Gregory and I in Melbourne - Vacation before the grind

After spending a few wonderful and relaxing days in the Gold Coast I was packed up and ready to hit the road yet again. I was heading to Melbourne to visit a friend from university who I have wanted to visit for the passed 3 years. A year ago she was in Korea and I was hoping to make it out there but it looks like Melbourne will be our place to rock out :-) (just as fun !)


<-------------------- meet Gregory :-)

To make sure people aren't too confused, Gregory is my new companion on the road. It is a bright tangerine-red backpack who I did not name, I purchased it with such name already embroidered on the front as you can see in the picture to the left

So I threw Gregory on my sun-burnt shoulders and I was off to Melbourne to meet up with Amanda. I have to stop and think for a bit and try to remember what we end up doing for an entire week because it was action packed !!! We wasted no time :-) Day 1 Checked out the Market, it was filled with wonderful foods (we ended up choosing a 3-curry Indian platter and was just amazing !), art and live music. After a few glasses of sangria we were off to check out the different booths and items for sale! This is where I fell in love with the 'happy pants' !!! These are basically MC Hammer pants but BETTER !! They are mostly made of polyester or linen material and are just too fun to describe ....so here check it out :-)






















After more browsing and trying out this and that, we enjoyed some folk, reggae, and soca/calypso music played at the market. Melbourne is definitely turning out to be a hip place and I'm already enjoying my visit here !



Day 2
Great Ocean Road here we come !!!!
Amanda and her roommate (and brother) have planed a day to check out the 12 Apostles which are located along the Great Ocean Road. After a some research we decided to skip the day tour (offered by several companies) and do it on our own. We rented a car and the 4 of us took off for a road trip !!!!!

I have seen many beautiful things in my life, but this road trip was just something out of the ordinary. I have never been surrounded by natures beauty for 3.5 hours along the cost while driving in and through rain-forest parks. There were several lookout points along the way and we had to drive by a few otherwise we wouldn't make it to the Apostles in time (before sunset). It was a long and rainy drive but so worth every minute of it !

Once arriving to the Apostles, the rain had eased up just a little, and fog set in. Worried that we won't get to see much of anything, the fog actually added to the experience. The sight was beautiful and with the fog it created an aerie scene.













































On the way home we happen to drive through some sort of National Park (we believe) because the climb up the hill was over an hour or so and speed limit was kept to 20kph. At first we didn't really think much of the winding road and overly tall trees. However, once we realized that the road is taking much longer than before and we did not remember keeping the speed limit so low before, then it hit us that we were off our original path. But needless to say, it was definitely worth getting lost because the drive was just too beautiful to miss :-)



At this time I would also like to mention that driving on the left side of the road has become second nature to me lol. We rented a car for this trip and I had the privilege to drive half way there and back and loved every minute of it. It was one of my goals to drive in this country of 'backwards and upside down' (all said in joking manner), and to have it checked off my list so early was just too much fun! I still have to rent a scooter though to fully experience the roads down under. But at least I can assure you that I am set on the road rules. Oh and one tip for anyone thinking of driving on the left: over correcting to the left is quite common (I hit the curb just once) so ride the median line and just breathe :-)






Days 3 and 4
Friday and Saturday were both a night out on the town. Met some new people, had a few drinkskies, and danced the night away !!! Over all great times all around :-)








































Day 5
Off to the beach !!!






Sunday we spent all day at the festival. There were several stages set up with live music. There were fun events to try out as well: ride a bull, try out being an anchor man for news and sports, get your picture taken with movie starts on a green screen, dance in a silent disco ....etc !





Bars and clubs were packed from early on, there was a beach volleyball tournament going on as well and so much more! Also, got to see some nice places: Luna Park is an old fashioned amusement park still kept up to modern times.





































