We back baby

Ayyy we're back! 

Man. I've been back from Palestine for a month and a half now and I can't lie, it has been pretty incredible to relax.

Just straight up: Living there was tough. It wasn't an easy experience. There were several things that made life there challenging in ways that are hard to understand until you've been there; the general sense of tension in the air, never knowing if there will be protests the next day or what the Israeli army will do next. 

Honestly, I've spent a lot of time in these blogs detailing what life was like there and I don't really wanna talk about that anymore, at least for now. But I will say that despite how incredibly difficult it is to live there, the Palestinians display the most hospitable, magnanimous, kind-hearted attitude I've ever come across, to both travellers and to each other. 

For these reasons I'm feeling pretty strongly about advocacy right now. The general idea over there is that the main way to bring support to the Palestinian people is through international awareness, so spreading the word about the Israeli occupation is at the top of my to-do list. 

For me, I've definitely returned home with a real sense of peace. Before leaving I had large amounts of anxiety about things; about my role in my community, my friends, my family, how I should be interacting with the world. Living there (and living alone there for 5 months of my stay) granted me perspective that has really given me an immense sense of peace about my life here in Canada. And as great as that is, the biggest tragedy would be to return with that sense of peace and forget everyone who is currently trapped there, which is why advocacy needs to be an absolute priority. 

There are a few things, of course, that I took with me from my trip that aren't as nice as peace. I think over the coming months I'll have a better idea of how the trip affected me; for now I'm just a little more emotional, a little nervous around airports, more anxious on car rides (it's a whole thing) and have a more general sense of fear/paranoia. 

That said this was a 10/10 experience that I prooooobably wouldn't want to do again, at least for a while. I feel really content staying in Canada and am really appreciating what this country has to give. 

If you stuck with me all this way to the end, gimme a 🙌. You're awesome. And please feel free to ask me any questions you have about anything I said - there's no stupid questions. Well there are stupid questions. But those are the most fun.

Detained by armed guards and Compassion Fatigue.

Hey there. 

Lol i hope you appreciate the irony of that title.

My time here is winding down; I got about 2 months left. It makes me feel pretty reflective; i mean, I've spent the better part of a year here. I've been wondering a lot about what it'll be like to return home, after a year of being away, and how strange it'll be to re-adapt to a culture that I'm very familiar with but feel disconnected from. I've experienced it once before, after living in China for 8 months, and it was quite uncomfortable, so I'm trying to brace myself for how weird it might be. Then again, I know more of what to expect this time around, so it might not be as bad. 

Something I'm cognizant about, regarding all the stories i share here, is compassion fatigue, cuz man, there's only so many times you can read a story about something terrible happening and still care. It's easier to unplug. That's the wild part about living here; it's honestly just relentless, so oftentimes it's what you want to talk about. The disconnect between that and the daily life in Canada is gonna be strange. 

Recently, I've been focusing much more on self-reflection and getting less involved in things, which, if you know me, know is pretty strange lol; I essentially live off of my interactions with others. But since I've been here I've travelled a lot and been involved with as much as I can be, so recently have been prioritizing more solo time and unplugging a bit more. Coming up i might do some solo backpacking in Jordan, which feels exciting and would give me a break from the small-town living I've been doing here, so I might write about that soon. 

Though things have felt more calm and reflective for me, there is something that happened about a month or so ago that I'm probably gonna clickbait you with in the title of this journal entry, which was kinda bananas. 

I was on my way to Tel Aviv with 2 Palestinian friends; they get a holiday permit once a year that allows them to enter Israel for a month and see the sea. We were passing through the train station when a young Israeli guard pulled my Palestinian friends into a stairwell. I tried to join them and the guards told me to leave; when I asked what was going on they told me to leave more firmly. I stood outside the stairwell and they asked me to sit across the room. I've heard about these situations getting out of hand, so obviously I was worried about my friends. About 10 minutes later they let us walk down to the train station, only to run after us and bring us all the way back up to the same stairwell. 

If we asked them what this was about, they would get angry, so we stopped trying to talk to them. All they would tell us was that the police were on their way. We sat in the stairwell for 2 hours, guarded by an armed guard who wouldn't let my Palestinian friends stand or walk around. Eventually, the guard said that they called the police to see if my friends had the right permits; my friends insisted they did (they had entered Israel successfully with them several times before) and tried to show the guard, but the guard wouldn't check them. 

I was quite angry during all of this and, though I didn't say anything, I think it showed on my face (one of the guards would say things like "cheer up" and "why don't you smile?") but my Palestinian friends remained polite and cooperative throughout the whole thing, which, I couldn't imagine how that would feel. 

The police never showed up, but after 2 hours they let us go; essentially it felt like they just wanted to waste 2 hours of my friends' holiday. It was 6pm when we got out, and we had to work the next day, so i asked them if they still wanted to go, and they said "absolutely". We got to the beach at about 9pm, and it still was worth it.

I told my friends how unreal it was that they remained kind and polite throughout the entire thing, and one of them told me "they can't think we're terrorists. We need to show them the nature of our people". Which, I can't imagine being shouldered with that kind of responsibility. I also can't imagine being at the whim of any young guard who wants to waste your time, or worse (I've heard worse), when trying to enjoy a vacation, so this absolutely served to increase my respect for what my friends go through here.

Man, idk who still finishes these blogs lol. If you did, here you go, here's some money 💰. You've earned it. 

Live long and prosper.  

These are hard things to handle.

Helllooooo hello hello. 

It is I. 

Still in Palestine. 

The strange thing is balancing the seriousness of everything that's going on with the kinda interesting but more mundane things. Like - I ran a marathon. That's kinda cool. It was actually really fun and I'm gonna be running another one in October. 

On top of that, my dad visited me in Bethlehem for a bit, which was awesome. It was great to share everything and to have him and the people he travelled with learn more about what's going on from this side of the border wall. From that I really learned how passionate I am about advocating, and talking about all the complete insanity that's going on here. 

Like - a coworker of mine told me that their best friend was just kidnapped by the Israeli Defense Forces. They were taken out of their house at 5am, and are being held somewhere. This happens randomly to young and old people alike as a fear tactic. I asked my friend if they know anyone else this has happened to, and they said that it's happened to their brother and their father, and that their father was held for 3 years. Apparently when they're being held, there's torture involved. 

So what... What. What the hell. And what do you do; you just go to work. But she said that all of her time is spent trying to sleep or distract herself cuz what the hell else is she going to be thinking about. And how can that not drive her crazy. 

Man, stuff like this just makes you want to be apathetic. Or go crazy. Or get really, really angry. Honestly what other recourse is there. 

But the thing that blows. my mind. Is that despite the atrocities you always are hearing about, I actually feel safer in Palestine then in Canada.

In Canada, there’s homelessness and crime. You don’t always know about peoples' intentions and it makes you wary. But in the West Bank, I’m not afraid of the locals at all, you can trust the people around you, because you’re all in this together. There’s less crime, but there’s oppression; it’s a very different thing to fear. 

In Palestine, you’re not afraid of your neighbors, you’re afraid for the lives of your neighbors.

I talked to a foreigner living in Israel recently who said that they've thought of Palestine as like the wild west and were scared to enter, but I feel so much safer here than in Israel. Everyone's looking out for each other here; I've experienced more kindness, more patience, and more hospitality here than ever before. Maybe because they know how it feels to have their best friend kidnapped. 

Jeez man.

The fact that we have freedom to protest without endangering our lives. The fact we can go wherever the hell we want. That we have freedom to LEAVE if we don't like our country. 

I feel the stuff I'm learning here is really gonna stay with me. 

This place man.

Man 

I'm definitely starting to feel connected to here.

