First stop in exploring Cardiff.. the National Museum Cardiff

Before I start off I want to wish everyone a Happy Halloween wherever you are and I hope you are enjoying this day whether it is trick-or-treating or just laying up watching scary movies all night; do whatever tickles your fancy and turn up!

Now.. Today was very laid back. I did not have class today and I spent most of yesterday getting so much work done because I wanted a free weekend. So today I decided to visit the National Museum Cardiff because I felt like this is a perfect way to start the exploring this city and plus FREE ADMISSION so, I had to take advantage. However, I did not vlog anything inside because I wanted to be mindful of the people around me and plus the museum attendants were around so I took pictures instead (I was allowed to do that). This was the perfect activity today because it was kind of cold in Cardiff so it’s was nice to do something without actually being outside and it was a nostalgic experience as well because I have not visited a museum in a LONG time. I’m going to stop talking now and show you some pictures that I took while in and outside the museum. Enjoy !! 😀

National Museum Cardiff

National Museum Cardiff

The curators have such skill, I thought those bugs were real! #Igotsoscared #lucklynoonewasaround

The curators have such skill, I thought those bugs were real! #Igotsoscared #lucklynoonewasaround

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This is so cool yet so creepy all at once. What do you think?

This is so cool yet so creepy all at once. What do you think?

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Fact about me: Bugs+Me= Kaycia running for the hills however the colors are niceeee!  

This was a solo trip that I did spontaneously, which I tend to do a lot and probably will be doing for the rest of my time here in Cardiff. I am testing myself throughout this entire semester to see how far outside of my comfort zone I can go. This is important to me because I am a creature of habit most of the time, like once I get into a certain routine of things I like to keep it like that. So by going on the adventures I have planned hopefully it will be able to allow me to see myself in a different light. Being able to look back on all the things I have done throughout this semester and think YES I DID THAT, is going to be such an awesome feeling. Going on these trips will make me so much braver when interacting with people which will bring me out of my shell so much more. I look forward to doing more of these blogs and I hope you will continue to read these posts, I’ll see you in my next post. HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!! 😀

Stayed in the museum until it closed, lols.. Who does that?

Stayed in the museum until it closed, lols.. Who does that?

 

National Museum Cardiff

Frontal Photo of the National Museum Cardiff

 

Culture in Prague

One of the best things about this city are the student discounts. Anywhere you go you just have to show your student ID and you will almost always get a discount. Most museums and galleries cost around 50-80 czk (about $3-4), which is great when you’re like me and have a huge list of all the ones you want to go to. Also, it’s awesome to be able to go to hockey or soccer games where tickets are only about $7-10! And that’s for good seats too!! Some friends and I went to see an HC Sparta Praha hockey game and we sat in the 2nd row which was really fun even though we lost the game miserably. I’ve also gone to see a Romeo & Juliet Ballet, and an opera called Rusalka (similar storyline to the Little Mermaid). Both were in the Statni Opera which is a beautiful building with a big chandelier and ornate ceiling in downtown Prague. It’s so nice to be able to experience all these cultural activities without breaking my wallet every time.

Perhaps the coolest thing for me so far was to attend a photo exhibition last Thursday night. As an art major, it was so incredible to experience an opening night in a big gallery. We went with Zuzana to the Dox Center for Contemporary Art around 7:00pm. The exhibit is called “This Place” and it is a collaboration of 12 photographers who lived and worked in Israel and the West Bank for a few years. When we got there we had about twenty minutes to look around at the photographs before the opening ceremony. Outside in the courtyard there was a big stage and a fire pit (which was good news for me seeing as I wore a dress and it was freezing out). The artists each stood up and talked about the project and what their work meant to them, then everyone got wine and continued to look at the art and mingle. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to speak to any of the photographers about their work, but it was still an incredible night. The exhibit was so inspiring for me, as cheesy as that sounds, and it was something I would never have gotten to experience if it weren’t for Zuzana. I’m hoping I will continue to be able to attend cultural events and performances throughout the semester but I’m starting to travel more often, and midterms are coming up soon so it’ll be difficult. Anyway, I’m off to Budapest this weekend! Hopefully it’s as much fun as it sounds!! I’ll keep you posted 🙂

One of the exhibits at the opening for This Place

One of the exhibits at the opening for This Place

My first time at the Ballet!

