A Vagabond's Inspiration

42 countries and a cast of thousands...one of my favorite videos: Where the hell is Matt?

Learnings from LEADER

[Siberia in the Winter - picture taken by my student, Sofia]

I have been home for a couple of weeks now and still can't stop thinking about Siberia. The places, the faces, the feeling - it was such an incredible, life changing experience.

I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive before I left…for the first time I was going to a place where no one I knew had ever been. Just the sound of "Siberia" invoked the charm of a forgotten land full of desolate, endless snow and stories of romantic exile. How surprised I was to see a place not so different from home. Probably because, as I researched later, Calgary and Irkutsk are around the same latitude (Calgary 51°N & Irkutsk 52°N). Curiouser and curiouser…

So what did I learn from this amazing experience? Not sure if I can clearly articulate the bulk of it, but I'll give it a go...

I learned that Siberia is massive and that it's full of universities and research institutions. I learned of the vast opportunity that exists for business leaders in Siberian cities, and that 70-80% of Russia's natural resources are in Siberia. I learned about the extreme differences in climate and topography - to the north, there are large areas of tundra. To the south, there is taiga, or areas of dense forest. To the East and South, the Sayan and Altai mountains dominate. I learned that Lake Baikal, the pearl of Siberia, is the most voluminous fresh water lake in the world. Most of you know that I love the wonder of geology, and the crescent shaped shores of the pristine lake are filled with lapis lazuli, lazurite, charoite, jade, quartz, and much, much more.

However, these facts mean nothing unless I try to describe the real feeling of the place. I constantly think about the people - the students were so bright, hardworking, and determined to succeed - despite institutional barriers. I admire the deep eclectic purple of the Charoite stone (a gem "endemic" to the Baikal area) that I brought home with me, and I liken it to the mystery of the Buriyat people. I remember the legend of the Shaman rock, and I can almost taste the calm, peaceful, Buddhist air of the Baikal area. I wear my traditional Russian rose Pavlo Posadskyi scarf, and I am reminded of a confidant, great conversation, and hopefully a life long friend.
 
But most of all, I learned that no matter how far you are from home, you just have to look inside yourself to realize home was always there in the first place...

Excuse me, ma'am, what is the status of your Visa?

Hmm…not quite sure!! We have been facing so many roadblocks this past couple of weeks that I am not even sure if I will be embarking on the adventure as scheduled….9 days from now!

This is the usual process flow:

Receive Letter of Invitation from Host University ---> Send to Russian Consulate --> Get Visa in passport --> Start LEADER adventure

However, everything that could go wrong in this process, has! Murphy's Law I guess.

Our Letters of Invitation (LOI) were sent for the wrong day (meaning we had to reschedule our flights so that we would be entering Russia on a later date than originally planned) and then we found out that we need to get certain blood tests because they sent us a different class of LOI then they usually do! This puts us in a very tight time frame…as the tests generally take 2 weeks to get back…and I am leaving in 9 days.

Silver lining:

Since I couldn’t go to Moscow as originally scheduled, I have re-routed to spend some time in Prague….which I am VERY excited about. Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic center of the Czech Republic for more than 1100 years and is situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia. Castles, architecture, crystal, oh my! I am staying in Old Town (Staré Město) and cannot wait to check out the spired towers of Týn Cathedral.



That is, of course, if I can get my Visa in time to make my flight! These types of roadblocks teach me a very important lesson - there is no point in stressing out when it comes to travel plans. Life flows on and, as my dad always says, everything will work itself out. You have to go with the flow and hope that life is unravelling as it should...

Wanderlust Incarnate

Came across an inspiring poem that a friend wrote and absolutely loved it...just thought I'd share...

