Arrowtown - New Zealand

Arrowtown is a charming wee town that is 20 minutes away from the town centre of Queenstown. It used to be historic gold mining town in the 1800's during the Otago gold rush. Before you embark on your exploration around Arrowtown, make sure to check or take a picture of the town map so that you won't get lost (although it's impossible to get lost). 

The streets are lined with historical buildings that were restored and made into business establishments, cute souvenir shops and cafes.

If you fancy sweets, you must visit this sweet shop. I forgot the name but it's not hard to find since their window display sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the other buildings. 

There are also heaps of shops that sells cute bits and bobs that you can bring home as souvenirs or as gifts.

If you have a more flexible time than we did, I suggest you visit the Lakes District Museum. They have an excellent historical exhibition of Arrowtown and are open every day of the week from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Entrance fee for an adult is $10 NZD and $3 NZD for a child.

Look at those two lovey-dovey dogs <3

You'll seriously enjoy walking around Arrowtown. I just love the ambience of the place despite the cold and chilly weather that day.

Another highlight in Arrowtown is the Chinese settlement at the edge of the river. There is no admission, but there's a lot of walking involved. There's no walking pavement so heels and uncomfortable shoes are a big NO-NO. The settlement is delicately preserved to allow visitors to see what it was like living in the gold rush days.

That little doorless-house looking thing used to be their toilet. I couldn't imagine myself using that on a cold winter day.

It was odd seeing the amount of snow during our visit since it was already spring. Alas, it is not New Zealand if you don't experience four seasons in a day.

It was quite a hike walking around Arrowtown; make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes and probably water to hydrate yourself. If you seek more information about Arrowtown or would like to visit, check out their official town page here.

Until next time,

xxx

Lake Tekapo, South Island - New Zealand

If you're driving your way to Dunedin, Queenstown or Invercargill from Christchurch, then most definitely, Lake Tekapo will be your quick stop over. Last year around September, my family and I decided to pay an overdue visit to the tourist capital of New Zealand; Queenstown. And as mentioned earlier, we made a quick stopover in Lake Tekapo for a quick breather and brunch.

You know you're close to the actual lake when this "Hachiko"-like statue is visible. 

September is normally the start of spring in New Zealand, however, when we went to Lake Tekapo a large remnant of the previous winter season greeted us. It wasn't even a mere remnant, in fact, it was like winter stayed. The ground and the plants surrounding were frozen; which made it difficult to walk around the rocky terrain. The wind also felt like it was ripping our face. Our supposed sunny brunch outside turned into a hasty inside-the-car eating contest. The photos below are some snaps we took before our fingers turned into popsicles.

There is so much to do and see in Lake Tekapo, but since we did not stay there to leisurely enjoy the place, I can only show you pictures of the surroundings. Some of the top things to around Lake Tekapo includes indulging yourself in their beautiful hot springs and spa. Personally, I very much prefer Lake Tekapo's hot springs over Hanmer Spring's (another hot spring close to Christchurch) because on most days, there are only a handful of people. I like it when there are fewer people in the pools. Although it is smaller than Hanmer's, the beautiful overlooking view you get compensates for its size.

Photo from www.newzealand.com

Taking a cruise is also another thing that you can do in Lake Tekapo. They also have a large golf course for those that wants to test their swinging skills at the Cairns Golf Course. 

If you're not an acrophobic, then a 50-minute air safari overlooking Mt Cook (Aoraki), Westland National Parks and the 12 major glaciers of the South Island is ideal for you.

And if you fancy learning about the stars and our incredible universe, then for $80 you can get your a family pass to partake in a tour at Mt John Observatory.

There's so much to do and see at Lake Tekapo, which is why it is one of the quick getaway destinations for Cantabrians. Whether you're there for a quick visit or a long one, I'm sure there is something that Lake Tekapo has for you in the bag.

Until next time!

xxx

Yonsei Study Abroad Housing Application // Outbound exchange experience with the University of Canterbury (Part 2)

As promised, here is the second part of my Outbound exchange experience with the University of Canterbury. After receiving the acceptance packet from Yonsei around December, they also sent me instructions for the housing application. It was pretty simple. They sent me a webpage link on where I can make an online account that I will use to apply for a dorm.

