vendredi 18 décembre 2009
Christmas vacation
Although I'm a fan of occasional white Christmases, I'm finding that this is too much snow for my liking. I don't think I've ever spent Christmas away from home but the temptation to leave this winter weather is increasing by the day. I'm still praying about where and when exactly I can go (if I can, for that matter) but it'll be wonderful to escape winter driving and having my car tires spin in the mounds of snow that have been building up. Even if I don't get to go somewhere, the nice thing is that I can stay at home and avoid going out. The irony though is that the weather is probably warming up just about now, so I probably had to go to work when it was at its worst. At least I'm off of work for now! :)
Update: Hurrah - I'll be able to spend Christmas away from the snow now :) Last-minute trips are always such a fun rush!
mardi 21 juillet 2009
Post-travel assessment
Hello: open spaces, sunshine, towels that actually dry, clean clothes, and family
Goodbye: mold, daddy long-legs, living out of my luggage, delicious food, and really good friends
I'm home again!
Libellés : travel
vendredi 5 octobre 2007
A mini-breather
Happy October! I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to finally sit down and collect my thoughts. Things have constantly been on the go since my last post in August. After my best friend visited me for a few days in Montreal and I got to do all the touristy things with her, we headed down to New York City. What a blast that was! We took in Broadway, Times Square, Brooklyn and all the other prerequisite attractions like museums and walking tours. And the food... I cannot even explain how great it was (one exception was the pretzel street vendors). It was as if everything was done gourmet-style there; honestly, their grocery stores like Dean & DeLuca and Whole Foods Market are so aesthetically pleasing and delicious to take in. What an experience it was overall! It would have been nice to post a few things on here while I was on my trip, but it was so much better not having internet access on my vacation that when I got back, I almost didn't want to go online again - thus the very inconsistent updates on my blog.
Anyways, I've been back at school for over a month now and it still feels like I'm not quite in the academic mode yet, although I should be since I've been handing in a some papers already! I have an extremely heavy course load this semester because I couldn't complete one of my classes during the summer. I am going a tad insane with the amount of things I have to do (my to-do list is over two pages long now!) but I'm thrilled that I just have a year left in my program :) I cannot wait until school is finished; I'm starting to refer to things as AG - after graduation - now, which isn't too good on my morale at the moment! I'm praying that in the midst of all this busyness that I won't miss time with God. It's so tempting to think that I can work my relationship with God "later" but one thing that really hit me this summer was that "later" is "now". So the next few weeks of my life are going to be quite the adventure as I wrestle with figuring things out like priorities and deadlines. You'd think that after being a student for many years that I'd finally figure this one out, but nope!
Well, I haven't given up on this blog yet. In fact, I think I'll be starting another one for a school assignment but I don't think I'll keep that one up long-term. I'm still pretty content with this one and happy that I can still come back whenever and drop a little note. Ahh, life is good and it's nice to be home.
Libellés : Montreal, seminary, travel
jeudi 8 juin 2006
Uncommon thread
It's funny that I now have a chance to get on here to write something just when Blogger shuts down for maintenance. Well, classes are finishing up and I have four exams to go through today and tomorrow. After that, I am off! I don't know what my plans are for Montréal while I'm there but I would like to go to La Ronde. Other random thoughts along the lines of Michelle:
1. Reading Mara's blog has made me realize how much I miss books in general. I have had dreams of my bookshelf while I've been here. And it's a small world after all - there's a girl in my class who was in her Bible study group (all the way on the other side of the country!) :)
2. Typing on a French keyboard is something I am getting used to but it takes me twice as long to get anything written. I practised on my English keyboard at home but it's actually different when there are extra keys.
3. I am terrible at predicting the weather. It's a good thing I am not a meterologist. A couple of times now I have been caught in the rain and wind without a coat as well as baking in the sun because I did bring one.
4. I just learned yesterday where the 3-hole punch is at my university. Three days before the end of the course. Now I feel silly for lugging around tons of unpunched paper, scared that they would fall somewhere.
5. Reading Leviticus has given me a new awe for the holiness of God. Reading Numbers has made me realize that were it not for the intercession of Moses for the Israelites, they would have been wiped out time and again for their sins. What a heart Moses had for his people.
6. Not cooking at all this past month has made me really appreciate mothers who spend time in the kitchen everyday preparing culinary delights so that their family can savour a new feast together.
7. The nicest thing about taking classes in a hotel is that there is a chipper doorman to greet us everyday, although he hasn't been present lately and that makes me a little sad. Speaking of chipper, I frequently see squirrels and chipmunks when I walk to class.
