I did it!Kate conquers the Great Wall of China.I could write a lot about the Great Wall. I did my best to write about it in my paper journal. Here are excerpts from my journal, which can probably best put into words my thoughts on this World Heritage Site. "The drive to the Great Wall was a long and winding one. According to Griff, it makes the Sea to Sky Highway in BC feel smooth. The Great Wall tour did not include the cable car ticket. We could've walked, but our time there was limited. The cable car was 80¥, and you had the option of taking either the cable car or a toboggan down. Yes, a toboggan. :D The Great Wall was incredible! I am still in awe over it. The steps are all different sizes. Some were tiny baby steps, whereas others were giant BIG steps that went most of the way up to my knee. The big steps were tough to climb, and there were not always handrails. I was glad at one point that there was a (vertical) wall to my right, so I coudl grip that for balance. Every section we climbed had a different, ... [more..]

FamJamMy family and I at my BEd graduation.I'm not someone that gets homesick that often. As much as I love my family (a LOT), I often find myself missing different things from back home...such as:  • my bed and pillow  • personal space  • English Breakfast tea  • Diet Coke (not so much since I left Korea, but in Yongin it was non-existent)  • teaching/daily routines I'd been feeling homesick while I fell ill in Beijing, but it hit an all-time high at the Beijing airport, while walking to our gate (the furthest possible gate away, of course). Gate E07 Flight AC 8353 Toronto My heart sank. I can't tell you how much part of me wanted to bail on the rest of my trip, go home, and wake up in my own bed Friday morning. Obviously I'm glad I came to Hong Kong and am continuing on my trip, but my God, it was tempting! Homesickness is when...  • you wish your mom was there to take care of you when you're sick.  • your dad isn't here to solve your computer problems.  • your brother touches his computer monitor, hoping to feel your face BFFaeaeKate and Michelle at the Boston Public Garden ... [more..]

The CaptainLeaving Mandalay, I opted for the slow ferry heading to Bagan. With a 5:30 am departure, it was only $10. The ride should have been between eleven and fifteen hours, though it slowly turned into seventeen hour cruise down river. Lined with Burmese families, they spread themselves across the floorboards laying on their mats. Families huddled together draped in their handmade blankets to stay warm. I wasn't expecting Myanmar to be this cold. Roosters crowed and the sun beganto rise as we slowly pulled out of the dock leaving Mandalay behind. As the morning progressed I could see the families were very interested in the handful of foreigners along for the ride. The people I met were kind and generous. Sure, some of them wanted to sell me blankets, and food, but how else would they make any money. Each person I spoke with laughed at my Burmese though enjoyed hearing a white person make an attempt at the language. Throughout the day from family to family I learned new words, enjoyed some food, and played with the children. For many of them, it was their first time seeing and speaking with westerner. It was surprising to me the ... [more..]

First class "bed"ok so i've been bad so far this trip. Been to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and surrounds so far. first I forgot that my computer has a three pronged plug and my adapter doesn't take those - just regular two prongs. so i had no computer for hte first few days. Then I finally got that fixed (fixed=scraping out the adapter and then jamming the plug in. That was a couple days ago and I just had two busy days in Copenhagen and was too tired to blog. Also, my small bag (manbag) the zipper broke the first day! I'm so rotted. I can still open adn close it but the zipper is separating from the bag so one of these times its just going to conk out. Hopefully it'll last another week. Anyways, guess I'll start at the beginning. It was a dicey start getting to the airport for my 625 flight last friday morning. Woke up to a raging blizzard. All westjet flights were cancelled the night before but Air Canada still said good to go. Got up in the morning, still showing on time so dad plows out the outer ring and I'm Apps ... [more..]

No particuar meaning to the title today, except for the fact that it is the name of a song that I've had on repeat for the past 48 hours or so...might be more. Its AMAZING. By Gotye. Check it out!!Its finally friday and I couldn't be happier! I could really use this weekend, it has been a busy week. Just spent all day in the workshop making my "Future Strategy Map" for my studio course. Its due on Monday. Everything seems to be coming along nicely.1 week from now I begin a 2 week mini-vacation to Stonehenge, Amsterdam, South Holland and either Prague or come back to the UK and visit Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. Any thoughts?? I'm super excited nonetheless. Why do I have 2 random weeks off in February you ask? Well, you see there are 2 things here called Mid-term review week and Reading week. Reading week is the week after Mid-term reviews that everyone has off. Most people will be here for Mid-term week...however, since I "don't have any work for my professors to 'review'" I can take this glorious opportunity to travel for an extra week! YAY =] The only catch is, I ... [more..]