Ars Musica - by Rehana Rajabali (read more of her work here)

Butterflies for the bittersweet sound of a Taraab melody
A reminder of a past life?
Once a bride in Stone Town...
Hidaya she sings, spurring a familiar longing, as if I understood the essence of her words
My mind cannot translate
My heart need not translate

I have been a lovesick teenager in Tehran,
A criminal in Mumbai
A vagabond in Spain
I have had a thousand lovers, a hundred heartbreaks, a dozen soulmates
The face that replies from the mirror is a function of what resonates in my ear

The Khyber Pass was my first journey
Today, the Andean breeze passes through my fingers
I am well travelled indeed.

Toronto through a Calgarian’s [big] Eyes

[casa loma at sunset]

My last post was a tad melancholy, oh-so-nostalgic and incredibly emo as I was reminiscing about packing up my childhood in 19 UHAUL boxes and starting a new chapter in my life. But now that I am on the brink of a new move to London for B-School [London Ontario that is, although England would sound more exotic and fitting for a “travel blog” post!], I thought I would write a bit about my adventures in Toronto thus far.

For the past year, I’ve had tons of people (from all over) ask me how I’m liking Toronto, advice on moving out of Calgary, etc….so I thought I would write a bit about what I’ve LOVED about living in Toronto this past year, and some things that I have not so loved….which are few and far between. I have really taken the time to try and explore this city, but the funny thing is that there is still so much more to do and see…Toronto is so dynamic and alive, and in such stark contrast with Calgary, a place I hold near and dear to my heart. So here I go…and in an effort to keep this list under control, I am organizing by category [surprise, surprise].

What I love about Toronto:
1) Fashion
• Toronto shopping is a constant battle for me…it’s always a Reccesionista versus Fashionista showdown. There are so many shoe stores and so many sales and I heart it!! Hurts my bank account but nothing can replace the feeling I get when I find that special something I’ve been waiting for all my life and just didn’t realize….erm, ya, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!!!
• I love shopping on Queen Street in my wayfarers…hehe. So much fun boutique fashion…and so unique. Toronto really lets you embrace your personal style…kind of like Tokyo but not so extreme. But you could be extreme if you wanted to be…which is nice!
• Fashion Week is full of fun events and fashion shows – a definite must do if you are into that type of stuff.
• Nothing beats walking down Bloor Street on my Fridays off while sippin’ on Starbucks latte…the people here are next level rich and sometimes I just sit and people watch to see how one can afford to buy such extravagant stuff! Exhibit A: There is regularly a waiting list at Tiffany’s to speak to a sales associate! To SPEAK to a sales associate!! Recession?! What recession? The uber rich here are supercalafragilistic rich. Its depressing and amusing at the same time!

2) Culture
• If you don’t like a radio station…you have about a bazillion other choices. This really, really comes in handy when you are stuck in traffic due to a protest or something on a Sunday night at 11:00 trying to get home (I speak from experience).
• The throngs of people on the street! Calgary is a ghost town in downtown after 6:00 pm….while downtown Toronto dynamically comes alive. Patios, festivals, free shows…its amazing. Just this past weekend Cirque du Soleil did a free show at Harbour Front – for…free!
• You can go to an obscure club on a Wednesday night and have amazing music…that’s just how it is here. And it doesn’t matter whether you like hardcore reggae or acid rock….you can find a place that suits your fancy.
• Breakdancers in Dundas Square and street buskers in general! So fun to watch!
• The different pockets of culture…Portuguese town, artsy fartsy scene in Kensington market, coffee houses, poetry readings…you can be anything you want to be and embrace it with all you have. I was once walking down Queen with some girlfriends and one stepped into a music store and bought a guitar b/c its something she wanted to do for a while and didn’t have the chance…these are the best moments because it shows how the city just inspires you to explore your inner talents that have yet to be realized.
• Not enough culture for you? Tdot is a hop skip & jump from Montreal…which needs it's own list all together