At night we headed down by the water front to welcome the penguins home. Supposedly, the penguins stay out fishing till sundown. Once it's too dark for them to see the fish they all come home to the rocks where they find a place to sleep for the night. They are so cute and very brave. The penguins which don't mind the public eyes are called Hollywood because they aren't afraid of the people. There are others who prefer to come home without anyone greeting them. Those little guys find a spot away from the crowd. There was a strict rule (enforced by a few conservation officers) no flash camera allowed, so they used a red light instead to try and capture a look at the cute little fellas.

While we waited for the sun to set, we were amused by the size of the jelly fish that were washed up on the shore. There were many of them everywhere and just enormous in size. Nature's strangest creatures but I'm so fascinated by them every time I come across one. These were some form of a blue jelly, but I have also seen the blue bottle jellies that sting quite hard when they wrap around one's leg. These are two completely different species of jellies though. I had to touch these large ones to see what they feel like, and it's the feel of gelatin used in Synchro swimming to keep our hair back. So amusing !





































Day 6 and 7
Discovering the city of Melbourne


I had a chance to spend some time on my own and take a look around the city and the sights it has to offer. Melbourne would be a fun place to live since there is always something to do/ somewhere to go. While I was visiting, ACDC was in town and people wearing ACDC shirts everywhere. I also just happen to learn that the band is native to AUS. 10 year and I had no idea they were Australian. Something new everyday.

One day I had the chance to see the parliament, the Melbourne museum, walk around the city and get some shopping done. The second day I took advantage of the free city shuttle bus, mostly sat and listened to the commentator. The only place I got off the bus was at Federation Square because I was curious to see the aborigines art exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria. I finished the bus tour at the Southern Cross train station where I caught another bus to the airport. I only found out later that Southern cross is the name of a constellation only seen from this part of the world and it is the constellation used on the Ozi flag. Again, something new :-)















































Oh so much fun packed into such little time. On my way flying back to the Gold Coast I also met an interesting fella. He was doing his PhD in the Gold Coast, but besides that what fascinated me about him was that he could say (if I remember correctly) in 19 different languages "Life is beautiful". I think I have found another goal to add to my life list. Just fabulous :-)

Over all, had a wonderful time in Melbourne. Lived off on sushi each day and spent my time with amazing people and friends. Once I arrived back into the Gold Coast I stayed with Kaley and Toby another few days, soaked up more sun, but this time no sun burn at all (oh and watched a ton of Olympics with Kaley ...Go Canada Go)!!!!

1. Szep az elet!
2. Life is beautiful!
3. Viaţa este frumoasă!

It's not a bad start to the count.

Love and miss you all
xoxo
R :-)

Burn, baby burn - Surfers Paradise Feb 2010

I had a fabulous experience visiting friends in Surfers Paradise (never judge a book by its cover - SP looked intimidating when I first saw the beach front from inside a car on the way back from Byron Bay, but spending the weekend here got me hooked !!). But now it is time to pack my bag and hit the road again to re-unite with more great friends in Melbourne.

However, before my next adventures, I thought I would re-cap why I look like a lobster again. Ida, I am not trying to out-win you on contracting skin problems first, I am just plain not careful enough !!!

Byron Bay-sun-burn was totally expected even as I applied spf 55 multiple times. I used sunscreen knowing that I won't survive the day with out the white stuff. However, anticipation and all, my efforts have failed me that day.

Surfers-Paradise-sun-burn occurred due to meteorologist misinforming me of the weather for Monday, Feb 8,2010. They called for a weekend and weekday of overcast and flooding due to heavy rain fall. The rain-forest-kind-of-weather has lived up to it's name, so much so that there were serious floods in cities only 20 min from us (2 lives were lost due to plain ignorance-if I can say that). Such weather was guesstimated to hold out till Tuesday, Feb 9th. After heavy rains on Sat and Sun, I believed the Meteor-guys, without a doubt. Monday morning we wake up, head to Sea World, and sure enough when I look outside there are thick clouds (left over from the weekend) and just as I enter the park, rain starts up. However, by 10am there is blazing sunshine everywhere :-)

I figure, since I am in/out of theaters, underwater aquariums, and other show experiences, there isn't much danger from the sun. WRONG! I should have spent 30$ on sunscreen today (at Sea World) because I just raised my skin-cancer-chances by another 20% !!

