Less than two days away from stepping on a plane and heading to New Zealand to study abroad, Meagan Haring still hadn’t packed her bags.

But that was one of the last things on her mind.

“I’m so scared I could pee myself,” said the 22-year-old junior public relations major. “I’ve gone to Canada with my mom several times, but this is the first time I’ve left the country on my own.

“Everything is just so surreal right now. I keep thinking something is going to happen and I won’t be able to go. I don’t think it will really set in until I’m on the plane.”

Like any mother of a college girl setting her sights on living in another country for four months, Valarie Haring has worries too.

“I’m used to her being a few hours away, if something happens I can drive here,” her mother said. “She’s also going to miss a lot of things while she is gone, like Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. But we have Skype and we’ll keep in touch that way.”

It isn’t all worries for her though.

“It’s a good opportunity and it’s good for kids to be able to experience other things and other cultures,” Valarie Haring said. “I think it’s very important. I just hope she learns how to make a decision on her own, she has the hardest time making decisions and this will be good for her.”

However, this decision was one Meagan made on her own.

“I’ve always wanted to study abroad.” Meagan said. “I was looking at Malta, London and other places like that when I came across New Zealand. It just felt like I should be there.

The school had everything I wanted and the country is amazing.”

Meagan didn’t know much about New Zealand at first, but the more she learned, the more she liked it.

“First I started listening to the New Zealand radio every morning and the personalities were really laid back, like they seem to have a lot of fun,” Meagan said. “I also read the New Zealand Herald and there is stuff in there you wouldn’t see in our newspapers because they are small enough to have a sense of community within their cities. Plus they have a really low crime rate, I don’t even think their police carry guns.”

She even started adjusting her sleep schedule to New Zealand time to get prepared. Yet none of her preparations prepared her for the goodbyes.

“I’m going to miss my job and the children I work with,” Meagan said. “I’m going to miss my parents a lot. But I’m going to miss Charlie, my cat, the most. He’s always asleep on my bed when I wake up so I’m going to miss having a foot warmer.”

While in New Zealand, Haring will be studying at Massey University in Wellington and staying in a dormitory called ‘The Cube.’

“I’ve heard some horror stories about The Cube,” Meagan said. “But they are those good horror stories that you make memories from and I can live with that.”

Meagan’s flight left Monday afternoon.

“This is completely putting my life on hold so I can go do something else entirely,” Meagan said. “But I’m sure it’ll be amazing.”