adamungstad.blogspot.com

My New Website

2011-05-08T14:43:00.006-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It's a rainy sunday here in Victoria, so I'm taking care of things a few things that need to be done.

You're looking at an old blog that I started up for a while back in tha day. I haven't logged into it for years, but it still shows up in some google searches.

So if you're looking for the old me, this is where it's at.

Otherwise, head over to www.AdamUngstad.com.

Youth Encounter on Sustainability - YES 2007

2007-02-21T12:16:00.001-08:00

Hi Folks,

Here is some information on a 2 week course being held in Switzerland this summer for university students between 20-30 interested in global sustainability.... not sure if travel / tuition are subsidized.

------------------------------

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

ETHsustainability, the Center for Sustainability at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich , and the partners of the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) are pleased to announce the opening of the application process for the 2007 Youth Encounter on Sustainability -YES courses.

The two week courses aim to sensitize participants to the complex issues of sustainable development in a global context, while also exploring issues pertinent to different regions, through course work, field trips, workshops, group work, discussions and practical learning experiences, combined with social and cultural activities. The courses offer a unique opportunity to experience inter and trans disciplinary education, network building and cross cultural exchange within a vibrant international environment of students, faculty and guest experts.

A maximum of 40 places are available for each course. All participants must have a good working command of English, be between the age of 20 and 30 years and be currently enrolled at a university (either in the final stages of their undergraduate study, or at any level of graduate study). The courses will be held entirely in English and applications are welcomed from diverse disciplines and nationalities.

More information on the courses is available in the brochures, the links are included below.

Dates:
YES International

Two YES International courses will be held in this summer, both hosted at the Hotel Alpenblick in Braunwald. Braunwald is a small, sunny, automobile free village ideal for enjoying the beauty of the Swiss Alps, with access to various outdoors activities in its startling natural environment.
Session 1: 07 to 23 July 2007. Location: Braunwald , Switzerland
Session 2: 04 to 20 August 2007. Location: Braunwald , Switzerland
For more information on the course please check the brochure available at:

http://www.sustainability.ethz.ch/en/activities/
documents/YES07_Brochure_wInlay_000.pdf

YES Central and Eastern Europe

One YES Central and Eastern Europe session will be held this year, hosted in the vicinity of Bratislava . The course location will give participants the opportunity to explore the charming historic and cultural center of Bratislava and to experience the natural beauty of Slovakia , includingthe Tatra Mountains and the Danube river.
Session 1: 24 August to 10 September 2007.
For more information on the course please check the brochure available at:
http://www.sustainability.ethz.ch/en/activities
/documents/YESCEE007_Brochure_wInlay.pdf

Applications:

All applications must be submitted online. The online applications are now open at:

YES International: (Deadline 30 March 2007)
http://www.sustainability.ethz.ch/en/activities
/application_braunwald.cfm

YES Central and Eastern Europe : (Deadline 27 April 2007)
http://www.sustainability.ethz.ch/en/
activities/application_rohace.cfm

Please forward this information to colleagues, universities, organisations and institutions that may be interested. We appreciate your help to promote this unique learning experience!For more information on YES International please contact Ms. Michelle Grant (details below).

For more information on YES Central and Eastern Europe please contact Ms. Helena Malisova (details below)

Michelle GrantProject Manager,
ETHsustainabilityCenter for Sustainability at
ETH ZurichBolleystrasse 9CH 8006 ZurichSwitzerland
+41 44 632 5898 Office
+41 76 429 2600 Mobile
+41 44 632 1597 Fax
mailto:michelle.grant@

Helena MalisovaY
ES CEE Course Coordinator
Katedra Marketingu FM
UKOdbojarov 10.
P.O.Box 2582050
Bratislava, Slovakia
+421-2-50-11- 74-28 Office
+421-902-323- 462 Mobile
+421-2-50-11- 74-34 Fax
mailto:helena.malisova@sl.ethz.ch

A shift in direction...

2007-02-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

OK guys, so out of a conversation from last night I've decided that what would make this blog actually useful for people is some information on some of the free travel opportunities that people tell me about.

Expect to find lots more information about this stuff coming soon....

The forgotten benefits of floating

2006-11-22T08:36:00.000-08:00

The funny thing about sitting in a hot tub is that it forces you to chill.

Floating doesn't take much effort, and almost anyone can do it. There are a lot of benefits to floating that you might not be aware of.

To begin with, the simple act of submerging yourself makes you stop everything else. You can't be typing a report, peeling vegetables or dialing a cell phone while you're floating - all you can do is think or talk.

One of the other good things about hot tubs is that they are hot. This means that when you sit in them for a few minutes, you get hot too. Your body temperature raises, your circulation improves, and your blood pressure lowers, leaving you feeling warm, safe, and happy.

And you can dip your head underwater, cutting off the sounds in the room. It's nice not to have to concentrate on hearing everything around you for a change.

Hot tubs are also good public spaces. Like I said before, when you're floating you can't do much else but think or talk, and sometimes there are nice people to talk too. Chances are they will be warm too, which means they'll be in a good mood to talk.

Although public bathing has such strong roots in our history it is often over-looked in our day to day suburban lives, crowded out by bedroom television sets and basement parkades. The benefits of floating are simple but so profound - I recommend finding a way to make it part of your weekly routine.

Many community rec centres have late night swims - find one in your neighbourhood to help fend off those winter blues!

Eating flies

2006-10-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

There were two frogs sitting on a lily pad, when all of a sudden, a fly came along.

One frog put out his tongue, ate the fly, and started laughing hysterically. Soon the other frog joined in the laughter.

Later in the day, the other frog ate a fly and the two frogs burst out in laughter.

As time went on, the frogs enjoyed the flies so much that even the sight of a fly would cause them to double up with pleasure. But of course, the most pleasure came when the fly was actually eaten.

A third frog hopped up to the first two and asked what was so funny.

The first frog answered: "Time."

"Huh?" asked the third frog.

The second frog explained: "Time's fun when you're having flies!"

Detox: the follow-up

2006-10-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

There's an old saying about a boiled frog that goes like this: if you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water he'll jump out, but if you put him in a pot of warm water and slowly bring it to boil he won't notice how hot he is getting, and soon you'll have dinner.

During the the 12 day detox I didn't feel these incredible claims that my friends had made - I didn't feel 'amazing' or 'like I never have' - I shat more often and hungered for muffins.

But now, two weeks afterwards, my body is back in its normal state, and the proverbial frog has been dropped back into the boiling water.

