I think the Beatles tune I’ve inserted as the title for this entry will have more emotional poignancy when reflecting on this list in the future. The first few chords of that song never fail to make me melt into an indescribable nostalgia for the places and people I’ve known.
You had to know it was coming. I’m too much of a perfectionist to walk off into the sunset without taking a stab at collecting some of the more memorable moments of this wonderful journey. The past sixteen months have been an incredible time of growth and experience away from home. I could rattle off dozens memories from my time here, but this serves as a list of my favourites. The purpose here is to thank the friends I’ve shared these occasions with, and archive snapshots along the way. A look back…
September 2008, Train Station, Rennes, France
After six months of dreaming of Europe and making plans to meet as often as possible, my best friend, Emily, greeted me at the top of an escalator in France. I’ll always remember the freak-out we had having finally made it. The buildup to this moment was insane, and it would prove to be the start of a dozen or so similar meetings. Having Emily over here made the experiences all the more worthwhile.
November 2008, Planet Hollywood, London, UK
Bec and I hadn’t know each other all that long, but we decided to take a train down to London to join thousands of others in one of the largest cities in the world in anticipation of the election of Barack Obama to the presidency. We stayed up until 5am watching the results in Piccadilly Circus, celebrated with the revelers, and took an early train back to Leamington. Magic.
November 2008, Stockholm, Sweden
It was one of my first travel excursions booked on a whim with my friend Paul. Even though there was snow on the ground the whole weekend, we had an absolute blast—late night partying, island hopping, an abandoned swing set, and eating reindeer. The trip to Sweden was a blast.
December 2008, Alanya Castle, Turkey
Just one highlight of a fantastic week spent in Turkey with Emily. I remember the day well. We hiked up (and later down) to the castle the locals said no one walked to, took copious photos, had Turkish coffee, and explored the small fishing village. Way ta go gouys.
December 2008, Christmas Eve, Paris, France
How lucky does one have to be to spend Christmas Eve in Paris? As you can guess, Emily, Raffi, a few clowns, and myself sat before the beautiful Eiffel Tower and toasted to Christmas. If was my first holiday away from home, but it was a memorable weekend of friends and cheer.
January 2009, New Years Eve, Edinburgh, Scotland
Talia and I were just laughing about this night last week. To ring in the New Year at one of the biggest parties in the world, in the company of Talia and Alex, and in the home of my ancestors was truly special—the walk through the crags the next day was also a stellar way to spend the first day of 2009.
May 2009, Queen’s Day Weekend, Amsterdam, Netherlands
I could only pick one event from Amsterdam to throw on this list (when I could find a dozen) and Queen’s Day weekend was definitely it. I’ve never seen a country so lit up with pride before, and so genuinely welcoming of those of us who were along for the ride. The party under the bridge the night before, the Queen’s day beer and breakfast at my place, and the day spent as an “Undutchable” was incredible.
March 2009, Reading Week, Berlin and Prague
Sneaking a week out of a busy Amsterdam schedule was risky, but proved worth it. Courtney and I had a great time checking off oodles of Berlin must-sees, and Milan was a terrific host in Prague. It’s a truly a joy to have a host who knows a city, and he did not spare a detail in showing me his favourite spots.
April 2009, Brussels Weekend, Belgium
The bachelors weekend in Brussels with Michael and Paul was utterly fantastic. Among our shenanigans (a random metro station party, finding a real club the next night, and park sleeping) I think some of my favourite time was spent together pregaming in our hostel room. We tore up the city.
June 2009, Final Night, MAIPR Summer School, Finland
This whole week will go down as simply legend. As expected, the coming together of all thirty MAIPR students from twenty-two countries was epic. Add saunas, Finnish traditions, summer sunsets, and lots of late nights to the mix and you can tell why it was so memorable. On the final evening we presented our practice as research forest explorations/performances, and stayed up until 5am at the sauna and bonfire.