3) Food
• So much food, amazing food, everywhere! At any time! At any price! 10:00 on a Tuesday night and craving Burmese food?? You can get it! Sushi is cheap, Thai is cheap, and the restos are guaranteed to be packed :)
• Not only is the street meat halal and amazing, but now you can get street vended ethnic food!
• Italian food in Little Italy (College) – mama mia, it’s amazing! (Try Vivoli, Coco Lezzone, the crepe place, Kalender, and Pomogranate Restaurant!)
• The Greek food on Danforth, especially during the annual Greek Festival
• Lahore Tikka House on Gerrard Street (Little India) – even though it has been under renos since ’05…the kebabs are amazing!!
• Finding random pizzerias…just went to an amazing place called Pizzeria Libretto on Ossington/Dundas and had a Duck Confit and Pear pizza cooked in a wood fired oven – it’s a must do for “authentic” Neapolitan pizza!
• The plethora of restos on King – jazz bars, wine bars, fusion restaurants, etc.

4) Weather
• We have 4 actual seasons here! I know this may sound odd to non-Calgarians, but this is important to note because Calgary has only 2 seasons…..Snowy and Rainy Season, and Stampede Season which is the hottest week of the year [30 C] when everyone parties and gets heat stroke…then we are back to Snowy and Rainy Season. It's not at all consistent! I do miss Chinooks…but the predictability of the weather in Toronto is well worth it. If it says its going to rain…it rains! If it says its going to snow, it snows! Its amazing!
• From November to February we have Winter. It snows like crazy, snow tires help. But then its OVER!!
• From March to mid June, we have Spring, where it rains. Rubber boots help, especially funky colourful ones.
• From mid June to September, we have Summer, beautiful wonderful summer, full of heat, tanning, beaches, patios, bonfires, bbq’s and sundresses. It’s absolutely divine!
• From Sept to November, we have Autumn…crisp, cool, crunchy, colourful Autumn. Far cry from the resilient ever-greens in Calgary that stay…ever green no matter what is on the ground.

5) Misc.
• Driving on the 407 – wide open spaces! Love it!
• Driving to and from downtown through Rosedale Valley Road…such a relaxing way to get into the core…its usually the stretch when I blast my music and sing my heart out! In the winter it looks like a curving sparkly winter wonderland, and in the summer like you are driving through a lush green forest.
• The anonymity of a big city…no one cares what car you drive or what purse you buy, no ones in your business. Speaking of purses, I love the smorgasbord of purse choices in the city!! But maybe that should go in another category…
• Beaches! Coming from Calgary, and trips to “Fish Creek Park” as the closest thing to a beach, it was such a foreign concept to have beautiful beaches on the lakes so close!
• I love that I have the ability to escape the concrete jungle of downtown to suburbia at least one day a weekend…to have a hearty indian meal, play some golf, spend 2 hours washing/waxing/leather conditioning my car…its great :)

What I do not love about Toronto:
• Paying for the 407 – it’s a toll highway and I use it too much. Eek!
• Road kill on the DVP – so much roadkill on my morning drives that I started naming the racoons that I see every morning and count how many days they’ve been there! [Roxy has currently been lying at DVP & Wynford drive for 3 days]
• For those of you that like the mountains…Toronto is a sad sad excuse for mountains. They have “Blue Mountain”, but its basically like Nose Hill, and probably smaller.
• Rush hour sucks, not gonna lie. But the solution is….live near your work! Your quality of life will vastly improve…so pay the premium to keep your commuting time low…you are in control! I go against traffic every morning so I don’t have a bad commute at all…so it is possible to work around it.
• It takes me a long time to straighten my hair with the humidity with this new godforsaken hair cut I chose to get in the efforts to feel more “edgy”. But when I return to my curly hair the humidity works in favour of my hair, nails, and skin! So it’s a pro and a con :)

All in all Toronto is a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book…and God knows, I loved those growing up! So that is my list, and I hope it helps anyone who is considering a move to Toronto! Ciao ciao!

The mad chaos of a random urban metropolis

I was driving down the DVP at sunset today, between Donmills and Bayview/Bloor, and was hit with an overwhelming wave of nostalgia. I wasn't sure at first precisely what it was that reminded me of a splice of home...was it the sunset? No, it was definitely a different type of sunset than Calgary...it was a muggy sunset, not a cold, crisp, cotton candy sunset. It wasn't the landscape either...I was surrounded by lush green trees on either side, going 120 [which by the way is way faster than I ever drove in Calgary]. Could it be the music, I thought, as I opened up my sunroof and sang my heart out to PM Dawn [Set Adrift on Memory Bliss]?