Yowzers. While I might not be as in tune with the body's internal processes as I'd like to be, I can definitely see changes that have happened as I've returned to my normal state.

The lesson: boiling water is bad.

PS: 4 weeks, no cigarettes, no problem.

The Sonograph EP

2006-10-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a piece of music to help usher in the fall weather, allow me to suggest The Sonograph EP by the Early Day Miners. After it's all been said and done, I think I've gotten more mileage out of these 26 minutes over the past few weeks than all other music combined.

Both careful and spontaneous, the EP starts out with the brief waltz Albatross, and leads into the subdued Perish Room. Daniel Burton's vocals are present but far from the centre of the music - in fact I usually can't understand a thing he's saying, and I prefer it that way.

On Bedroom, Houston all of the percussion elements are dropped, leaving a minimal piece consisting of vocals, steel guitar, and small spaces of silence just long enough to give it a ghostly, gospel-like feel.

By the time you reach the end of The Sonograph EP you've navigated more than a few suprises, and really feel like you've travelled somewhere.

In comparision to other efforts by the Early Day Miners things seem to be a little less produced, a bit more direct and back to the basics.

The signature meandering, extended instrumentals are still here however, and this EP serves as an excellent introduction to the rest of their worthy catalouge.

Detox: the conclusion

2006-10-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been meaning to write this for a while: detox finished on Friday. I'm eating muffins again.

Incidentally the 12 days came to a close as a mountain of shrimp and baked terriyaki salmon were placed before me on a buffet table at a conference in Richmond.

It was actually scary eating bread again after such a long time. Delicious, but a bit unpredictable. The next morning I ate a muffin, a croisant, and a danish for breakfast.

Judging by a few things, and my new found love for early mornings, I'd say the detox is worth the $30 and energy I put into it. I'm sure I'll continue to do similar things.

Adam Detoxifies: Day 8

2006-09-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

So far, so good. No cigarettes, and still haven't veered from the prescribed diet. Well, OK, I'll admit it: I did accidentally eat half of a Werthers candy today.

I've been eating a lot of almonds, stir fry, and fish. I've learned how to make some interesting dishes such as black bean soup and artichoke heart hummus. I've even started roasting my own almonds.

But man, I miss the rest of the food spectrum. The worst is walking outside of a Thai restaurant on a cool, crisp evening when smells linger longer and have fewer peers to compete with. So tempting... There's a lot of things I'm looking forward to eating in 4 days.

I'm also looking forward to being able to eat out again! It's hard not being able to grab that slice of pizza on the way to your next appointment.

This is the first self-imposed diet-type thing I've ever done, and it's made me a lot more conscious of my eating choices. I'd like to say my energy level is higher than before, but its not - probably due to the lack of selection for food.

Do I feel detoxified yet?

Meh. I want a donut.

Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox: Adam detoxifies

2006-09-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

After a weekend trip to Vancouver I was chatting with Jason, my roomate, and warned him about impending unpredictability due to my intentions of quitting tobacco, and he shared his successful strategy: the Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox program.

Not really intended as a 'quit smoking' scheme, the primary purpose of the Wild Rose program is to "support the body's systems of elimination," thereby removing accumulated toxicities in the liver, colon, kidneys and lymphatic glands.

It involves taking herbal supplements, laxatives, and following a strict but manageable meal plan: no flour products, no sugar, no dairy, no tropical fruits or fruit juices, and no alcohol or other stimulants for 12 days.

And so we shared a bottle of wine that night and nearly finished an entire block of aged cheddar cheese. The next morning we went out and bought the kits, and as I write this we are at day 3 of 12 - so far so good.

I did a little bit of online research and apparently some people get a bit sick on this program, but other than rather frequent visits to the washroom I seem to be doing fine... so far!

It's an interesting challenge as your diet really influences many other parts of your life - your social activities, pasttimes, etc. From refusing offers of lifesavers to catching myself as I'm about to pour milk into my coffee to bringing my own popcorn to the movies...

I'm already trying new foods, and expect to learn a lot by the time these 12 days are up. Stay tuned for more updates as the program unfolds.

Sunday Morning Photographs

2006-09-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a piece of advice that will serve you very well if heeded:

The best time to take photos is at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning.

Today I woke up early for a photo safari and got some interesting results...

But first, a short story:

A few months ago my backpack was swallowed by Thetis Lake along with my cellphone, mp3 player, journal, a tub of roasted red pepper hummus, and a few rolls of film.

Thankfully, the event was witnessed by a gaggle of kokanee-drinking 15 year olds, one of whom scaled down the cliff to retreive the bag before it disappeared into the depths forever.

Later, when I tried to develop the film they told me it was wet and that I had to let it sit in the sun for a while.

And so I did.

I put the film on my windowsill, and forgot about it, as I was too broke to be able to develop it anyways.

Then this morning I took some more photos. I used the old film and took new photos overtop of the old ones.

I didn't know the old ones were there.

Cockeyed - A memoir of going blind

2006-08-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

One of the things I've been up to here at my island retreat is setting up a network for youth with Ushers Syndrome.

Ushers Syndrome involves a combination of vision and hearing loss and effects roughly 4 out of 100 000 people. There are 3 primary different types of Ushers, varying in severity and speed of onset, and because the condition is so rare medical professionals often do not diagnose it properly, meaning people spend a large chunk of their lives not ever knowing that they have it.

I was born with Ushers Syndrome Type II, which involves a progressive vision loss throughout life combined with a stable, moderate-to-severe hearing loss.

My friend Carrie, who also has Ushers Syndrome, recently recommended a book called Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton.

The authour was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (progressive vision loss) at the age of 18, and Cockeyed is his memoir of going blind while trying to grow up and do all of the things that we're supposed to do as we grow up.

It's a well written book, and I'd recommend reading it to anyone looking to understand a bit more about blindness or even just an entertaining summer read. The majority of the book consists of anecdotes, stories about the mishaps he's found himself in, and it's told with a delicious, wry sense of humour that found me chuckling to myself on the bus more than a few times.

I'd also recommend it to anyone in the early stages of vision loss, as it pointed out a few things that I hadn't thought of previously and gives a good look at the types of challenges we can expect to face down the road.

Thetis Lake

2006-08-07T22:33:00.000-07:00

About an hour by bicycle from Victoria on the Galloping Goose trail is a nifty little lake called Thetis lake, where I've been spending many a lazy & hazy summer afternoon.

