Kia ora! That’s hello in Maori, New Zealand’s indigenous language (it would be like us speaking an American Indian language except like 50 years after the colonist settled in America). The Maori language is very much present in culture and students take Maori classes. Many people here are half or full Maori.
I have only been in New Zealand about a week and still very much jet-lagged. Continue reading
So for most people maybe Myeongdong isn’t the best place to tackle on your first day in a new country where you barely know the language, but for some it may; for me it was. As someone who absolutely loves shopping and has almost made a sport of it had figured that I could do it successfully anywhere. If anyone knows, Myeongdong is a a huge area (maze) filled with everything imaginable. They have clothing, makeup, skincare, health, food, shoe stores etc. Continue reading
The funny thing about traveling is that no matter how long you are gone, once it is over it feels like it all happened in a blink of an eye. My Fall 2017 semester abroad gave me a very different perspective than traveling to Iceland for a 3-week program. I was confident in my capability to deal with culture shock and adjust to the new area, as well as creating new friendships with people from different cultures. But what I’ve learned is that no matter how much you think you know, the world always has more to teach you. Continue reading
And so, we come to my final blog post, and the realization that it was time to go home and finish things up. Towards the end of the semester, I must admit that I didn’t have too much time to write- if I wasn’t focusing on final exams or assignments, I was hanging out with friends before my trip back and getting as much out of my stay as I could. I ended up spending my final day with two of my close friends, visiting a shrine and getting Thai food before wishing each other luck and going our separate ways. Continue reading
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” This is a quote I recently learned, from St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It’s now one of my all-time favorite quotes because from a Christian perspective or otherwise, it really describes the peace that we can find by living in the present and not worrying about things we can’t control. I hope you also can appreciate its simple motivation to make the most of each day. This is especially important during any time we spend visiting other countries, but I don’t know why we rarely apply it to our “normal” lives. Continue reading
One of the main themes I have noticed while being here in Iceland is the immense trust among all people. The low crime rate and genuine integrity is something all Icelandic people are very proud of. While studying sustainable leadership here at Bifrost, the topic is something that comes up a lot in conversation. With this being said, I put my trust into the hands of strangers this weekend and the outcome was incredible. Continue reading
The drought is over. The real Irish summer has arrived. It’s unlike any season I’ve ever experienced. The skies have a habit of going from blue to gray just to dump buckets of rain and freezing winds on you during the walk from your bus-stop to office, and then becoming clear and sunny again right as you step in the door. True story. But it only took me a few days to get used to being cold and appreciating any time that I wasn’t, and I’ve even started appreciating the grand unpredictability of it all. I am no longer a person who lets a little downpour stop her from going out and living life, because the odds are that the rain won’t last long anyways. Continue reading