One month in and a week left until the mid-semester break. Time has flown by since I first arrived in Aotearoa with my family for a brief family vacation before Arcadia orientation began. After a few weeks of walking around campus and getting lost a few times, it has become a far more familiar place than it once was. Like any study abroad semester, studying comes first. That being said, during orientation and these first few weeks of the semester, it was easy to forget that studying was a part of this journey. The more weeks go by, the more assignments, papers, and examinations pile up. I see ..read more

Moving abroad to study can be an exhilarating yet challenging experience, especially when transitioning from a place like America to a country like Ireland. Amidst the excitement of embarking on a new academic journey, students often encounter various mental health challenges that stem from adjusting to a new environment. One significant aspect of this adjustment is coping with the weather, particularly in Ireland, where the climate can differ significantly from what students are accustomed to. The shift from the sunny skies of America to Ireland's temperamental weather can impact one's mood a ..read more

Running with WoRMs WoRM aka The Wellington Running Club Meetup Group is a running club based around trail running and exploration of Wellington. I ended up going to the “Tuesday Spectacular regular” run. This was located at the Naked Man near the waterfront (On their website, it was helpfully pointed out this was a sculpture and not a real man). The people I met there were incredibly kind. Many of them were from all over the world. I met a man from Ireland who was training for a 50K trail run, a woman from Portland Oregon who was working as an ecologist and multiple badass trail runners. One K ..read more

We hope you are getting excited about your time in Scotland this Summer! We have put together a range of events for you that will get you properly immersed into Scottish culture and maybe trying some new experiences! There is something for everyone and we encourage you to take full advantage of this opportunity. Below is a first look at what you've got in store!  Event registration opens SOON in your Arcadia Passport. Don’t forget, if an event is full you can add yourself to the waitlist to be notified automatically if more space becomes available. Remember, check that your program dates ..read more

Exciting Easter Adventures Await in Ireland! Embrace the traditions of "holy week" with your fellow Arcadia Community members or make new friends among the vibrant Irish community! Create cherished memories and start new Easter traditions together! Indulge in the sweetness of Irish dairy milk chocolate with a delightful Easter egg hunt! Explore local shops like Aldi, Dunnes, Tesco, Supervalu, or Lidl for the perfect treat! Immerse yourself in the spiritual significance of Easter by attending a traditional church service across Ireland. Reconnect with nature and embark on a scenic hike through ..read more

Happy Easter to everyone! Easter is a major holiday in Christianity, celebrating the resurrection of Christ and for believers marks a time of renewal and hope. The term Easter comes from the Greek, “Pascha”, in turn from the Aramaic pasah and properly means "to pass over," hence "passage." The Jews remembered the passage across the Red Sea from slavery in Egypt to liberation. For Christians, it is the feast of the passage from death to life of Jesus Christ. The English term Easter, used to name this celebration in Anglo-Saxon countries, finds no direct correspondence in the Scriptures or the n ..read more

Happy Spring! Here are some great happenings to take advantage of as the weather starts to get better and the days longer!  APRIL Edinburgh! Live music venues: Sandy Bells Captain’s Bar Stramash Jazz Bar Sneaky Pete’s Bannerman’s Bar Usher Hall O2 Academy (Formerly the Corn Exchange) Queer Spaces: Paradise Palms-queer cabaret and poetry nights. Drag nights at Subway, CC Blooms, The Street, Planet Bar. HOT MESS at Sneaky Pete’s. Kafe Kweer. Lighthouse Bookshop Edinburgh Radical Book Fair     Music Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra, Liquid Rooms, 6th April 2024. Mitski ..read more

Internships serve as pivotal experiences for students to gain practical skills and insights into their chosen fields. However, for international students who apart from studying are also doing an internship in Australia, adapting to a new cultural and professional environment can present mental health challenges. In this blog post, we'll explore some of these challenges specific to the Australian context and offer strategies to support the mental well-being of international studens and interns. Challenges Faced by International Student and Interns in Australia Cultural Adjustment: Australia's ..read more

As the brisk winds of Edinburgh, Scotland, welcomed me, the reality of its chilly reputation hit home with undeniable force. Every article and Instagram post that forewarned me of the January cold proved to be an accurate portrayal of my daily reality. During the initial two weeks, I found solace in the embrace of skiing thermal gear (courtesy of Hot Chillys) nestled beneath my regular clothing, a necessary defense against the biting cold that enveloped the city. The past few days have mercifully ushered in warmer temperatures, allowing me to shed the layers and bid farewell to the trusty long ..read more

If you enjoyed the movie Poor Things, read the novel!  Perhaps surprising is so many reviews of this brilliant film ignore the underlying political subtext. Alasdair Gray, the author of the book the film was adapted from was not uninterested in the politics of Scottish independence and the early Scottish socialist movement which advocated home rule for Scotland in the early 20th century.  To put bluntly, Bella, the heroine of the film, in addition to being a fascinating character is also an allegorical personification of a historic, current and potential future Scottish nation. The n ..read more