I can truly say that my horizons have been tested and broadened through this trip. The opportunity to not only carry out an internship overseas but also having to navigate living in a foreign country was an incredible experience. I learnt a lot about life, myself, India and about health systems (through my internship). But…Continue Reading It’s All About Perspective
You’ve just been to the gorgeous Taj Mahal and feel full of life and satisfied. Why would you not? First, you went to the Agra Fort in the sweltering heat and were able to bask in all of its red-sandstone beauty. You didn’t really know much about it before the start of the trip, but…Continue Reading Just Behind the Looking Glass
The last month! Things couldn’t have gone by quicker in the last month. The buzzing Saigon traffic became standard, the flashing lights at night were akin to stars in the night sky, and breathtaking skyline views were becoming a norm. I was forgetting New Zealand and becoming familiar with the labyrinth-like layout of Saigon. I…Continue Reading The Last Month
Guess it’s time to wrap up these updates! The past three months felt like forever but also like they went by in the blink of an eye. I’m back in NZ now, savouring the last few days of warm weather before it gets cold again. I say that, but it has just started raining pretty heavily (and…Continue Reading Final Update
Before I begin, I thought I would impart some of the wisdom I have learnt here. How to cross the road in Mumbai: How to avoid being scammed in Mumbai: Trip to Rajasthan One of the most incredible places I have visited on this trip is the desert near Jaisalmer, a town in the state…Continue Reading Deserts & Dreams
Just like that, it’s over. Six weeks have come and gone like the blink of an eye. I swear yesterday I was meeting the others in the airport to fly out. It seems a little bittersweet – we all leave the airport, go our separate ways, back to our real lives. Will we keep in…Continue Reading Alvida
Bucket lists. What are they, why do we make them? According to Stanford, a bucket list is an itemised list of goals, experiences or achievements that people want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket” — or die. I made my first and only bucket list when I was 12. For me, the things I…Continue Reading Bucket List
I’d apologise for the pun in the title but I’d be lying. It has now been four weeks abroad, and safe to say that as much as I love Mumbai, I miss home. But thank goodness for the others I’m on this trip with, because we have managed to create a sense of home here,…Continue Reading “Intern”-ational Travellers
In my internship this week, I felt great privilege for the opportunity, confronted by the harsh living conditions of the communities I work, and grateful to the people of Mandala who have opened their lives and hearts to the organisation and me. Working with the Zahra Hasanaat clinic, I was able to help with the…Continue Reading Art needs no language…
When I arrived in Korea I didn’t really have any expectations in regard to making friends. Obviously, I wanted to make friends but I also know that is easier said than done. I am someone who values quality over quantity in friendships and would rather invest time in one person instead of in shallow friendships…Continue Reading Queer in Seoul