Then it hit me...it felt akin to the curves of 14th Street in Calgary, all those times when I was on my way home with Nosehill on my left and the city on my right. I used to love reaching that stretch of road -- when my phone would lose reception for a bit, and i could see the bright moon against the velvet sky, with the city lights glittering in the distance, and the stars poking holes up above. How I loved to reflect...with no one on the road but me, coming home from somewhere or the other, following the twists and curves and singing my heart out to songs especially made for whatever mood the moon put me in that day.

So I've moved to Toronto...and I had various requests to blog my move...but every time i tried to write about it I came up with nothing to say. I've been here for 4 months now and that first pang of nostalgia made me realize that...wow, i miss home sometimes! I wasn't sure when I'd feel inspired to write, but I guess the time is now. Moving was surreal. I guess I'll start from where I left off in my last post. Living in Calgary for 8 months after Europe was daunting at first, given the circumstances. But I needed to touch base. I needed to feel the comforts of home to realize I had outgrown the city.

I made new friends, reconnected with past companions, closed old chapters. I heard it everywhere - "I want to move, I want to get out of Calgary, I want to live somewhere else". I became one of those voices in the crowd....but something was different, my resolve changed. And before I knew it, opportunity struck. Like my favorite quote in The Alchemist - " When you want something bad enough, the universe conspires to help you acheive it". I packed up my childhood in 19 UHaul boxes, with a neatly catagorized Excel spreadsheet detailing my packing strategy to boot. My feet on the ground, my eyes wet, my heart anxious, my mind eerily calm. It was hard, it was easy. I was never good at goodbyes.

And then life spun around! For the first couple of months I was living in a hotel in the heart of the city, eating at random cafes and swanky restaurants alike, soaking in the sun and the patios and street buskers and festivals. One day I caught a random concert at Dundas Square, it was 70's theme and "Got to be Real" [Cheryl Lynn] was blasting...I was so happy to be right where I was that very moment that I almost cried.

This city is exhausting, but also exhilarating. There is so much to do and see, and so many people walking around at all hours of the day! I have explored Danforth (the greek area), frequented most of the restuarants and cafes in Little Italy, and of course eaten pani puri and masala dosaa in the colorful stink of Gerrard. I love the pretentiousness of Bloor Street and frequently dream of owning a downtown condo while sipping on a Starbucks honey latte. Yesterday i went to the beaches area and I could have sworn the air felt salty, like i was somewhere else, somewhere far away and not by any means at Lake Ontario. There is always something going on, always good music, great fashion, awesome shopping, and so so many different types of people! Sometimes i really feel like a farm girl when I hear people talking in Jamaican accents because I really thought that only happened in music videos!!

But everything aside, home is home. I miss those warm summer nights in Calgary, the berries on the trees in my cul-de-sac, the dry heat and the yellow wheat set against the azure sky. The mountains, the glittery cold, the crisp fall, the xmas lights in the mall. My mailbox, the rabbits in my yard, the bike path....ah, the familiar haunts of home. But i'm ready...to embrace it here. This city has so much to offer, not to mention i have a castle at my doorstep. It is exciting and scary at the same time, I did it - I moved, and a part of me wants to pinch myself because I dont know if this actually happened or if I am just dreaming this in my leopard bed with my pink carpet and my artwork strewn all over the wall. Somewhere along the way I think I grew up...not that i'll ever grow out of leopard print....but at least i don't consider it appropriate bedroom linen anymore. Yes sir, i've grown up and out of leopard print sheets and into high thread count egyptian cotton....when did this happen!?!

