My time in Mexico is quickly passing by. However, the term ‘new’ still lingers in my mind through every moment of this trip. Prior to this trip, I would not describe myself as a person who openly welcomed the concept of ‘new.’ The word ‘new’ brings with it the idea of unknown territory. Newness…Continue Reading Embracing the ‘new’
23/02/2023 – 29/02/2023 Leon is famous for leather goods and footwear. We visited a giant multinational leather company – Cuadra, and its leather goods production. Each pair of shoes was well crafted by multiple workers under an assembly line. I was fascinated by the dazzling and fast pace production process. Cuadra was definitely my favourite…Continue Reading Week 3 – Leon
When we arrived to Ubatuba from São Paulo on our three hour bus ride, our first instinct was to go for a swim at the beach. Our Hostel was located quite close to the local beach in Ubatuba. There were two beaches nearby, a calm family-friendly beach, and a surfer’s beach with 3 meter waves;…Continue Reading Ubatuba & Indigenous Communities
As we head into the final weeks here, the schedule is getting very full. On top of uni work and NGO visits, we are taking every opportunity to explore the city as much as possible. This means late-night churro runs or spontaneous flights to Guadalajara, whatever we can do to make the most of our…Continue Reading Poverty and Inequality
NAU MAI HOKI MAI KO TAKU CHAOS BLOG AHAU! Welcome to my Chaos blog. Enjoy! My pre-arrival plane thoughts: “Currently on the flight over and am feeling a mix of emotions. IDK what it is, but I’m happy, excited, nervous, and unsure, but feeling completely blissful. Partly because I’ve had two full glasses of red,…Continue Reading G….. I’M IN BRAZIL!
Saying goodbye is never easy, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. The final week was so busy that I didn’t even have time to write a blog post, so this one will have things from the final two weeks. Just a warning: there will be a lot of food pics in this post because…Continue Reading Hasta luego
Bienvenidos to another week of living and studying in Mexico City. Week 2 of studying at IBERO focused on migration in Mexico and Latin America. We concentrated on the different aspects of migration and how we define refugees and asylum seekers globally. In particular, we focused on the migration “caravans,” a large group of migrants…Continue Reading On the road again: Uber drivers and difficult discussions
When I told people I was going to Brazil for an exchange, I heard a lot of the following: “Please be careful” “Try don’t get shot!” “Make sure you hold on to all of your valuables as close as you can!” “Are you sure you want to go? It’s very dangerous there.” Despite all the…Continue Reading A Waitangi Day ‘Celebration’
Kei ōu ringaringa te ao can be loosely translated as ‘the world is yours’. I agree with the whakataukī that this world is ours, but it is ours to care for, not take advantage of. My time here in Brazil has exposed me to the realities of greed and corruption for land and resources. Corporations and…Continue Reading Kei ōu ringaringa te ao – Brazil
As I discover more of Brazil, I have been learning of the complex challenges the country has faced and continues to. Through visits to Indigenous communities, a Quilombo community, the Landless Workers Movement and the Center for Indigenous Work, as well as the NGO GAIALATO, we have been welcomed by lovely people with open hearts…Continue Reading To be in Brazil is to begin to understand Brazil.