Saturday, September 29, 2007
It was a fairly easy day today. Nothing big, no big plans. We got to sleep in, which was a big bonus. I packed a lunch for Gary and I and we went out on the town, seeking fame, fortune and adventure. It's hard finding those when you take the bus. We planned on going to the Orchard Park Mall, to do a bit of shopping, learn the bus system and get our bearings as to where everything is. Gary had never rode this style of bus system, and me? Well, public transit is a feasable challenge. I took him to some book stores, clothing stores, electronic stores. There was a large booth for the 2010 Vancouver olympics, which I thought might have something about the 2008 Beijing olympics, to make Gary feel more at home. Sadly, they did not. But one girl did give Gary some pins to take home, we played a snowboarding game for the Wii and there was a gymnast signing cards. I told Gary to ask her for her phone number (out loud) but she said she had a boyfriend. Now, usually I'd be used to his. But Gary asked me some questions that got me thinking; he wanted to know if he could ask beautiful girls, like that one, if he could be there friends. I felt kind of bad when I told him it's not that easy, that most of us have to talk to them to learn more about them, and that sometimes it happens naturally. It's a shame too, because shouldn't it BE that easy? You don't have to be their girlfriend or boyfriend obviously, but just a friend. He was a bit paranoid about causing sexual harassment, which I totally understood, being from a different set of customs that may include how you talk to the opposite sex. Not even a week with my counterpart and I'm questioning my culture.
My new home
I still don't have time to upload photos or even give a big long paragraph about what I've been up to. I'm just giving my new address and phone number for anyone out there interested in calling me.
Kelowna, BC, Canada
385 Husch Rd
V1X 1M9
250-765-3340
Kelowna, BC, Canada
385 Husch Rd
V1X 1M9
250-765-3340
Friday, September 28, 2007
Good bye Hazelton
Never thought I'd say THAT again. But sure enough, I'm off on my travels. And I couldn't be happier. I decided a blog was the way to go. Much better then spending an hour typing an insanely huge email that only 1/5 the recipients read anyway, and most of them complaining it's too long. So I have a blog that I will update periodically, cuz I work that way. There will be the best photos as opposed to them all, because I take a LOT of pictures. And with that, the adventure begins (que the orchestra)
It was a similar goodbye to Katimavik; hugs from parents and friend at the aiport. I felt like a guilty bastard for not showing a shred of emotion but inside was an intense fire of sadness, excitement and other tingly things I can't find words to describe. But I didn't break down into tears. I just popped on my iPod and laughed at the subtle irony of the songs.
The flights were fairly short, and soon, I was in the Kelowna airport, eagerly awaiting other Canada World Youth friends I had talked to before hand. They werent' hard to find as just like Katimavik, they are easy to spot. Incidentally, I will be refering to Katimavik, a lot! Spotting Felix's dreads proved me right. I found a group of very eager teenagers ready to travel, learn and have a blast. Just like Katimavik, we were agast with stories to share, rumours we heard about the CWY program, eagerness of our counterparts and just a blaze of energy that eventually wore off on the bus, but returned when we arrived at our project orientation camp, or POC. It was the Circle Square Ranch (great name, huh?) We moved our bags in quickly and made it our playground.
I quickly made friends. Hell, everyone became friends. The energy was just incredible. Everyone got along. However, living together for 9 months doesn't allow that merriness to last forever, but a 5 day orientation camp sure does. The next day, our counterparts arrived. We were a bit surprised that our group of possible counterparts were quite older; some 26 or 27, and most married! But the Chinese participants were all very energetic as well and very endearing to our culture and habits. In fact, the culture shock they brought was a bit more of a surprise than I imagined. This was almost all of their first time out of Beijing or even China! They were amazed at everything, the trees, the mountains, the people. But I'm sure I will be too. We had buddies we were to care for, show around and watch out for during the camp. I realized the extent of the culture shock when I had to explain to my buddy, Gary (Guo Qi) that spaghetti was a fun food you ate with a fork. He didn't know how! But there's nothing wrong with that. It's part of the experience. Thankfully, their English was well, so that made things easier. So from there, we explained everything, to english phrases, to food, to mannerisms, to the way we dressed. They were always happy to ask questions and we were always happy to answer, when we could. Through out the week, we attended workshops and activities that taught us how to deal with CWY, the rules and regulations, how to work and get along with our counterparts and other aspects of the program. There was plenty of free time in which we played games or just chatted, which is when we learned the most about our Chinese friends. They are very similar and apparently love ping pong and fooseball. They picked it up so fast, we held a tournament in which many of them put up a great match! I was impressed. We held a Canadian Soiree for them too, with short skits, plays, activities and songs from our Canadian culture, usually from youth. We played a small joke, having someone pretend to be a bear and come out of the bush. But they take it in great stride. It was a fantastic night. A mock wedding ceremony was held the night after to present our chosen counterparts. We were blind folded and led into a mock alter where Maxime, one of our project supervisors "wedded us in holy counterpartnership in the name of the CWY and CYCIPE program." Although our buddies weren't necessarily our counterparts, most of them ended up actually being our counterparts. My counterpart is Gary, or Guo Qi (Goo Tsee phonetically) a 27 year old public servant from the Chinese province of Beijing. He's a bit reserved, but I think we're gonna get along quite well. After the wedding ceremony, we had a dance party and introduced our counterparts to some Canadian music (some good, some bad. *cough RAP *cough) We got EVERYONE boogying that night! I think we have already done a great job of bridging the cultural gap we have. They embrace our silly and relaxed nature with good attitudes. Our large group was split up into our project placements: Kelowna/Beijing and North Okanagan/Jing Xian ( I think that's the province) To explain, EVERYONE was at one orientation camp, but was split up into those two groups that were decided a long time ago. It was a shame, because I was getting along with everyone so well, and now I won't see half those people for 3 months, and then not again for another 3 months! Even my own group! It's not Katimavik, where you live in a house with a group of people for 9 months. You live with your COUNTERPART with a HOST FAMILY for 3 months. However, I will see MY group friends and their counterparts like every 3 days for educational activity days (EAD's) or community activity days (CAD's) or when I visit them during my own free time. We left after we hosted a pot luck with the host families and met them. I live with a very, very nice single woman with two kids. Although I haven't met them yet, I'm sure it will be great. This is our first night at our host family's house, Gary's on the phone with his family in Beijing and I'm typing like a mad man to start this travel blog, just like I said I would. However, I think photos will have to wait. I have like 200, just from the orientation camp! But THIS time, I don't have the bitch camera to take pictures for a group. I will send notices of the updates to this website instead of the lengthy emails so people can check up on my adventure when it's convienient for them. Until the next update, I hope y'all miss me.