Today, I have finally said: enough of my naive-ness and purchased 500mL of sunscreen to use as if it was O2. I will be lathering this stuff on no matter what the forecast prepares me for. It's time to take action! If I plan on accomplishing some of my goals in this lifetime, it would help if I stick around a bit longer :-)

Overall, Surfers has been wonderful to me, and so have my hostess and host :-)
Lessons from this trip includes:

1) Kangaroo meat taste yummy, even though I think it's a creature too cute to consume

2) Sunscreen was invented for this continent (specifically), therefore: NO EXCUSES

3) Sting rays feel rubbery and jelly (to touch) at the same time

4) I should have been a marine biologist (remember when I went to the University of Hawaii-info-session in high school ?), and not listen to my GP - STILL, no regrets :-)

I am now off to Melbourne at 6am (tickets were on discount!) and hope to see, learn, experience more!!!

xoxo
R :-)


Pictures to capture the view:

"My life list" - inspired by Mary L.

It is Friday, Feb 5,2010 and I arrive to Surfers paradise. I had a great time reconnecting with long lost friends and getting to know the city. We had some time to hit the beach, swim in huge waves, dry off in the breezy sun, eat loads of sushi for dinner, walk around the market along the beach shore, and then head to bed at around 11:30pm so I can be ready for the next day's adventures.

Books on my list: from my personal library at home

I have grabbed a few interesting books off Julie's selves and I only remember a few titles:

Moral Disorder - Margaret Atwood
Travel light - ?
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho (nostalgic)

(3 others which I cannot remember)


Current read on the road:
Freakonomics (still on it) - finished
Say your one of them - finished

I will keeping this page up to date :-)


xo
R :-)

The Girl Most Likely - Rebecca Sparrow

It is close to 2 am on Friday and I am still not packed for my 2 week adventures. I need to get some things done in the morning before I catch the train at noon to the Gold Coast, but I feel the urge to blog before I head to bed. I can always pack in the morning.

For the passed, oh just over 48 hours I have been caught up with reading a book I found amongst the collection at my new place. The lady I live with used to be a librarian plus her hobby is still collecting and reading books. Great on my part because just before my departure I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to bring my precious book-collection with me. But, just as Marcus pointed out, there are libraries and bookstore in Australia too (always the clever one). And sure enough, of all the places I could rent out, I end up living (practically) in my very own and private library. Just my luck I guess :-)

So after finding a few books that looked interesting to me, I end up reading The Girl Most Likely by Rebecca Sparrow first. I start reading and can't seem to take any breaks as I go on. I do get groceries one day, and go out shopping for clothes another, but I get the book finished just over 2 days. When I place the book on the shelf I wonder how on earth can a book grab my attention like this and can be so parallel to my experience in so many ways. This is not a book about saving the world, or about sociology or psychology in any form. Well, I'm sure one can argue, but it's just a story about a girl and a very tiny experience in her life and how she ends up coping with it. It is laugh out loud funny and at times other emotions come through as well.

I guess I find it so strange to have read this book as my first Australian author from Brisbane, and only living here 2 weeks I can get her jokes. Ladies, if you get a chance read it, gents, if you get a chance read it :-) Just for fun !

This book also got me thinking about some of my goals that are sitting on my list waiting to be crossed off. Mary, I am still owing you that list, stay tuned! Writing a book is one of them. However, reading this book puts out a challenge for me in accomplishing my goal to write a book. If this book already exist then who would want to read about my experiences? I do have loads to talk about my life and experiences of growing up amongst different cultures, making sense of these cultures, and so on. I will have to take more time and think about the direction my book will take so one day it will grab my readers' attention for 48h straight :-)

g'night
R :-)

46 Hawken Rd, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, AUS

I have a place now !! Check it out, Google-it, satellite-it !

