My Hatchelorette road trip was designed with the intent to take some time for myself before my first Little Human arrived. I’m 8months pregnant, and I know that this will be the last time I get to travel by myself Continue reading
As these photos came through a story began to form.. Once upon a time there was a Albertan Princess that wanted a child of hers spawned by no man but the essence of nature. Continue reading
Day 2 April 6,2016
Good morning Warsaw! Okay it’s not exactly morning, more like early afternoon. Today is day 2 of experiencing Poland with me as a Noob!
I had a hard time adjusting to the jet lag especially since I’m still getting over a chest infection.
I found some homemade perogies in the freezer at around 2am and found myself drinking NesQuick and reading Harry Pottery and the Deathly Hollows until 6am.
Adams grandfathers condo is quaint, and history and memories seem to seep from the walls. The building itself was probably erected sometime around the Second World War and even the key is reminiscent of time that seems unreal.
Our goal today is to get Adam a Polish account set up and acquire a Polish ID. Since he was born in Warsaw and immigrated to Canada at 6 years old, Adam is Polish citizen.
Our main reason for coming to Poland is to deal with some family business. Being an opportunist I also see this as a chance to improve my Polish and broaden my understanding of the Polish culture. While we have family stuff to do, I’ve also made it my priority to enroll into daily Polish language lessons.
Luckily for me, on our way out to run errands today I saw a Lingwista sign and inquired to Adam about whether we should check it out and see if they teach Polish.
Funny thing, and I’m noticing that it’s something particular to my situation, but for the second time since I started pursuing the Polish language, that I have heard the response “this is unusual because we don’t get people asking to learn polish. Usually it’s Polish people wanting to learn English.”
My Polish tutor in Calgary said the same thing and had to ask me to twice to make sure she understood that it was Polish that I actually wanted to learn.
Here we are now. Waiting for Adam to get his ID and I’m taking this time to write.
Tomorrow – jutro (you-tro) (if all goes well with the Polish school) I begin my Polish lessons.
Do widzenia. Goodbye
For the next few posts I’ll be bringing you all to Poland! Join me in a crash course on what it’s like to experience Poland as a Canadian traveling with my partner, a native Polaki.
We arrived late last night in Warsaw. There’s an 8 hour difference from Calgary, so for all you Albertans it’s 6pm where you are and 2pm where I am, the next day. Needless to say, I’m tired.
We were greeted by Adams ciocia (Aunt) pronounced “Cho-Cha” in English phonetics, and his cousin Piotr (Peter). They gave us a quick driving tour of downtown Warsaw showing us the main historical structures and landmarks. Adam was following along marvelously with the details and descriptions, I on the other hand was having a little bit of difficulty.
You see everyone only speaks Polish.
I’ve mostly travelled in Spanish speaking, Asian speaking and English speaking countries and this is the first time I’ve been to a country that was Slavic based in language.
Trust me it’s culture shock. From being used to reading things in French or Spanish with Latin based words, it’s always been easy to derived roots and meanings.
Now I’m faced with something completely foreign altogether exciting and intimidating. Now I really understand how scary it is for people to travel when they only speak English.
Even so I am not completely unprepared, over the last couple years I’ve taken the initiative to take a few polish tutoring lessons and sought out resources to aid my learnings. I have a coarse grasp of the alphabet and pronounciation and I understand some words and nouns.
We ended the evening at Adams grandfathers condo close to the downtown core of Warsaw. His grandfather moved to Canada last year but this is where we will be staying during our month long visit.
Ciocia and Piotr remind me of my family. They had a basket of food and wine and beer ready for us because they knew we’d be hungry after our many hours of travel. We toasted a sweet red wine and I stuffed my face with cold cuts and rye bread as the dialogue continued around me.
When I first arrived I was intently watching facial reactions and trying to Matrix my way into understanding the language but by now I was exhausted and no longer able to concentrate on trying to translate.
Tonight I sleep. Tomorrow I will awake in Poland.
For the video click here. The REAL Famous:Episode 1 Russel Thomas
I met Russell Thomas about 4 years ago. We were both casted in my first musical HomeTown the Musical, and from there I began my journey of getting to know The REAL Famous Russell Thomas.
The community of Wood Buffalo never ceases to amaze me. More often known as Canada’s Oil Sands Capital, Fort Mcmurray is often overlooked as a place of creativity, art and community. I am going to show you throughout my blog posts another side of this world you never would have guessed existed.
Like I always say, there’s always time to try out something new and often times it begins by saying “YES.” Even though climbing is huge part of my lifestyle, I make it point to always expand my interests and simply appreciate life in as many aspects as I can.
Smoke Tree Ranch
Climbers, though they are typically focused and disciplined individuals, they also have a finesse for naming climbing routes – not to mention a hilarious sense of humour. Today my new friend Karl and I, climbed the Loose Lady 10a at Houser Buttress in Joshua Tree National Park.
Housers Buttress
Nighttime Campsite
We’ve all had that feeling at one point or another in our lives, where we feel the aches of love and excitement. Whether it be the first time your parents tell you they’re taking you someplace magical like disneyland, or reuniting with an old friends or seeing a long lost love. We all exhibit the same physiological symptoms. Continue reading
In the past living in other cities, I’ve been away from my friends and community for sometimes months at a time. And often times it would take quite a bit of effort to “get back in,” into those groups. After the Woods Dream Job stealing me away from my town for 5 months, I have to be honest and say I was a little apprehensive coming back. “Would people remember me? Did they miss me? What did I miss?”
Cabaret Cast