Chúc Mừng Năm Mới! Happy New Year! Did you know that this year is the year of the Cat in Vietnam? While China and many other places in the world may be seen celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, Vietnam switches out the Rabbit for the Cat in the Zodiac. And thus, walking around the…Continue Reading Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!
We’re nearing the end of our time in Tainan; less than ten days left. It feels bittersweet. We look forward to seeing our families, but we’ve become accustomed to living here, and we’ve all felt very welcomed. I will miss Tainan when I’m back in Auckland. The Chinese language centre at Cheung Kong University has…Continue Reading Cultural classes in Tainan
The idea of being tightly compressed in an aircraft for almost 24 hours isn’t appealing, but long-haul flights seem to be my thing, seeing as I developed the gift of successfully sleeping through most of the flight journey. We approach the lush greenery and specs of copper that coloured several buildings and homes below us….Continue Reading My First Impression of Brazil
Kia Ora! I am writing this post at the end of my first week in India. I have so many thoughts, feelings and experiences that I’ve been exposed to in such a short amount of time – so it’s hard to articulate them in a manner concise enough to make this blog post enjoyable. So…Continue Reading Sun, Water and South Indian Spirituality
Kids wear Marvel clothes. Adults wear football shirts. Arsenal and Liverpool are the most popular teams here in Thailand; their shirts are everywhere. The presence of Marvel is also seen here; kids tend to love Spider-Man and Captain America. Being here reinforced to me how big and popular these brands are. They’re seen on billboards…Continue Reading Marvel and Football Run the World
What the Vietnamese call Tet is the celebration of the lunar new year & with Tet began our travels around Northern and Central Vietnam. Our first stop was Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, which was quite the contrast to the humid, hustle-bustle nature of Ho Chi Minh. The city was relatively cold, with more…Continue Reading Vietnamese New Year
I had long anticipated our visit to Mumbai, the financial and entertainment capital of India. Over the years, I’ve watched many films set in this city, from very famous ones like Slumdog Millionaire and The Lunchbox to more obscure indie films like Bombay Summers. I’ve also watched travel vloggers explore the city on YouTube and…Continue Reading Mumbai Moments
30/01/2023 – 07/02/2023 Tecnológico de Monterrey has its main/ largest campus located at Monterrey. The unique part of this campus is the biodiversity, where peacocks, deer, ducks, cats, etc., wander around the campus and live in harmony. Monterrey campus We were ‘fortunate’ to experience the four seasons/ extreme climate during our one-week stay at Monterrey….Continue Reading Week 4 – Monterrey
During this trip, I kept a journal where I made a note of daily highs and lows. Here are a few that sum up some of my favorite memories from my program and some of the learning curbs I encountered. The most reoccurring high… FOOD Low: Large university workload Although I often mention all the…Continue Reading Highs and Lows
This was one part of my trip I both looked forward to and was worried about. I have always spent Christmas with family and New Year’s with close friends; I hoped that being in a totally new country with a new group of friends wasn’t going to make me too homesick! Christmas in the Park…Continue Reading My first Christmas & New Years away from home