What makes Thetis Lake interesting are the different 'stages' or points of entry. When you come in, there is a main beach that is pretty small, with a small canteen and changing facilities etc.

The water is nice and warm, and I recommend bringing something to float on to give you some extra space. The main beach can get pretty crowded, and is definitely of a 'family' orientation.

After visiting this main beach a few times I discovered paths on either side of the lake that take you to Upper Thetis, another small lake that connects to the main lake.

Upper Thetis is much cooler (in the hip sense - the water is actually quite warm) with less traffic and tons of secluded coves, rewarding the person who's willing to walk a bit further with scenic views and fewer people.

Upper Thetis has just the right amount of people around at different points on the lake, and is definitely more of an adult orientation - funny-smelling tobacco and nude suntanners abound.

Definitely one of my favourite places, and a highly recommended way to spend a summer afternoon.

The picture above was taken with my cellphone, and is of the main lake. The picture below is actually just a few blocks from my house, and isn't related to this post at all. :-)

Interesting posts coming soon.

2006-08-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

OK OK.... So, looking back at all of the posts on this blog I realise that there's not a lot of diversity - too many of the posts talk about the Ship For World Youth program, which can be boring if you're not a SWY person.

Hence, from now on I promise to have posts that are of a more general interest sort of nature.... and I promise they'll be interesting as well. Keep coming back. I really do want people to read this stuff...

If all goes well I should have a new cell phone soon, which will mean I can take photos of my escapades around the island here to entertain y'all...

Excitement and wonder to follow.

Ship for World Youth 19 - Call for applications

2006-08-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Imagine learning about global issues and different cultures with youth from every corner of the world as you sail from Japan to Australia, Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga between January 16 - March 8, 2007.

If you are a leader in your community, and have a desire to help others learn about Canada while learning about Japan consider applying to be a Canadian delegate on the 19th Ship For World Youth!

Past experience has shown that diverse delegations are strong ones, and youth from all different backgrounds are encouraged to apply before September 8, 2006.

www.swycanada.org

Note: Applications for the National Leader (ages 30 - 39) are being accepted until August 11, 2006.

The Nippon Maru Visits Victoria

2006-06-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: This post will only make sense to past participants of the Ship For World Youth program. If you are not one of them you’re welcome to read it, but be warned that there are a lot of inside jokes.

PHOTO GALLERY - NIPPON MARU IN VICTORIA

On June 26th 2006 the legendary Nippon Maru sailed into Victoria, BC (Canada) - just blocks away from my house. As a recent participant of the Ship For World Youth 18 this was very exciting for me, to have my floating home away from home sail right to me, and so I decided to have a reunion, even if I was the only attendee.

After asking about 7 people if I could board the ship without any luck a man in a uniform looked at me and said: "You... Are... XPY!" I must have jumped 2 feet in the air - I hadn't heard those 3 letters used together for a long time. Within a few minutes he made an appointment for me to board the ship the next evening.

The next day I went for a run on Ogden point (a wall that protects ships), with the Nippon Maru in the background, thinking warm thoughts about our program and about what the Nippon Maru means to so many people. Feeling all energized and excited about entering the ship in just a few hours, I sprinted all the way home to shower and get dressed in all of my SWY gear - a SWY T-shirt, my blue MOPAS bag, and my void Nippon Maru ID card.

And so I boarded the ship. Walked up those clanky stairs (sans Ship For World Youth banner), and made sure to duck my head as I passed through the security scanner. I showed my void Nipon Maru ID card, and sat down on the blue seats of the second floor, took a deep breath, and looked around.

At first, everything seemed smaller than I remembered it being. Did we really do yoga in that tiny space? I thought about the last night of the SWY 18 program, when everyone was on the second floor, lying on each other, hoping that the sun wouldn’t come up so we wouldn’t have to leave, dancing like a maniac for one last time… Looking at those blue vinyl seats I asked myself, where are all of the Bahrainians?

And the smoking room, the elevators… a big grin stretched across my face as I remembered dancing to the sounds of Singapora, making stops at random floors and picking up new converts. Where’s Kuni when you need him?

Then a girl working the administration desk called out “You are XPY!” and so I went to talk to her, and gave her a pressed maple leaf that I picked up from Mt. Douglas the week before. In a few minutes the guy in the uniform appeared, and asked her to take me on a tour of the ship, for security purposes. I gave him a maple leaf too.

It was nice to have someone who knew about the program give me the tour, and to take photographs of me. In all I think we spent about 20 mins touring the ship.

We started on the 7th floor… as usual the pool was closed, but the interesting thing was that they had a stack of yoga mats piled up in the corner… apparently they have yoga classes every morning for the old people on the ship.

Then we went outside to the sports deck, and the first real bout of shipsickness came when I looked at the 6th floor door coming out from the piano lounge.

While I was on the ship I never really realised how many good conversations took place outside that door, drinking Asahi and smoking cigarettes (which I don’t do any more by the way) late at night. Memories of dancing in the rain, hearing Ben & Jenny dish it out over gender roles, watching Jenny try to hit on Koishi, stargazing with Maggie, drinking sake with Baru and Ken came flooding back…

Then, the piano lounge. Pretty much the same, tho the bartender Jason wasn’t there. This was actually the only time I saw a few old people while on the ship, they were getting started on what must’ve been a good night. I expected to see the Swedes somewhere, with a MOPAS bag full of beer, but alas my desires were left unfulfilled.

There were a few interesting changes in the piano lounge, new seats on the walls, and an entire new ceiling to replace Havi’s punch hole. Yep, they replaced the entire ceiling. And the mermaid lounge had been transformed into a casino.

Then floor 5. Seeing the artwork on the stairs made me grin… The Japanese room was set up for board games, we stopped by the beauty salon and continued on to the dolphin hall. The thing that really hit me about floor five was the smell of the library. Smell is hands down the best thing to bring back memories.

They had some fancy new lights for Dolphin hall which made me jealous, and a band that played every night (that’s 101 consecutive nights) for the old people to learn different kinds of social dance. No sign of morning assemblies, or exotic flags hanging from the stage back drop.

Floor 4, and I walked by my old rooms, paying respect to Daisuke, Toti, Carlo and Kuni, No message boards on the doors however, it seems this cruise wasn’t as action packed as ours. We took a quick stroll around the exterior deck, over to the smoking section where we’d gaze at the ever-present sea while relaxing after a meal…

Then the 3rd floor. I was excited to go by the grand bath again, even hoping I might be able to take a bath, but alas it wasn’t so. But the smell of them from outside was enough… I was pretty sure I could hear Hicham singing somewhere too.

