We’ve been away!  Last week my sister and some of our friends flew down to Chile and we enjoyed some amazing times hiking in the spectacular Torres Del Paine national park in Patagonia.  We had unprecedented weather as it did not rain any of the 5 days that we were there; completely unheard of.  Oh well, we will just have to return one day to get the true patagonian experience.  A short video to come…

Indeed this is one of our last updates, we return to Canada in just 1 week!

Robyn - Joyce and Jonathan, meet my friend Amy.
Amy - You look really familiar… do you write a travel blog?
Joyce - Yes! But I doubt you have read it.
Amy - No I think I have, you look so familiar.  I never remember faces…
Joyce (speaking telepathically to jonathan) - I can’t believe it!  We have a cult following!
Amy - Actually, were you at the Caribou concert on Saturday?
Joyce (dejected) - Yes…

When I think upon Canadian history, I fall asleep.  I believe this is actually a great blessing.  Sure, it is boring and uneventful, however, it means that the Canadian people live with much less heartache in general than in other countries.  Jonathan and I have learned much more about international politics and history through our travels and what we found was a lot of violence and oppression, but also a lot of courage and resilience.   

As for Chile, they were ruled under the highly controlling and violent dictatorship of Pinochet in the 70’s and 80’s.  Under Pinochet’s rule, strict curfews were imposed, keeping people out of the streets in the late evenings until early morning.  The story goes that people started holding secret parties.  Parties that would start before the curfew was enforced at around 9:00pm and that would go on all night until 5:00am when the curfew was lifted.  Imagine such a party where none of your friends can leave because they are “tired’ or “have to work the next day” (that’s me by the way). This became such an underground phenomenon, that when even after Pinochet was no longer in power, such parties continued to be held.   

Last Saturday, we went to one of these parties in a warehouse with some other Endeavor volunteers (all sponsored by their employer), except Jon and I did not last at all until 5:00am.  We went mainly to see Caribou, a fantastic Canadian electronic band who is even better live.  The show was great and it was wonderful to see all the Chileans jumping up and down and cheering when their favourite song was played.  It reminded me of how small the world is and how easy it is to be exposed to things outside of our own little circle.  After the show we had a chance to chat with Dan, the man that is Caribou, from Dundas, Ontario.  He was very nice and Jonathan invited him to have brunch with all of us the next day.  He politely declined.

- joyce

Being born and raised in Toronto, I have always identified myself as a city person.  I love the constant movement, the buzz and the lights which make the evening glow as day, I love the accesibility and convenience and how everything can be at my fingertips.

But increasingly, I find I am being drawn to the outdoors and the remote places.  During our short stay in Coyhaique, Jon and I lived in a cabin just outside of the city and would take a taxi into work everyday.  Passing over a river, and seeing the details of the mountains nearby, there was never a day that we weren’t struck by its beauty.  By simply driving 5 minutes out, we could feel like we were the only people in the world. 

Life there is stripped down; of people, of stuff.  It’s not lively, but it is full of life.  The trees, hills and rocks are the inhabitants, and we are the guests.  Talk about being put in your place. 

The other day, we rented a pickup truck (the standard vehicle) and drove though the mountains, the landscape changing at every turn.  We stumbled upon a viewing site which seemed great, until we wandered off the road and was greeted with the most stunning panorama we had ever seen.  We just stood there with our mouths open.  And it was all free.  

I have no point to make in this blog.  Only to comment that we live in such a beautiful world.

pictures below 

- joyce

Everyplace in the world we have visited, we are asked where we are from.  We say “Canada” because that is the answer.  After returning from being blown away, they ask, “but how can this be?”.  Then we explain that our parents were born in Hong Kong/China and immigrated to Canada many years ago where we were born. 

Most people assume we are Japanese and we get a lot of “konichiwas” but it hasn’t been too bad.  For the most part, the people in Santiago haven’t paid much attention to us and we get through our days like locals (that can’t speak spanish). 

However, in Coyhaique, while in the grocery store, we were harassed by one of the employees who was packing our groceries.  And he was a little person.  No, not a short or small person.  A little person.  Imagine this bizarre scene at the check out counter of a little person making cling clang and donkey noises at Jonathan and I, while his colleagues are on the floor, laughing.  And it was for an extended period, because we had a lot of groceries.

We just stood there stunned, not knowing how to react.  It has been a while since we’ve experienced such blatant taunting (once in Tanzania) and it is hard to explain the terrible anger inside when that happens. The scenarios that play out in our heads of potentional reactions never look promising, so almost always, we just stand there.  In times like these, I always think of our parents and what they may have had to go through 30 years ago. 

This also serves as a reminder of how much we love Toronto and all that it stands for.  Though we have seen great cities in this world, our hearts are never far from our home of a thousand different homes.

When we think about that wierd situation in Coyhaique today, we still don’t know what would have been the best thing for us to do.  Suggestions?

- joyce

ps. thanks to jennie for inspiring this!