The below picture is basically the overview of the whole housing application process.

Before applying for a housing application, you MUST first make an account using your admission number that was given to you when you received your acceptance packet from Yonsei. The admission number begins with "SAY*****". Making an account is pretty straight forward, just make sure you remember your log-in ID and password because you'll definitely need it later!


The picture below is a notice given to the spring semester students for 2017. It basically outline the overall application period, housing period, payment period and other necessary events that students need to take note off.

There are two housing application period. The first one is on the 22nd December 2016 at 10 AM Korean time sharp. And I mean SHARP. I recommend you apply on the first housing period, especially if you're planning on staying at SK Global since the rooms sell out quick. You also have to be on time. It is very competitive! I set my alarm 15 minutes before it was 10 AM Korean time and logged into my account in advance. I refreshed the page a lot until the housing application opened. It's basically a competition on who can click the fastest, and possibly the fastest internet connection?

There is absolutely no time for hesitation when you're applying for the accommodation because it goes out by seconds, not even minutes! You have to figure out which housing type suits your budget and your personal preference weeks begore the application period begins. For me, I applied for SK Global's single room because I wanted to have own room and my own privacy. I've never had a roommate before and I wasn't ready to give up my personal bubble. Plus with SK single, I get my own mini fridge. How awesome is that! I don't mind having a roommate, but I personally prefer having my own space to myself. Also, I didn't know anyone at that time that I can share rooms with.

A friend of mine who went to Yonsei last spring told me that the number at the end of the "Housing application number" is the number sequence in which Yonsei received the application. Meaning, as shown in the picture below, I am number 93. Basically, the lower your number is, the more chance you have of being accepted. It's a first come first serve basis so it's good if you get a lower number.

Information about the housing prices and when the housing application is is available from the Yonsei Housing Page. There you'll find information about the current prices of the rooms, the application dates, procedures and what amenities are offered in each bedroom type. You can NOT log in and make an account with the Yonsei housing page until you are given your acceptance packet and have received your admission number. Below is the Korean price of the rooms. Obviously to all exchange students, the housing prices are subject to exchange rates and transfer/bank fees.

For those that applied for a single housing option at SK Global, the results were released on the 10th January of 2017. Those that applied for a double at International House or SK Global received theirs on the 30th December 2016. Thank goodness for me, I managed to get a single room. You will know that you've been accepted when you see a "Pass" on the status column as shown in the picture below. After receiving the results you must immediately arrange payments to Yonsei since there is a cut-off date. If you press the numbers that I marked on the picture, you'll be given a swift code and other relevant information to make your housing payment.

When you have made your payment to Yonsei for the housing and they have CONFIRMED it, then you must prepare the necessary documents that are needed for checking in at the dorms. The first necessary document is a tuberculosis test report. You MUST do this exam before you leave for Korea otherwise you'll have a problem getting one in a foreign country. You cannot check-in at the dorms if you do not have this test report. The second document that you must provide is a scanned and printed copy of your passport.  You have to bring these two documents with you when you check-in at SK Global or International House otherwise they might reject your check-in.

So that is pretty much everything about the housing application. It is a lengthy process but nothing too stressful if you organise your time and yourself ahead of time.

See you on my next post!

xxx

Outbound exchange experience with the University of Canterbury (Part 1)

University of Canterbury's Central Library

This is basically a quick rundown of my experience with the University of Canterbury's (UC) Outbound exchange programme; which is basically the study abroad programme counterpart in the US or Europe.

I live in New Zealand so study abroad programme runs a little bit different from those that are coming from the US or Europe. This post is just to encourage or inform other students that want to do a study abroad overseas, in particular, South Korea.

