Blogs from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, North America
September 19th 2011
Hello hello everyone! So this is kind of weird right now as this is the first blog I have ever written. However, I do feel quite cool because now I share another thing in common with Barney from How I Met Your Mother (besides how awesome we are), I too have a blog to reference people to! :P Anyways, in case you didn't read my profile "About Me" section, I will be going to the Philippines for 6 months on October 1st (although given the ridiculous amount of hours spent in the air and transferring flights, I will technically arrive there on October 2nd) to intern as a Business Development Officer with a cooperative under the National Federation of Cooperatives for Persons With Disability (NFCPWD). I am less than a week away from saying goodbye to ... read more
April 24th 2011
Happy Easter Sunday all! Only 1 week ago I finished my last exam after 6 terms in a row of university. I can sure use the break from lectures and ponderous readings! So here I am, a summer term of wandering. Yesterday I moved out of the room I was renting and stored all my stuff in Terry's garage (Thank-you Terry). Now all I have with me is the clothes on my back, a small backpack filled with necessities and a jacket of many pockets that can fit my netbook it in. It is amazing how much stuff you actually don't need to survive. In just under1 hour I leave for the airport and meet my Knowledge Integration class for the first leg of my journey in Berlin. For 10 days in Berlin I will have ... read more
April 5th 2011
Wow, it was such an amazing day today (Saturday)! We went to the biggest maple syrup festival in the world, in the small town of Elmira. First we were brought to Elmira with the usual yellow school bus. They use those busses for a lot of trips and this was already the third time I went on one. There isn’t a lot of room for your legs but that would be expected from a little children’s bus. When we arrived at Elmira we had to walk down a street to get to the main festival street. In that street were a yard sale and a horse and carriage coming down the street. The houses all had a front porch and big trees in front of them. Oh and of course most of them had the Canadian ... read more
March 31st 2011
As the end of the semester is getting near, we all started looking back at our time at the University of Waterloo. All the work we did, thing we learned, the people we’ve met, the parties we had, the trips, the fun, and how fast it all seemed to go! I still feel that I just arrived here but in the meantime almost three months have gone by. Looking back to all of this I really feel blessed that I was able to come here. I have noticed so many cultural differences between Europe and North America, it really is amazing. The biggest difference is how open people are around here. I think the simple fact that they have so much more space around here makes them less frustrated when they meet people. It is also ... read more
January 9th 2011
Yesterday I started writing another entry, but somehow I pushed a button that leads to the previous page, so I have to start all over again.. Luckily that it's Sunday, perfect day for sitting at home and writing. Alright, where to start? Since I've arrived in Waterloo a lot of fun stuff happened already. It wasn't snowing as was the forecast, but there still is old snow everywhere so it looks beautiful! When I was in the van that brought me to the University, I didn't really feel like I was in another continent. Also didn't experience a cultureshock yet, it just feels so natural to be here. The busdriver was a really nice man, he told me what I definitely should see in Waterloo. Too bad I was to tired to remember anything. Just remembered ... read more
July 25th 2010
Tuesday 13 July After heroically fighting the jet lag all the way through to 10pm last night we got up early and drove into London to collect Allison's contact lenses. It was such a major shocker as she said "oh, its not too far..." hmmm, it was a good 2 hour journey just to turn around and come back. I think its going to take me a while to get used to the distances and driving here! On the way back we stopped off a East Side Mario's diner for lunch which was huge! I cant believe they serve so much food here. i got the tipping lesson and it is weird here as they tip a good 25% and it is expected; i guess that the brits are just plain stingy! As we were in ... read more
May 15th 2009
After 8 months of travel, I have decided to come home. Don't get me wrong, I adore travelling, with the constantly changing environments, ability to meet new and very interesting characters, the exposure to new cultures, etc., it can be EXHAUSTING!! Seriously, I travelled largely by hitchhiking, which can be described as the ultimate test of ones' patience, not to mention faith in the kindness of complete strangers. Picture it, standing or sitting for hours on end, waiting, waiting, WAITING! Watching one person (Read empty cars) whiz by you spewing toxins and noise your way can be tough. Especially if you are travelling solo, as I did for the final three weeks of my travels. It isn't very encouraging seeing this one person one car trend, especially in Morocco and Portugal, countries most people would associate ... read more
April 21st 2009
My month long Peru trip has now come to an end. I arrived in Toronto at around 8am on Tuesday morning to a grey sky and cold weather. My return has been bittersweet as it was sad to leave such a beautiful and diverse country, but at the same time good to be home. I am definitely looking forward to not living out of a suitcase! Over my time in Peru, I was able to experience such amazing diversity in culture and landscape. I was able to visit the mountains, the ocean, the desert and the jungle all in one country. I met some amazing local people and guides as well as some interesting fellow travellers. I climbed mountains and swam down rivers. I have had such an amazing opportunity to learn about such a unique ... read more
The back pack is ready for its comeback tour!
Published: March 25th 2009North America » Canada » Ontario » WaterlooMarch 25th 2009
YEAH! The day has finally arrived that I am flying out to Peru! I will be backpacking for approximately one month all around the country with Kristina Harder. Everything has been packed and I am raring to go. For those of you that know me well, it is amazing how I was able to pack everything into one travel pack and purse. I am NOT a light packer. We are flying into Lima, Peru and will arrive around midnight today. Here is an approximate itinerary or at least some places we plan to visit: Lima Cusco Hiking Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu Lake Titicaca Arequipa and Colca Canyon Nazca Lines Amazon Basin (Iquitos on the Amazon River) After returning from Ghana, less than a month a go, reality really hasn't set in as I have been ... read more
March 12th 2009
Well, it definitely has been awhile since I last wrote in this blog... and much has happened since then! I returned to Canada on Feb 17 and spent approximately a week in Calgary debriefing and doing school visits. The cold weather was definitely a shock to the system and it didn't help that I caught a cold on the plane ride home! Before heading back to Ontario, I met up with my parents and sister in Banff for a couple days of skiing. (Andrea is working and boarding for the next couple months in Banff). I had an amazing time in the mountains - I hadn't be back out there since my hiking trip a couple years ago. Now that I am back in Ontario I have been catching up with friends and family and getting ... read more
