Blogs from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, North America - page 70

Before I came to Calgary, the only reason why I new this city was because of the Olympics. And now I am here, living in a building which was build for the athletes, next to the Olympic Oval, which has the second fastest ice in the world. I must admit that, although I'm Dutch, I'm not that well informed about all the speed skating matches. Imagine my surprise, when I heard the All-round World Championship would be organized in the Olympic Oval, which means almost in my backyard! So of course me and some other internationals bought tickets for the championship. I did expect some other Dutch people to be there too, of course, but what I saw when I entered the Oval was more impressive than I could ever have imagined. So much orange! I ... read more

So here we are, March 2nd. 5 months and 28 days until we depart. Our plane tickets have been booked, one way from Calgary to Tokyo on August 31st. It's all becoming very real! We had our first appointment at the travel clinic and each received FIVE shots in our arms! We have FIVE remaining appointments. Hopefully the cost isn't too high because I don't have health care benefits to cover them. We are settled in the new house although it doesn't *quite* feel like home since we are packing it all up again in 5 months. I look forward to really turning it into our own place when we return, with paint on the walls and nice artwork. I'm also looking for some inspiration, I want to make one of our bathroom's Asian themed! I'll ... read more

Een ansichtkaart van de reizende oom Rob (gebaseerd op de t.v. serie ‘de Freggels’) *Op avontuur in dit vreemde land Canada met de rare wezens, de mens...* Dinsdag 24 januari 2006, de datum dat ik aankwam, lijkt al weer zo lang geleden. Bas en mijn familie hier hebben mij goed opgevangen. Mijn kamertje in Zwolle past wel 2 keer in de kamer die ik nu bewoon, dus dat is boffen. In de eerste 2 weken verkende ik downtown Calgary en heb ik wat zakelijke dingetjes geregeld. De stad is opgedeeld in een kwadrant: North-East, South-East, South-West en North-West. Er zijn Avenue’s (die van oost naar west lopen) en Streets (die noord naar zuid van lopen); beiden zijn genummerd, dus is het makkelijk uitzoeken waar je bent/moet zijn. In het kleine centrum is welgeteld 1 straat waar ... read more

So, I think my last story was about Wednesday night. Let's see what else is to tell. Thursday we were supposed to go to HiFi with an entire group, but after waiting in line for half an hour without really approaching the entrance, we decided to go somewhere else. Since many people, including me, were dying to go to the washrooms :), we decided just to go to the club that was the nearest, which was Wiskey's. It was a pleasant surprise to find out it was Ladies night over there, so we girls could get in for free. The less pleasant side effect of this Ladies night (at least, I hope it just had to do with the fact that it was Ladies night, since next week I'll have to go there again ;)) was ... read more

I am flying tomorrow and I still don't have all my stuff packed. It's amazing just how much crap you actually need that you would never be forced to thing of until you leave. About 60% of my backpack is filled with warm clothing to Antarctica. YES, I am a little paranoid about being cold. Other than that, it is my last day at work but it's a fairly realistic assumption to say that this day is useless in terms of productivity. My plane leaves tomorrow at 3:30pm and I still don't know where I am going to sleep in Santiago because I will have a one day layover before heading to the southern tip of Argentina, Ushuaia, to begin my Antarctican Cruise. My mom has bought so many pills and drugs that I feel like ... read more