8. The title of this entry originally made no sense, showing how my English has deteriorated over the weeks that I've been trying to pick up French. I think all my language learning attempts cancel each other out though as I now think in a mixture of three languages. Oy, adventures in words.
9. I am in a wedding next week! I can't believe that my friend is getting married in a few days! I remember lunches spent at Pizza Hut talking about boys and now she will married. Another one of my friends whom I used to have these chats with is also getting married at the end of summer, leading me to believe that someday, these conversations could become reality.
10. Because Blogger goes to French by default on the school computers, I am unable to check my spelling on here. Not that I rely on the checker, but it's always funny to see the word «blog» appear as a misspelling. I think I'm getting better at figuring out what button to press though.
11. When I get back home, I will have eighteen books waiting for me at the public library. Some of the ones I'm really anticipating (sorry, no links):
- The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (Samuel P. Huntington)
- Is the Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism (Mark Noll)
- Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power (David Aikman)
- The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (Alister E. McGrath)
12. Thanks for still linking to me even though I've been away for a month :) And for reading this, bien sûr.
Libellés : books, French, travel
vendredi 2 juin 2006
A distant echo
Finally, a chance to write on here. This past month has probably been the worst for updating in the almost three years I've had this! At the same time, I have not kept up with what's been happening to anyone, so I have a lot of archives to go through when I get back!
I can remember the first day that I spent in Québec City and how I was already counting down the days until I could go back to Montréal - I'm hitting the single digits now! Looking back after a month, I suppose I have had an enjoyable time here. I've experienced the shock of dorm life and I've learned to be very grateful for every morsel of food that comes my way. For the first time ever in my life, I have been able to read my Bible in the mornings when I get up rather than just before I fall asleep with the worry that I will end up crumpling some pages (but out of habit, I can't not go to bed without reading it either).
Along with this quick update, I should mention that my French classes have been going well. Learning another language has definitely kept me humble as there are many days where I cannot even communicate on the simplest level. It's the worst when my professor calls on me during one of my staring-off-into-space moments in class (I don't think I ever used to do this!).
There's more I could say, but learning French has affected my writing abilities in my own language so I'm going to keep this short. I hope that by the time I get home, my brain isn't as muddled as it has been for the last few weeks :)
samedi 13 mai 2006
In college again
I know, it's been a while since I've posted anything but it's been hard to find a moment to get on a computer, much less Blogger! I'm currently in Quebec City studying French and living the cruddy dorm life. I can now relate to the whole noodles and microwave dinners meal plan. I used to wonder what it was like to live in res, now I know that I was folle (crazy) - thanks Mara, I keep forgetting to match adjectives to the subject. One washroom per floor is a tad scary and not having pots and pans has rendered me nutritionally starved. Anyways, enough complaining. I hope to write of cheerier news on here soon :)
vendredi 28 avril 2006
Back and forth
In the craziness that is my life, I will be flying back to Montreal in just a few days! Things ended up working out for me to come back to Quebec for the first part of this summer so I'll be studying French up in Quebec City. I would have chosen Montreal simply because I can somewhat figure out my way around the city now but I've gotten away with speaking English much too often there. Being in Quebec City; now that will be a challenge!
* Too bad flight costs keep going up. At least the loonie is on the rise! Calgary housing rates are going through the roof. The Flames will need to win the next 2 out of 3 games. I'm going to miss seeing the playoffs while I study French. I pray that Southern Alberta will be spared another flooding season.
dimanche 5 mars 2006
Ragamans
I mean, anagrams. I learned of this off of the montreal city weblog and noticed some creative transit maps from Boing Boing of cities that I've taken transit in: Calgary, Vancouver, Boston and Montreal, Montreal 2. Language isn't exactly clean on any of these (maybe that will be the next challenge!) but it is a pretty humourous idea. Ahh transit.
Libellés : Calgary, Montreal, travel
mercredi 29 juin 2005
Part deux
This is touted as the "most photographed street in America". I just ended up adding to that statistic, didn't I. It's called Acorn Street, also in Beacon Hill. Quaint, with the expected American flag.
And here is the church that I went to, Park Street Church. I'd have to say that it was very American-looking on the inside. You know, how in the movies they usually show churches with a second level and an organ on the side, and the people sitting there with fans and hats. Okay, I didn't see fans and hats, but I still felt transported to another world.
This is the Old State House. I'm assuming they outgrew it, hence the name. And since I'm not a historian, I really don't have more to say about this landmark :)
I got to see this colourful church that looks like it was turned into a transit station while I was in Back Bay. It was during one of the only nice days in Boston and I even got a bit of a tan walking around that day. Of all the days to forget sunscreen!
