QUEST IS SOOOO SOOONNNNNN!
I'm really excited for orientation and I can't wait to see all the tutors and staff and old students and new students and the mountains and sea to sky highway (minus the rockslides) and THE NEW TURF! and my bagpipe band in squamish and to relax in the artsbay and the one breakout room with the killer view and to just be working and busy again. sdgkiyfiogydfghdkjhf!!!!!!
Until Aug 22nd when I board the plane for BCCCCCCCCCCC, I'll be busy planning for next year and working for my dad and writing music . It has been so nice to hang out with my brother (he's teaching me how to sail and how to play banjo) and have time to writewritewrite and thinkthinkthink. I'm already thinking about my question! huishgeubdnkfh But I'm so thankful that we have an entire block dedicating to working out our question in december. I've got time!
I cant' wait I cant wait I cant wait
love,
caro
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
CHINACHINACHINACHINA
nieeeeeeeeee haaooo!
I just came back from 2 months of traveltraveltravel in the Peoples Republic of China! Along with Jen Yip! (a wicked awesome quest kid), Jen's momma and one of our other best friends, I spent 60 days making my way through the narrow alleyways, crowded subways and busy markets of a country determined to make its mark. We started out in HongKong, and then traveled throughout the Guangdong province and then to the Northwest to Yunnan province and we finished our trip in Shanghai and Beijing. Whichhhhh basically means that we had the opportunity to see a large part of the masssiiivvee country. And we were amazingly lucky throughout our travels because Jen has family scattered across China, so we had apartments and eccentric families waiting for us in major Chinese cities like Beijing and Guangzhou.
There was one problem however; Jen's family members didn't speak much english, and we definitely weren't fluent in Chinese. This language barrier presented some serious communication problems. By the end of our 60 day trip, we had basically mastered the art of hand gesturing and facial expression because they were the only things that existed on a common ground. But as much as we managed to get by without speaking the language, I really regret not being able to communicate fully with all the amazing people that we met around dinner tables, in taxis, bicycling through villages and in busy squares at night.
Although it's hard to communicate the sheer epicness of our trip - one of my favorite legs of the trip was the time we spent in Yunnan province where 25 of china's 56 recognized ethnic groups are located. Some 38% of the province's population are members of minorities which explains why the province is so reknowned for its ethnic diversity. We usually rented bicycles and went on leisurely loops through villages that have yet to be too tainted by globalization, where we saw little grandmas and grandpas carrying huge baskets of vegetables on their backs. Squating on the sides of the roads, middle aged men wearing tanktops and flipflops smoked cigarettes would watch farmers leading their waterbuffalo through the street. I had never seen anything quite like it in Canada.
But probably the best moment for all of us happened in this small town called quite fittingly, Shangri-la which is as close to Tibet as you can get without actually entering Tibet. This one night, we were driving through the town and we happened to pass by the town square and there were more than 100 locals dancing to traditional tibetan music. And it wasnt a tourist show - in fact, we were the only foreigners around. There were people ranging from old grannies in traditional wear to rowdy teenaged boys - and then there was us foreigners trying to keep up with all their footwork. IT WAS AMAZING AND AWESOME AND MAGICAL!!!!!
And that was China. Loud, friendly, smoggy and I can't wait to watch the Olympics and return to the country in a few years - but maybe with a few more Chinese words in my vocabulary.
Caro
I just came back from 2 months of traveltraveltravel in the Peoples Republic of China! Along with Jen Yip! (a wicked awesome quest kid), Jen's momma and one of our other best friends, I spent 60 days making my way through the narrow alleyways, crowded subways and busy markets of a country determined to make its mark. We started out in HongKong, and then traveled throughout the Guangdong province and then to the Northwest to Yunnan province and we finished our trip in Shanghai and Beijing. Whichhhhh basically means that we had the opportunity to see a large part of the masssiiivvee country. And we were amazingly lucky throughout our travels because Jen has family scattered across China, so we had apartments and eccentric families waiting for us in major Chinese cities like Beijing and Guangzhou.
There was one problem however; Jen's family members didn't speak much english, and we definitely weren't fluent in Chinese. This language barrier presented some serious communication problems. By the end of our 60 day trip, we had basically mastered the art of hand gesturing and facial expression because they were the only things that existed on a common ground. But as much as we managed to get by without speaking the language, I really regret not being able to communicate fully with all the amazing people that we met around dinner tables, in taxis, bicycling through villages and in busy squares at night.
Although it's hard to communicate the sheer epicness of our trip - one of my favorite legs of the trip was the time we spent in Yunnan province where 25 of china's 56 recognized ethnic groups are located. Some 38% of the province's population are members of minorities which explains why the province is so reknowned for its ethnic diversity. We usually rented bicycles and went on leisurely loops through villages that have yet to be too tainted by globalization, where we saw little grandmas and grandpas carrying huge baskets of vegetables on their backs. Squating on the sides of the roads, middle aged men wearing tanktops and flipflops smoked cigarettes would watch farmers leading their waterbuffalo through the street. I had never seen anything quite like it in Canada.
But probably the best moment for all of us happened in this small town called quite fittingly, Shangri-la which is as close to Tibet as you can get without actually entering Tibet. This one night, we were driving through the town and we happened to pass by the town square and there were more than 100 locals dancing to traditional tibetan music. And it wasnt a tourist show - in fact, we were the only foreigners around. There were people ranging from old grannies in traditional wear to rowdy teenaged boys - and then there was us foreigners trying to keep up with all their footwork. IT WAS AMAZING AND AWESOME AND MAGICAL!!!!!
And that was China. Loud, friendly, smoggy and I can't wait to watch the Olympics and return to the country in a few years - but maybe with a few more Chinese words in my vocabulary.
Caro
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