First of all, the very first thing that you need to do if you are interested in studying abroad is to talk to your International Relation Officer (IRO) at school. They will be able to help you get information about the different schools that you can go to and they can also give you an advice on when the best time to go. At UC, the IRO organised several "Information Sessions" throughout the semesters for students to drop by if they want to know a bit more information about the Outbound Exchange Programme. I attended a session on my first year of University and typically the best time to go is when you're in your second year. This is because most partner Universities abroad require students to have at least studied two semesters at their home University for GPA checking purposes. Can you tell how enthusiastic I am towards this endeavour? haha

Also, during your first year, you should also meet up with a Course Co-ordinator to discuss and plan your degree outline. You MUST tell them that you are planning on studying abroad and then they will advise you when the best time to do your exchange. When you go abroad is solely dependent on your degree (major and minor) and if you are willing to extend another year to finish off the courses you missed out because of the exchange study. For me, I had no problem with the latter.

I had a firm idea on which countries I wanted to go to and South Korea was on my number one list. Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore were also on the list, but I just had to go to Korea for obvious reasons (**wink wink**). When I first met Percy, the person in charge of the international relation at UC, she was quite astounded when I told her I wanted to go to South Korea. She told me that Korea wasn't the country that many students doing commerce tend to go to. I could tell that she was quite worried because UC has only sent a couple of students to South Korea and I believe they were all from the Arts department. Nevertheless, I still told her that I wanted to go and she was really helpful and gave me heaps of advice.

Matariki Building

During the first semester of 2016 (my 2nd-year of Uni), I started compiling the possible courses that I wanted to take at Yonsei that had a UC course equivalent. I met up with Hannah, who is the International Administrator at UC, and she helped me get my courses pre-approved. My consultation with Hannah is NOT the final course-comparison approval, you do this step after receiving a recommendation letter from UC. Doing a pre-approved course approval way ahead of time was really helpful because it gave me plenty of time to change and add courses to the list. It also made it easy for me to send my final course comparison approval because I already made an extensive list in advance.

Also during the first semester, around mid-April, I submitted my Outbound exchange application to UC. You need to check the application deadlines at UC's Outbound Exchange Programme page because it differs depending on whether you want to go on the first or second semester.

UC sent me my exchange nomination letter during the second semester and during the interval, I just basically did a lot of waiting. With the nomination letter, a couple of documents were attached including several forms that I needed to give back to UC. They also sent me a link on where I can apply to do an exchange study to Yonsei. So basically, I had to apply twice. One from my home university and the other from my chosen partner university, which was Yonsei.

Applying to do an exchange study at Yonsei was pretty straight forward. They asked me to write a one-page letter stating my study plan at Yonsei and also provide a travel/health insurance. Now for the insurance, UC has advised us NOT to purchase an insurance until we have received an acceptance letter from the partner university. This prevents students from spending a large amount of money buying insurance if the partner university rejects the application. This normally doesn't happen but there's always a tiny chance of experiencing an odd situation.

Yonsei sent me my "acceptance packet" around mid-December and right after receiving it, I immediately booked my flight to Korea, bought my insurance and applied for a student visa. The visa that I applied for was a D-2-6 student visa. Prior to that, I contacted both Yonsei and the Korean embassy here in New Zealand to ask about which visa I needed to apply for. You might need to do your own research regarding visas especially if you're going to another country because each one has different ways of processing visas. For my visa, they asked me to provide the following documents (again check with your embassy because they might ask something different from you):

• Filled in visa application form with an attached passport photo (I asked the Korean embassy for an electronic visa application form)
• Passport (check your passport's expiry date to make sure that it covers the entire time you'll be away overseas)
• Recommendation letter (from UC)
• Certificate of enrolment (from UC)
• Letter of acceptance (from Yonsei)
• Certificate of admission (from Yonsei)
• Copy of business registration (from Yonsei)
• Bank statement (stamped by the bank)
• Return envelope with your address written on it.
• Visa fee of $84.00NZD (must be cash or a singed cheque)

Applying for a student visa to Korea was easy. I basically sent all the documents they needed from me via a secured courier to make sure that everything arrived safely. It didn't take them that long to process my visa and everything was well and truly ready for the next step.

Since this post has become quite wordy than anticipated, I'll make a Part 2 blog where I will talk about topics relating to: applying for housing at Yonsei, enrolling for courses at Yonsei, my budget and more!

See you on my next post!

xxx