You may have recently heard about the 7 people who were killed in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman. What you probably didn't hear about is the 11 Palestinians (including at least 3 children) killed the day before in Jenin in a random raid by Israeli soldiers; people going about their lives who happen to be on the same street as the soldiers when they arrive and are shot. Something that's happened many times since I've been here. 

This kind of thing doesn't often make the news. It's only after many Palestinian's have been killed that a Palestinian retaliates, killing a fraction of as many Israeli's, that the media gets involved and people hear about the 'terrorist problem' in Palestine. 

The thing that brings tears to my eyes is that these people who've been limited, attacked, belittled and oppressed are genuinely the kindest, most giving people I've ever met, in a way that permeates the culture. It is strange to be walking home from work and not be greeted by people I've never met before, and invited into people's houses, or given free food, or asked to come join in some event. I walked past some guy sitting on a ledge eating a whole pizza, and he asked me to join him, as if we knew each other and had purchased the pizza together. Or I went to watch a soccer team practice and was invited to join them, then later invited onto the team bus for their final series game, and a few days later invited to a big dinner with them, followed by invitations to parties and weddings and all sorts of things. Just because I was there.

Honestly, skepticism is often the first response when people are overly generous; the nagging thought of ok. What are you getting out of this. But so. Many. Times I've had shopkeepers give me items for free, insisting I don't pay, costing their business money just so I can feel comfortable here. 

Man I think it's only when you've been living here for a little while that you start to really feel just the genuine goodwill that enwraps the deeds of the people I know here. The emphasis on family in this town is the reason why there are zero homeless people, and why extended family live right nearby and always come to visit throughout the week. 

Considering the whole situation, I would honestly expect to see bitterness, or anger, or some sort of maladaptive coping, but it truly feels like a unanimous decision has been made to come together through the suffering and celebrate what they can. I know a bunch of highschoolers who everyday are using their free time (because Israel has essentially withheld most recreational activities) to fully renovate an abandoned shed on their own in the hopes of being able to turn it into something useful. 

Essentially every Sunday is a holiday with a big family meal, and I'm also unable to walk very far in the rain because it is a guarantee that people will stop and insist I get in their car so they can take me wherever I want to go. 

For all the challenges of living here that Israel has made sure to cause, this week I thought to myself "I see why so many people in my organization come back here after their term." There is something very real here. I talked to my friend on the phone in Canada who explained how her car battery had died, and how hard it was to get someone who would help give her car a jump; people either said no or asked her to wait a while in the freezing cold. 

There's something really beautiful here. 

Yep its me

Well well well. 

Hello. 

It's beeen a second. 

Sana Saeeda (Happy new year)

So whaaaaat the heck have I been up to. 

First of all, Palestine acknowledges 3 different Christmases, which is bananas in the best way possible. You're doin all your normal things then BOOM. It's Christmas, December 25th. Then BAM, New years. Then you've put your Christmas sweater away and all the sudden WHAT it's Christmas again, january 7th; the Orthodox Christmas, and you get your third long weekend in a row (lol I'm still preparing for January 18th which is the Armenian Christmas). Lotta tinsel. 

What else - the weather is really nice. I'm sorry to all of you who experienced the snow storm cuz i heard that was wiild. Around here it's like a pretty consistent Fall kinda weather (except at night when it gets suuper cold inside). 

Currently I'm doing really well; I'm doing my best to spend January without a phone to just give myself some time for reflection and mental/emotional processing. I've also started living almost completely independently, as it's easier on my host parents; I've started cooking and cleaning myself and coming and going through my own door, and honestly, so far, I'm all about it. Living independently is a first for me and I'm starting to realize why so many people love having their own space lol.

All this new time I've spent reflecting and sitting with my thoughts (phoneless) has felt insaanely healthy; it's like I'm giving my brain space and time and a field to run around in. With this time I've been reflecting on something that I saw a little while ago and my reaction to it; I was visiting the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where many people say Jesus was buried. Obviously, a very important place for maaany people, and obviously it's flooded with tourists.

I remember feeling a contrast between the evident sanctity of the space, and the manner in which many tourists seemed to occupy that space; distracted, tired, and slightly indifferent. Now, god knows I've had my ups and downs with religion over the past few years, but I still felt frustrated that this place that was preserved for centuries that's supposedly of indescribable importance had become a stop along the way for people in sweatpants and T-shirts. And I remember seeing a guy with a backwards hat and a Monster Energy shirt walk into a room where Mary had apparently wept over Jesus, to look at a picture that had been carefully placed there. I felt like he was an example of the frustration I was feeling. But then he put his hand on the picture of Mary and I saw his eyes start to well up, and I realized how important an experience this was for him. Then I remembered what people thought of Jesus and John the Baptist because of what they wore, and was like, duh jeremiah, you silly goof. 

I thought of this today as I went for a run and went past Shepherds Fields, a place where they say the Shepherds saw the star that led them to Jesus. This time, I was the one in sweatpants, but I decided to step in and take a look, and saw a bunch of tourists that looked just like me, admiring the place they were, in silence. It was really meaningful, and man, I just feel like we put too much importance on meaningless things. I think nice clothes are nice, but I think they can also serve as a reminder to people who can't afford them that they don't belong here. I essentially started to feel like, who cares what people are wearing; what's important is that they're there. 

Lol anyway. Maybe I'm the only one who needed that reminder. But sharing it feels relevant. Otherwise, work is great, 5/5, so many cool people there, and they got me this nice new jacket for Christmas. I was going to take a position helping children in a refugee camp but recently it's been far too dangerous for me to join, but I might go part time at a different job soon. 

Anyway. Stay chilly. Chip chip cheerio.

This post is sorta heavy and kinda long so

 So. 

Time to answer the most common question I receive, in one fell swoop: 

How am I enjoying my time here?

Lol this is going to be a super easy blog post cuz feelings are suuper easy to talk about.

Man, honestly; getting a glimpse into the realities of living under occupation is undeniably valuable. It's also an almost-constant reminder that I'm not on any kind of vacation; I'm not here on any sort of 'getaway' or to enjoy myself. I'm here to understand and experience what it's like to live under occupation, and those experiences absolutely take a toll on you. 

The day to day conversations are affected in sometimes subtle, always memorable ways. When you ask someone what they're doing for Palestinian Independence Day, and they say that there's no point in celebrating when children are being murdered daily by the Israeli Defense Forces. Also, they're totally restricted on travel, so where are they going to go? Or when you ask if someone's going to a festival, and find out it was cancelled because of murders that took place the past weekend in another city. Or when you see cars clustered and assume it's for a wedding but discover it's a military demonstration, which is shortly afterward met by the loud hum of Israeli planes overhead, that oftentimes fly way too close

Then you want to take a break, and go on a nice trip to Jerusalem or Nazareth, which has clean streets and good water pressure and beautiful beaches, and all it does is fill you with anger. Because how can you enjoy this when it was stolen from the friends you've been making for the last 2 months. And when your host family tells you that it used to be 100% Palestinian and they remember growing up there, and that since the Israeli's stole it, visiting, even with the proper permissions, could prove to be too dangerous for them. 

It's easy to tell yourself (cough cough *myself*) that you're aware of these things, and to process them logically. But emotions are sneaky. Overhearing a conversation in your workplace about the difficulties in your work-trip that day due to nearby violence can unexpectedly bring tears to your eyes. The same can be said for finding out that two people you're with who are chatting in Arabic are talking about their friends who have been martyred, one having been just the previous week. Or walking home and stumbling upon a giant fight that needs to be broken up by soldiers. These things tend to take your attention away from whatever you were previously thinking about, and tend to pop up in your brain at random moments weeks later. 