And of course, our good friends, the laundry machines. Memories of trying to iron while barely maintaining my balance from the waves, with the plug for the iron literally falling out of the socket, using the stinky drying room and forgetting about my clothes for weeks on end…

The administration counter on the 3rd floor was totally different, with nice pictures and without all of our beautiful handmade posters for seminars on Japanese calligraphy, costume parties, group facilitation, leadership in the 21st century, street dance… just a bunch of pictures of old people on those walls now.

Back on the 2nd floor I took a deep breath, and decided that my short reunion must come to an end. Then the girl said, well what about floor 1? I thought for a moment… just a bunch of closed doors really, why bother? Wellll…. What the heck, might as well, if only to extend my visit that much longer.

When I came down the stairs I saw a pretty familiar place that I’d almost forgotten about – the corner of death. SWY 18 Canadians, this one is for you!

PHOTO GALLERY - NIPPON MARU IN VICTORIA

Photo Galleries: Victoria and Edmonton

2006-06-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

I finally have use of my camera again, and now have a few photos to share of my current city, Victoria BC as well as some from my hometown Edmonton, AB.

This blog post is dedicated to my dad, Mr. David Gerald Ungstad, in honour of Father's day 2006.

Ha! Bet you thought I forgot about you dad. It's still 11:43, even in Edmonton time! Anyways, thanks for inspiring me to take good photographs dad. Here's the links:

VICTORIA

EDMONTON

CHHA 2006 Annual Conference

2006-06-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today has been a much needed "me" day, so I decided to take a few hours for a blog update. This time I'll write about the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA) 2006 Annual Conference in Prince Edward Island.

But first, a thank you to the Edmonton Branch of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and the Alberta Public Interest Research Group for making my attendance possible.

I've been to more than a few of the CHHA conferences, (I've started to amass a small collection of chha conference bags) and this year I saw a real change within the youth movement. Whereas in Regina 2001 I seemed to be the only one under the age of 30, thanks to Heritage Canada this year we had more than 20 youth participating.

This is the second year now that Heritage Canada has given us support, so relationships are developing and we're really start to form a community now. I'm really looking forward to the good things that are on their way.

One of the highlights of the conference was playing ultimate frisbee after a day of sitting in the hotel. It was great to be barefoot on a green field, doing cartwheels and generally goofing around with the ocean in the background.

The ice cream in PEI is nearly as omniscient as starbucks in other cities - there are ice cream stores on nearly every block. And the potatoes - don't get me started! At a reception they served mashed sweet potatoes in wine glasses with an unlimited buffet of toppings! A very unique, and good meal.

The keynote speaker of the event was the real Sue Thomas, F.B. EYE who told us some pretty scary tails of discrimination and life as a deaf individual growing up in the 60s and 70s. A lot of the stories she told about speech therapy and her search for meaningful work really resonated with me personally.

Nearly everyone loved Sue Thomas. She gives a lot of inspirational talks but seemed to really feel at home with us. And she doesn't look anything like the actress that plays her on TV. I'm glad that I don't have a TV show about my life as who knows what they'd do to me.

One afternoon was set aside specifically for the youth to meet to discuss our goals etc, and we heard a lot of each others concerns... quality captioning is one of them.

There was also talk of having more youth retreats and conferences, setting up provincial representatives and a variety of other ideas.

We were all sure to enjoy each other's company after the official program of the conference. The picture above is of my buddy Yanik and his wife Jen - Yanik has a playoff beard and is a good person to have at a party as he usually has the guts to live up to a good dare.

It was nice to see old friends and make a few new ones as well.

A very large source of my personal entertainment over the weekend came from these blue elastic bracelets - you know, the "live strong" type bands that are supposed replace ribbons - that were intended to raise awareness of hearing loss.

I personally hate wearing those bracelets as they always make my wrists tired, so I decided to ensure that the bracelets spoke as loudly as possible by shooting them at people. It was nice to be in an environment that allowed for multiple battles, allowing me to refine my technique and exact revenge where necessary.

The last night no one really slept, as most people's flights were at 6 AM - I stayed up to see them off and then went for a walk down the boardwalk. Good times. We were staying at the 4.5 star Delta hotel that had the most comfortable beds and amazing staff.

At the Gahan House, a local micro-brewery I had a sample tray of a variety of beer that was fantastic. There was one with a carmel aftertaste that was to die for... definitely a recommended stop for fans of variety and those seeking cheap ways to try a lot of different kinds of beer.

Hamburger Jokes

2006-04-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I ate an almond burger at a vegan restaurant with my friends Mike and Sara. For readers from Alberta (where all burgers are AAA beef), an almond burger is a burger made out of almonds - massively filling and very tasty.

Afterwards we went to Value Village, where I found a book called "101 Hamburger Jokes." Here's a few:

"What did the hamburger say when he pleaded not guilty?"

But I've been flamed!

"How do you make a meat loaf?"

Send it on vacation!

"Do hamburgers make good vampires?"

No, because they always find themselves in goulash situations!

"How many hamburgers do you feed a ferocious, 14 foot tall vampire?"

All it wants!

Why do hamburgers make poor interviewees?
Because they won't talk, no matter how long you grill them!

A Cold and Quiet Easter in Victoria

2006-04-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, so far I have to say that the April weather in Victoria has been less than impressive.

It keeps spitting out these little showers that always threaten to get serious but then never do. There's a weak sun out, which is deceptive, as it much colder out than it looks... Here's a few photos I took of the neighbourhood, to help put things in context.

After spending a month or so in Edmonton nursing a serious case of ship-sickness I hoped a midnight greyhound bus from Edmonton to Victoria - 25 hours by bus. It was great - the bus driver was in a bitter mood having just returned from vacation and kept using that sarcastic and subtle tone of humour where you have to struggle not to laugh or risk being ridiculed. I snuggled into my seat and read about Zen Buddhism without any worries of having to go places or talk to people.

And then the Rocky Mountains. Wow, I timed the trip just right, reaching the mountains at 3 in the afternoon, giving me a good 7 hours of mountain-watching delight. We're talking mountain tops surrounded in fog, huge gi-normous ranges on both sides of you, all bathed in a soothing blue-greyish light. A bus gives you a better view too - you're higher up than in a car, so you can see above the trees, and you don't have to worry about driving.