July 2009, Portuguese Family Day, Sesimbra, Portugal
Terry, Maria, and Jessica were such fantastic hosts in Portugal. The week spent in Sesimbra was among the most relaxing of the year. Specifically, one afternoon our hosts invited three families for a sardine lunch. As Terry predicted, lunch turned into dinner, and dinner turned into late night. Like a scene from Mamma Mia, the camaraderie was inspiring.
July 2009, IGLYO Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands
After original internship opportunities fell through, I was lucky enough to piece together volunteering with IGLYO who just happened to be hosting the largest gathering of global LGBT youth ever. The internship exceeded my wildest expectations. I was given control of an important project, the work bled into my dissertation, and I think it will lead to further opportunities. The week was a reminder about injustice throughout the world, but also inspiring displays of human courage.
July 2009, Barcelona Opera House, Spain
Jessica and I spent a wicked few days together in Barcelona. Since our hostel was a shoebox, we stayed out as long as possible and had a blast exploring all the great sights. Most memorable was our long shot tickets to Puccini’s Turandot that turned out to be BOX SEATS. Not too shabby for my first professional opera.
November 2009, berlinpad.com, Berlin
After four months of not leaving the UK and focusing on the diss, my trip to Berlin to visit Emily and Steve was much needed. In addition, it marked 20 years to the month that the wall fell. We dined on great food, shared a few drinks, and had such a wonderful few days. That trip made me realize why expats love settling in Europe so much.
December 2009, One Night Only, London, UK
The Hunters hit the UK for a quick tour. The one night with Emma was full of unspeakable shenanigans, party party party, stories stories stories, and 5am escapades. If I ever had doubts about returning home, Emma’s visit reminded me of the wonderful things I am heading back to. I was also lucky enough to connect with my friend Jono who also stopped down in Londontown the very next week.
December 2009, Holidays, Leamington Spa, UK
The MAIPR group made the most of the holidays away from our families. Though I was skeptical how great a time we’d have (since we were all the middle of very demanding projects), the holiday was wonderful. The fireworks on Christmas Eve day were a special treat.
January 2010, Finishing the Dissertation, UK
Eight months after sending in the first proposal, I had completed a substantial dissertation of which I could be proud. It was the most challenging project I’ve been attached to so intimately. The reward—one week of eating, drinking, and tanning in Tunisia—has been fitting.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: More memories than I can count, but these ones strike a chord. Thank you to those who made it possible.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Here Comes the Sun.doc
After five months piecing together the dissertation, the vacation in Tunisia was the light at the end of a long and labourious tunnel. The seven straight weeks of work at River Island combined with unexpected and crippling amounts of snow for the UK combined to make the timing for this trip all the more worth it. I was lucky enough to be able to stay with Talia the evening before the flight in London (for fear of British transport impeding a way to the airport) and took off heading south of Europe on Sunday afternoon.
After landing in Monastir late Sunday we took a bus to Hammamet where the hotel is located. Since then I’ve enjoyed seven days of absolute relaxation. No joke. My days are comprised of sleeping in, waiting for my next meal, and tracking the sun so we can have a chance to play. This is about the height of it.
The hotel is a four-star place with all the amenities—it serves as the perfect backdrop to a week of selfish luxury. My hotel room is beyond large with an embarrassingly luxurious en suite, balcony, and desk. At the same time I was struck by the comfortableness of my hideaway, the guilt of such an overdone accommodation in the poorest continent in the world has continually hit home. I may have stepped foot in Africa for the first time, but make no mistake, I know the Africa I am seeing is far from the reality of the conditions outside the resort property, and larger Hammamet.
But I haven’t let these realizations spoil the reward this trip serves for the hard work I’ve put in these past few months, and for the whole of my MAIPR year. The food here is fantastic, the animation team welcoming, and the beach and pool stunning. Half of the days this week have been sunny (and extremely hot), and the other half have been overcast and moderate. I’ve met some really nice people this week. The hotel is made up of guests from the UK, France, and Germany but sadly the groups seem to stick to these little pockets. Unfortunately there hasn’t been any youngsters mine own age to tag around with (it’s the Turkey seniors home all over again) but there are some really nice couples and people from Britain who have enjoyed having me around. One snowbird in particular named Bob (who makes his wife’s eyes roll by telling the most hilarious stories) has enjoyed waving me over every day and chatting about Canada and the state of the world.
