Welcome one and all to your favourite Chilean Kiwi’s first Taiwan blog! This past week has been absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to share with you all what it has been like in this beautiful country. Let’s start with the arrival! After a long 11-hour flight, we finally arrived around 5 pm in Taoyuan…Continue Reading 早上好 Taiwan!
Tainan: the world’s busiest retirement village
Writing this blog is a bit like a metaphor for my first week here- I have a lot to say, but I’ve got to figure out how to say it first. Thankfully, I think my Chinese is improving, and hopefully, as I get through this post, I will figure out how to translate my experiences…Continue Reading Tainan: the world’s busiest retirement village
And so the journey begins…
A week of settling into Tainan 台南 Tainan: A city rich in culture, good food, and some of the nicest people I have ever met. Little did I know that this opportunity to study in a different country would teach me so much about myself and a little about a little city in the South of…Continue Reading And so the journey begins…
Korea in My Eyes!
Hello, and welcome to my first blog post!!! Going to Korea has always been my dream, and now that I’m here, it still doesn’t feel real! When I got the email telling me I got in, I was shocked and immediately told all my friends and family about the good news. I have been here…Continue Reading Korea in My Eyes!
Weeks 1 & 2: Settling in and Chilling in Seoul (literally) ❄️
After a seemingly never-ending row of flight delays and a couple of hours stuck at Auckland Airport, the eleven of us on the programme were able to get on the plane, and we were welcomed by the Korean Air SUPER M safety video. The flight was 12 hours, and while I have gone on other…Continue Reading Weeks 1 & 2: Settling in and Chilling in Seoul (literally) ❄️
Our journey in Taiwan begins
你好！My name is Henry, and I’m a Law, Economics, and Chinese student at the University of Auckland (UoA). I have been fortunate enough to receive a Prime Minister’s Scholarship along with 14 other UoA students to study Mandarin Chinese this December and January in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan at National Cheng Kung University…Continue Reading Our journey in Taiwan begins
Arrival in Tainan
One of the first things we did in Taiwan was visit a Japanese department store called Hayashi. It’s one week on and I’m back here again, sitting in a café on the top floor, thinking about my time here so far. The hotel that we stayed in for the first week was right in the…Continue Reading Arrival in Tainan
Chapter One: 8,765 km
Part One: The Journey The toughest decision to make: what to pack and bring to Tainan, Taiwan? The first thing I did was check the weather, to which I was surprised to realise the beginning of winter in Tainan is like summer in NZ, sunny and reaching highs of 25°C. Naturally, I packed with that…Continue Reading Chapter One: 8,765 km
我愛臺南
As a New Zealander studying Chinese in Tainan, I am constantly reminded of the incredible cultural diversity in New Zealand. Tainan is such a different place, always bustling and full of life! Let me tell you what I have been up to this first week abroad. My experience in Tainan has been one of amazing…Continue Reading 我愛臺南
An ode to Taiwan’s 7-11s
One of the things you will notice exceptionally quickly after arriving in Taiwan is how ubiquitous 7-11 (and its cousin Family Mart) is. These stores are the pinnacle of Taiwanese convenience, and if you spend any time in Taiwan, they will quickly become as important a part of your life as they are in locals’…Continue Reading An ode to Taiwan’s 7-11s