My first time at the Ballet!

Inside the Statni Opera

Inside the Statni Opera

Adventures around the Czech Republic

The Czech countryside is one of my favorite parts about this country. As soon as you get 15 minutes outside of the city it’s rolling hills, farms, woods, and small villages and it’s so cute. The first weekend in October I went on the ECES led  hiking trip in Bohemian Paradise, Český ráj. There was a group of about 12 of us who took the train there together and then went for an 11km hike through 2 towns and Sandstone City. On the way we talked about different Czech traditions and learned all about mushrooming (which is very popular here). We stopped for lunch then hiked around Sandstone City then got back on the trail to hike to our departing location. We played games that Czech children play at summer camp, and had a small competition to see who could build the best tree house for a forest dwarf. It was a really fun day and it was nice to get out of the city and back into nature for a while.

Yesterday, I went with a group of people to Český Krumlov, a small town in Southern Bohemia. We were supposed to take the train, but then they made us get off the train and take a bus to our connecting train. The bus was running late so when we got to the station we sprinted up the stairs to the platform only to see our train pulling away. We ended up running across the street and catching another bus that would take us to the city so even though it was a chaotic start to our day, we eventually made it. We walked around and got lunch, then went up and explored the castle and up a tower to get a great view of the city. We saw one of the bears that guards the castle too which explained why there are teddy bears in the majority of the stores we passed. Then we went shopping and each ate a nutella filled Trdelnik before walking to the train station to come home (which thankfully went much smoother than the morning trip). Overall, it was a great day trip and it was nice to see another part of the country.

Hiking into Sandstone City

Hiking into Sandstone City

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Our tree house

Our tree house

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Český Krumlov

Český Krumlov

INSTAGRAM

I have created and instagram account JUST FOR THIS STUDY ABROAD SEMESTER! See more videos and pictures of this study experience on your computer or on the go.
If you have an instagram account, you can follow me @studylikeakiwi
If you don’t have an account but would still like fast easy access to tons of pictures and videos of New Zealand and life in Wellington, check out my account at http://instagram.com/studylikeakiwi
Thank you, and enjoy! 🙂Monkey Creek, NZWellington!

I highly recommend using juicy tours. Good prices, good humor, and whole lot of fun!

This is the very sweet cat that lives at Victoria Univeristy. The vic cat can be found right on the walk up to Uni!

This is the very sweet cat that lives at Victoria Univeristy. The Vic cat can be found right on the walk up to Uni!

Congrats Accepted Students!

Congratulations to the students accepted to study abroad for Intercession ’15 and Spring ’15!

We look forward to seeing you tonight at Accepted Students’ Night!

#NPabroad #NP social

Accepted Students

Fairy Houses, Sandstones, and Ice Cream

During my time abroad I am not only preparing for my time as a Fulbright ETA by taking a TEFL class, I am also working in Prague as an In-Country Program Assistant for Charles University – in short I am a New Paltz representative in the ECES office and I assist the staff on various excursions throughout the Czech Republic. Getting the opportunity to work in the ECES office has been really great. From being a student at Charles, to then working on the New Paltz end of the program in the study abroad office, to now working in the Charles University study abroad office has only once again proven to me how much study abroad has shaped my life for the better. It has been very interesting and exciting for me to work in a foreign office setting. Somethings are exactly the same, but I have also learned so much more about what it means to work internationally. This experience has opened up so many new ideas about where I can take my career as an educator and I am so, so grateful for that.

 

This experience has also brought me on some pretty great excursions throughout the Czech Republic. This past weekend we went on a hiking trip through the Bohemian Paradise in Cesky Raj. A Czech university student who comes from this part of the country lead the day and it was fantastic. We hiked through the Sandstone City, I had no idea how diverse the Czech countryside was before this weekend. It was a really nice break from life in the city. Spending the past four years in New Paltz and being a big hiker my entire life city life is definitely an adjustment and this past weekend I remembered how much I missed spending days hiking around and just walking with no buildings or streets by my side.