Other than the activities you can picture me doing (which is most likely a pretty spot on image) I’ve been doing a bit of writing—call it a MAIPR year in review—and have finished three full novels with another on its last legs. Once the sun goes down, I’ve also found time for some quality DVD time for a series my family sent at Christmas. Yesterday I ventured into the city of Hammamet for the day. It’s an incredibly beautiful place, and I was amazed at how “local” it feels. That’s about the best work I can describe it as—I had expected it to be Westernized because it’s a big tourist destination but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a 30 minute walk along the coastline to get to the city centre but there were some amazing sights along the way. The jewel of the city though was the Medina at the centre. It’s a big enclosure (hundreds of years old) that houses families in large apartment buildings with tiny shops scattered throughout. The guy I talked to (who wanted to sell me 500 pounds worth of merchandise) said there were over 4000 families living in the beautiful white and blue accented buildings. I managed to purchase two small items before walking around the grounds of an old cemetery en route back to the hotel.
This week has been just what I needed after such a stressful and complicated move out from Leamington Spa. Thankfully, while I will miss the 18 – 23 degree temperatures immensely, I have wonderful things to look forward to back home in Canada.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: Everyone warned about how rainy England is, and it isn’t true. What England IS is overcast. It’s almost always overcast. Reuniting with the sun, which will follow me home to Canada, was long overdue.
After landing in Monastir late Sunday we took a bus to Hammamet where the hotel is located. Since then I’ve enjoyed seven days of absolute relaxation. No joke. My days are comprised of sleeping in, waiting for my next meal, and tracking the sun so we can have a chance to play. This is about the height of it.
The hotel is a four-star place with all the amenities—it serves as the perfect backdrop to a week of selfish luxury. My hotel room is beyond large with an embarrassingly luxurious en suite, balcony, and desk. At the same time I was struck by the comfortableness of my hideaway, the guilt of such an overdone accommodation in the poorest continent in the world has continually hit home. I may have stepped foot in Africa for the first time, but make no mistake, I know the Africa I am seeing is far from the reality of the conditions outside the resort property, and larger Hammamet.
But I haven’t let these realizations spoil the reward this trip serves for the hard work I’ve put in these past few months, and for the whole of my MAIPR year. The food here is fantastic, the animation team welcoming, and the beach and pool stunning. Half of the days this week have been sunny (and extremely hot), and the other half have been overcast and moderate. I’ve met some really nice people this week. The hotel is made up of guests from the UK, France, and Germany but sadly the groups seem to stick to these little pockets. Unfortunately there hasn’t been any youngsters mine own age to tag around with (it’s the Turkey seniors home all over again) but there are some really nice couples and people from Britain who have enjoyed having me around. One snowbird in particular named Bob (who makes his wife’s eyes roll by telling the most hilarious stories) has enjoyed waving me over every day and chatting about Canada and the state of the world.
Other than the activities you can picture me doing (which is most likely a pretty spot on image) I’ve been doing a bit of writing—call it a MAIPR year in review—and have finished three full novels with another on its last legs. Once the sun goes down, I’ve also found time for some quality DVD time for a series my family sent at Christmas. Yesterday I ventured into the city of Hammamet for the day. It’s an incredibly beautiful place, and I was amazed at how “local” it feels. That’s about the best work I can describe it as—I had expected it to be Westernized because it’s a big tourist destination but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a 30 minute walk along the coastline to get to the city centre but there were some amazing sights along the way. The jewel of the city though was the Medina at the centre. It’s a big enclosure (hundreds of years old) that houses families in large apartment buildings with tiny shops scattered throughout. The guy I talked to (who wanted to sell me 500 pounds worth of merchandise) said there were over 4000 families living in the beautiful white and blue accented buildings. I managed to purchase two small items before walking around the grounds of an old cemetery en route back to the hotel.
