothed to a local chief, but Te Hana left her people and swam across the Kaipara Harbour to be with the other chief, who she fell in love with. They married and Te Hana became the guardian of Te Ao Mārama marae.

How will your experience benefit you in the future? How might it affect your future career or studies?

My experience has benefited my future for how I want to treat patients and the world around me as I age and grow. There is a more holistic view of health and care for lower SES families in New Zealand that is not seen here in the United States which would be amazing to try and bring over. The connection with each individual, how welcoming and educating each medical system was set up was incredible to say the least; the communication between practitioner also instead of the families scrambling to find information is how each country should be set up in my opinion.

What challenges or barriers did you face as you prepared to go abroad and/or during your time abroad? How did you work through them?

I was extremely worried about leaving my family for such a long time, but thought of them a lot, buying some trinkets and also prepared by having my phone plan set up along with writing a daily journal for them to read. I was also worried about any medical needs there so I brought more OTC medicine that I needed and also brought a first aid kit with me.