It was a similar goodbye to Katimavik; hugs from parents and friend at the aiport. I felt like a guilty bastard for not showing a shred of emotion but inside was an intense fire of sadness, excitement and other tingly things I can't find words to describe. But I didn't break down into tears. I just popped on my iPod and laughed at the subtle irony of the songs.
The flights were fairly short, and soon, I was in the Kelowna airport, eagerly awaiting other Canada World Youth friends I had talked to before hand. They werent' hard to find as just like Katimavik, they are easy to spot. Incidentally, I will be refering to Katimavik, a lot! Spotting Felix's dreads proved me right. I found a group of very eager teenagers ready to travel, learn and have a blast. Just like Katimavik, we were agast with stories to share, rumours we heard about the CWY program, eagerness of our counterparts and just a blaze of energy that eventually wore off on the bus, but returned when we arrived at our project orientation camp, or POC. It was the Circle Square Ranch (great name, huh?) We moved our bags in quickly and made it our playground.
I quickly made friends. Hell, everyone became friends. The energy was just incredible. Everyone got along. However, living together for 9 months doesn't allow that merriness to last forever, but a 5 day orientation camp sure does. The next day, our counterparts arrived. We were a bit surprised that our group of possible counterparts were quite older; some 26 or 27, and most married! But the Chinese participants were all very energetic as well and very endearing to our culture and habits. In fact, the culture shock they brought was a bit more of a surprise than I imagined. This was almost all of their first time out of Beijing or even China! They were amazed at everything, the trees, the mountains, the people. But I'm sure I will be too. We had buddies we were to care for, show around and watch out for during the camp. I realized the extent of the culture shock when I had to explain to my buddy, Gary (Guo Qi) that spaghetti was a fun food you ate with a fork. He didn't know how! But there's nothing wrong with that. It's part of the experience. Thankfully, their English was well, so that made things easier. So from there, we explained everything, to english phrases, to food, to mannerisms, to the way we dressed. They were always happy to ask questions and we were always happy to answer, when we could. Through out the week, we attended workshops and activities that taught us how to deal with CWY, the rules and regulations, how to work and get along with our counterparts and other aspects of the program. There was plenty of free time in which we played games or just chatted, which is when we learned the most about our Chinese friends. They are very similar and apparently love ping pong and fooseball. They picked it up so fast, we held a tournament in which many of them put up a great match! I was impressed. We held a Canadian Soiree for them too, with short skits, plays, activities and songs from our Canadian culture, usually from youth. We played a small joke, having someone pretend to be a bear and come out of the bush. But they take it in great stride. It was a fantastic night. A mock wedding ceremony was held the night after to present our chosen counterparts. We were blind folded and led into a mock alter where Maxime, one of our project supervisors "wedded us in holy counterpartnership in the name of the CWY and CYCIPE program." Although our buddies weren't necessarily our counterparts, most of them ended up actually being our counterparts. My counterpart is Gary, or Guo Qi (Goo Tsee phonetically) a 27 year old public servant from the Chinese province of Beijing. He's a bit reserved, but I think we're gonna get along quite well. After the wedding ceremony, we had a dance party and introduced our counterparts to some Canadian music (some good, some bad. *cough RAP *cough) We got EVERYONE boogying that night! I think we have already done a great job of bridging the cultural gap we have. They embrace our silly and relaxed nature with good attitudes. Our large group was split up into our project placements: Kelowna/Beijing and North Okanagan/Jing Xian ( I think that's the province) To explain, EVERYONE was at one orientation camp, but was split up into those two groups that were decided a long time ago. It was a shame, because I was getting along with everyone so well, and now I won't see half those people for 3 months, and then not again for another 3 months! Even my own group! It's not Katimavik, where you live in a house with a group of people for 9 months. You live with your COUNTERPART with a HOST FAMILY for 3 months. However, I will see MY group friends and their counterparts like every 3 days for educational activity days (EAD's) or community activity days (CAD's) or when I visit them during my own free time. We left after we hosted a pot luck with the host families and met them. I live with a very, very nice single woman with two kids. Although I haven't met them yet, I'm sure it will be great. This is our first night at our host family's house, Gary's on the phone with his family in Beijing and I'm typing like a mad man to start this travel blog, just like I said I would. However, I think photos will have to wait. I have like 200, just from the orientation camp! But THIS time, I don't have the bitch camera to take pictures for a group. I will send notices of the updates to this website instead of the lengthy emails so people can check up on my adventure when it's convienient for them. Until the next update, I hope y'all miss me.
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