This was a mural painted on the side of a building on Newbury Street. It reminded me of some of the paintings that I saw in Québec City, so I took a picture of this one, although it's not quite as complete.
A completely unexpected stop, but this was one of the fun things about my trip - to randomly go in and out of places without a schedule. I wandered into Church of the Covenant to look at the beautiful Tiffany stained glass, and it ended up being a field trip for what I learned in History of Christianity class. This is a picture of the Four Women of the Bible Representing the Spirit of Christianity, with Miriam to represent joy, Deborah for courage, Mary of Bethany for devotion and Dorcas for charity. You can also see the sanctuary lantern, which refers to the angels of the seven Christian churches in Revelation.
And here is a closeup of one of the stained glass windows, the Road to Emmaus or Hospitality window. The details on everything was just exquisite. Seeing these whetted my appetite to learn more about Christian art and iconography. Good thing my theology prof always includes a bunch of the classical paintings in each of his lectures :)
Heh heh, I know it's sad that this is one of my favourite pictures from Boston, but it's downright hilarious! I've never seen a city toilet before, surely that is some momentous occasion. Funny thing is that there was a nice building across the street from this, which other tourists were taking pictures of, and here I was aiming my camera at the city toilet! My friend pointed out how awkward it would be to be on the pay phone, knowing there's someone using the toilet at the same time.
I didn't actually go shopping at the Quincy Market or the Faneuil Hall Marketplace since it was so crowded the day I went (Memorial Day Weekend). I only went because I heard it resembled Athenian architecture, and that seemed interesting. I also had my first Dunkin' Donuts there, only to find out that it's not just an American thing because Montréal has it too!
My last Boston picture. Grabbed it in the rain quickly after church let out. This is the State House, upgraded from the Old State House. It has a yellow dome, which makes it stick out. It kind of reminded me of some building in Calgary that has a shiny metallic dome. And there you go, my two week vacation in Boston this year.
I'll post my Montréal and Québec City pictures at a later time.
Libellés : travel
vendredi 24 juin 2005
Vacation photos
Blogger now has picture posting! Now that I don't have to use Hello to upload pictures, it's going to be much easier to post them on here. The only drawback so far is that I have to deal with spacing issues in both Explorer and Firefox. Eh, minor details.
So here are a couple of shots from my trip a few weeks ago. This must have been the state slogan of Massachusetts. I ended up seeing this billboard everywhere, which made me wonder if the residents found it funny. You couldn't escape that phrase!
And this was a funny sign (recycling one) I saw on the subway doors. I actually sat there and analyzed its meaning, in the active and passive voice. Neither made any sense as to why it would need to be stated on the doors. Probably part of the Boston charm.
I saw this on the Harvard campus. I think it was a church that was either still a church or now a meeting hall. I saw it when I was randomly getting lost on the school grounds in the rain.
Hmm, a little anecdote from while I was strolling through Harvard University. For some reason, the Harvard students that I saw all felt the need to wear Harvard-insignia clothes. Kind of a way to show that they really do go to the school. But... anybody can buy Harvard clothes - they sell them everywhere! Even tiny clothing booths meant to attract tourists sell knockoff versions. Did you know that each dorm house has their own Harvard colour combinations? That's right, you can identify people by the house they live in! Oy, I am having too much fun with this.
This was the subway station that I got off at to attend church. And surprise, that church was called Park Street Church, which I later found out was on the Freedom Trail. Someone I know goes to that church and recommended it to me, so I had no idea it was a tourist attraction. Anyways, this station goes right into the Boston Common, Downtown and the Public Gardens.
Ah ha! The famous Public Gardens, famous because it was the first. And this here is somebody on a horse. I'm afraid I didn't pay much attention to the monuments in the Gardens. There were a lot and almost all of people I haven't heard of. Still very nice, much like being in an outdoors Devonian Gardens.
This is apparently Senator John Kerry's house in Louisburg Square in Beacon Hill. There were several other tourists taking pictures of it as well, so I figured I was in the right place (although I still have my doubts because there were two houses with American flags). Ha, I can now say that I was standing in front of the house of a presidential candidate. Now I just need a picture of Stephen Harper's house to finish the collection.
I suppose the funny thing is that most people I've showed this picture to have asked, "Who's John Kerry?" As of yet, only Mara has had the reaction I expected. Kind of like a "Talking to Canadians" thing.
More pictures to come...
Libellés : travel
mardi 7 juin 2005
Running on 3 hours
That's all the sleep I've had from last night (didn't get back from Québec City until past midnight) and on the flight today. I'm really tired but here's a quick snapshot of what I ended up doing and/or seeing in Boston, Montréal and Québec City.
