<p>Ds1 is headed to New Zealand next week for a semester abroad. Most of the time will be spent in Auckland. Any suggestions for easiest/cheapest cell phones/SIM cards/pay as you go? How much money did your kid spend in study abroad? TIA</p>
<p>My son bought a Two Degrees Pay As You Go phone in Auckland. He Skyped us every week. He went this past semester. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Any idea what the phone cost? Also, any idea from where he Skyped? Did he use an Internet cafe? A lot of ds’s time will be spent in a home stay situation, and he’s not sure how wired most homes are.</p>
<p>His phone cost $50.</p>
<p>He/she should ask how the family’s internet service works. If you skype for free either on the family’s computer or your child’s, then it is free. Most plans in NZ limit the number of hours that one can use the internet unlike here in the US. An internet cafe would make sense as you can arrange for the time and skype one another. They usually charge by the hour I think. You’ll have to get used to the time zone difference as they are a day ahead and when we turn the clocks back soon they change their’s as well.</p>
<p>Have you purchased an adaptor for the computer? We bought a voltage convertor from Radio Shack and it is a 50 W/200 W for use with 110/120 VAC. My son went to a store and bought an adaptor for his computer, and is not sure if the voltage convertor was really needed as he decided not to use his xbox.</p>
<p>We paid an extra $70 in plane fare so he could bring over two large suitcases in order to buy things for himself and presents for friends and family. He left mostly clothing behind when he returned in June. Many US students spent their break in the South Island around the Queenstown Area.</p>
<p>I think this is going to be a lesson in just going with the flow. He won’t even know who his homestay family is until he’s been there a month (they only homestay for the last seven weeks of the program). He’s taking classes at a very modern looking building downtown (thank you, Google Earth) so I’m hoping it has wifi.</p>
<p>From what we could tell on the Qantas website, he gets two bags for free. He has one of those giant rolling duffles, so he’s hoping to get away with one and his carryon for the trip there.</p>
<p>We do have the adapter, borrowed from a friend.</p>
<p>Thanks, again.</p>
<p>Your son’s experience will be different from mine. The Univ of Auckland had three US Study Abroad programs all housed together about a 15-minute walk from campus. Each group went places on weekends and before the semester began. They had to cook for themselves and buy their own food. I think that was a valuable learning experience for my son and he had to budget his money. His housemates were from all regions of the US. </p>
<p>There are plenty of things to do nearby. The weather changes a lot and it is now winter over there.</p>