 

We saw people mushrooming, the number one sport in the country, we built fairy houses, and stopped by a local ice cream shop. I had remembered hearing about mushrooming from the last time I was in CR, but I had never seen it in action. People actually walk around with baskets and pick mushrooms, ALL DAY! The Czech girl leading us around got very excited about this and ecstatic when she would find a mushroom herself. She actually ended up finding quite a lot and on our hike we stopped by her house, her mom fried them up, and we all had some lovely, fresh, fried, Czech mushrooms – the perfect hiking snack. She then had us pair up and have a fairy house competition. Apparently this is something people knew about from their childhood, but I had never done this – I loved it. I am doing this whenever I go hiking from now on. All in all it was a wonderful weekend roaming about the Czech countryside. Breathing some fresh crisp autumn air, fresh mushrooms, and climbing through the sandstone formations was a real retreat from Praha.

apple picking

apple picking

mushrooms

mushrooms

fairy houses

fairy houses

cesky raj

cesky raj

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sandstone city

Accommodation, Making friends in the Hall

I chose to live in the Stafford UniLodge during my trimester abroad. I was lucky enough to be on the ninth floor with a bit a view out to the harbor, which made for awesome sun rise and sunset pictures!
The layout of the room is three private bedrooms that share a kitchen/dining/living area and a bathroom. There was nothing terrible about this accommodation, in fact I met my really good group of kiwi friends here! The only cultural oddity I found was the lack of dryers in NZ. Apparently it’s not uncommon to air dry everything so a drying rack was provided as well as bedding and pillow to “hire” (rent).
Unfortunately, there were a few down sides to living in Stafford UniLodge… First, it is at the bottom of a very very long and big hill in order to get to Victoria University Kelburn campus, where most first year classes take place (20 minutes of walking about, unless you walk everywhere and you’re used to large hills). Second, it is a little far from Courtney Place (the main night life street) but there is a free van set up by the university to drive students back to their hall for free!
Overall my experience as a hall resident in New Zealand has been great! I truly suggest to anyone studying abroad here to go to activities offered in the hall to meet kiwis! This hall had many international events at first, but it was hard to truly jump into the culture here when I was only with other exchange students. As soon as floor or hall activities were available I signed up and met a wonderful group of kiwi friends. IMG_3850View from Stafford UniLodgeCooking in the hallA night in with Kiwi friends :)p

Adjusting to my new environment & everything else

So to start things off I finally made it to Cardiff, Wales and I’m still in shock that I am actually here. After running around with the UK Visa and Immigration I had some doubts that I wouldn’t be here but I’m here and ready to face any other challenges that may come up. I first arrived at London Heathrow airport, I was filled with so much excitement on the inside but I had to contain myself for the sake of the people around me, lord knows I wanted to cartwheel up and down London but I had some unfinished business, cause my trip wasn’t finished. As I made my way through customs and baggage claim the culture shock really got to me when I had to buy my coach ticket to Cardiff only because I did not want to get taken advantage of monetarily. But I was fine, I even got a discount because I told the lady I was a student, sweeeeet. I boarded the coach at 7:06am (which is 2:00am in the U.S) and began my three hour journey to Cardiff on the National Coach Express. While on the coach, I did not think I could look at grass with so much focus, maybe it’s because it is in another country but I was so mesmerized, the horses, the wide open spaces,  and the cars driving on the right side of the road. It’s such a different life here (or it seems like it).

Anyways, I got to the Cardiff bus station at 11ish (6am U.S. time) and got into a taxi and for eight pounds drove me to my on campus residence at Cardiff University. At this point, the thought of being in another country really resignated with me and I almost got a bit emotional. After going to the reception to collect my key I met one of my eight flatmate at the door as I struggled to bring my things in (who told them to put me on the top floor with no elevator lols). As you may be thinking, I was very happy to meet her at the door because she was so kind to carry one of my bags up the stairs.

