New Zealand does have Internet and Wi-Fi just like in the U.S. It’s actually been pretty easy staying connected here. I’ve been using the university Wi-Fi while on campus and spending some time apart from my phone when traveling. I’m almost always with someone who will have service while we’re traveling and a few hours without my phone can be a good time to unwind.
I also got a SIM card with a New Zealand number from Vodafone. The SIM was just $5 and I get unlimited texting, 50 minutes calling and 750 MB data for $18 a month. With the NZ dollar to USD conversion, this is actually really cheap. I still use just Wi-Fi while I’m on campus to use IMessage, Facebook messenger and everything else. The limitation on the SIM is that international calls and texts are still very expensive so I can’t communicate with anyone back home while I’m away from Wi-Fi. I would highly recommend just buying a separate burner phone (easily bought at the Warehouse, their version of a Target/Ocean State) so that you don’t get charged for any accidental US texts that come through while the SIM texting is turned on.
There are a lot of desktop computers on campus that students can use if you don’t have a laptop. I generally just bring my Mac to all my classes. For one of my tutorials (the Northeastern equivalent of an ILS) we use the computer room exclusively for our semester project. I still have yet to figure out how to load printing dollars onto my student ID card so I use my computer to pull up in-class handouts that are posted on their University of Auckland Canvas (BlackBoard) account but the university has easily accessible printers all over campus.