I'm one of 3 students, and living with a couple who are native to Queensland. I find them very entertaining (also travelers), and the house just feels extremely homie. I could have walked and walked and walked some more, and roomed up with strangers, but once I stepped foot in this place, all furnished, I said why bother for something else when this place feels just right.

I am super excited now! I had a tiny 'worry' about finding a place (once I started the actual ground work) and realized that I have to settle in somewhere sooner than to wait till school starts. This way I can move in my stuff, and then head off to visit some friends. This house was meant to be mine since: I called, checked it out, and moved in all on the same day. And there was someone else the couple was waiting on to see the place, but after some time they told me to come and see it anyways (I think they were done waiting for the girl before me). Someone's loss is my complete luck!!! And now I am relaxed and 20lbs lighter for getting this one checked off my list.

This is just my room, but the rest of the house is just amazing. Beautiful wood kitchen, hardwood floors, and books are stacked all over (the woman was a librarian, and the gentleman has literature and communications background).




MY first few days have been interesting as well (never a dull moment in this land). Believe it or not, there are more furry and leathery friends I would like to introduce you to. Meet my new friends the gecko family. I have not had the chance to name them all, and well, I think there are some who stay and some who go (each night), so I would say this house is quite the high traffic area for them. They are fast and great at keeping the house clean from bugs, so there's a bonus. There is one very cute little gecko who I think is a regular to my bedroom. Reason being: I am starting to recognize the patterns on his skin. While reading in my bed today and watching a chick-flick on TV, this little gecko constantly came over to me to make sure I was doing ok. He must have, because he only came to hang out with me when I got teared up to the silly movie (hate when I get so sloppy over movies).

So, every time this tiny gecko came over to see me, I stopped tearing up and started to laugh out loud (lol). By the end of the movie I have decided to give this little guy (only) a name. Ladies and gentlemen please meet my new friend Homer (hahah it's only fitting, unless you have a better one, feel free to share you ideas).

Look very closely beside Lammie. In this picture he is hanging out with his buddies Lammie and Buzz.


Homer does like to hang out with the big boys. They are teaching him how to be a sleek hunter. Again, look carefully, Homer is the tiny dot between the two large geckos.


Now, the furry friend I have to introduce through Google images (I have to mention this so I am not plagiarizing). This is not a picture I took, but it's a perfect representation of what I saw on my way home from the grocery store, hanging out on the electric wires near my house. I have not named this 'precious' fellow, but I am sure something will hit me in the next couple of days. These guys hang out just outside my window and each night they try to decide who owns the territory under my window seal. A little noisy at times, but let's not forget, I am the one who decided to come and live in a tropical climate, therefore I have to get accustom to all creatures living near by.

Just because I don't have a name for these creatures, then are called a possum. Cute huh?



Ok, I think that is a all for now. If you would like to know/see more of my place just call me on skype and I can show you around :-)

Miss you all!
xoxo

Jan 2010 - Byron Bay

Road trip to Byron Bay with 2 Canadian girls and 3 Ozi boys. I have enjoyed getting to know the city of Brisbane and find it very entertaining with the city lights at night, and amazing places to visit and things to do, but also I have enjoyed the exotic looks and feel of the place. However, let's talk about looks of other places more down south on the coast. Once arriving to Byron Bay I truly started to believe that I wasn't just in another city/place adding (another) initial to the end of my name.


I am living my dream (and if this is a repeat I apologize) but I am truly living what I have been wanting to do. I feel as if: I have signed up to do more education, for the better I hope, and along the way they threw in a free all-inclusive vacation. "Why not? She's worked hard up to now....let's make her last year worth while".

