re-connected in north america

oi vey, i forgot what hangovers felt like :/ a quick post to say i'm off to rochester, new york to meet up with shauna's parents and pick up the car they're lending me. my mother's cousin has also lent me a cell phone for the time i'm here so you can reach me at 864-449-2398. chat soon!

berries? cherries? organic? oh my!!

....mmmmm...braggs, healthy cereal, almond milk, greens+, organic dark chocolate, vietamese food, wheat-free bread, soy pudding...thse are a few of my favourite things i've been indulging in since arriving in downtown t.o late last night. it was an epic 32 hour trip here and i'm still reeling. i can't help but stare at everyone, expecting that i should somehow know them but i'm taking comfort in the large amount of koreans in this neighbourhood. today, while in line at the grocery store, i let a woman go in front of me. when she turned and said 'thank you', the 'kit-che-na-yo' automatically slipped out and she gasped at me. i loved it. i'm hoping to get a sim card soon and hook myself up with a number through my korean cell, which i'll post asap. i am so looking forward to connecting with more of my family and friends also very soon. yes, that means you!! :)

bideting in japan....

once again, i find myself at an airport trying to frantically type out a quick post before my $1.00 per 10 mins. (why didn't i practice in gr. 9 typing class!!!???) of internet runs out. this trip to japan was the best yet. i got to see more of the real side while hanging out with greg in the small city of tsuyama. we didn't get up to much besides cooking up feasts, drinking coffee and scourering the second-hand shops but it was a nice way to start off my summer vacation. i've already made 7 1/2 hour train ride to tokyo airport and i'm looking at another 12 hours on the flight back. boy, that shower is sure going to feel good. see you soon, mom!!!!

it appears you have taken a leave of your senses.....

....by not writing in my blog for over a month. yikes! where did those days go?
i'm sitting in my apartment sipping a beer in last-grade-entered-in-the-computer-finals-are-finished bliss, surrounded by small piles of stuff i think i might like to take with me when i return to canada next week. the hardest part of travel to me is not getting everything together but to actually start putting it in my bags. then its a freeforall as i try to stuff as much as i can in there.
alas, i do have a bit of time before i head to seoul as i will be flying out monday morning to tokyo with a 5-day stopover to have a quick visit with greg and bring him his guitar. i'm looking forward to actually seeing some of japan for a change. although i've made two trips there in the past, its only been for visa runs and some international grocery shopping. then it will be on to canada for two whole months. wow. it feels as though i've just started to get settled after my trip to thailand/india/n.z and here i am putting the pack back on again. how blessed am ito be working at a university.
bryan and shauna, in a tremedous act of generosity, have lent me their car which is in storage in rochester, n.y. i have plans to take a bus over there shortly after i land in t.o to meet up with shauna's folks and pick up the car. yay! i can't wait to be in road trippin' heaven. i have plans for south carolina to see my dad and desiree rumbaugh, head to boulder to hook up with some of bry and shaunas friends for some climbing,on to san fran for yoga study and hopefully a visit to one of my favourite places in the world, bishop, c.a. for some more stellar climbing. actually, as i'm writing this, it all sounds like a lot but just having the freedom and the wheels to go has me jumping around.
i also have big plans to pick another computer while i'm home to take on the road with me so the blog will be updated much more frequently. unless my senses took off again...