Emilie International

Despite my lofty new job in the land of corporate O&G and the fact that I have YET to re-visit the mountains, I fear this latest stint in Calgary is turning me into a tree-hugger. My two weeks since the last entry have consisted of daily bike commutes to and from work, twice-weekly yoga practices, Wednesday visits to the local Farmer's Market, Saturday stops at the bohemian Kensington Roasterie Cafe (a hang-out for people wearing flowy dresses, eccentric hats and shades on cloudy days) and keen monitoring of our recycling box, not to mention screening of the garbage can for recyclables that were misplaced by my roommates. My arrival on this scene was quite gradual and unintentional - I began biking to avoid the cost and schedule constraints of taking public transit, not to mention the ... read more

"You're not going to make it." This was the verdict when I announced to some colleagues that I planned to stay in Calgary for the next two years. I had found some temp work covering reception for my old company and even the people that started there after I left seemed unconvinced about my resolve to stay here long term. My voice must waiver when I answer the already-skeptical, "how long are you staying this time," question. Once again, I am out to prove something, though. The last time I left, I needed to prove that I could adapt to life abroad. Now I need to make sure I can re-adapt to life here. Non-believers aside, I'm setting myself up pretty well, with a full slate of exciting activities to distract me from the temptation of ... read more

With time running out, Dad and I cut east across the country from Westport, hoping to find some more cute towns in the midlands along the N4 highway. After discovering vibrant coastal culture in even the smallest towns we passed through, we took for granted that we would find the same in central Ireland. No such luck, though. We kept telling ourselves the next town might have more life, finally convincing ourselves that Longford, the largest town on the way, would have at least one music session going on. But we arrived at 6pm to find all the shops and restaurants closed, save the quirky Red Rose Cafe where an amusing, slightly sad, stream of Irish characters sat eating their home-cooked meals as if in a staged tableau. After a long chat with the woman sitting ... read more

Woo! The official party may be over, but Dad and I have not stopped moving since we got here! It’s made it very hard to stay on top of my blogging, and I am now going to try to summarize my previous 3-page-long entry, to save everyone an information overload. We left Dublin last Friday, via the left side of the road, to embark on a road trip around the south coast of the country. Though bad signage and bicycle-path-sized roads turned our first 100 kilometers into a 4-hour odyssey, we’ve finally gotten the hang of things and have managed to navigate ourselves along the Wicklow Way (a walking trail that runs 127km from Dublin suburbs to Conegal town in County Wicklow), through to Kinsale (a lovely port town) in County Cork and finally around the ... read more

With Queensday festivities officially over last Friday morning, Koert and I took a day to rest before heading back onto the party scene again. We also engaged in a little healthful activity with a bike ride through Hoge Veluwe (pronounced ho-huh velu-wa) Park, the largest nature reserve in the country, and some brain-cell-rebuilding with a cultural visit to the Kroller-Muller Museum (which lies 5.5km beyond the park gate) on Saturday. With a few clouds keeping crowds to a minimum, Koert and I felt like intrepid explorers as we rolled, nearly alone, through an ever-changing series of landscapes - from green fields to lush forests, fine-sanded desert and two-toned savanna. We returned from our adventure with bellies full of the world's creamiest, meltiest, simplest vanilla ice cream and gave our bodies one more healthy boost of soup-and-salad ... read more