The constancy of everything is draining, and I've been here for 2 months. The people I know who've lived here their whole lives seem to have often adopted a sense of humor about the whole thing, because, like, what other choice do they have. It's helpless. And it's helpless to listen to them chuckle and say "we keep losing our land and our people keep being killed. And we're painted as the bad guys." Trying to figure out how to respond to such things feels exhausting in itself (there's only so many times 'wow' or 'that's so frustrating' feel like even marginally appropriate responses). 

And it's hard to escape these feelings, because...this is where you live. You hear about the violence of settlers against Palestinians, or Palestinians trying to defend themselves, or IDF soldiers harming civilians so often that you never know which incident someone is talking about when they refer to 'the latest news'. When you want to admire the view, you can't avoid seeing the ever-encroaching settlement camps that seem to get closer whenever I look at them. Even our organizations weekly newsletter contains information about local incidents, like how an elderly man picking olive trees on his land was attacked by settlers and their dogs and is now in the hospital. It really gets to be too much. 

So honestly, being here can be pretty hard. As expected. But just so you don't think it's all doom and gloom, know that personally, on a day to day basis, work and homelife are going well. I'm lucky as hell to be with the organization I'm with. They're incredible at prioritizing my safety and making me feel comfortable and at home. 

I also want to say that I'm grateful to be able to witness a disastrous and ever-important political/humanitarian situation, because it demands to be witnessed. 

And, importantly, any difficulties I'm facing does not compare the experiences of those who live here. I'm a tourist to the struggle, not a prisoner there. And even though I do think that coming here will be tremendous for my own personal growth, I can't help but hear Bo Burnham's words in my head whenever I say that: "why do you rich f**king white people view every socio-political conflict through the lens of your own self-actualization. This isn't about you." 

And it's not. It's really not about me. So thank you for keeping me and my struggles in your thoughts, and please do the same for the Palestinians subjugated to this conflict. 

If you made it to the end, gimme a fist bump 👊. Way to be. And I'll talk to you...I might not talk to you. Unless you talk to me first. Also hi mom. 

hey there its me again

Hiiiiii

guess what I'm still in Palestine. 

Just doin' Palestine stuff. 

Lol it's been a fun month. 

I'm living in a teeny tiny town of 14 000 people, where the phrase 'everyone knows everyone' could not be more literal. Most of the town is related to any of the huge families around here; my one street is comprised solely of the family members of my host family (who come over every Sunday for a Thanksgiving-level feast that sometimes includes lamb intestines). 

So truly, if you go to a cafe, or a sports game, or for a run, you'll run into people who know your family and have heard of you. Lol I went to a basketball game and chatted a little to a random person who was sitting behind me, and I mentioned that I had enjoyed playing a little bit of rugby when in high-school. Later that night while I was walking home, I was approached by a stranger who said to me "You're the guy who used to play rugby! We need you on our rugby team!" Man I swear this guy was not at the basketball game. But now I'm on a rugby team. 

The hospitality is honestly remarkable; I've been offered coffee and food at cafe's for free, and drinks for free from shopkeepers. I've also been invited into peoples houses and have eaten lots of something called Zarp, where you cook chicken in an outdoor oven that you have to seal with mud. Work has been wild and wonderful as I've been caring for 20 Palestinian folks with intellectual disabilities; they've been so immensely welcoming and fun, and the staff there are so incredibly dedicated to supporting them. 

Bahhh what else. I play frisbee. I'm training for a marathon (oh my lord there are so many hills). I'm having a lot of downtime that I'm genuinely loving. I spend evenings watching my host-grandparents play Backgammon while random American movies play on the TV. 

Lol and I've had a couple fairly silly close calls; one night I went for a run to go somewhere and Google Maps took me out of the city. I passed a few stray dogs (one of which started following me then gave up), and as it got darker and darker, I decided to take off my headphones and just heard a huuge ruckus of barking ahead of me. Then I realized there was also barking behind me; turns out there were a lot of stray dogs, and they were getting quite close, so I decided to seek the shelter of someone's driveway, where a family was just pulling in and kindly insisted on giving me a ride into the city. Then shortly after that, while on the Mount of Olives I was chased by ANOTHER dog and lost a sandal. These dogs man. 

What else. Idk. It's getting a bit chillier in the evening. I've started taking arabic classes and I wish I could say how it's going with learning Arabic in Arabic but I can't and that should tell you how it's going with learning Arabic. We have the Olive Harvest soon, which I'll be doing both at work and at home so I'm gonna have some really green fingers. 

There's more to say about the current political situation buuuut that's for another blog. Enjoy all those colorful leaves you're getting you monsters. 

Live long and prosper. 

 

its meeee

What. Is. Up. Guys 

Who knew I'd be going to Palestine eh. 

The answer is me. I did. 

Currently I'm feeling kinda sick (got a good ol cold 🙃) so I'm laying in bed at my host families' house, listening to cars honking outside (probably because of a wedding) and thinking about my first day of work tomorrow (I've been supporting people with disabilities for a long time, so I might know what to expect, but at the same time, who knows what to expect 🤷‍♂️)

What to write in this blog. I'm thinking about something a very knowledgeable and experienced Palestinian man, who runs a very important non-profit organization, said to me this past week: "if you're here for 4 days, you'll write a book. If you're here for 4 years, you'll write an article. If you're here for 40 years, you'll write nothing". 

I've been here for like 10 days, so nothing I can say can give even the narrowest account of what's going on around here. But then again, you all joined a group, so here's...something. 

I've been staying at a boarding school the last 10 days with a team of people who are also here to work for a year, and we've been travelling around to different parts of Palestine and Israel every day, meeting with all kinds of local people. They've all been insanely welcoming and hospitable, and have all had so much to say about the challenges they've overcome, continue to face, and their plans for the future in spite of it all. 

I walked along the illegal border wall that Israel put up 26 years ago (despite the UN telling them to take it down) and saw all the beautiful (and often, appropriately jarring) graffiti put there in protest by Palestinians. I was shown a children's playground that the Israeli army uses as a common test site for teargas, and saw a recorded live feed of the kids running for cover, which gave me the smallest glimpse into the type of resiliency demanded from those who live here. 

I was told several first-hand stories of resiliency. Like the Palestinian farmer who's been fighting for 32 years to not have his land illegally taken away, withstanding intentional fires, mobs and brutal personal violence. Also, of 9-year-old children getting detained and interrogated for up to 9 hours when on their way to school for false claims of rock throwing, and of the children who end up getting months or years of jail time for the same things. I've heard uncountable stories of Palestinians suddenly losing their homes by force, and walked through a Palestinian refugee camp, where 60% of the population have either masters degrees or PHDs, determined to fight back at oppression through education. 

I asked why many Palestinians have their windows boarded up, and heard that it's to prevent something called skunk-water that the Israeli army will spray into random homes at night, which can hardly be washed out and gives a horrible smell that lasts for weeks (while walking along the wall, we saw one of the skunk-water guns above us, and later on saw that it was now pointed at us. "It's so we know they're watching", I was told). 

I walked through Hebron, which is the city with the greatest amount of illegal Israeli settlers, and thus the most amount of violence in the West Bank. The main area used to be a busy Palestinian market street, but if you walk down it now you'll find it eerily quiet, and you'll only see Israeli settlers, who are often carrying automatic weapons. I found out that Israeli soldiers went through the area one night and welded the doors shut of over 1300 Palestinian businesses, whose owners were forced to leave. I learned that ambulances aren't allowed there for Palestinian emergencies, and that soldiers aren't allowed to interfere if a settler is attacking a Palestinian but are allowed to interfere if the Palestinian defends himself.

The remaining 800 Palestinians living in that area are given numbers for tracking purposes, and the remaining 3 businesses (run by incredible men I had the pleasure to meet) often have their only customers refused entry, for no reason, via mandatory Israeli checkpoints. I also learned that the current Palestinian market streets around that area are often bombarded with garbage, urine and acid from settlers living in apartments above. 