Once arriving to the open beach, I was shaking my head: how did I get this lucky. I am on the beach, sun on my face (maybe even too much sun, but at this point I am not even thinking about that), luke-warm salty water, and it's all real. Hahah, ok so some of you have comprehended the fact that I am living in an awesome place (even before I got here), but to me it is still a little surreal!

After my first round of sunscreen, I head to the waters, the waves are awesome, not overly large, just right for the little youngsters around me that are learning to surf. I can't wait till it's my turn to learn, but for this trip, I'm sticking to body surfing. Once rested and dry, the group decides to check out the light house, called the most eastern point of Australia. After applying round 2 of sunscreen this is what you see on our walk ...



Sand, water, rocks, and trees. These pictures do not do justice to the sight, but I have never seen such strong coulours in nature. During the walk we are all sun-kissed (I can already tell my skin is done for the day), and getting thirsty and tired. Once we re-fuel with some fish and chips, decide hey, why not check out Surfers Paradise on the way home. We have energy to swim some more (forgetting that we are already burned to crisp).

We arrive to Surfers, and my mouth drops. Ever since I knew this place existed I had a clear image in my head when I hear 'Surfers' Paradise' ...



..however, the picture above is still Byron Bay. I was not able to take a picture of Surfers' because the large concrete buildings didn't allow for much view that I felt a need to capture (now this is said when sitting in a car). It is definitely a happening place, but completely not what I have pictured. Not a bad place to visit at all, I do enjoy the city feeling combined with the beach right next to it (I need to experience this place some more, up close and on foot). But I guess I am just used to being on the beaches in Canada, and they are usually surrounded by nature, and little/ no skyscrapers in sight (Vancouver is an exception to this rule, but I was always a tourist there, not a regular).

I am still very excited to visit some friends at Surfers and have the full Gold Coast experience, but now I fell much more in touch with reality. Byron Bay does have a more hippy feel to it, which some of you know, is right inline with my taste :-)

The gang ended up driving through this place, we were just drained from the sun, 3rd round of sunscreen would not help us now, and it was too busy for a sunset swim. However, I really appreciated the eye-opening experience, and now I know to do a little research on a place before I invade and conquer it lol.

I am still planning on a Surfers' invasion ...but waiting for a perfect time: when I am all charged up with energy and ready to party !!!

Still Byron Bay :-)


Light house - Byron Bay

Meet Bruce (short memo)

Hey Guys !

This is going to be short but sweet.

Second day in Brisbane, and I think both my new best friends have been met and dealt with. Now the anticipation is over, and the cat's out of the bag!

Meet my other new friend, Bruce.

He was hanging out on my bathroom floor but did not notice him untill I was done with my business and noticed him in the corner near the door-way. I freaked out, called for my roommate but she was not in her room (she was out with a friend). I threw a towel on Bruce to keep him warm and hopefully contained in one space till Brigitte gets home.

I was hanging out in the living room, fell asleep, but when Brigitte got home I told her my encounter with Bruce, and she saved the day by first: a chasing session, and finally, stepping on him to end his life.

Brice was fast and furious while living his freedom, but he is now in cockroach heaven with the rest of his mates.

the end
:-)

Renata vs. Totto (Arriving to Brisbane)

I could start my next post by letting everyone know how my 34 hour flight went, how my first day was at the temporary apartment I am staying at, BUT there is a rather significant issue we need to get out in the open and out of the way here.

I decided to go for a little walk on my first day in this magical and tropical land. I searched online to find a nearest bank where I can open an account, and then I would just walk and see what's near my place. Nothing too stressful for today, and I have to be home on time because the roommates and I are going for dinner, Brigitte, Jay and Shawnda. On my way to the bank nothing exciting happened, only that I consciously have to tell myself to LOOK LEFT before stepping off the curb, then right. I'm still doing the cross check at each lane b/c I get flustered at times, but otherwise made it to the bank safe and sound.

