First entry in Canada

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This entry will be rather long, because it will take some time to sort out all the feelings and proper thoughts in a sensible fashion. When I arrived in Canada, The Vancouver International Airport, and disembarked (meaning got off the plane) from the plane, this was the first time in close to 4 years that I had set foot in my home country. A strange feeling washed over me, an unknown feeling, a feeling of guilt, perhaps, or was it me just being relived to be home. Although, I still had a long journey ahead of me, but today it seems shorter. Going across the country seemed trivial compared to going half way around the world to find yourself.
I went through customs, like every person from every plane that lands from an international destination. So technically, I had yet to set foot on Canadian soil, because I was at an international airport. The moment I walked through the sliding doors labeled “Exit” then I would be officially home. I approached that door, which led home, and intended to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, (for those in other countries not familiar the previous sentence was a reference to “The Wizard of OZ”) It would still be another week driving (although i am not the one driving) with my Aunt. And a half a country, before I would arrive in my hometown. I would spend a week in Kelowna, British Columbia with my Aunt before heading out.
A week is, enough time to think, to reflect, and to ponder the next stage in my life. Should I stay or should I return? If I return to China, then what? Find someone and settle down? As most that know me, would agree, I am not a real social person, I find it hard to bond with anyone. I tend to keep a certain distance with people for a wide variety of reasons. The journey from Vancouver, British Columbia to Sudbury, Ontario spanned a total of 5 provinces British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. Total time was about two and a half days, which turned out to be much longer than expected. total time close to a week. Photos are attached to show the vastness and beauty of the travel home. I felt anxious, and a sense of nervousness on the ride home but it peaked when I got of the bus in my home town. Knowing that over the span of the next few days’ people that I have not seen in close to 4 years would want to see me again and hear my stories of my travel throughout Asia.
Although my travels here have been exciting, they have also proved very thoughtful and insightful. Not only did I learn about a new culture and a new civilization and i hope those reading these entries have learned a bit more about china and some of its cities here. I also hope that i have inspired some to travel to see for themselves the wonders that China holds. The next few entries will be about Canada and my travels through the second biggest country in the world. Of course, photos will be attached to each one. Well, most of them anyways. What can I really say about Canada, that someone else hasn't already said? Well, the 2010 Winter Olympics was held here in Canada, in Vancouver/Whistler with a scenic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.
My first stop was of course Vancouver, after landing and going through customs, i proceeded to go over to take a long distance bus up to Kelowna, which is also in British Columbia. I took the bus from Vancouver to Kelowna to see my Aunt. Who just happened to be living there? She had met me at the bus station there. After a round of hugs we proceeded home. over the next few days my body slowly adapted to being in a new time zone. The following week I would continue to adapt and see parts of Kelowna for which i will upload the photos soon. We set out from Kelowna and started heading east. Our first stop was Golden, British Columbia. Now in Golden, was a nice motel we stayed at, which over looked the Rocky Mountains just off in the distance. The motel was at the foot of the mountain, meaning at the base, the start of the mountain. A majestic view if there were ever one. We stayed at the "Ponderosa" which at the time we checked in had a lot of Asians, mostly Korean, and Japanese people. If you want information on "Ponderosa Motor Inn" you could visit the website at www.ponderosamotorinn.bc.ca or call (250) 344- 2205 or fax [phone] the address is 1206 TransCanada Hwy, Box 303, Golden, BC, Canada. as we proceeded eastward bound we were met with rain, not heavy or a lot of rain, just enough to make the roads slippery if we went to high of speed. We went approached Kicking Horse Pass Mountain Resort, and Lake Louise which were of course resort villas unto themselves. Once we went past Lake Louise were officially in Alberta. We went past Banff, another famous city in Canada for its winter sports. As we proceeded past Banff the Rocky mountain range grew increasingly smaller with each kilometer we drove, vanishing slowly in our rear view mirror like a memory that we didn't want to let go of. The Rocky mountain range with its infinite beauty and endless view of trees and its national parks surrounding it. We proceeded to Calgary, Alberta, although we only stopped to get gas and made it through the city in only thirty minutes. As we went through the city continuing east bound. It become flatter; we were entering The