This week has been just what I needed after such a stressful and complicated move out from Leamington Spa. Thankfully, while I will miss the 18 – 23 degree temperatures immensely, I have wonderful things to look forward to back home in Canada.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: Everyone warned about how rainy England is, and it isn’t true. What England IS is overcast. It’s almost always overcast. Reuniting with the sun, which will follow me home to Canada, was long overdue.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Bon Voyagio.doc
This post marks 150 in great blog experiment. I dig it.
So I have five minutes to steal before leaving the apartment for good. All the baseboards have been scrubbed, all the windows washed, and all 16 months of my life packed into three bags (that are bursting at the seams). This week has been an organizational killer (one of the most challenging ever) but I'm happy that I'm 24 hours from boarding the flight to Tunisia where I will do nothing but relax.
Here is the link to my resort if you feel like picturing me taking it easy. I'm keeping this one short and sweet because I literally have no time, but I'll be thinking of you all in this week of reflection. It has been an incredible ride. Uncertain whether I'll be able to post again from Tunisia, or before coming back, but I'll catch up with you all soon.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Determination.
So I have five minutes to steal before leaving the apartment for good. All the baseboards have been scrubbed, all the windows washed, and all 16 months of my life packed into three bags (that are bursting at the seams). This week has been an organizational killer (one of the most challenging ever) but I'm happy that I'm 24 hours from boarding the flight to Tunisia where I will do nothing but relax.
Here is the link to my resort if you feel like picturing me taking it easy. I'm keeping this one short and sweet because I literally have no time, but I'll be thinking of you all in this week of reflection. It has been an incredible ride. Uncertain whether I'll be able to post again from Tunisia, or before coming back, but I'll catch up with you all soon.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Determination.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
A New Year: MAIPR DISSbelief.doc
This blog post marks the moment when my online meanderings now officially span three years. Hard to believe the 16 month journey that has been set down on this thing. Still a few more travels and adventures to go, but for now...Happy New Year!
New Years 2010 was a much needed low-key night after an incredibly social Christmas celebration. Courtney came over to mine and we watched the British New Years celebrations on the BBC. We over-dined on delicious caramelized onion hummus with bread and veggies, gourmet breads and cheeses, and a host of other great snacks. I sipped on vino for the night and it was great to sit with a friend and discuss the MAIPR year in review. The BBC had great coverage (complete with Tom Jones singing After Midnight) and some year in review programs we watched in the early morning. It was great to spend the holiday was a friend, but I was also happy it was a quiet but memorable affair.
Things didn't slow down during the first week of January. In fact they got busier. After New Years I had a dissertation deadline and work at River Island to contend with. It was nice to know that each of the projects would be winding down. For the first three days of the year I plotted through my dissertation - adding parts here, editing there - for the final submission. After I added all of the necessary expansion my supervisors asked for, I went through and cut out the bulk. I managed to trim 2000 words in the final stage.
The whole of Sunday was spent at the dining room table working through each chapter and looking for ways to improve grammar or word choice. Honestly, I sat at the table from 10:00am until 5:00am with breaks for various meals. When you've got a 40,000 document it takes a hell of a lot of time to edit it. It was pretty uncharacteristic to stay up that late actively working on a paper (since I've had five months) but I've also never written anything this big before. I wanted to make sure it was the best effort possible if it's something I'll look back on in years to come. So after a few hours sleep, I woke up Monday morning and with a few minor tweaks, electronically submitted my Final Disseration. 156 pages and 40,000 words later, I've contributed something to new scholarship in the performance studies field. The feeling was euphoric. I did a bit of a dance in the living room. I think the only parallel feeling of academic joy I've had like that (and it's quite ironic in a way) is when I received the email saying I was accepted into the program. Unlike other projects, I can glance down at the weight of my bound dissertation and feel extremely proud for the effort that went into creating it. One of the more challenging, but proud achievements in life thus far. Thank you to those who have been supportive/interested along the way - your engagement kept me writing through the tough times.
