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.
Our topic for this week was the Indigenous of Mexico. It was very interesting to learn about their indigenous groups in comparison to our New Zealand indigenous. Throughout the week, we were guided by our lecturer and my tocaya, Maria (tocaya= ‘name twin’ in Spanish). I loved how passionate she was about this topic and…Continue Reading Remembering Those That Once Walked With Us
On Saturday the 28th, we checked out of our hotel in Sao Paulo and boarded the crowded bus to head to Ubatuba. The drive was incredibly long, but it was worth it once we began to descend down the mountains and see the beautiful coastline. We then checked into our hostel and were able to…Continue Reading A Brief Trip to Ubatuba
We are at the halfway point of our time here in Brazil. I have taken in quite a bit of the scenery and the culture in its unique way. My roommate Kurt and I get along like brothers, and we keep an eye out for each other and others who might need support. But hey,…Continue Reading Halfway and it is Waitangi Day! Yay!
The air is thick here. Thick with heat recoiling off of the looming buildings of the city. As I gaze out of the balcony on the eleventh floor, my eyes are met with buildings forever. They slowly fade into a muddled grey and meet a faux horizon somewhere in the distance – and I feel…Continue Reading Sensations of Brazil – First Impressions