So after arriving in Victoria I stayed a few nights with my very generous friends Carrie & Mark. For the first few days here they were my guides - putting a roof over my head, helping me sort out street names and bus schedules... I owe them big time, and when I own a fancy hotel in Ecuador I'm going to let them use the penthouse suite for free.

I've also been to see a few gigs here and on a ghost walk where we learned about a bank haunted by Robert Service and saw a well in the middle of an office lobby.

A few days of searching yeilded a bedroom in the top-level suite of a character home half a block away with a roomate. Just up the road from Cook Street Village - 5 blocks from the ocean in one direction, 5 blocks to downtown in the other.

Now, time to focus on the income factor... I've spent the last few days boxed up in my room on the top floor of 1116 Collinson street working on resumes. It's been nice, taking it slow as I have no money to go out with anyways.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping this weather improves... and when it does I'll see if I can borrow a digital camera from someone around here and show off Victoria like it was meant to be shown!

Happy Easter Y'all - may you reap much chocolate!

Adam

The Education of Little Tree

2006-03-22T22:15:00.001-08:00

Right now I'm reading an autobiography about a cherokee boy (Little Tree) who was brought up by his grandparents in the Appalachian mountains during the Great Depression.

So far it's all been told from the perspective of a 5 year old as he helps his 70 year old Granpa hide their whiskey still from the law, learns to stop hitting his chin while plowing, cusses with granpa while granma is away...

The book gives you the wisdom of a 70 year old as seen from a 5 year old's perspective. The reading level is considered "Young Adult" so it's a very smooth read, going into detail on some things but keeping things rolling fast enough to hold your attention.

In one of the adventures I just finished Little Tree finds himself 'slickered' out of a hard earned 50 cents when he buys a sick calf from a man claiming to be a christian.

After the calf dies, he has dinner with Granma and Granpa:

While we was eating, Granpa looked at me and said "Ye see, Little Tree, ain't no way of learning, except by letting ye do. Iff'n I had stopped ye from buying the calf, ye'd have always thought ye'd ought to had it. Iff'n I'd told ye to buy it, ye'd blame me fer the calf dying. Ye'll have to learn as ye go."

"Yes, sir," I said.

"Now," Granpa said, "what did ye learn?"

"Well," I said, "I reckin I learned not to trade with Christians."

Granma commenced to laugh. I didn't see hardly anything funny atall about it. Granpa looked dumbstruck; then he laughed so hard he choked on his corn bread. I figgered I had learned something funny but I didn't know what it was.

Ship For World Youth (SWY) Photo Gallery

2006-03-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, welcome to the start of my posts about the Ship For World Youth (SWY) program.

> Enter the SWY18 Photo Gallery <

I am currently in Edmonton, with plans to move to Victoria (British Columbia) by the end of the month.

There are many more SWY stories and photos coming, so be sure to bookmark this blog and check it every day!

For all of the Canadians between 18 - 31 years old reading this, keep in mind that Canada has been chosen to participate in the next SWY, early 2007...

Ship For World Youth (SWY): The basics...

2006-03-11T22:37:00.000-08:00

The Nippon Maru , otherwise known as the Ship For World Youth (SWY)

It's difficult to comprehend, but throughout the past 2 months of the Ship For World Youth program I've had no internet access.

No internet access, that means none. Not even one single text message. Our free time at ports of call (Japan, Singapore, India, Kenya and Mauritius) was extremely limited - we're talking 2 hours in each city - and I simply couldn't spend this rare time documenting the adventure instead of living it.

Because of this there's a big discrepancy between what I know about the adventure I've just returned from and what everyone else knows - people know that it was action packed, that I was busy every second of the day, but they don't know what exactly I was so busy with.

Thus, I've got to fill you in on a few of the basics before we can proceed to details and images that have filled my past few months. This post may be kind of dry, as it explains all of the basics of the Ship for World Youth program, but it will help put some of the other SWY related posts in context.

First off, each participant is known as a PY - Participating Youth.

There are JPYs, OPYs, and XPYs - Japanese, Overseas, and Ex-Participating Youth.

The ship had 120 JPYs and 150 OPYs, the overwhelming majority of participants being female.

The purpose of the Ship for World Youth program, aside from public diplomacy for the Japanese government, was to "promote mutual understanding" between different cultures and broaden international horizons of participating youth, and that it did.

Each PY is assigned to one of each of the following:

Course discussion - seminars / workshops on topics such as Economy, Education, Youth Development, Volunteerism and Environment.

Letter groups - groups having one member from each overseas delegation for various activities and administrative functions.

(holding a tennis ball between our foreheads - a letter group activity)

Letter groups met each day and took turns coordinating the daily wake up call, morning assembly, and night patrol.

I was in L grupu. Leadership, Life, Love.

Club activities - clubs coordinated by PYs and held during 'official time' - the majority of these were focused on dances from different cultures, including Japanese Geisha, Soran and Sansa-odori, Polynesian and Mauritian dance, and Japanese drumming.

I joined La Faya, the Mauritian club, and learned to swing my hips like you wouldn't believe.

In addition to course discussion, letter groups and club activities there were:

Voluntary activities - diverse workshops, seminars, films and activities coordinated by participating youth and held on our own time.

Through these I learned about Sho-doh (Japanese calligraphy), photography, group facilitation, trauma psychology, crosscultural sexuality, philosophy for children, the atomic bomb and its aftermaths, yoga, bahraini weaving, the list goes on...

and

Delegation responsibilities - Delegations from each country were responsible for a national presentation and an official party.

Leo (Brazil), Adam and Carlo (Brazil) at the Canada party

The national presentations were very large undertakings, more like shows than presentations. The parties were usually held on the pool deck, with free alcohol, food and dance and games.

The Ship we were on, the Nippon Maru, had 7 floors and was nicer than I expected...

Among amenities were a pool, observation decks, bar, piano lounge, sportsdeck, japanese room, library, store, a 2 story concert hall complete with fancy lights, the grand baths (more on these later) buffet style dining room (unlimited ice cream each lunch) and a stadium-seating style theatre.

(L-grupu celebrating a birthday in the dining hall)

Daily life on the ship...

Started with a wake up call broadcast over the ship radio by a letter group (or sometimes pounded into your door by a letter group) at 7:30.

Breakfast is served from 7:45 - 8:30, and generally slept through by the majority of participants. We eat in a buffet-style dining hall, and the food overall is pretty good for what you can expect on a cruise ship, though 5 out of the 6 selections were usually fried, as they were feeding 300 people 3 times a day.

