Category: Prime Minister’s Scholarships

Blog Post 1: A taste of Taiwan

Kia ora friends and whānau,  I have just completed my first week in Taiwan! While the books and locals may tell you that Tainan is a city of retirement due to its slow-paced and food-oriented culture, compared to New Zealand, it feels like a city of the hustle and bustle! In contrast to home, things…Continue Reading Blog Post 1: A taste of Taiwan

Exploring Seoul

Since we arrived a week before classes started (13.12.2022), we had free time to explore Seoul. Here is a small recap of what I did the week before classes started! Group dinner at Biya: Following our first full day in Seoul (6.12.22), we decided to have a group dinner together, to catch up with everyone….Continue Reading Exploring Seoul

早上好 Taiwan!

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!

Nikita Irene - Blog Post

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