Boston
- Elaborate looking bath houses
- Experienced Papa Gino's, D'Angelo Subs, Boston Market, Finagle A Bagel
- Crazy subway system and bus fares
- Attended Park Street Church
- Saw Boston Common, Public Gardens, empty Frog Pond, State House
- Read a little Théologie Evangélique and saw other French periodicals at the Theological Library
- Whilst reading the Harvard University Gazette, noticed that one of my classmates from high school won an award
- Survived a "Nor'easter" (oooh)
- Explored Beacon Hill, Back Bay, almost all of downtown
- Lots of Catholic television on basic cable
- Took pictures of Church of the Covenant
- First time in the States on Memorial Day
- Rainy weather practically every day
Montréal
- Got to see friends again!
- Went to same Pizza Hut from the last trip
- Convergence of people from Alberta, North Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, California, Louisiana, and of course, Québec
- Week of French toast, French salad dressing, French fries in poutine, and a French manicure
- Helped clean youth centre for wedding and put up decorations
- Attended Heartquake, a city-wide bilingual youth worship event
- Gorgeous wedding, wonderful reception (emo!) and a fun dance (Quatro!)
- Had authentic French-Canadian crepes, I was so spoiled!
- Went to church, probably the one that I'll attend next year
- Met with everyone from the last trip, prayer times and pictures
- Hot weather - at least 35 degrees Celsius the whole time!
Québec City
- Rest stop at Drummondville
- Stayed at Auberge Internationale du Québec, the five of us had our own suite
- Familiar sights of the city sans le neige
- Crepes once again at Casse-Crepe Breton
- Heavy rain, running up the really steep hills and killing my knees
- Ate at St. Hubert - stuffed to capacity!
- Mini concert at Chateau de Frontenac
- Sad goodbyes with everyone, cool lightning storms
And now, I will have to wait another six months until I'm back in Montréal. It's going to be hard to wait that long! I dropped off my film today, so I'm anxious to get them back :)
mercredi 25 mai 2005
Delayed update
Finally, I have internet access on my trip! Currently, I am at the Andover-Harvard Theological Library at the Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge. I've been browsing here for a few hours and looking at books and periodicals. Today was my Harvard day so I was able to go around Harvard Square, Harvard Yard, and do a lot of sight-seeing. I also did some shopping at the Harvard Cooperative Society. I have a couple more days here in Boston and then I'll be heading to Montreal to visit my friends and go to a wedding. I hope to have more computer time there. So far, it's been raining a ton so I am just recovering from being soaked and drenched. Will try to write more when I get a chance!
Libellés : travel
lundi 16 mai 2005
Au revoir again
Well, I head off today! I still haven't finished packing which is so contrary to my nature, (I once packed a month in advance for a trip that later got cancelled) so you know what I'll be running around doing today. All of my travel details are confirmed, but seeing as how this trip was oft-talked about but not really planned, I have no clue what I'll be up to in the next few weeks. I guess those are the best kinds of trips! I'll update when I can, although I wish I had a digital camera so that I could post pictures too. A verbal account will have to suffice :)
Libellés : travel
jeudi 12 mai 2005
Ocean to ocean
This must be the year of oceans for me. Having rarely travelled when I was younger, the closest I ever got to seeing the ocean was behind a fence in California that warned of rattlesnakes in the area. To think that I was in LA and I never went to the beach! I did see it from far off when I went to Vancouver earlier this year though. Combining those two times could somewhat add up to a Pacific Ocean experience. And now I'll be going to Boston, where I hope I get a chance to see the Atlantic Ocean! I guess this gives away how much of a prairie dweller I am :)
Right now, I'm trying to find some churches in the MA area. I'm finding the Willow Creek Find-A-Church site pretty helpful, but something I have never understood is the way cities/counties are divided up. The fact that you can be in two different named cities within a ten-mile radius of each other boggles my mind. This came up repeatedly when I was in Los Angeles and Montréal, and it's still something I don't comprehend. Anyways, I've narrowed it down to two churches which are close to each other but in different cities.
So my back's in cahoots, my computer sounds like it has gone through the "Funky Broadway Hitchhike Hully-Gully" dance, and I have yet to pack. Major blessing though: One of my friends was able to help me find accommodation in Montréal, and I'll be staying with a friend that I made when I went in February! I'll probably never travel this much again, but I'm sure glad I get to now. I just can't believe how much I have to do before I go!
On a different topic, who ever said that convocation couldn't be fun? I saw on the news today that the U of C has awarded an honorary degree to its first canine. Sounds like he deserves it!
Libellés : travel
