Blogs from Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, Asia - page 7

Teacher, Leave us Kids Alone Upon arriving in China, I was surrounded by so many new sights, smells and sounds, but as the days turned into weeks, I knew something was not quite right… Alas, I realized as I reflected on the thoughts of Wilde, “I am not young enough to know everything”. What was I to do? Aging is such a flaw to growing old, but despite this, I did not want that to hinder the fact that I am still not old enough to know nothing! So with that ambitious thought in mind, I decided I must enroll in a course and learn Chinese! So that is what I did. I found a course offered by the university and enrolled in basic Chinese classes, and as I entered class on the first day, I ... read more

As we prepare for our four day mediation course in the jungles of Northern Thailand, I have started reflecting on some Buddhist philosophies on life and meditation. From what I can tell, a monk’s life is anything but easy, and it doesn’t seem like they have much fun. Most of their days are spent living a very simple existence as they aim to clear the mind through meditation and accept that life is little more that a constant state of suffering. The monk who wrote the book I am reading, however, states that although every day is not a party, there is much to be grateful for. Buddhists believe in the idea of samsara and reincarnation; they believe that the first thing everyone should be grateful for is the fact that they are born human. In ... read more

One of my all time favorite Shakespeare moments has to be from Hamlet. In it, Polonius gives some last minute advice to his son Laertes before he heads off for an adventure in Paris. He is a little long winded about it but ultimately he advises his son, “This above all: to thine own self be true.” While this quote has been so overused that it is almost cliché, it is still great advice, so much so, that I have spent a lot of time thinking about how applicable that particular quote is, not only to my overall life, but also to my feet. As my parents will tell you, I was born with bad feet. Actually, to be more precise—I was born crippled and I was exceedingly lucky to be born in Canada where they ... read more

Wake Up… I woke up today with the lyrics of a friend’s song playing in the back of my mind – “Wake up, let me tell you the story of the things that I’ve done…” – and realized how quickly the days and weeks are passing. It has already been ten weeks since we left our home, though it feels like it was just days ago that we were organizing the details that would send us toward our next journey… well, here we are! Despite the many new and exciting experiences in China, I have felt comfortable since day one. But what makes each day so powerful, is having my other half Erin with me to enjoy the adventure with. Each day I wake up more and more grateful to be next to Erin, the one ... read more

It’s been a little over a month since we arrived and it’s about high time that I write about the noticeable changes that I have experienced since leaving four years ago. Every time I look out the window, I catch myself humming a little tune “Where, oh where, did the pollution go?” Not that I miss it at all, but it has been such a shocking difference that it absolutely has to be remarked on. Whatever they have been doing here to clean up the air has worked. I was so afraid of the possible ill effects of the pollution, that before Sean and I left Canada, I shipped in a year’s supply of Astaxanthin (an antioxidant 500 times more powerful than vitamin C ) from Hawaii to ensure that we did not get cancer while ... read more