Monday 2 January–Sunday 8 January Seal cutting NCKU organised an expert to show us to cut a traditional seal. Seal cutting is an ancient art first practised in China over three thousand years ago. We learnt how emperors and public officials commissioned artisans to carve intricate characters onto bone, bronze, pottery and stone. Leaders would…Continue Reading Taiwan: Week four
Welcome back to my blog! So much time has passed now, and we’ve already reached the end of January! Time really does fly by so fast, huh? This post is dedicated to the Lunar New Year break that started last Friday and continued to Tuesday earlier this week. I didn’t realise this five-day break would…Continue Reading A Well Deserved Rest!
São Paulo is the farthest I have ever been from the moana, whenua and community that raised me. Every aspect of the haerenga to this city was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. From the 24 hours of flying to seeing Jacinda Ardern on a TV in Texas to touching down to a concrete jungle that…Continue Reading Não falo português…mas eu falo arte
Monday 9 January–Sunday 15 January Boys’ picnic at Chimei Museum Park This week was a busy time in class, with many tests to complete. But the three guys on the trip, Charlie, Fin and I, managed to find time to get together with our language partners, Jerry, Craig and Sky, respectively, for a boys’ picnic….Continue Reading Taiwan: Week five
Kia ora whānau, This blog post comes to you from the plane ride home to New Zealand. While I am happy to be seeing my family and friends soon, I long for the next opportunity to travel aboard again. I enjoyed being immersed in a new culture that provided me with new ways of looking…Continue Reading Saying Goodbye to Taiwan
Well, we’re well into this 8-week adventure, and safe to say, it’s been nothing short of one. I’ve been fortunate to visit a couple of other towns/islands, but the majority of my time has been spent in the capital of Thailand, Bangkok. There is truly so much to talk about when it comes to this…Continue Reading What’s new?
Sonder – noun. “The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know…Continue Reading Sonder
Sights of rich history and color, sounds of never-ending horns at any hour, seas upon seas of people, with each new surrounding whirling in unique scents, together with tastes that are out of this world is an unjust summary of the magic of Mumbai. The story begins late one Saturday night in a time which…Continue Reading Magic in Mumbai
Is this your first time abroad? This is not my first time overseas. I have been lucky enough to travel with my family to Fiji (2014), Australia (2015), Hawaii (2016), and Vietnam (2017). My parents love to travel by Cruise Boat, so I have experienced many of our holidays on cruise ships, stopping off at…Continue Reading Interview with Myself, Thoughts on Going Abroad
Our second week’s topic was Migration, involving challenges asylum seekers and refugees. For our weekly NGO visit, we went to ‘La Casa de Refugiados.’ This non-governmental organization works alongside helping those seeking asylum and reintegration into their home country. Our conversation began with what reminded us of peace and violence. An interesting cultural difference noted by…Continue Reading “Freedom is not a Privilege”