This is all a lot. But even more affecting (I'm out of school so maybe that's the wrong word who knows) is that every Palestinian I've heard talk this week has talked about restorative justice and mutual understanding as a way forward. From giving Israeli's tours of their refugee camps to starting a nonprofit based around the two groups having meetings together, I've not heard one word of violence from people who have every right to feel that way. As the man I quoted earlier said, "We want to bring Israel to their senses, not their knees". 

Of course, there's other amazing things to mention, like Israeli centers for non-violence and how leftist Israeli's have made public outcries for Palestinian rights, and how tasty the food is (oh my lord), and how crazy the driving is (oh my loooorrdd), but this blog is long. And I keep sneezing. Goodbye. 

Wound down and Wound up

Heeeeey welcome back (to me) (and also to you). So yeah. I'm in Canada now.

Has it been weird?

Yes

Honestly, idk how much of this will sound cliche, but like - the truth is always cliche, cuz everyone's experienced it already. That sounded cliche. Whatever.

Yeah so, its been a bit weird - eight months is a weird timeframe where, it really isn't that much time at all, while simultaneously being enough time to adjust you to a completely different world. China's pretty intense, and crazy, and noisy, and crowded (fun fact: most of the cars i went in didn't have seatbelts, which i've been telling people is because there's so many people in china that there are no highspeed collisions cuz everyones so close to each other that they dont need them. Which could be true. idk) but like... i adapted. Hard. The people and the constant things to do werrrre invigorating for someone who lives in a town with one stoplight. China's always changing yet always feels the same.
And it was a feeling i got super used to and comfortable with.

There's the people i miss (a lot), and the places, and the memories and stuff, but honestly,
since i moved back to Canada, the thing that gets me most is the space. It's everywhere. Like, seriously there are open fields and crazy stretches of highway everywhere ('maybe for you, you guy from a town where everything is sponsored by 'the tractor club', and yeah fair. But it's like the whole country on a smaller scale). It'sa friggin huge place with not a lot of people, which is honestly super special and incredible. But. I guess I found that my element involves a lot of people - i like being surrounded by people everywhere. I mean, it makes sense - people have always kinda been my thing yknow.

idk whats next for me. I got a good job right now and have more or less settled in well - but theres that darn itch i was told i might get that just makes me wanna go somewhere again. And who knows when that'll be. I should probably graduate - like i will, but i mean, graduate before i go anywhere for a while. It makes sense. But id like to travel somewhere (smaller scale) in the next little while, just to do it again. I got my whole life and anywhere is literally just a plane ride away (it only costs like a few days work and a few hours to go so many places and thats craaaaaaaazy). Idk man. Id like to go back to China at some point maybe too - guess i got a while to decide.

So yeah. That's kind of a summary of some things - there's a general restlessness trying to figure out what i wanna do next. But then again, Canada is a friggin gorgeous place (with insane air omg. Just stepping out of the airport (in Toronto no less) and experiencing the air for the first time in 8 months was insane - the air here is so so great) with incredible things to see and experience, and that makes it a nice place to stay. Until i decide to get goin somewhere again.

Who knows man. But thanks for reading all this time. This has been fun and i appreciate all the views you friggin champs ✌️ till next time (idk if there'll be a next time but we'll waaait and see)

A wild 2 days in New Delhi

Guess who's baaaaack guys. India. Man. What a place.

Seriously though, like, that was a very particular experience. And I was really just thrown into it off the get go, like you might see in a movie. After arriving in late-evening and navigating my way from the airport to the hostel (turning down many an offer from people wanting roughly 8 times the price it was supposed to be), in my first three minutes on the streets trying to find my hostel I witness a group of about 6 small street-children not even 7 years old approaching a middle aged man, then saw him pick up a brick and them scatter. That kind of thing really reminds you you're not in Burford anymore. Anyway, to say the streets were crowded would be an insane understatement; literally everywhere that there wasn't garbage (which there was a sea of) there were nearly-naked young children, or buskers, or street dogs (so so many dogs) or people driving by on scooters consistently missing you by a thread. It wasn't too long a walk from the metro to the hostel though (oh we gonna talk about the metro soon) and the people in my hostel were insanely amazing and instantly welcoming, so i really lucked out there.

The next day i wanted to head out and see what there is to see. I hit the streets early with an itinerary from someone in the hostel of the places to check out around New Delhi. I hopped on the subway (or, somehow managed to squeeze into the subway) to get to the first place, and found that once i entered the subway (and throughout my entire journey India), i was among many stares. That's something about india; in China, people will stare at you, but then once you catch them they look away quickly. In India, they dont look away - they just keep starring. So imagine standing on the subway with your insanely full touristy-backpack and meeting all these eyes that wont stop looking at you. Then try to imagine seeing signs up and routine reminders over the loudspeakers to please check your seats for abandoned items before sitting down. Basically, every subway i used had multiple reminders to watch out for homemade explosives. Both of these factors led to a maaaarginally unnerving trip. But I got to my destination before long.

On my way to the first temple, i couldnt help but get sidetracked and walk down a street full of markets and things to see. There were so many narrow winding streets with good amounts of small animals (like chickens and lizards and many more dogs). There were also small children who kept following me and holding out their hands; this was insanely common. Multiple times there were kids who would flock to me and those i was travelling with, pointing at their bare feet and begging for some money. I was told many times not to give them anything and that it was a scam, though did give in once; that's not the kind of thing you see in burford and, in canadian dollars, it wasnt a big financial loss. Maybe it helped someone, who knows.

Let me further shatter any illusions you may have right now of me having turned into a travel smart non-naive tourist with this next story. So im walking to someplace that i hear is a nifty temple when two highschool aged Indian boys start walking next to me and chatting. We're talking and i tell them where I'm from and they're asking questions and such when a guy in a motor-rickshaw pulls up beside me and says 'hello! Just ten rupee, you get in!" And im like no thanks, and hes like "ok free, you get in! I take you somewhere nice!" and the two indian boys got in (free ride in their direction) and so i was like, sure, why not. The indian boys get out about 5 minutes later and, of course, afterwards he takes me to a shopping mall, wanting me to buy rugs and things. I leave and am just walking aimlessly down the street when another motor-rickshaw comes up and a guy says "Hello! I take you to a wonderful temple! 10 rupee ride!" And im like no. Thanks quite okay. But then we start chatting and i tell him im canadian and he says "Oh, Canadian! My favourite country! Free, free ride!" And he showed me the temple we'd be going to on the map and after a bit i was like "well...okay. Free ride to a cool temple. Why not" and once i got in he said "Just a quick 15 minute stop first" and took off. Of course, shopping mall number 2, where i was made to stay for a while looking at cheap linens and whatnot. The fact that this happened to me 2 times directly in a row is only slightly embarrassing, but the temple (there honestly was a temple) i went to afterwards was actually quite a neat place, so that's something.

One of the best places I went to was a Sikh temple, where I learned that Sikhism was made from the oppressed members of society who wanted to form a religion where everyone was equal. They had to fight their way to being unoppressed, and so, as war is a part of their religion, open weapon carry is permitted for any practicing Sikh in New Delhi. The best thing about the temple was, as they wanted all people to be cared for, over 60 000 people a day were fed there, with people who had nowhere else to go sleeping there as well. We went and participated in a Sikh meal (with me embarrassing myself by sitting to eat on a step, and then everyone looking at me, as apparently since everyone is equal in this temple we all have to sit on the floor at the same level to represent that. My brother Reuben said "you HAD to offend the religion that permits open-carried weapons", which, yeah, thats my bad). In all honesty that was a really amazing experience, and the food was truly good.