Prairies, flat farmland for as far as the eye can see, rolling hills of wheat and spotting the landscape with farm houses and oil platforms. Canada's heartland. We had stopped at a rest stop for a mid day break stretching our legs and getting some fresh air. Mind drifted to those i left behind in China, especially the one I love my sweet angel who is looking after her family. We stopped off in Medicine Hat, Alberta for the evening. We stayed in Quality Inn which in my opinion was a lot better then what we had stayed in when we were in Golden. We were treated to a complimentary breakfast the following morning. We continued towards our mutual destinations. We set forth once again with a full tank of gas and a smile on our lips. We reached a small town in Saskatchewan, called Gull Lake. Which is just off the TransCanada Highway there i took a few photos. I lived at one point in my life about 30 minutes south in another town called Shaunavon. Anyways moving on, we didn’t have time to go visit the old stomping grounds so we moved forward, always moving forwards in our never ending quest at the days end we found ourselves stopping for lunch at Morse Cafe in Morse Saskatchewan. To be honest, i found that the food and the service at this particular cafe to be astonishing. For the amount of money we paid for our meals it was great. After our lunch we proceeded towards Moose Jaw then Regina. We got through Moose Jaw in about an hour once we set forth and continued past Regina, until we hit Balognie, Saskatchewan. By that time we had agreed to sty the night at the Balognie Motor Inn. It was nice and cozy. Only 8 rooms to the entire place, but it was rather nice for 75 Canadian Dollars got two beds working kitchen bathroom and cable TV. You can contact them at (306)-771-2356. The outside of the places does not reflect how comfy and spacious the interior of this place is. We proceeded the following morning and stopped of at Crossroads Cafe in Manitoba for a bit to eat, also to stretch our legs. And off we went again; we stopped just outside of Winnipeg in a city of Portage La Praire, Manitoba. Of course we stayed at a Super 8 in the city. It was a nice room; we proceeded off stopping off at the McDonald's for breakfast the following morning and saw a beautiful 1915 for car I will label to the photo for everyone to see. It was parked outside the McDonald's, and of course like a typical guy and as did most guys that passed by it, couldn't help but stop to admire it and the craftsmanship. Then it was on the road again, went through Winnipeg, ended up getting lost in the city, had to ask for directions, and took longer than we thought. We made it all the way to Kenora Ontario. At this point of the trip I knew that my hometown wasn't far off
We lost a bit of time due to road construction in Ontario, but we stayed true our course, moving our way to our next destination for the day, Thunder Bay. Once again we stayed in a Quality Inn, found out that Thunder Bay wasn't as big as thought it was. The following day we partook to the paved trail for the ending part of our journey. The closer to Sault Ste. Marie the more nervous i got. When we pulled into the city, we stopped off at Wal-Mart, and phoned my sister, who by chance lived in the city. We got the address of my sister and her husbands place and we went over, at this point in time I am very nervous, i have not seen them in over 4 years and have yet to see my nephew. We proceeded to my sisters and brother-in-laws home, as I proceeded up the steps in her building I grew more anxious, it has been a long time since i saw them. The last time I saw my sister was when she was dating her now husband. I had gotten to her door and knocked her husband opened the door and informed me that she had went outside to greet us. So as I trekked down the stairs and out a different door, the door closest to their apartment i walked into my sister coming in. I assume that she had gotten the text message from her husband. It was nice to see her again and my nephew. My aunt and I stayed there the night sleeping on the couch and chair, it was actually more comfortable then it looked. It was really nice to see my sister and my nephew again. The following morning we left after giving a hug to my sister. My nephew and brother in law were still sleeping when we left, to set the record straight it was early in the morning. We preceded to Sudbury, Ontario my final destination but not my Aunts. We arrived in Sudbury around noon, we went to see my mother who needless to say was overwhelmed and ecstatic to see both of us. Tears were flowing like Niagara Falls from both my Mother and my Aunt. I was overjoyed to see her. After an hour or so of visiting with my mother i went to the place i was going to finish this blog entry, a long family friend. I had finally reached my destination. But it was not the end of my journey, only a lull between trips. A rest if you will to recharge the batteries and the soul. To finish this entry for the time being is another quote from the "Wizard of Oz", "There's no place like home, *clicking heels together*, there's no place like home, *clicking my heels together*, there's no place like home."

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Photos

the sunrise in wuhan
the last photo i took in wuhan. Something that i will remember for some time.