After submitting the dissertation on Monday, it has been a full shift to getting all my ducks in a row for the move out on Saturday. I only have two full days in the apartment left! It's all coming very quickly, and the final details are stressful to wrap up, but I know the payoff will be a week without worries in Tunisia. And the thought of warmer temperatures couldn't come at a better time. The UK was dumped with a bunch of snow yesterday. For us, it's pretty common, but for the Brits it's a huge snowfall. My gym was closed today due to "adverse weather conditions." It's pretty amusing how the whole place shuts down.
The next two days will be a collection of lasts: my last day at River Island, my last day on Warwick campus, my last day in Leamington, and my last day among fellow MAIPRS. As much as I am SO excited to return to Canada, the reality of the program ending is starting to sink in. What a ride it has been. I'm hoping to enjoy this final push, as well as settle my debts in the UK before heading off to warmer temperatures for a week. I will post on Saturday before leaving (since internet with be scarce) to give you an idea of what Tunisia holds...
Doc's Prescription of the Day: The dissertation, although we all struggled through it, has been such an incredibly rewarding experience. Write, write, write...whatever makes you happy.
New Years 2010 was a much needed low-key night after an incredibly social Christmas celebration. Courtney came over to mine and we watched the British New Years celebrations on the BBC. We over-dined on delicious caramelized onion hummus with bread and veggies, gourmet breads and cheeses, and a host of other great snacks. I sipped on vino for the night and it was great to sit with a friend and discuss the MAIPR year in review. The BBC had great coverage (complete with Tom Jones singing After Midnight) and some year in review programs we watched in the early morning. It was great to spend the holiday was a friend, but I was also happy it was a quiet but memorable affair.
Things didn't slow down during the first week of January. In fact they got busier. After New Years I had a dissertation deadline and work at River Island to contend with. It was nice to know that each of the projects would be winding down. For the first three days of the year I plotted through my dissertation - adding parts here, editing there - for the final submission. After I added all of the necessary expansion my supervisors asked for, I went through and cut out the bulk. I managed to trim 2000 words in the final stage.
The whole of Sunday was spent at the dining room table working through each chapter and looking for ways to improve grammar or word choice. Honestly, I sat at the table from 10:00am until 5:00am with breaks for various meals. When you've got a 40,000 document it takes a hell of a lot of time to edit it. It was pretty uncharacteristic to stay up that late actively working on a paper (since I've had five months) but I've also never written anything this big before. I wanted to make sure it was the best effort possible if it's something I'll look back on in years to come. So after a few hours sleep, I woke up Monday morning and with a few minor tweaks, electronically submitted my Final Disseration. 156 pages and 40,000 words later, I've contributed something to new scholarship in the performance studies field. The feeling was euphoric. I did a bit of a dance in the living room. I think the only parallel feeling of academic joy I've had like that (and it's quite ironic in a way) is when I received the email saying I was accepted into the program. Unlike other projects, I can glance down at the weight of my bound dissertation and feel extremely proud for the effort that went into creating it. One of the more challenging, but proud achievements in life thus far. Thank you to those who have been supportive/interested along the way - your engagement kept me writing through the tough times.
After submitting the dissertation on Monday, it has been a full shift to getting all my ducks in a row for the move out on Saturday. I only have two full days in the apartment left! It's all coming very quickly, and the final details are stressful to wrap up, but I know the payoff will be a week without worries in Tunisia. And the thought of warmer temperatures couldn't come at a better time. The UK was dumped with a bunch of snow yesterday. For us, it's pretty common, but for the Brits it's a huge snowfall. My gym was closed today due to "adverse weather conditions." It's pretty amusing how the whole place shuts down.
The next two days will be a collection of lasts: my last day at River Island, my last day on Warwick campus, my last day in Leamington, and my last day among fellow MAIPRS. As much as I am SO excited to return to Canada, the reality of the program ending is starting to sink in. What a ride it has been. I'm hoping to enjoy this final push, as well as settle my debts in the UK before heading off to warmer temperatures for a week. I will post on Saturday before leaving (since internet with be scarce) to give you an idea of what Tunisia holds...
Doc's Prescription of the Day: The dissertation, although we all struggled through it, has been such an incredibly rewarding experience. Write, write, write...whatever makes you happy.
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