Category: Prime Minister’s Scholarships

Week 1 – Ciudad de Mexico

05/01/2023 – 15/01/2023 It was an uneasy start for our journey to Mexico. After transitioning through multiple places, from Auckland → Sydney → Los Angeles → Mexico City, feeling upside down during three days of “sky life” and experiencing flight delays and baggage problems, etc., we finally arrived in Mexico. For the first week, we…Continue Reading Week 1 – Ciudad de Mexico

Diversity and Culture shock

Culture shock: Culture shocks tend to be the things we can’t prepare for or foresee experiencing. Before embarking on the journey, I had done research and tried to keep an open mind. I roughly knew what the culture was like, the style of cuisine, and the level of poverty. I knew cows were sacred, dogs…Continue Reading Diversity and Culture shock

What my Family has Asked me Since I Arrived 

How long did it take you to get to India? We took: 1 shuttle taxi from Hamilton to Auckland airport, 1.5 hours 3 flights  1 bus ride from Chennai to Puducherry, 5 hours … which finally took us to Puducherry, India! It was over 45 hours of travelling since leaving Hamilton. A longer trip than expected, with…Continue Reading What my Family has Asked me Since I Arrived 

Chapter Four: Welcome 2023

(Being busy has resulted all my posts being belated, but we will pretend this was posted two weeks earlier) It is crazy to think how fast 2022 has gone by, especially as it has officially been my last year at the University of Auckland! Ending the year in Taiwan is not a bad choice. I…Continue Reading Chapter Four: Welcome 2023

Lost in Saigon: My first week in Ho Chi Minh City!

Wednesday the 11th marked 7 days in Vietnam! It is so crazy to reflect on the last week and how much we managed to fit into it. Having never been this far from home before, these last few days have shifted my perspective on the world, and every moment has brought me a new experience….Continue Reading Lost in Saigon: My first week in Ho Chi Minh City!

First Day in Vietnam

I still had not processed that I was going to Vietnam yet, even after I got on the plane. This would be my first time living and working overseas by myself, which was exciting. The total duration to arrive at the international airport was almost a whole day, but it was fine because I enjoy…Continue Reading First Day in Vietnam

Chapter Three: Christmas (feat. concert)

In all honesty, I feel like the older I am, the less excited I get about Christmas. However, this was the first time I would be spending it not in NZ, and away from my family. To help with the being away from home, a secret Santa was organised amongst us PMSA students in Tainan,…Continue Reading Chapter Three: Christmas (feat. concert)

new year, new country

A foreign country is such an experience, and the travel there was no different. We flew through Sydney and Los Angeles in order to get to sunny Mexico, which took a lot out of us and really brought us closer together as a team – the delays, missing flights and luggage caused us to have…Continue Reading new year, new country

Viva la Mexico!

Week One//Mexico City After a long 36+ hours of traveling, five hours delay, a missed flight, overweight bags, confusion in airports and a lot of customs, ten Kiwis finally left an airport and took an hour’s drive to their hotels with two lovely hosts from the University. Despite some tired grumbles we all very quickly…Continue Reading Viva la Mexico!