After the morning wake-up call, the letter group on duty is in charge of creating a Morning assembly, just like elementary school with all of us in the dolphin hall and lined up in tidying little rows. Aside from raising a flag and singing the national anthem of one of the participating countries, they can do whatever they like - play games, do excercizes, break ice, watch videos or slideshows...

(Dolphin Hall - where we had our morning assembly)

Morning Assembly starts at 8:45, and if you aren't there by 9:00 your AGL (assistant group leader) has the undesirable task of waking you up - they did this every morning to make sure no one went missing over night. Marika and Papa, my two AGLs, had this undesirable task on a few occassions. Did I mention I sleep in my underwear?

Japan Night and Baraka

2006-03-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

January 29, 2006

Earlier this week my letter group came up with a Japanese name for me that's pronounced "Adamu", and consists of three symbols: Asia, Sail, Dream. We were sailing off the coast of Taiwan when they gave me that name - how cool is that?

Yesterday I went to the Sho-Doh club - Japanese calligraphy using brushes and charcoal ink - and one of the girls made me a sign with the symbols for "adamu" on it.

As of yet I have no tattoos, simply because I could never come up with anything worthy of my skin, but I think I've now found a strong candidate...

After Singapore our schedule on ship calmed for a few days, giving us a bit more of a flexible schedule.

The pool has opened on the 7th floor, and each day before lunch I go for a dip, then gaze up into the blue sky while tanning on the deck and thinking about how unreal this all is.

Although the pool is nice, the Grand Bath is truly something else.

Part of Japanese culture is a love of bathing - in their houses they have a special bath / shower room where you have a shower on a hose and a stool to sit on while you wash and rinse yourself, and then get into the tub to soak for a bit.

The reason you wash outside of the bath is because the next family member will be using the same bath water to soak in once you're done.

The Grand Bath is essentially a larger version of this, with separate baths for men and women.

You come into one room, undress (yes, completely) and go into a room that has a series of stool / shower stalls, two hot tubs, and a door to a very hot sauna.

Aside from being a far superior alternative to the tiny, smelly shower in the airplane-sized washroom in our cabins, the grand bath serves as a unique place to socialize.

The altered blood pressure from the heat, the literal nakedness and seperation from the opposite sex work together to bring out things we don't always hear from the usually shy Japanese participants. Like songs.

In addition to a national presentation, each delegation onboard throws a party separate from the presentation which usually involves food, alcohol, and dancing.

Lots, and lots of dancing... in fact if anything that's what I'd say is our number one means of passing time onboard the Nippon Maru.

Last night Japan had it's party, with sake and plum wine, along with rice cakes (a chewy, gummy snack served covered in peanut dust), japanese guitar and many other edible and auditory treats.

As the formal part of the party was winding down a friend asked if I was going to come watch a movie playing downstairs, called Baraka.

Those that know me well can probably guess my answer: I can rent a movie any time, why would I bother watching one now?

Had the friend not been a rather fetching blonde I would have stuck to my guns, but a few minutes later I found myself in the theatre, mesmerized.

Baraka is a feature length film without dialouge or commentary - simply sounds and breathtaking images from every corner of the globe. And when I say breathtaking I mean you'll find yourself gasping for air as you soak it in.

What made my experience so unique that evening however, was something that I nearly overlooked - if I would have just rented the movie at home I would have missed the experience of taking in these images in a roomful of people who actually knew what I was seeing.

This was shown through subtle ways - a single pair of hands clapping in the bottom of the theatre as a man jumps in a trance on the screen. The tribes in the film, the intricate insides of mosques, the sacred scenery - new and unbelievable to my eyes, but home to my companions.

It was quite something to have friends around to ask about what I had just seen immediately after the film.

After Baraka I went back up to the piano lounge and enjoyed a few bottles of duty-free Asahi (Japanese beer - by the way alcohol is duty-free on the ship), danced up a storm and then headed out the sports deck where I found 5 of my favourite Japanese friends singing japanese songs, as if they were gathered around an imaginary campfire...

After watching and listening to them for a while they started signing english songs so I could join in. Once we ran out of Abba and the Beatles we ended up singing songs I sang in kindergarten and haven't used for over a decade - head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes...

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands.

Snap shot of an evening on the ship

2006-03-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Jan 26, 2006

It's 10 pm our time and I'm writing from the 7th floor of our ship in a view point called the Sky Veranda.

Through a set of doors from the room I'm in is the pool deck, where people are practicing Japanese drumming.

On the 6th floor is the Piano Lounge which also doubles as our bar, on the 5th our advisors are having a lively meeting while the Brazillians rehearse their national dance...

On the 4th floor is the Dolphin Lounge, where I just came from, and witnessed an utterly mindblowing piano solo as part of an exhibition of various music and dance talent on our ship called "No Music, No Life" - I never knew fingers could move so fast.

The 3rd floor has all of the girls cabins and the grand bath, where people bathe and then soak together in the nude, and on the second floor there are people dancing Capoeira in a small foyer in front of our dining hall.

On the first floor, which consists solely of storage rooms, the participants from Bahrain are making some sort of crafts in the hallway, presumably to give away to us all at some point.

The talent and human resources on this ship are simply amazing.

On Monday I had lunch with a life coach to learn about her trade, today I lunched with my economy advisor, Tadashi Yamada (published in a collection of the 40 most globally influential essays on economy), and last night I drank beer with a girl from Austrailia about to embark on a PhD in Clinical Psychology, specializing in trauma.

Today we spent time our time in free discussion and sports and recreation.

I chose "love" as my topic for free discussion, and found myself in fast paced discussion with Asha from Kenya, Jimmy from Mauritius and Victoria from Tonga.

The sports and recreation segment more resembled an elementary school's version of track and field - we played games where one person was blindfolded, and our team had to tell him where to sit so that he could squash a balloon.

In "The Clothesline" we had to see how long of a line we could make simply by tying together pieces of our clothes - Sara from Sweden gave us an extra edge by adding her shirt to the line.

Everywhere you go, every corner you turn, there’s someone to say hi to, someone’s hand to shake. In total we’ll spend 43 days on this ship - 6 weeks - but when we leave we’ll have lived far more than 43 days.

Time here is somehow accelerated, we’re doing so much more in a given day, interacting with each other so many more times than we ever possibly could if we were on land.

There’s a small gay community that’s starting to develop, making people from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain nervous.

Last night we gave the Canadian National Presentation and literally blew everyone away.