Anyway, yeah. In the remainder of my trip I saw cows laying on the street like dogs do, bulls and horses taking people around, goats tethered to poles and nipping at people, insanely crowded markets and extreme class-inequality (which i was warned about before coming but still nearly drove me to tears on an occasion where i saw a family with totally naked children living on a cement island between two highways). It was a nuts trip. Two more instances worth mentioning though: the first is that when i was meandering the streets with my giant backpack and shorts looking as embarrassingly touristy as humanly possible, i decided to buy some food. There were guys at a stand selling food, and so i asked for some soup. They proceed to make the soup and then put it in a bag and hand it to me. I asked if they had a bowl. Or maybe a spoon. They said no. So i was left in the streets of india holding my bag of soup wondering what the heck to do now. Fortunately i decided to buy some bread to dip in my soup, which worked okay. That shows what kind of problem solving is needed for these trips abroad.

So the other story is that it was on my bucket list to see some monkeys, so i went with this guy who said he knew where some monkeys were and voila, monkeys. A lot of monkeys, just hanging out near a highway. They were on buildings and in trees and all over the ground; there were a bunch around the vendors (who would just throw bananas at them which they would catch with their feet like without even looking then devour in seconds it was amazing) and i was cautioned to be very careful with my food here, and strictly warned not to buy a banana. I got some fried potatoes and kept watch, and sure enough as i ate them some monkeys were moving through the trees towards my location. Some locals were watching me and probably wondering if i was gonna get a nasty surprise but fortunately i finished my potatoes in time. I have a video on my facebook wall of a monkey running up and trying to take someones food (which i caught accidentally) and that was super wild.

Yeah, so, that night i went to a buffet with some folks from my hostel before heading to the airport. I left at like 9:30 and got to the airport at around 11, and since my boarding pass said my flight boarded at 00:05, i thought, oh, that means it leaves at 1:05, i have loads of time (yes. yes. yes. i know.) It was about 5 minutes later that i realized...wait, this is the domestic airport. I need the International airport. I'm at the wrong airport.

After running out in a panic and asking a stranger where the international one was, i found out that it was just over 10km away. At that moment a little part of me died, but the stranger happened to be a motor rickshaw driver and proceeded to take me on one of the scariest drives of my life, where i dont think he slowed down once and went right in between so many large vehicles that i thought that this was how i was going to die. I didn't die fortunately, though he did end up getting a lot more money out of me than was reasonable, but since beggars cant be choosers i forked it over and eventually made it to the airport just after 11:30. There were other problems too, like needing a new boarding pass and whatnot that slowed down the process. But eventually i found my way into the waiting area for my plane at around 12:10am. It wasnt too long after that i had a rush of realization that 00:05 did not, in fact, mean 1:05 (how do i make it anywhere) but actually 12:05. I found out though that my flight had been delayed to 12:40, and so was spared the insane headache of being stuck in india in the middle of the night (but yeah. That was insane).

So yeah. That was my trip to India. I can safely say that 2 days, honestly, is so very much not enough, But I'm glad i was actually able to get a true taste of the culture while being overseas.

And i know i just got back, but here's another surprise...I'm going to Thailand next week! Jeez, these trips honestly do come out of nowhere. But my boss said that he's really going to need me for the next 2 months so prefers any more vacations i want to take i take now, and since ive heard cool things about chiang mai, i decided to go for it. There'll probably be another blog post in a while about that and some other stuff, so staaaaaaaaay tuned.

Well. Looks like I’m going to India

So. I kind of recently made a big decision; I'm flying to India today. I'm actually in the airport in Hong Kong on a layover right now, getting ready to head to New Delhi in 2 hours. It might seem random, and it totally is (literally last week I had no idea I’d be doing this), but it’s a place that, since I've started travelling, I’ve really wanted to check out. And I mean, it might be my only real opportunity; I really don’t know if I’ll ever be this close to India again, so I gotta just go for it. I told my boss, he gave me four days off, and now, bam. Tickets were bought, visas were granted, flights were cancelled (then repurchased) and now I’m going to India.

Am I nervous? I mean, yeah, absolutely. It's India. The only thing I know about India (specifically New Delhi) is that the person who told me to go said he saw a pig fighting a monkey on the streets, which might have become a big part of my mental image of India. Going to Malaysia a few months ago really got me appreciating the Southeast Asian culture, and I figure if that was a step in the pool, going to India is kinda just diving headfirst. I was also warned the other day by a friendly Indian woman not to get into cars with people (a little obvious) and not to go out at night (a little more scary). Whether or not it's as crazy as all that, it'll for sure be a time I never forget. 

On a side note, the Hong Kong airport is absolutely beautiful, there are mountains everywhere to be seen. A cool part of travelling a lot is I realized that I actually really like airports; it’s kinda like a mutual intercultural limbo where you can go anywhere from. It’s true what they say about the world getting smaller when you go places. I’ve been to 5 countries in 5 months (I’m counting Canada so I’m kind of cheating, but it’ll be five different countries by the time I go back home) and it’s wild to me that I’m heading back in only three more months; it’s honestly flown by.

Something interesting I’ve been thinking about is that, upon coming to China, I honestly did pretty well at getting accustomed and staying unshocked by the culture. I think I was really just ready to go and spend time somewhere different. But it’s coming back home to a town of 1400 people that makes me wonder, after perusing the world for 8 months, am I gonna be able to just hang out in a small town again without getting insanely restless? Ive gotten kinda comfortable with this wayward lifestyle (though this is all pre-India so let’s hope I’m 5 for 5 with good experiences there). I’ve also met so many cool people from sooo many different places, giving me a reason to keep experiencing different cultures. However, I’m also kind of a homebody when it comes to Canada, and I find myself daydreaming about Tim hortons, so there’s that. 

Man, I guess we’ll see. My flight boards in 20 minutes and I’m honestly hella nervous. If I can conquer India solo (albeit for just 2 full days) then I’ll consider myself a certified nomad (keeping in mind that I now have friends who hitchhike across continents and spend years living through backpacks and spontaneous decisions, but since I never thought I’d ever leave Canada I’ll let myself feel well-traveled with these baby steps). 

I should probably take a quick internet crash course in basic Indian before boarding. See y’all post-New Delhi ✌🏽

Beijing here we come

Soooo looks like I'm taking off to Beijing for a week on my own in a few hours. That's crazy, and my first truly solo trip I've ever embarked on (I met a with a friend in Hong Kong so that doesn't count). And it's for a whole week, like, Tuesday to Tuesday. To be honest, I'm really excited; booking the plane and hostel and getting all the travel plans ready totally by myself gives me a rush of independence. I have an idea of a few things to check out there, namely the Great Wall and a few temples and someplace called the Forbidden City. Though I'm travelling alone, I'm planning on making a few friends at my hostel (as tends to happen) so we'll see what kind of adventure I'm in for.

In regards to my teaching job here in Shanghai, for the last week or so I've been totally alone; all the students and other teachers have left. The teachers finished their terms (I'm the only one staying on until Christmas) and the kids are either heading off to Canada or are heading back to their Chinese schools for the fall term. It's definitely been a wild ride this past four months. I've been working on another blog post describing all the ups and downs of teaching this past little while, and that'll probably be finished at sooooome point (idk)

So yeah, since then, all last week I've had a classroom of six new day students, all requiring preparation for interviews with Canadian schools, to teach all by myself. Though it's been sad to see my fellow teachers leave and having to now face the fears of a foreign country solo, I've honestly kind of reveled in the new independence of having the whole classroom to myself. I suddenly have the whole day to execute ideas and am able to schedule things as I see fit, which I've honestly been so comfortable with. It's also been so cool to get to know these six newer kids and notice the differences in the classroom dynamics with six new voices. They're all great kids and I'm gonna miss em.

