November 2010
3 posts
WatchWe were lucky enough to be joined by Grace, HK, Ari and Jolene on this epic trip for a few days in southern Patagonia. Sorry Horace, I tried to clean my lens! Thanks to HK and Grace for most of the photos.
last update
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...
WatchDuring the long weekend, we took a trip to the desert in northern Chile. We were not prepared for the awesomeness of San Pedro de Atacama. Here is a short clip of some of the great places we visited.
I must give full credit to Jonathan, because he picked the song and I think it is perfect.
October 2010
9 posts
almost famous
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...
the new 9 to 5
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,...
the great outdoors
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...
getting ching chonged
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...
men in trees
Not sure if you ever watched this short lived TV series about a writer (Anne Heche) from New York who starts a new life in a small town in Alaska as a radio talk show host. If you have watched this show (chances maybe slim if you are not a woman), then you know what Coyhaique feels and looks like.
Coyhaique is a city of 50,000 in northern Patagonia about 2 hours flight from Santiago, and the...
more random acts of kindness
After walking for 30 minutes in the evening and not finding the street where the alleged “authentic sushi” is, Joyce and Jonathan approach an older man and woman in a parking lot…
Jonathan (in broken spanish) - Excuse me, do you know where Padre Hertado Avenida is? Man (in broken english) - Yes, it is 10 minutes that way.. Jonathan -Oh.. 10 minutes walk? Man - 10 minutes...
September 2010
11 posts
more than words
Living in a society where you do not speak the language is difficult and frustrating. But I love it. Why? Because you appreciate so much more the grand kindness of strangers and new friends. Like the random person going out of his/her way to interpret a menu or to translate an instruction. Such things we do not take for granted.
Jonathan and I work with 3 other Chileans in a small room. We...
the sabbath year
When we decided to embark on this journey of taking 9.5 months leave from work to travel and experience the world, we didn’t always have a chance to fully explain what inspired us. I’ve been meaning to blog this but it has been hard to capture it concisely and so here is my best effort.
For many people in the Christian faith, the Sabbath is known as the day of rest. We are all called to work and...
WatchThis weekend Chile is celebrating their 200th anniversary with parties and activities all over the country for the next 4 days. Here is some footage from the celebrations we attended tonight.
Correction: Drink that Jon has is not made from beer. It is made with white wine, pisco sour (chilean sweet liquor), sugar, pineapple ice cream and aptly called “Terremoto” meaning...
minor adjustments
Though a lot of things in Santiago are very similar to Toronto, we still have plenty of adjusting to do. Greetings in Santiago are fairly standard; men will shake hands men, while women are greeted with a one-cheek kiss, regardless of the gender doing the greeting. The kiss is much more intimate than our western handshake, especially when meeting someone for the first time, but I think it...
going downhill
Over 5 years ago my parents went on a road trip to somewhere in the States. They did some outlet shopping and my mom bought me a pair of Gortex pants. It was an odd purchase as I didn’t ski nor snowboard, but my mom said they were too good of a deal. I put them away, thinking I would never put that good deal to use.
And finally today, I wore those pants for the first time, and they were...
an update
After a whirlwind adventure we were both looking forward to staying put for a while… in Santiago, Chile.
Our wonderful friend Scott connected us with a contact in Endeavor, a global nonprofit that transforms emerging countries by supporting High-Impact Entrepreneurs. One type of support is to match experienced business people with such companies to provide additional needed resources over a...
Hablas Espanol?
As we plan to spend about 3 months in Santiago, Chile, we thought some Spanish lessons would be helpful. Since we had some time on our hands, we decided to do 8 hours of classes with Carlos in San Francisco. He was a wonderful teacher; very patient and passionate about all things of Latin America. His teaching style was conversational, asking basic questions and having us answer, thereby...
August 2010
2 posts
... and we're back!
Is anyone still reading this?
We’re so sorry… we have been away from this blog for over a month. To summarize, we’ve attended 3 weddings in 3 different cities, finalized an opportunity in Chile (which will be our home for about 3 months - wow, our longest station yet!), and hung out with friends and family as much as possible.
Before we write about our journey ahead, I thought...
WatchRecap video of our past 5.5 months
July 2010
2 posts
roman holiday
We landed in Geneva a few days ago and our time so far has been beyond wonderful. Africa was a great experience, but only upon leaving, did we realize that we had always been on edge during our travels, expecting something unusual around the corner. Stepping into Switzerland, we have entered more familiar surroundings which has been rejuvenating.
We are staying with our dearest friends Chris...
June 2010
9 posts
plane encounters
We had an amazing time in Joburg. Some say this World Cup is the best ever and in my unbiased opinion, I would have to agree. After our short stay there, we headed to Mwanza in Tanzania to visit Jen and Duncan. Duncan is starting up a children’s HIV clinic while Jen is working with a woman’s rights organization. They had given us early warning of some of the “differences” we could experience...
WatchAfter spending a week in Joburg for the World Cup, we compiled a little video to summarize the events from our eyes. Enjoy!
Canada Day?