Seriously, the show we gave was near broadway quality, thanks in no small part to Mylene from Quebec (who has performed with the Cirque du Soleil). People were crying, telling us we moved them even more than the surreal presentation Japan’s 120 delegates delivered.

I’ve had at least 3 people tell me how much they want to move to Canada, now that they understand what multiculturalism is all about. Pretty good for 12 people who were strangers less than 2 weeks ago. (If all goes well I’ll be able to bring home a video of this)

Aside from the other Canadians I’ve connected particularly well with the Swedish delegation - they think it’s the Norwegian blood circulating my system, and I’m not inclined to disagree.

Tomorrow we spend the day in Singapore while the ship refuels, and then set sail again for Chennai, India.

Tonight all of the external doors are locked and lights are shut off, as we sail through a small corridor ridden with pirates, on our way to India from Singapore.

I’m looking forward to lying on my bottom bunk and being gently rocked to sleep by the waves.

Onboard the Nippon Maru - Jan 18, 2006

2006-01-26T00:13:00.000-08:00

8 floors, 2 theatres, piano lounge, swimming pool and a bar...

As soon as we got onboard the Nippon Maru, our cruise ship, I started noticing participants that I hadn't seen before, and realised the strength of this unique model of an exchange program:

acting as a confined space, the ship keeps everyone in what is essentially one giant room, and as such becomes a smaller model of the world.

We're stuck in this thing together, and our well being depends on each other - there is no such thing as independence, and to function we have to learn the meaning of the word interdependence.

For the record, the delegations participating in SWY 18 are:

Austrailia
Bahrain
Brazil
Canada
Greece
India
Japan
Kenya
Mauritius (near Madagascar)
Morrocco
Sweden
Tonga (near Fiji)
United Arab Emirates

There are 120 Japanese youth on board and 12 from each other delegation (in total, 150 non-japanese participants, meaning 270 participants in all) with ages ranging from 18 - 31.

It's worth noting that our national leader was overwhelmed with comments about how good-looking the Canadian delegation was after our welcoming reception in Tokyo, and I think we've even got the Swedes and the Greeks beat.

The working language on board is English (or, as often heard, Engrish), although there are less than 20 native english speakers here.

One of the first things we've noticed is that it's difficult to find alone time here. While there's a variety of rooms and different types of spaces, there's no retreat that is really your own, other than the mattress on your bed and the shelter your blanket provides. There are 3 people per room, and I am with Daisuke from Japan and Toti from Tonga. Daisuke works in multimedia and as a lighting technician for film, and Toti is the strong but silent type with a fondness for an early morning cup of sake.

One of my favourite moments so far was helping Daisuke understand a t-shirt of his, which was for a mock septic tank company. Although he knew what a septic tank was, my explanation of the phrase "We're # 1 with your # 2" helped bring new meaning to the shirt.

As a confined space, away from all of our normal distractions and indulgences, it's clear that the Nippon Maru is a tremendous opportunity for personal development and transformation. Within hours of getting on board healthy thoughts of finally finding that productive morning person I know is hidden somewhere deep inside of me started to emerge...

As part of our responsibility to contribute to the Nippon Maru experience each delegation is responsible for putting together a national presentation that covers the history, culture and current issues of their country. In an effort to get things out of the way we signed up to do ours within the first week, right after Japan and Austrailia. With a full-sized theatre hall and all of the lights and stage equipment that come with it these are big-scale productions, and preparing for the presentation in the limited free time we have has put a lot of stress on our Canadian delegation, which has lead to our second big crisis.

Over 350 people applied for the 12 spots on the Canadian delegation, and as a result we've got some very talented and strong leaders in our delegation - leading to what I call "too many leaders syndrome." The stress of organizing our presentation, along with an unfamilliar environment full of strangers, 2nd languages and cultures entirely different from our own has lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings and anxiety about the next 43 days we'll spend together.

On a personal level I'm doing fantastic - having been in so many similar situations previously I've made excellent relationships with everyone in our group, and have found a good place as a stabilizer of our dynamic. Yesterday we had a 'lay-it-all-out' session that went late into the night. Our national leader was bed-ridden with sea-sickness, which meant we had to resolve unspoken issues on our own. Mom would have been proud of my peacekeeping contributions. In particular everyone really liked an analogy I made of building muscle: only after you've torn the tissue apart from every possible angle does it get stronger and grow tight.

As I write this our first 24 hours sailing on the sea are coming to a close. We've been sailing relatively close to land up until now, following the outer coast of Japan on our way to India with a stop in Singapore in 6 days. I'm looking out the window and all I see is water as far as the eye can reach. I feel good about this ship, about our delegation, and I know it's going to be very difficult to eventually step back into the world we once knew.

How to travel the world on $25

2005-12-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

Over the past 2 years or so I've been fortunate enough to travel to far away places such as Guatemala and Senegal, and am currently preparing to depart on a 2 month program that will take me to Japan, India, Kenya & Mauritius. None of these trips have cost me anything other than money for beer and gifts.

When I tell people about my adventures abroad the first, near universal question they ask is:

"Where do you *hear* about these things?"

...and thus begins the subject of this post.

Thanks to different programs offered through governments and NGOs there is incredible opportunity for Canadian youth looking to travel on a shoe-string budget, and this article was written to help you discover that opportunity. Look for useful links at the bottom of the page.

The most fundamental piece of advice I have for anyone looking to travel the world without going bankrupt is to get involved in your own community.

Let's say that again: get involved in your own community.

Membership in community associations and networks helps you in many different ways: it develops your own personal network, gives you access to their programs as well as those offered by their partners, and lets you develop experience in an area that you might not be able to otherwise.

No matter what you're interested in, there will be some kind of community association or network dedicated to that subject. You've already looked, and there is none? Even better, as that means you get to start your own.

Community groups exist to accomplish things that individuals can't do on their own. Find these groups, become a member, and volunteer for them. By offering your services many opportunities (including travel) will come your way.

A good example of this would be my membership in the Boreal Electro-Acoustic Music Society (BEAMS) in Edmonton. BEAMS is a society dedicated to experimental music - it's a small group, typically hosts 1-2 major events a year, has no paid staff and runs on a very minimal operating budget.

Am I an experimental musician? No, but I'm interested in experimental music, so I paid $10 and joined BEAMS 3 years ago. After volunteering to take tickets at the door a few times, I found out that BEAMS is a member of an umbrella organisation called the Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS), which has a mandate of promoting collaboration and networking among media artists in Alberta.