Moving forward, work wise things are gonna be different, and apparently less demanding. I'm gonna have pretty early and late teaching hours, having appointments of online teaching in Canada with Chinese kids over there, having to account for the 12 hour difference (it's kind of funny that my dad gets up early in Canada to online-teach Chinese kids in China and I have to get up early in China to online-teach Chinese kids in Canada. Seems like we could of coordinated better). But that also means that my 'weekends' kind of consist of the middle of the day on most weekdays (when I'm not doing busywork getting things ready for next years interview-prep leaders), as my actual weekends will be full of kids coming for more part-time interview training.

I've found out about lots of really cool places to go in Shanghai, and have run into some pretty cool people along the way. Turns out that even when you're on your own, if you go out exploring you'll find some pretty great places and people, including amazing-and-creepy large abandoned cathedrals, bars disguised as book shops with a group of fun American's and conversing with random foreigners who spend 500$ on a plane ticket to Shanghai for the sake of a roof-top pool party, which ends up getting them a business deal with a tech-company (I may not get as ingrained in the spontaneous travel life as that guy, but I'm definitely discovering the joys of living life on the go).

Though I've absolutely appreciated more down-time with the kids gone to read (now on the Diary of Anne Frank), play games and bike around, I can't wait for this crazy trip ahead of me. My bus to the airport leaves in a few hours, so wish me luck in Beijing ✌️

Woork and some other nonsense

So, jeez, things have been busy.

For starters we have like, double the amount of kids now, half of whom I teach on my own in the afternoon. I have to prepare them for interviews with prestigious Canadian private schools, so that means working on confidence, storytelling ability, presentation skills and going over the same interview questions over and ooover. It can get a bit old, but I love my kids. They're all super fun and engaged, and it's been fun teaching them things that I really enjoy. That also means though that we now live with double the amount of kids, which increases the fun but also the difficulty in getting them to their dang beds by lights out. I guarantee not a single one of them falls asleep before midnight though (their whispers carry, but us cool university teachers pretend not to notice).

Also I've been going to some hecka fancy events. Our students have some wealthy parents, which means fancy dinners and meetings, which means our boss buys us tailor made suuits! He likes to keep a good image. His connections are actually quite impressive; he's brought in the youngest ever female Olympic triple-gold-medalist swimmer Donna De-Verona to talk with us and the kids (she was so cool) and also the former Premier of New Brunswick (also cool) and just yesterday we held a panel for 3 very distinguished and successful businessmen, including a high-end lawyer and two CEO's. At that meeting as well, my boss made a point of moving me from the back of the table to closer to the head; that's something I've been noticing too. I always seem to be the one who's brought in to speak with the kids' parents and be present during meetings; he likes to kind of display me as their white-male teacher. It's something we've all kinda noticed and we find it pretty funny.

Also, the clock is ticking; I have to make a solo visa renewal soon. Which is terrifying. I don't quite know where I'd start with a solo-travel trip, but I guess it's been inevitable since I came here. The main goal is just not to get too lost (I've accepted that I'm definitely gonna get at least pretty lost). So i mean we'll see how that goes. I'm thinking about just hopping over to Hong Kong for a day; a bit expensive but I hear it's a place I really need to check out. I'm gonna try to make the trip work so that I don't have to get a hostel and can just hang out in the city for a day, which is a tall order for a probably 30 hour trip, but I'll take it as it comes (yeah mayyybe that's a stupid idea, we'll see how it goes).

What else to talk about. Pretty soon I'll be on my own; the kids are leaving early August and my fellow teachers and other staff are finishing and most of them are heading back to Canada. I'm gonna have a new group of people to work with and new kids to get ready for interview prep. Safe to say I'm pretty nervous about that, and I'm gonna miss my kids and fellow teachers a lot. I'll also have to be a lot more independent, having to show the new people the places around the neighborhood without getting them hopelessly lost, and also taking more of a supervisory role with my job. It's really nerve wracking but also pretty exciting, I'll really have to take a step out of my comfort zone.

So there's lots on the horizon. Hopefully I make it back from Hong Kong so i can tell yall all about it ✌️

Hey it's me I'm back

Yooo soo i went to Malaysia. Quite the trip. I dunno, you may have seen the photo drop on my wall, it was pretty fun. Shooting the poison dart in that tribal rain forest village was super awesome. I realize that I friggin love southeast Asia; there's so much energy and everyone is so quirky and helpful and theres like so much cheap street food. Also their bananas are outrageous. I went into a guys super crowded fruit market and took one and eventually made it to the counter and the guy told me to just take it, which was awesome, and then I had it and man. You've not had a banana until you've had one from a Malaysian fruit market, they're so insanely good.

Yeah, so, that day was all about walking around Kuala Lumpur and exploring markets and mosques and a sultans palace, and we kept hearing the call to prayer over loudspeakers (which was someone saying 'allahu akbar' many times) and it was so amazing. There was a back road we decided to go down (cuz there were trees all lining it and it was beautiful) and we walked until we saw someone standing in front of a building holding something, and I looked closer and stopped dead in my tracks and halfway through my sentence because heeee had a gun. Like a really big gun. He was just kinda standing there smiling at us, and i waved, and he waved, and I said "We're just gonna. Go back now" and he smiled and waved goodbye and we left. So that was the time I almost died in Malaysia (like not really but at the time it was pretty freaky).

After all that we found a way to Temerloh, a place in between where we were and where we had to get to for our hostel that night (Jerantut). It was there we realized no ATMs would accept any of our cards, and because we're trinket-happy tourists (or at least I found out I am) we had just a few hundred RM left, which amounted to just under a hundred Canadian dollars, which was noooot enough for all the expenses we would need to pay. We decided to take a cross-that-bridge when we come to it attitude, because like, there wasn't much else we could do. Just had a wait for that one Malaysian ATM that would hopefully accept my Timmies Double Double Visa card.

So after that we were looking for buses to get to Jerantut and discovered thaaaat it was actually Eid that weekend, the annual Muslim religious celebration, which is why we kept hearing the call to prayer. That also meant there were no buses. But we found a friendly fellow willing to drive us there for an almost-not-outrageous price and an hour or so later we were in Jerantut, standing outside a closed up and gated off building that we had made reservations to spend a night at (like there was one of those metal bar things you pull in front of locked doors. Like prison bars. I've been googling it forever and for the life of me cant find out what they're called). Safe to say we felt a tinge of alarm, but we got the driver guy to call them and the person told us to simply pull that gate away, push open the door and wait, and after a while we were greeted by a funny, chipper 20 something year old who would be housing us.

He liked to talk, a lot, whenever he could. We discovered that when we asked him the bus times and he said 'ok. I tell you my story' and sat cross legged on our floor and chatted with us until late. We heard a lot of good-natured racism (he tried to convince us Africans could hear over a kilometer because he saw it in a movie about Africa, before we googled it and found out the movie actually took place in the Amazon and the people weren't African) and funny anecdotes. He liked feeding us pastries and changing his mind about the times he was sure the bus would be coming. All in all he was a super fun guy.

Our evening in Jerantut was cool. Not temperature wise though. It's so dang hot in Malaysia. Anyway we were walking around upon arrival trying to find a workable ATM (no luck) and found ourselves being followed by a slow moving car. Eventually it stopped and an old man got out and beckoned us towards him. I was like, no thanks, but Anneke, having once hitchhiked across Canada, was less wary of people in cars and we walked up to see what he wanted. He found out what we were doing there and offered us a ride to the bus station, which we politely declined, but he did seem super sweet.