We arrived in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam on June 2nd after a 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. We stayed at Karim’s, a friend of Jon’s who moved there about 2 years ago and who showed us around town.
June 4th was the official Canada Day celebrations in Ho Chi Minh. Apparently all the Canadian expats always return home during July and therefore aren’t around to celebrate Canada day on July 1st. ...
1 tag
food, glorious food!
Through my travels to different worlds, I have found that the most effective way to fit in and be accepted in foreign places is to eat their food. Eat lots of it.
It is impossible to express your appreciation of one’s country and culture through words when you can’t speak the language. However, the language of sharing a meal together at a table transcends all cultures and breaks all language...
WatchIn addition to the crazy rainstorm Jon writes about below, we got to witness a lightning and thunderstorm over the ocean from the beach the evening before. The whole time we didn’t experience one drop. I have never seen anything like this, and everyone was mesmerized as we watched the storm all night.
May 2010
11 posts
high and dry
The sky turned black and the beach quickly disappeared, the waves now hiding it from view. We felt a few drops and then, without reservation, the rain came. We retreated deep into the shelters that lined our beach, yet the roofs made of tin and tarp were not up to the task and little waterfalls above us emerged every step or so. Even so, the rain was relentless and in partnership with the wind,...
hot hot heat
While in Phnom Penh, we have been helping out at a tiny tutoring centre called Family of Hope, funded privately by a few German donors. There are 13 kids ranging from ages 12 to 21. Our friend, Phyllis, has been teaching the kids music, dance and computer skills. It has been so much fun to be a part of their classes as the kids of absolutely amazing to be around. Since we got here, getting used...
current events
The problem with a blog is that there is always a lag behind where we are currently and it never captures what is going on in the moment. I guess I could technically start twittering witty one liners here and there. But I actually like crafting these pieces and as a result, it takes some time.
We are currently in Cambodia which is our landscape for a total of about 2.5 weeks. We have been in...
The WC
No matter where you travel in the world, it becomes quite clear very quickly that your most preferred washroom facilities are always in your own home. That being said, in developing countries, we find ourselves being obsessed with the washroom facility “status” (green, yellow, or NO), and much conversation or itineraries could be structured around such a topic.
If one were to measure the...
family ties
When we added Hong Kong to our itinerary, we knew that this would be a busy stop. We both had quite a bit of extended family to visit and hang out with. Jonathan last made a trip to HK 12 years ago, and I, over 20 years ago.
We had a LOT of family to see. My side of the family is monstrous; my mother alone, has 12 brothers and sisters, while my father has 9. Jonathan’s father has 3 sisters...
checkmate
We call my mom’s eldest brother, Big Uncle and his wife, Big Aunt. I’m not sure if that’s standard Chinese naming convention, but being the eldest of 12, I think he earned it. We are told Big Uncle is notorious for taking the bill every time dinners are held.
- setting the scene -
The second night in a row, we are out for dinner in HK with Big Uncle, Big Aunt, and Auntie Pandora. After a...
top 10 favourite moments of north india
(in no particular order)
10. Motorbike rides around the winding mountain 9. Jonathan’s hair cut and head massage for 50 cents 8. Fresh homemade yoghurt 7. Sharing Evy’s love for the Bourne films and watching all 3 on a laptop in the family room together 6. Nepali born Bhagat’s obsession with American country singer, Alan Jackson 5. Seeing 2 yr old, Corin devour his McDonalds fries on our trips to...
update
We arrived in HK on Friday and things have been a bit of a whirlwind. Firstly, we have no internet. We’ve been getting free wireless everywhere we’ve been, now we come to HK and our hotel only has cable internet and we have to pay. Oh, the irony.
Regardless, we’ve been trying to process our two weeks in India, and it is has been near impossible because of all that HK is. Jon...
April 2010
11 posts
the simple life
Having been to both Nepal and India in 2006, the hotels I stayed at successfully shrouded me from some of the challenges in these nations. One of the most enlightening aspects of this trip is that as aspiring temporary residents, rather than tourists, I am seeing a completely different picture of daily life. Below, I’ve highlighted three examples related to municipal infrastructure.
In Kathmandu,...
just another bucket shower
Bhagat: How was your shower?
Joyce: Good, but I think we’re out of water. I’m sorry…
Bhagat: That is ok. This is what happens here. How did you finish your shower?
Joyce: Oh, there is absolutely no water coming from the first two taps. But then I tried that mysterious third tap on the side, and there was cold water coming out from there! So I finished my shower with that. I am so resourceful.
Bhagat: Gross man! That’s water from the rain tank. It is plain rain water.
Joyce: Rain water? C’mon, how bad can that be?
Bhagat: The last time it rained was in Monsoon. That was 6 months ago.
Joyce: Ew.
(i can't get no) constitution
Most of you know that I am Christian. As such, I believe there is more to life than what we only see and touch and that things can be better than this. All throughout Scripture we get a picture of a better way to life – that living with forgiveness is better than bitterness, that love is better than resentment, generosity is better than selfishness and so forth. This idea of being righteous –...