So that is my account of moving to Toronto...who knows what the future holds. I'll finish off here with a quote:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

Gypsy No More

[Calgary Alberta: Home]

It's so comforting to come back from traveling and have a double-cupped Timmys (why don't they just get sleeves??) whilst watching a Canada flag flap in the air. I've been home for a month now...and wow what a run that was. The past 2 years have been absolute madness...before Feb 06, I saw nothing more than my backyard (yes, Mexico and the US are considered Nosehill Park in my books). And now, 15 countries later, I feel like there is still so much more to see! Life is so much bigger than just the warm Chinooks of Calgary -- and I feel so fortunate that I was able to do the traveling that I did. Now back to my prairies, back to my mountains, back to the beloved efficiency of this place we call home. I love the Alberta beef, I love the courteous drivers, and I love the signs that make sense. I hate the bloody weather, I hate the cracked windshields, and I can't stand how most of us don't take time to enjoy the simple things - so caught up in the North American mentality of materialism and following a "prescribed set of steps to success". I'm not saying i'm innocent (far from it)...i'm just saying that traveling really makes you reevaluate what is important in life. In the end, its the laughter, the people and the memories that you will be holding on to. I will miss random slang, I will miss good coffee, I will miss good cheese!!

Gone are 5 years of nomadic life - ripping away from everything I know, four months at a time. Am i ready for stability? Time will tell. There is still so much more to see...but i take solace in the fact that home will always be here. Underneath it all, i'll always be a prairie girl -- boot scoot and boogying my way through life with a sprig of wheat in my hair and imaginary cowboy boots on my french pedicured feet.

So to my friends that have followed me through my travels with my blog musings -- don't let the mundane comfort of home let you get complacent and stop you from following your dreams! You want to sip Moet on a beach in Monaco? Meet a handsome millionaire with a yacht in Sydney? Build mud huts in the Amazon and live life barefoot? Explore the mad chaos of a random urban metropolis? Or just make a complete career change and never see a TPS report again? Yeehaw my friends and Carpe Diem!

[at the Pearson Airport sippin on Timmys]

Merrells: My Nemesis

I've reached a roadblock. My images of Europe included me, a self-proclaimed fashionista, looking crisp and cool in the UK - the London look, if you will. In my mind's eye, i looked a Paris Chic - alluring and mysterious, with one of those scarves thrown haphazardly but still methodically around my neck. Visions of sashaying through the white powdered sands of the Mediterranean Sea in a flowy azure dress tantilized my senses...until...the issue of comfort came into play. Now, most people traveling Europe recommend "backpacking shoes" - as pictured above. Merrells, comfortable backpacking shoes - the bane of my existence. Now I know that every woman has to make the inevitable choice - comfort versus style. But why, may i ask the shoe gods, why can't a woman find a comfortable yet stylish shoe? I may be backpacking but i don't necessarily want to look like a backpacker! So here my dear friends starts the quest to find a pair of sexy comfortable shoes that will show off the flowers on my toe polish and allow me to feel oh so stylishly European....a girl can dream, can't she?


*Post NB: Mehphisto is the only thing that kept me stylish and comfy through my backpacking adventures - a bit of a splurge but a great investment and lots of styles to choose from!

Globetrotting

Wanderlust. The itch to travel. The nomadic gypsy life. Whatever you may call it, I just switched over my old blog (bye bye crocodiledundeena *sniff*) to this new one to more accurately represent my travels. I will also be updating my blog through my upcoming eurotrip...and the countdown begins...

Meena Nanji, B.A.Sc. (Waterloo ON)

My university world is in 5 medium sized identical UHAUL boxes traveling across the country right now...how dramatic. It's been a full week and now I have some time to reflect...it seems so unreal that its over. I guess its been finishing in phases....my closest friends left while i was in Australia so this goodbye wasn't as crazy as it could have been...which is a good thing. I've been saying my goodbyes every four months for five years now...i'm used to it...but i still wouldn't say I'm too good at it.