Later we kept walking around and found a very active and pretty mosque and were chased down three times by a bike gang of 10 year old's wanting our picture while striking 'Western' poses. We fiiinally also found an ATM that would actually exclusively only accept my Tim Hortons Double Double Visa Card, so money-wise we were more or less alright. That evening we found an awesome little family run business where for 2 dollars I ate one of the best meals I've ever had. The next morning we were looking forward to a trip to Taman Negara, a tour-led trip through a Malaysian elephant-and-tiger infested jungle. We weren't getting a response about where their office was, which was where we were going to get picked up by the shuttle, but fortunately we found it on our walk around Jerantut that evening. I finished the night attempting to go out solo and find the source of fireworks that we could hear nearby that were celebrating Eid, but a few wrong turns later I ended up at some really sketchy train tracks and in some back ally areas with the fireworks somehow sounding even further away, and I decided my navigational skills were not to be honed that night and went back to the hostel.

The next morning we left early to go to the office, and upon arrival discovered that there were no shuttles coming because they didnt receive our RSVP. After everyone being a little confused and freaked out for a bit, the guy there said we would be getting a special ride just the two of us if he could get a driver, and then found a place for us to have breakfast that served exclusively toast and coffee and asked us to wait patiently. After surprisingly amazing toast and coffee (that's a theme here all the food in southeast asia is incredible) we were told that although we couldnt get any drivers, the owner himself was driving the hour down and hour back to pick us up, which I'd say is pretty special. After a very pretty and very winding ride, we were in Tamen Negara.

So we went on a jungle tour where we were climbing a mountain and doing a canopy walk. While our group was waiting for our turn, our tour guide actually let Anneke and I go off on our own and explore, which was great. Eventually we did the walk (which was a little terrifying cuz i keep forgetting when I sign up for these things that I'm scared of heights) and climbed the mountain. Afterwards, while we were waiting to ride the rapids, we were informed that there was someone who could check with the Jerantut bus schedule and let us know when the next bus to Kuala Lumpur was, which was super helpful, considering the internet suggested the bus station was in an area where there was nothing but four tents and a bench.

We got lost (as we do) but eventually found our group again, and clamored into a rapid-bound boat on its way to the tribal village known as Orang Asli. There were about 7 of us on a narrow boat heading to the local tribal village, and after driving for a minute, our driver killed the motor and we were just kinda chilling in the middle of the water for a while. We were all silently wondering why he wasnt still driving, when we turned around and saw another boat coming for us. Now is a good time to mention that I had kind of struck up a friendly rivalry with our main tour guide, who was a hilarious older and very jungle-experienced man, and he went by us on that boat with his hand in the water and completely drenched the entire lot of us. The journey then turned into a competition where the boat drivers tried to splash each other and take us through rapids while rocking the boat for the sole purpose of getting us wet. They were a great group. My rival though tried to distract me by pointing at a nearby mountain then got near us and for about 10 seconds sprayed water until he'd utterly drenched me, which I couldn't let go.

After getting to the beach, I had revenge in my heart, and continued the rivalry with the completely dry tour guide by chasing him around the beach with a water bottle (ending with me falling spectacularly, getting sand into every inch of my clothing and having everyone laugh at me). We went around for a while, taking pictures and observing daily life for the village, and i eventually got the leader back while he was giving a speech to our group by dousing him with a nearby bottle, and all was right again (he thought it was hilarious). We also learned a few things about the Orang Asli culture (like how its bad luck for a leader's child to be born in the village so the wife has to deliver the baby in the jungle, and how they hunt with poison blow darts). Then I was selected by my tour guide rival to be the first to demonstrate hunting with the weapon, which I did perfectly (pay no attention to the video). We left a tad early to see that one guy about buses, and found out there were actually no buses out of Jerantut that night, so. We were kind of stranded.

We were given a ride back to Jerantut, where we went back to our hostel and were very grateful to see that our chipper talkative friend would take us for another night (he just showed a big smile and said 'nooooooo problem' so that was nice). We went to get food at that one nice small family business place again, where we saw a lot of the same people from the night before, including the friendly old man we encountered upon entering Jerantut, who gave us a nice wave and a smile. We had a nice walk around some kinda sketchy areas (but literally everywhere we went people were so friendly and it was great) and were whispered about, stared at and greeted as we went. 'Twas quite the time.

So the final day, all we knew was we had to be back in Kuala Lumpur airport at 5:00 at the very latest for our flight. We left early to get to the bus station, and found out that there were no buses back to Kuala Lumpur from Jerantut. We asked about other buses, and there was one leaving to Temerloh at that moment, so we hopped on that one, hoping to find better bus luck there. An hour later we arrived in Temerloh at just about 9:30, was gonna get some breakfast but asked first when the buses were leaving for Kuala Lumpur. We were told that there were no more buses available heading to Kuala Lumpur, and to try again tomorrow. We impressed the importance of finding one, and she got on the phone with somebody. Eventually someone came and said there are two tickets to a 9:00 bus because there were two no shows, so we could buy those, and with them try to get on the 9:30 bus. We got them and went running, got to the bus as it was starting up, and showed him our tickets. He told us they were the wrong tickets and was very hesitant. Soon though the guy who sold us the tickets came over and told him to let us on, so we hopped into 2 empty seats and got the last bus out to Kuala Lumper. It was definitely a roller coaster of a day.

And then back in Kuala Lumpur we took a few more buses to get where we needed. We bought some street non-meat (some crazy carb loaded vegetarian stuff that was actually super tasty) and explored Little India, which was beautiful. I think I might wanna return to southeast asia someday. We managed to get to the plane by 4:00, and got to our flight and was back in Shanghai. We actually then slept in the freakin airport until the subway opened to save money (Anneke's idea. We totaled 15 hours of transit that day so I was too tired to object) then poof. Weekend over.

For my first during-travel travel experience, it was pretty amazing. Lots to see, lots of experiences and lots of last-second luck. Work is getting super super crazy (we're getting like 5 new students in the last month for some reason) so who knows what things'll be like when I write next. Guess we'll have to see. So far, I'd say the adventure is going pretty well. 2 months down, 6 to go ✌️

Runnin' away to Malaysia and some other stuff

Yooo so exciting news, I'm heading to Malaysia a week from today. Whaat. Turns out I have to do a Visa Renewal, which I choose to look at as mandatory travel, so that's pretty exciting. I have no idea what's in Malaysia, and I keep accidentally calling it Mongolia, but I'm sure it'll be a time and a half. This whole travel thing is new to me so why not jump in with both feet right? It's gone well so far. I'm better than where I started; true story, when I was told I would need a travel visa to go to China, I was planning to stop by CIBC (my bank) to see if I could get one. I've come further since then.

You could say I've somewhat recovered from culture shock (though I'm sure there's more where that came from in Mongolia). I was kinda thrown into it here right off the bat: after arriving in the airport I went with a fellow teacher to see if I could just get some water from the airport Burger King. I asked for water, and they filled a cup, and I grabbed it and immediately let it go cuz it was boiling hot. I was like...what. So I got the teacher to ask for cold water, and the lady got some, came over and poured it into my boiling water, which afterwards was still boiling. Like, I was amused, but still thirsty, so I got my friend to ask one more time for cold water (which i made a note to learn is 'bing shrey') and ended up with a cup of ice. I figured that was essentially what I'd asked for and took it and left. I still really appreciate that memory as my first moment entering a new culture; apparently folks just drink boiled water around here like it's no biggie.

For work, I've been tasked to come up with the most darn entertaining Dictation class one could hope for (that literally means just writing down word-for-word sentences I read to the students), so we'll see how I swing that. Last class I got them all yelling at each other (in English hurray) because of a game for that class that I got them to play, which was tons of fun, so now I gotta best that.

Admittedly, I'm finding it kind of hard to keep coming up with new content for Public Speaking class. There's only so many ways you can make em speak right. Like, they're finishing their debates on Thursday, and have already done a number of speeches and dialogue based things. So...now what. I gotta get creative. Which is cool. I can do that.

