Love of Asia fuels a list of achievements
Bridgid’s passion for Asia was instilled in her at an early age. “I come from a family of travellers,” says Bridgid. “My mother immigrated to New Zealand from Viet Nam as a young student, and my father immigrated as a child from England. My father spent five years living and teaching in Thailand during his youth, and suffice to say the travel bug and love of Asia are something I have definitely inherited!”
Bridgid first travelled to Asia when she was nine. Her father encouraged the family to avoid all ‘tourist traps’ in their travels through Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. Ten years later, Bridgid returned to Viet Nam to teach English at Hue University, a minor leap of faith as at the time she had no real Vietnamese language ability.
Regardless, she went on to make friends with staff and students alike, read up on Vietnamese history and made her way by bike around the whole city. “It was amazing to see that years after one of the most violent and devastating battles of the Viet Nam war, Hue is now one of the most modest and serene places I've ever visited, with its slow-flowing river, Buddhist temples, and friendly, laid-back people,” Bridgid says.
Bridgid graduated from the University of Auckland in 2006 with two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Mandarin Chinese and minoring in Asian Studies, and a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in International Business. During her final year at the University of Auckland Bridgid applied for and was awarded an Asia New Zealand Foundation China Scholarship, one of ten scholarships offered to New Zealand Mandarin students each year. The scholarship funded her language studies at Beijing Culture and Language University for a year in 2007.
Following this, Bridgid moved into her current position, Programme Manager for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. “I have always been interested in furthering and developing New Zealand's relationship with Asia, and promoting awareness both of New Zealand in Asia, and of Asia in New Zealand,” Bridgid says.
Her role is to manage the [Beachheads] programme in China. This involves facilitating the engagement between private sector Beachheads advisors and New Zealand companies to develop and grow their businesses in China, including running Board meetings, hosting networking events, and supporting introductions to key in-market contacts.. “With New Zealand companies increasingly looking to develop presence in Asian markets, the closer economic and political ties between New Zealand and Asian nations, and the increasingly diverse ethnic make-up of New Zealand, it's exciting to see the direction this country is moving in” says Bridgid.
She believes that one of the key issues facing New Zealand today is for people to realise that there are real opportunities of particular relevance for Kiwis in Asia. “Over many years, our Government has worked hard and is well ahead of the game in terms of developing strong relationships with our Asian neighbours, and establishing a framework for tourist, student, and business exchanges,” Bridgid says. “Now, it is up to us (Kiwi tourists, students, and business people) to take advantage of this!”
In her spare time Bridgid enjoys variety: sports, reading, going to the theatre, concerts, shopping, new cuisine and travel. “Beijing is constantly churning out new restaurants with cuisine from all over the world, and with most restaurants unbelievably affordable, relatively speaking,” says Bridgid. “I'm always looking for new places and dishes to try. Since I've been here I've enjoyed Ethiopian, Tibetan, Persian, Malaysian, Turkish, Greek, Pakistani, Brazilian, Spanish, Russian, and of course lots of Chinese cuisine! Living in Beijing has also given me many opportunities to travel, and explore not only China itself, but North and Southeast Asia, too. I still have plenty of places on my 'must-see' travel list, but living in amongst it all is a great privilege, and something I thoroughly enjoy!”
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is also responsible for operating the New Zealand Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, which is running between May and October 2010. Bridgid recommends to anyone that they go to the Expo if they have the opportunity. Says she: “China does nothing by halves, and this will be an impressive one to remember!”