To accomplish it's mandate, AMAAS hosts a retreat each year in different parts of Alberta, and pays for its member organizations to attend. To make a long story short, by paying $10 for a BEAMS membership and volunteering a few times I've attended three of these retreats in Medicine Hat, Grande Prairie, and Banff for free. Not a bad return on a $10 investment eh?

Go nuts on these organizations! Don't just join one or two, get involved in five or ten of them - trust me, the investment of your time will be returned tenfold.

As each day goes by the world becomes a bit more complex, and the social web gets a bit more tangled. By being involved in one thing you're going to get exposure to something else, which will lead to more opportunities, and so on. Just like my roomate, who came back from a friend's wedding with a new girlfriend, you'll be suprised by the good things that pop up.

OK, so by being involved in community associations and networks you can travel within Canada at a low cost, but now what about the rest of the world?

If you want to travel the world but don't want to foot the bill for it, you're going to need to find someone else to foot the bill for you. In my experience there are two types of organizations that will do this for you:

government programs
non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

I've been fortunate to travel thanks to programs offered by both domesitc and international governments as well as NGOs. Here is a short list of opportunities waiting for you to take advantage of:

Association of Women in Development AWID connects, informs, and mobilizes people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development, and women's human rights.
CANADEM CANADEM is a not-for-profit agency dedicated to advancing international peace and security through the recruitment, screening, promotion, and rapid mobilization of Canadian expertise.
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Youth International Internship Program You will gain valuable, hands-on international development experience through CIDA.
Canadian University Service Overseas CUSO is a Canadian-based international development organization and a leading volunteer-sending organization.
Careers Without Borders Careers Without Borders is the preferred job search website for international development careers.
Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade (DFAIT) – Canada's Young Professionals International (YPI) DFAIT offers an employment program for young Canadians between the ages of 19 and 30, providing post-secondary graduates a first paid, career-related international work experience that will further the objectives of Canada's foreign policy.
Idealist Idealist is an Action Without Borders project with thousands of volunteer opportunities both in your community and around the world. Includes the best web-based Non-profit Career Centre with hundreds of employment and internship listings.
Indigenous Peoples Abroad Program The Indigenous Peoples Abroad Program offers opportunities for First Nations people of Canada and indigenous peoples of the Pacific to explore common concerns.
UBC Alma Mater Society This is the UBC Vancouver student society and they have compiled a list of international opportunities.
Voluntary Service Overseas VSO was voted the top international development charity in the International Aid and Development category at the 2004 Charity Awards for its innovative approaches to globalizing volunteering.
World University Service of Canada WUSC is a network of individuals and post-secondary institutions that provides Canadians opportunities to gain experience in international development
The J. Armand Bombardier Internationalist Fellowships Program This scholarship provides fellowships for Canadians to study, research, and work abroad to build their international competence and to enhance Canada's participation in the world economy. Fellowships are non-renewable and valued at $10,000.
Rotary International Foundation Scholarships
Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarships are for three or six months of intensive language study and cultural immersion. Applications are considered for candidates interested in studying Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, and Swedish.
Canada World Youth CWY is an international exchange program for Canadian youth with programs specializing in information technology, agriculture, healthcare, aids / HIV...
Ship For World Youth SWY is sponsored by the Japanese Goverment, and involves participants from across the globe sailing on a cruise ship and exchanging culture and understanding between each other.

There are far more of these out there than you think, and the best way to find them is often through word of mouth, by being involved in your own community.

It's expensive to send people overseas, and these programs will usually have a pretty hefty application process that allows them to screen out the most worthy. Don't be intimidated by these - normally you don't have to have experience in all of the categories they are asking for.

Tackle them like a final exam: answer the easy questions first, then work on the tough ones and when you don't know what the answer is, write something anyways so that you'll at least get partial marks.

Dare I say it, but it's often worth it to take a day off of work to dedicate to one of these forms, even if it means calling in sick - sure it'll cost you a days' worth of wages, but it has the potential to return the experience of a lifetime.

Keep in mind these programs will usually have demographic requirements to meet in their selection of participants - for example, they'll probably need to have balanced representation from each geographic part of the country, gender balance (most programs struggle to find male participants), and representation from visible minorities.

If there's something that sets you apart make sure you mention it, and talk about how you're connected to whatever it is - if it's something that's usually seen as an obstacle, talk about how you've overcome it.

If you followed my advice from the beginning of this post and have been involved in your own community you should have no problem talking about your qualifications. Most applications look for signs of your demonstrated interest in the subject, and how you will be able to share your experience with your community once you return.

This brings me to the last piece of advice: don't sell yourself too short.

Don't miss any details. Mention that time you served hotdogs outside the IGA as a fundraiser for your little sister's dance class. And, don't just talk about what you did, talk about what the result was:

"By helping sell hotdogs, I enabled my sister's dance troupe travel to small towns across the province, thereby raising awareness of ukranian culture and promoting multiculturalism in my own community."

Be adventurous, choose that country that you can't even place on the map, and watch your understanding of the world bloom.

Happy Travels!

Odd Todd is cool

2005-12-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

So I'm still getting used to this entire blog thing, but I thought I'd take a moment to share one of one of my favourite internet time-wasters: Odd Todd. Yes, a cartoon recommendation from someone who refuses to subscribe to cable.

Odd Todd is unemployed, lives somewhere in the states, and makes hilariously funny flash cartoons about his adventures trying to find a job, starting an excercise plan, searching for "Boob-panionship"... just the average life of a single guy living in the city.

The style and plotlines are minimalist, almost greeting-card like, making it easy for anyone to relate... Aside from Todd himself, there are a few other regulars in the cartoons that only ever say one phrase or make one sound, making the cartoon very 'hot' in the McLuhan sense (IE more interpretation work on the viewers' part, leading to more involvment with the story).

The humour is of a self-deprecatory, PG-13 nature that's got just the right amount of edge to it to be funny without being offensive to anyone or too lame. I think the reason I find these cartoons so funny is because they're a near autobiographical account of what my life was like in the past. Definitely nothing like my life today though... Definitely.

Comedy Central (yes, the tv channel) actually started buying these cartoons for their website earlier this year - putting Odd Todd right next to heavyhitters Southpark & Drawn Together - so if you won't take my word for it, take theirs!

Enough talky-talky, go check him out.

Adam

This is my first post.

2005-12-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

Wow. *I* have a blog.

Now I can write things and maybe, just maybe, if I'm lucky people might actually read them...

Adam