K, one more thing. Yesterday I went to get my haircut, and like, it was actually crazy. It was like ten dollars cheaper than I've gotten it for in Canada, and they made me fancy coffee and I got a massage and there was like a fancy bed and stuff for when they were washing your hair, it was nuts. I was mucho impressed. My head looks a bit like a pencil now but at least it was an amazing experience.

Hope the weather has stabilized somewhat over there and it's finally stopped snowing. Cheerio 

A solid month

So, guess I arrived in China over a month ago, which is insane. Time has honestly flown by. I'm getting more comfortable with my job for sure, but I'm definitely no more adept at navigating my way around Shanghai. Like just the other day I exited a cafe from the opposite side of the St that im usually on and was totally lost for like 7 minutes. I've always been good at getting lost though so maybe that's just me.

Yeah, so went to that Village on the Water last weekend, and it was awesome. There's decidedly like an insane amount of amazing places in Shanghai, and each one of them impresses me equally. I'm still at the point where I can go outside and still be impressed just because there are trees everywhere (there actually are like lined with the sidewalk it's wild) and I can't understand the signs and not many people look like me. And like the other day I played that 'guess what I'm asking' game with a small restaurant owner (the restaurant was small, not the owner); i asked for beef and got noodles, asked for chicken and got a plate of pig ears, and asked for water and got coke. Dont get me wrong, I was still happy with all of it. It's just fun that a simple exchange-based interaction can leave both parties confused and smiling.

Jerry says hi. He wanted me to include him in this blog post. He's the new math teacher. Me and him went to play basketball today at a public court (which parents seem to use as a daycare because of the abundance of tiny children that are always there just chillin on the tarmac, but if you're careful it's still usable as a court) and met a guy around our age who spoke decent english that we managed to play a game with. That was cool. I'll be in this neighborhood for a long while and gotta socially start from scratch so it's cool getting to know folks.

Finding options to stay active has been important cuz i can tend to go stir crazy just lounging at home for a while. I like using the city bikes (which are literally lying everywhere) to go for a ride, or playing daycare basketball, or getting sports injuries in the apartment (ok, embarrassing true story, yesterday I got a bloody lip by playing foosball with one of my students. Foosball. A foosball sports injury. Like, I lowered my face down near the players for some reason as he spun the thing and the plastic friggin guy kicked me in the mouth and I bled. That's insane). Hopefully I get to play some badminton soon, cuz this past year in university I've really gained an affinity for badminton, and I wanna find some place to play it.

This week our boss really wants us to go tough on the kids in regards to vocab and milestones and classroom rules, so that means more strict policies and being the badguy who has to take away their phones. So hopefully the kids dont hate me by the end of this. I'll just say it's me acting out from being hit in the face by an inanimate plastic figure.

Wish me luck 🙏

Bleh

Blaahhhhhhhh I'm so siiick. I havent gotten better, I should probably be taking it easier. I always plan to go to bed early but then end up doing something because I'm in Shanghai, but its been two weeks I've been sick now and I need to chill a bit.

It's been fun, though. The apartment where I live is huge, and we have a funny older woman who cooks and cleans for us who we call IE. She speaks no English so we're on pretty good terms, as the only things I know how to say to her are 'hello' and 'very good', and that makes for a pretty polite base for a relationship. We've had a bunch of funny little interactions, like when she started pointing at her phone over and over and speaking in Chinese, and so I pulled out mine hesitantly, thinking "does she want me to call someone or..?" Then she went over and pointed to the washing machine and I was just totally lost, and to this day I have no clue what she was trying to say. But she's funny and makes great food and apparently has some cool grandkids.

I've had a surprising amount of downtime; when we're not exploring outside or trying to teach tomorrow's international students anything but curse words, we're just kinda lounging around. We've seen a lot of movies (two of which are totally two of my favourites, y'all need to watch The Greatest Showman and Her) and I've already read two books, one of which is Flowers for Algrenon, which I'll talk about at length how it is far more depressing than it needs to be. I'll probably start the Handmaid's Tale soon, even though Margret Atwood stole from my friends store that one time (shoutout to Anna)

Yeah. Thankfully we got a new teacher the other day to start teaching more math and science-based things, so I can take a bit of a break from my physically based classes and get some rest before I die from whatever this persistent sickness is.

It's actually crazy that I've almost been here for a month already, I still feel like a complete noob and that I wouldn't last 5 minutes outside the apartment by myself. But babysteps. I still got a long ways to go.

Ayo

Aight, so blog number 2. I've been sick for the last little bit (prolly too much crazy Shanghai livin') so I'll try to take it easy for the next while, cuz this place is mental.

Like take a few days ago. Me and my teaching friends were coming home late trying to get in the Subway and there was honestly an insane crowd of people like as big as the population of my hometown (1400 people Burford represent) also outside trying to get in. Then something was said in Chinese over a PA system and everybody started screaming and surging forward and cops were shouting and me and my friends were separated like instantly and folks were sprinting into the station, like people weren't paying just flying through. I just kinda went with the flow hoping I wouldn't die or end up stranded an hour from home in Shangai without a working phone, and we all eventually found each other again. So that was an experience. I've never encountered Burford rushing a subway station before so that was something unique

Yeah, anyway. It's interesting trying to communicate with people, It's kinda like a game. Like, try to figure out what I'm trying to say to you. I have this interaction with store clerks and cashiers like all the time, and it always feels good when we figure it out. Like I pointed to chicken wings once, and held up three fingers, and he billed me 80RMB which is the equivalent of 16 dollars, and i was like that can't be right, and eventually he realized I didn't mean three boxes of chicken wings. Or like when I needed a comb and went to a convenience store and was trying to show what I wanted with my hands, and he kept offering me shampoo, and we were both confused. But these things always seem to work out in the end.

I'm in a coffee shop right now trying to come up with a lesson plan for this week. Lowkey, a few of my kids are kind of divas, but I'll get them to love drama (or Public Speaking. Or at the very least gym, cuz those are the things I'm teaching).

We also were told that we wont have any electricity in the office tomorrow, which is where the classroom is also, so that means no AC. Shanghai is blistering hot, so hopefully I live to blog another day.

Stay cool (or whatever the weather is like over there) ✌

Why not

Yep so I've decided to blog. It was suggested to me and I decided why the heck not, I got stuff to write about.

I finally got out; left the Great, White, familiar North for the crazy and unpredictable land overseas. It's such a 'whim' kinda thing that I did; my friend told me her boss wanted someone else on their team, I got an interview, got offered the job, said yes, and poof, one month later I'm as far from home as possible for the better part of a year. It's nuts, especially since I've never gone outside the Canada/US region before.

So far, man, It's great. It's an experience, 100%. I've had frog and chicken feet (which my whiteness flinched at so hard) and popcorn that was legitimately just popped corn (catches you way off guard) and realized that no one here cares in regards to traffic safety. Folks pull U-turns in the middle of busy intersections, people walk into the street seemingly at random and cars just go around them, and a few of the taxis I've been in didn't even have seatbelts. Everywhere I go people are offering me flyers or asking for money or saying Ni hao (to which I have a very limited number of responses memorized). It's also strange how some things work. Like I don't get how taxes work; twice I've paid what was on the price tag and gotten an RNB (Chinese currency) back, which seems like a kind of weird utopian thing where the taxes go back to the customer but like why not. And today was kind of funny. I went to a tiny phone store to unlock my phone and ended up buying the clerk's personal phone off of him. China, man.

I'd talk about work but I don't feel like talking about work. Maybe when I get more situated in my job. We're gonna be visiting the 'Villiage on the Water' hopefully next weekend, and I'm excited, cuz apparently it's almost entirely a water-based area.

It's only been a week and I already have so many stories I could share. I'll save some for future posts, if I decide to keep this up. I'm a fan, why not.

Cool. Ok so. Goodbye