Studying In New Zealand: SEMESTER TWO

More than a week of Semester 2 has passed and I’m still enjoying the thesis process. Two weeks ago, the University of Auckland held its regular induction programme for doctoral students. It lasted the entire day, replete with workshops informing in-coming doctorate students about academic and ethical standards, and the numerous resources available to students. I was thinking about the difference in content between this and the one held at Massey Uni back in February, when new PhD students there sat for only three hours discussing comparatively superficial items. The academic standards of Massey Uni were not even covered, and I wonder if the difference in quality accounts for the difference in ranking.

Another tremendous difference between Masesy U and Auckland U is the approach to my committee meetings. Having my topic fed back to me helped me to home in on the missing elements and after much reflection isolate the parts that needed rethinking. After only one meeting with my primary supervisor at Auckland, I managed to flesh out the focus of my thesis and move the purpose of my research towards a direction. (While at Massey U, though other achievements were accomplished, the progress in navigating my thesis necessary was not one of these even after 9 months). As a result, I’ve been able to re-write my introduction in a more significant way. Instead of merely discussing the areas of and around my topic, I was able to understand how these related areas loosely connect. Anyway, I’ve left there and I shall not say anymore about my Massey Uni experience.

The last two weeks have been devoted to untangling and reconnecting, then doing more rewrites, another meeting, and finally, my almost final rewrite this weekend. All weekend, in fact, chained to the dining table, revisiting and rethinking.

Last time, I promised to write about Manukau. Not much to write about – it’s a suburb like any American suburb led to by a busy, congested thruway, Ti Rakau Drive, which is engulfed by a series of shopping malls as it snakes its way south from one neighborhood to another. Manukau, it seems, is inhabited by many immigrants, mainly from Asia, and is quite a different scene from Palmerston North, which has a more European settler feel to it. In comparison, Manukau gives a feeling of being rediscovered or reinvented. Although, it’s fair to say that much of what has been discovered so far is the suburban model replicated from mall strips in the United States.

Ti Rakau Drive

More suburban development

Strip Mall in front of bus stop

More strip malls across from bus stop

What really distinguishes the massive Auckland area from Palmerston North is the availability of coastlines, which is visible from anywhere. I noticed this last night Friday evening, when I was still on the long, 16 kilometre trek from my optometry appointment into Manukau. A dog walker showed me to the pedestrian bridge, which led onto a road-under-construction along the coast. Also, taking the bus into the city, I pass through Panmure, where I can see the coast, where moored sailing boats rest in their skips and bob up and down in sync with the heave and sigh of the ocean’s current. From here, the train can be boarded into the city. But, Panmure is a good 40 minute walk from Manukau. So, I settle for the bus on the occasion I need to make an appointment, a workshop, or a meeting.

About 3 weeks ago, I decided to walk back to Manukau from the Half Moon Bay Marina. The distance wasn’t far – only 4 kilometres - but getting turned around, easy to do with this large coastline, makes the length walked farther than necessary. The return trip took more than 3 hours. The visit to Half Moon Bay was worth the trip, though, despite the cold temperature. The highlight of this coastal town, apart from its top of the mountain views, is the marina, which is very pretty and clean. Coffee shops facing the ocean allow patrons to gaze out into the expanse of tepid, blue water past rows of sailboats, while sipping every variety of the black liquid. The photo images convey the beauty of the area any time of the day, but especially at around 5-ish when the day eases into early evening.