I have started to walk with my head looking up all the time because the birds are just fascinating here. (Liz, you would not be impressed lol) There are parrots, with amazing colours, hanging out on tree tops. There are birds considered as pests which are birds I find tropical and interesting. But then again, people who live here are accustom to it, the same way squirrels don't excite Canadians anymore, but tourist eat them up 'they are so cute'! I am in the process of collecting pictures of the birds in this area and will make a separate post on it when I feel that I have captured a fair amount.



After, I got a yummy chi tea latte on ice, asked where there are cute stores to check out and a way I go. I took the same road back to get to the shopping strip, and about half way there my mouth drops and I am about to run the other direction screaming HELP! However, there are senior citizens out walking, don't want to scare them, and well, I have anticipated this day for about an entire year (since I decided to apply to UQ for my masters). So, I shut my mouth, kept walking, and said: your going to be ok! But then I stopped walking, took a deep breath, pulled out my camera, slowly turned around, looked up at what I saw and took a picture! I walked under this giant spider on my first walk, but on my second walk, with latte in hand, I was checking out the scenery above, and well this was waiting for me on my way back.

A spider, who now I have named Totto, was hanging out between 2 trees on his web. This guy is the size of my HAND if not larger since I was measuring him from the ground 5 feet and 3 inches up, and he was maybe another 3 feet from me. Here are the measurements to my hand: from pinky to thumb 19 cm (7.5 in) and from my middle finger to the base of my wrist again approx. the same 20 cm. This spider was that or more.



During the rest of my walk I was walking around the trees along the sidewalk (Thanks Karissa for the tip), and thinking to myself: Good that I saw Totto, now it's done and over with. Seen it, and over it. And then I thought, all those people who told me that spiders this large do not hang out in the city, I say: you lie ! (in a totally humorous tone lol) I had no doubt that Totto and I will meet sooner then later, but I never expected to be it my first day out and about.

I am still extremely excited to be here, but Totto will stay on my mind, and hopefully he will not confuse me for an insect or an antelope for dinner. I felt silly introducing Totto to my new roommates who are native to this tropical world, and are probably sick of me pointing out what seem to me glamorous, and to them average and boring.

I guess now I could tell you a bit about my arrival and flight of 34 hours. I flew Toronto-Vancouver for about 5 hours, slept the whole way since I got no sleep the night before, I was up packing till about 3 hours before flight. Once I arrived to Van city, there was a delay of 3 hours, and waiting, sleeping, reading, chatting at the airport for another 5 hours. There I got a voucher for 10$ due to the flight delay, and was told that if I miss my connecting flight in Hong Kong, I will also be treated to a hotel and a one night stay in the city. I said: Sweet :-)

On my 13 hour flight to Hong Kong, met my neighbor, she's from Winnipeg, and is heading to Melbourne to work and live the Ausi experience. We chatted a ton and got along real well. We made plans to check out Hong Kong together if we both miss our transfer flight. However, for some odd reason we ended up being early an hour, and we both made our planes, because they rushed us to boarding with those little cars. Bummer!

So after a 13 hour flight, I went pee, then was back on a flight of 7 hours to Carins. At this flight I met a rookie undergrad student, he was going into engineering at UQ. He was excited and asked loads of questions, even when I was watching my own movie. Now I know what it's like to hang out with me, or work with me :-) But he was very sweet, and talk just about anything pop culture has to offer.

Once arriving to Carins, we had to get off, pick up more people, and board to fly another 2 hours to Brisbane. Flying over the coast was beautiful, however I wasn't able to take pictures because my window was super messy. I slept the 2 hours because I was exhausted, and finally at 12:35 on time, arrived to humidity and sunshine to Brisbane, AUS. I got one of my check-in bag, and when I realized that everyone has left from my flight, I went to luggage services and asked: Have they seen a black suitcase? Sure enough, there was an announcement over the PA, calling my name but I was chatting probably and missed it.

