Category: Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Latin America

Fasten seat belts

It’s Thursday the 19th fly-out day.  Feeling complete after a farewell dinner with my whānau…… Waking up knowing everything is in order. Then, the universe sends a reminder of the importance of this haerenga. The reality of our region’s current social issues comes knocking “literally” on my door. I am quickly reminded of the heightened crime…Continue Reading Fasten seat belts

The 4 L’s of Lion’s Latin Life: Love, Lust, Light, & Loss.

Love There is a measure of love that can be seen amongst the local people in Mexico City; a type of love that has no structure or coordination. It flows like a river through the city, free flowing, without mechanical or forced instigation. It reaches the masses of people to then filter and flow among…Continue Reading The 4 L’s of Lion’s Latin Life: Love, Lust, Light, & Loss.

Moments in Mexico

The images that make it into our long-term collective memory are few. A few of the images I have captured into my long-term memory are the ones I have lived through this week and am now sharing with whoever may be reading this blog. My favourite writing style is one that captures a moment in…Continue Reading Moments in Mexico

The Realities and Beauties of Mexico

We started our first day of university cooking up some traditional Mexican dishes. At Ibero, the typical apron doesn’t suffice for the kitchen. Instead, we all had to dress in what looked like full PPE gear that doctors wore during an operation(see photo below). As ridiculous as we looked, it ensured avoiding any health and…Continue Reading The Realities and Beauties of Mexico

Human Rights Week

Getting to university has been a mission in itself. We live in Roma Sur, about a 20-minute drive from Iberoamericana. Doesn’t sound very far, right? Wrong. I never want to hear another Aucklander complain about traffic until they experience Mexico City. That same 20-minute drive takes us an hour in the morning rush and sometimes…Continue Reading Human Rights Week

Week 1 – Part 2

The second half of the week, we got to hear from the British Chamber of Commerce! We were meant to go visit them, but a certain US President and Canadian Prime Minister were in town for the USMCA talks, and lucky for us, the British Chamber of Commerce is smack bang right next door, and…Continue Reading Week 1 – Part 2

A hectic and enlightening first week at IBERO!

Our first week of uni has been a big one, but I have a feeling that every week will be! This week we have been getting used to our routine. During the week, we have 12-hour days. We have to leave our hostel at 7:20am, walk 20 minutes and take the bus for almost an…Continue Reading A hectic and enlightening first week at IBERO!

Learning more than just business

Our journey began bright and early at 5 am at Auckland airport, starting with a three-hour flight to Sydney, then a thirteen-hour flight to Los Angeles and finally, a three-hour flight to beautiful Mexico. With lost luggage and delays causing missed flights, we were certainly getting to know one another very well! After some long-haul…Continue Reading Learning more than just business

An interesting welcome to Mexico

On Wednesday, the 4th of January, we departed from Auckland airport to start our long-haul flight to Los Angeles airport. From there, we would fly to Mexico City to live and study at Universidad Iberoamericana (IBERO) for 6 weeks. I was hesitant to fly internationally because this was my first time travelling abroad. The thought…Continue Reading An interesting welcome to Mexico