I had no idea what to do with my fishy Electra...so i decided to set him free in Columbia Lake. I know i probably aided in its death by depositing it into dirty (possibly man made) waters where it will likely be eaten alive by bigger and more ferocious lake dwelling fish...but i guess the first couple of minutes of his freedom felt incredible when he realized he wasn't looking out through those glass walls. Oh the visceral irony of it all...how i wish i could stay in that glass bowl for a bit longer. Not one part of me is ready to enter those murky waters of real life.

The day of my last exam i decided to go incognito on this side of the world and do a little uni documentation of all the spots that meant something to me these past 5 years. Here they are below...

311 - the venue for pre-bar, post-bar, and themed parties, chilled out conversations, tv marathons, lots of laughter, cooking mishaps, post bar conversations lasting till the wee hours of morning...always good friends, always a distraction whenever needed...i'll miss it.

Currently named FUBAR (stands for Fu*kd Up Beyond All Recognition) but will always be Loose Change Louies in my heart! How many Thursday nights did we spend here...a hell of a lot thats how many....until Ceaser's came along.

Our regular Thursday night venue this past year...good times were had by all. The bouncers, the walks to and from in the freezing snow with open toe shoes, the lineups, the late entry and slamming double fisted doubles...

What were Friday nights in loo without Revolution? Although it changed throughout the years...the boys got ghetto-er, the girls got younger...the music got worse, the bar got a makeover...i guess we just got older. Memories of Moet, Pre-drinking with Hyp, checkered floors and lockers in the bathroom...how happy would we be when our 75 cents actually worked?? thats when we knew it would be a great Rev night...

And what would Rev be without Gino's after?? Although now called Campus Pizza...(was it ever called Ginos when i was around??), a night was never complete without a cab ride to Ginos...veggie pizza with garlic sauce, shooting the sh*t outside for a bit, post rev chilling session at our place...then sleeping through Saturday and S&TC on Saturday nights...then dc on sundays...that was the reg.

The walk to engineering...

My most favoritest bubble tea place ever! What great energy! I will miss their small chilled milk honeydew mango bubble tea with tapioca pearls :(

Ahhh Phat Cat gyros...and the gyro nazi...he was absolutely crazy but i still ate them for lunch at least 2wice a week...i dont know why i never just paid for the extra topping!!

Mel's was never our spot - but good milkshakes and rubbery eggs. Sugar mountain when we were in need of a sugar rush. And for all the sushi i ate here this term, i should have been called Mrs. Sushi.

DWE - the chem eng's home. Sitting in the same classrooms for hours on end while the non english speaking profs came in and out, stumbling over their words and offering brutal assignments as consolation...

The suffocating halls of DWE...


Ah, the pleasant smells of the 4th year room...the computers that were always locked and the mad rush to copy/finish assingments...my how our morale dropped as the years progressed...

Well, there it is folks. My university career in a nutshell...I'll miss my little fishbowl. Now onto the murky waters of real life...

Missin Melbs Heaps!

Never thought I'd miss Melbourne so much. Farrer Hall, O-week, me 8 by 10 inch concrete res room on 2nd Floor Lords, Monash Meeting Point with $2.20 handrolls, wedges and sweet chili sauce, The Roxannes- formally known as Kanye West-formally known as Group 13, the walk to the Nott, Fibonacci's Chai-Tea Lattes, slops, tv marathons, the terrible dance music, the 80's revival mullets and skinnys on all the men and women, the aussie accent, and the goon...most of all the goon. My ghetto phone with the really loud ring going off at precisely 4am every morning, the avacados, Flinder's Street Station and random hip hop classes off of Chapel street....St Kilda bakeries, sour straps and shoe shopping, Chaddy, the useless buses in Clayton, Murrummbeena station in the train window and Federation Square's artificial stars...the Yarra lit up in fireworks, the ferris wheel, the southern cross and of course the people.

but no worries, mates. I'm continuing the blogging business in my last year to keep me sane of course...but i cant help but feel so incredibly nostalgic...


"The moments of the past do not remain still; they retain in our memory the motion which drew them towards the future, towards a future which has itself become the past, and draw us on in their train." - Marcel Proust

Home Sweet, Sweet Home

Mummy saying: "Hai hai, Meena toh yehri!"