After unpacking a bit, I sent myself on a wild goose chase looking for the Global Opportunity Centre to see about signing up for my classes, at that point I was upset at how far everything is from the campus. After about maybe 1.5-2hrs. I finally found the office (which I blindly passed before). So yeah, I made it and got to choose my classes as well as my ID, whoop whoop !! I also completed my first week of classes which was not too bad and my professors are really nice and helpful. I am looking forward to having so much more rewarding and fun experiences here in the UK, so I’ll talk to you all later byeeeeeeee 🙂

 

 

 

Academic Adjustment

I have just finished my third week of classes and they are going pretty well so far. Though the academic system is different here than back in the United States. Many classes meet only once a week for two hours which is called a lecture. I have four classes that are just lectures. Some classes, like my introductory to sociology class have a seminar in addition to a lecture. This is an additional hour where a smaller group of students discuss the lecture in further detail often with group work. The modules that I am taking meet on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so I have a four day weekend to travel. This weekend I am taking my first trip to another European country. I am going to Dublin, Ireland!
Another main difference in the United Kingdom is that many of the modules or what we call courses meet for the whole year. Since I will only be here for a semester my assessment or grade will be based on one or two big assessments which are usually long papers/case studies. For my modules I am not required to buy any books which is a great way to save money. All the articles and readings are on uni learn which is similar to blackboard. The library has textbooks and books students can borrow for class readings. The only thing which sucks is that the university does not give you any print money. It’s easier for me to read physical copies of documents so I have to spend a decent amount of my own money.
Finally, at the University of Huddersfield you are expected to read and keep up with the reading and course material on your own. There are no reading quizzes or graded paragraphs just your one or two final assessments. Though attendance does matter and is checked by swiping your ID card as you enter the classroom. I have got to go catch my transportation methods to Ireland! I will post soon about my travels and inside some photos 🙂

Conversion on the Brain

C360_2014-09-19-14-56-31-379I think I’ve finally got to the point where I know how to use China’s currency, either that or I’ve become a super cheapskate.

Probably for the first month I’ve been in China, everything I bought, I had to convert in my head to see if it was a good deal. But I realized…as a American everything seemed to be an amazing deal, even if it was 游客价(tourist price). I didn’t get those prices as the rest of my classmates because I look Chinese and spoke with better fluency but my A.B.C. speak always seemed to pop out at the worse times….like right when I’m about it haggle TT ^ TT….

Like a big fruit cup(not like Starbuck’s teeny tiny cups) by Shida’s North Gate（师大的北门） is only 3 RMB which is an equivalent to less that 50 cents USD…That’s actually considered kind of pricey for portion and types of fruit…but then again all fruit cupsare kinda overpriced. *coughcough* SUB *coughcough*

 

 

 

 

C360_2014-09-05-22-44-16-556Though I do admit I still convert when something is over 100 RMB (~16USD) but I try not to buy anything over that because I can make 30-50 RMB(5-8 USD)last a day…maybe even two if I am lazy and just eat the 1 RMB pork buns DX so yummy.

I mean seriously since I am staying in the Shida （师大） dorm rooms there is no kitchen and I am not buying a mini-fridge because that would jack up my electric bill （oh yeah you gotta watch your electricity）but even so the C.L.I. (Chinese Language Institute) does have a fridge and kitchen…but it’s kind of “far”(college student far) and I’m lazy.

Going back to 游客价(tourist price), that tourist price is very real. If I go shopping with an obvious foreigner friend I get one price, if I go with other Chinese friends I get another, but the best price is the one where I have a friend/teacher that speak local Guilin dialect. So pay attention who you go shopping with xP.

 

C360_2014-10-18-14-57-32-709I am thankful I got the money transitioning down but now I really need to work on not being conned into paying too much and stop spending so much in the Drink shops（饮料店). Especially coffee X-X…..and cat cafes…..and bars.
By the way…? they sell alcohol on Campus o-o