Israel Trip - T shirts and Night time

This past February, I saved up and spent a week in Israel.

Well, that's probably not completely correct.

As I only had a week, I spent most of my week in Jerusalem, with a short trip into the dessert to partake in floating in the dead sea and a couple days in Tel Aviv.

How does I make the decision to visit Israel?

I thought it would be cool to visit major nations of the 3 people of the book... which book?

THE book

While I have to make a trip out to Mecca,

I am still pretty proud that I made it to Israel.

What can I say about Jerusalem?...  Visit it at night. It's really hard to feel reverence for the sanctity of a place when "pikajew" (yes. Pikachu with a hasidic beard and hat with "Pikajew" underneath the picture) t-shirts are being sold.

There's also something super special about seeing all those people worshipping at night.

My favorite thing was doing a bike tour at night.

What was not my favorite was being thrown racial slurs...

More on that to come

Rome and Romas

It has been awhile since I was in Rome.

I took my mother for a trip to Europe as she had never been before. I asked her to pick anyplace in the world she wanted to spend a week in. She picked Rome.

So away we went.

The trip was as trips go. St. Peter's Basillica, Campo Fiori, Gelato, Espresso, and so on and so on.

Almost a year later, what sticks in my head is not the trip, but this Roma family playing soccer on the steps of the Minerva Church (one of the only gothic churches in Rome, and my personal favorite). And out of all the majestic wonderful things I saw, ate, tasted, bought, in Rome. It is this Roma family that sticks out whenever I think back to Rome.

You see, there has been an increase of Hungarian Roma coming to Toronto in recent years. Criminal stigma aside... I often wonder: Chicken or egg

Chicken: Are Roma poor because they do not work?
Egg: Do Roma not work because they cannot get a job because of discrimination?

Chicken: Are Roma poor because they do not go to school?
Egg: Do Roma not go to school because the environment is so negative towards them?

Chicken: Most Roma are just here to mooch off of welfare
Egg: How else would Roma survive if they weren't able to work?

and so on.. and so on...

What do you think about Refugee populations? How else to better integrate and respect people and cultures into the majority society?

3 of 3

So during my blogging hiatus...

I continued traveling. Of course.

I went to Rome for a week in October of 2012, and my curiosity for religious states continued as I took a trip to Israel in February 2013.

Opening my eyes to world attitudes one trip at a time.


More to come...

First stop Rome :)

Vacation Over

I have no real way of explaining my life for the past almost 2 years now...

Eeps!

That is a long time for a break.

Let me explain what has happened since November 2011.

In December 2012, I got a new full time job, but decided to continue working at my current (at the time) part time job.

The full time job had me working 12 hour shifts... 2 hours (each way) away by public transit. so 16 hours a day I was out of the home and then 2 extra shifts from my part time position.

Needless to say I was burnt out. HARDCORE burnt out.

I lived that way for 6 months before leaving my part time position and moving closer to my full-time job.The reason I continued to work like a mad woman was:

1. I appreciated the money
2. I had a lease I didn't want to break
3. It was nice to have a job where I know everyone, knew where every thing was, and felt confident and comfortable in my role.

So in July I moved closer to my full-time job, and also down to one job.

And as I am never idle, I started my masters in October 2012. My Masters of Public Health is a nice "break" from the "touchy-feely" nature of bedside nursing, and the "touchy-feely" nature of academic nursing. It was really nice to apply statistical methods and understand economic theory.

Nice is subjective of course. But, I did appreciate the change in tone in the literature, and after dealing with 12 hours of drunks and bad grammar, it was nice to read and understand on a cerebral level.

Did I say that I am never idle?

I mean I am NEVER idle. I also started volunteering with not one, but two organizations around town. One is an organization that funds partnerships overseas in select countries in Africa. The other organization is one that helps newcomers to the city find jobs and procure training. So I delved into that pretty hard.

So, that brings me to now.

Hopefully I can keep myself on track with this, and with you all.

Thanks for checking in.

5 songs that make me feel better about the world

No particular order

1. Je Veux - Zaz
This song empowers me to be more specific in what I want for myself. I like that it's a happy song, and I love her voice.

2. Waving flag - K'naan
As overplayed as this song was in the past year. I don't care. I still love it. I love that it represents the vulnerable in a strong and resilient way. I like how it brings people together.

3. Jambo Jambo - East Africa
When I think about this song, I remember one night I spent in a mountain town, I rented a room at a hotel where the only other guests were this gorgeous dutch family. They were so happy and so comfortable with each other. I think that family was one of the best things I saw during my 5 week trip to 3 continents this summer

4. Esta Vida - Jorge Celedon
After visiting Colombia, I always vowed I'd return to s. America. No. I haven't had the privilege to go again. but the joie de vivre in this song

5. Yeha Noha - Sacred Spirit
I love how this song makes me want to run and explore outside of my comfort zone. It makes me feel strong and empowered. I feel like I'm capable. I like that.

Giving back and Paying it Forward

When it comes to random acts of kindness, whether they be scheduled in or on a whim, there are two sayings in english that are used to connote what compells us to do what we do.

1. Giving back
2. Paying it forward

I think it's cool that by doing one act we honor where we come from and where we can go as individuals and as a community (because, we're all in this together) :)

Sure, most of the time what we are doing are small acts, and small interactions. giving directions to immigrants, lending a hand to open doors to a lady w/ a stroller, offering a seat to your elders. But they are well-intentioned acts, and they are genuine interactions. It is interactions that bring people together, and make the world seem more personable.

Hello world, I'll open the door for you! ... :)

and Have a nice day too!

STRETCH!

I'm not very articulate yet, or really at all...

But, I believe perfect practice makes perfect, and using those around me, and myself as a sounding board will only make me more articulate and intelligible about my opinions, my world view, and my direction.

Case in point:

Why the idea of Outreach is important to me:

1. Sustainability. - Bringing in more members continues the focus and furthers the exposure of any community.
2. Diversity. -Outreach brings in members with exciting points of views and critical thinking skills that would otherwise pigeonhole a community
3. Evolution. -In communities as with biology or buisness, evolve or become extinct... (unless you happen to be a community of crocodiles or horseshoe crabs)
4. Interconnections. -No community exists within a bubble, even the solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy. To exist and thrive within any system it is both responsible and pragmatic to understand those around you
5. Intraspection. -Coming into contact with others always brings to mind where I stand with myself and why, and I can use that new-found interest to my advantage :D

Also, even though it's Thursday, it's MY friday :D. Awesome!

I hope you're all doing well!