My luggage was still in Hong Kong but would arrive that day at midnight. They will send it out the next day before noon. I said: Sweet! Less stuff to carry for me :-)

I went out to meet my driver. He was a super nice man, big smile on his face. I think I may have looked scary since I just flew 34 hours and felt like I haven't showered for a week.

Once I was at the new apartment, I met with Shawnda, who's room I am renting for a week and did some catching up. Then I was introduced to my new roommates as they came home from work, Jay, who's in construction, and Brigitte, who's working for the railway company, in the office, and has some interesting office stories.

That is all for now! Enjoy some of my camera work with a point-and-shoot.

The weekend is going to be hot hot hot :-)

Looking forward to Australia day on Tuesday, January 26th !!!

Love
R :-)

278, 279 days ... ready or not here I come !

Some of you may remember, but I was supposed to head to Australia June 2009, however, due to my decision (and now I realize it was the most appropriate decision) I had to postpone school for the following semester. Since April 15th, 2009 there has been 279 days which went by so fast, I am still in disbelief that I am heading down under. (mind you, I am writing this message form the Vancouver airport, yet my future still does not feel real)

To give you a little insight into how much I am in disbelief, here is a story about the night before departure. My plane to Vancouver departs at 9am, which means I have to be at the airport in Toronto 2 hours before departure, and I am still packing, at 4am on Tuesday 19th, 2009.

Now, some of you know me as a perfectionist and some know that I am very organized, usually much in advance, but I have been taking on a new form. No checklist, only a mental note on what I have to get done before my departure. I did not officially start getting ready till after the holidays, but tried to get somethings done here and there.

I now recognize that 2 weeks to prepare for a year of adventures might not be the ideal time line, especially when you are trying to box up your life entirely. So frantic and in overdrive mode, I kept packing, uploading my new computer, and re-organizing my room all day Monday. I still had loads of running around to do Monday morning, so I did not technically start my packing till about 4pm. Ha, I am looking back now thinking what was I thinking and "hope I did not forget anything!" (but I did: my travel mug!)

The only thing I did not get around to doing is write a thoughtful note on my blog. I wanted to share what I was feeling the night before I am heading off to an unknown yet super popular and fun place. I remember having some juicy ideas I was going to write about, but to be honest, I have lost them all while I was trying to finish up my last minute tasks. I was so exhausted from Mondays events, that I slept through a 4h flight to Vancouver.

My plane to Hong Kong is delayed an extra 2 hours, and I am trying to think hard on what I was going to share here but I feel useless :-)

Maybe after my 14h flight, or even on it, I will get my creative juices flowing.

I did want to mention here that I fell very luck to have such an amazing and supportive family and friends! You all know who you are and know that I am so grateful to have you in my life.

I have always been an independent soul (following my dreams), but over the past year I have realized how wonderful life is when you can celebrate, together with those who care for you. At times when I had the faintest doubt of what the future holds, your support gave me a chance to re-think and keep on the path assigned to me. So thank you everyone! And I know that this trip is only a tiny experience of the big picture :-)

What I found strange through this experience: now that I am comfortable in a place and surrounded by wonderful people, it is much more challenging to maintain focus on what my goals were in the past. I always felt that traveling was my calling, but all last week I found myself questioning why am I leaving all these wonderful people. And the only answer I can find is what my brother pointed out to me: Leaving people on a good note makes it a pleasure to come home!

Thank you all for an unforgettable year and I will make it my goal to keep you all in the loop throughout my travels and be a witness as I conquer my dreams :-)

Ok, and if I have to tell you one thing that makes me nervous (still): thinking about the size of these spiders who are all waiting for me to land!!! Why did I even bother packing closed toed shoes.

xoxo
R :-)

Current Events !

Just a heads up on my blog: it is still in the works but if you really think about it, it's my travel page so as long as I'm on the road it will always be in the works!

So read on, comment, send me your thoughts and hope to see most of you keep in touch on my trip!!

XOXO
R :-)