The past couple of days have been a whirlwind of events. I walked through those airport doors at 11:40 PM to find all my loved ones waiting for me with bouquets of flowers and roses. The first thing I did was…drumroll please…burst into tears!

"Oh my God Salim, how did you get so tall??"

I loved how Jahaan kept saying to Appa: "Mummy, I like Khala"

We spent some time at the airport and then retired to our respective homes. I tried to fend off my jetlag by staying up but I still couldn’t get to bed until about 6 in the morning! Didn’t wake up until my brother forced me out of bed at 3:45 PM!! Six months in the southern hemisphere will really mess with your biological clock. On Thursday, I had a little surprise party complete with a Welcome Home cake and presents, including my very new and tres cool electric toothbrush! It is so, so sick that I am actually brushing my teeth more then normal!


Drove around with my music blasting (the Katchafire Reggae I got from NZ) and it was so therapeutic. I feel like life here is still the same. There has been a lot of growth (Cali-g is now a million strong!) but nothing has changed significantly. In some ways, I feel as though I never left. People keep asking me: Do I miss Australia? Sure…I grew quite accustomed to calling peppers “capsicums” and sunnies “sunnies”. Handrolls were my meal of choice and I'm itching to hear “Feel the Love Generation” or Rogue Traders “Watching You”.

Take me downtown
It's where the people rock,
Three-hundred sixty five ?
cos we never stop.
Take me downtown
Cos' peoples runnin' wild.
See how we kick it in a brand new style.
Take me downtown
It's where I wanna go.
Everyone I know is going to my show-
Take me downtown
Where the city hum,
Then get your head numb
to the beat of the drum cause,
I see you watching me watching you,
And now you see just where you gotta be.
I see you watching me watching you,
And now you see just where you gotta be.

Bobbing my head just feels so good. I listen to “Livin’ on a Prayer” and I think of the Nott. I'm unpacking the multitudes of crap that I have accumulated and each postcard and magnet and article of clothing and rock and leaf tells a story.

I went out last night to the Met and I'm finding it really hard to dress in Calgary fashion. I'm sticking with my Australian style cuz I’d feel like too much of a bogan if I wore flare leg jeans. I busted out the skinnys and the boots and the leggings and I can’t help but feel oh-so-Ozzy.

Well, back to seeing the Big Dipper rather than the Southern Cross! Crazy how time flies.

The Struggles

So i started off hopeful with opportunities of exchange overseas swimming in my head...Malaysia, Australia, Europe - it felt like anything was possible...and then i was hit with the reality of University of Waterloo admin... I did all the background work, got my courses approved, and had my application in by June. I thought it was in the bag....little did i know...


September

Hello Meena:
You have reached the right person and right department! We are Monash Abroad, and we are in charge of exchange students and Study Abroad Students for Monash University. As of today, we do NOT have Monash Exchange applications. Please make contact with the person who you gave the applications to - to make sure she/he has sent them to us.

 
October (Deadline Approaching...)
G'Day Meena:
We received an email on 9 Sept from P. Douglas saying that he will forward to us the applications for 6 students (includes you three) as soon as they have been approved by the Associate Dean of Engineering "in the next couple of days" as he said. We do not have any applications at this time.

 November (Deadline for Applications has Arrived)

We have not received any applications from Univ of Waterloo as of this date. I suggest you keep in contact with Peter on a weekly basis for update on applications to Monash.


December (Deadline Passed)

G'day:
To date, we have not received your applications. You will therefore need to communicate with P. Douglas about the whereabouts and status of these.


*sigh* the struggles, the late nights, the stress, the planning.....and finally after much pestering I got the email....


Dear Meena, Congratulations on your official acceptance to Monash University!

But this is just the beginning....now on to the color coded lists and organizational charts detailing each article of clothing accompanying me down under...this should be heaps of fun!

The woman who helped us through it all...Carol Verga!!