New Blog for Life in Toronto

I now have a new blog for life in Toronto starting next week. Check it out!

Back in Canada... With my luggage

Although Air Canada lost my luggage, they dropped it off this morning. Click on the country names to see pictures of my trip: Ireland, Germany, Russia, Romania and Spain

T - 1 (one day left in Europe)

Well, I just arrived in London, UK with the air hot and humid and dark storm clouds looming overhead. As I went through the passport check, I felt like a regular having seen this exact spot several times. I also felt a pang of relief at being able to speak English. Although the past 2 weeks in Spain were great and I learnt a lot, I realize there is significant comfort in being to express oneself in your native language (of which I luckely have two).

Pictured on the side is the "crew", Myself, Ana (Russian-Italian), Flavia (Brazilian) and Scott (another Canadian from Vancouver) whom I spent most of my first and second week with, learning the language in broken phrases but improving nevertheless and gaining confidence.

I am typing this blog with a bit of nostalgy. I realize that my LSE days are coming to an end. I think about all the amazing things that have happened over the course of the last 10 months. Starting school again at one of the worlds most prestigious learning institutions; travelling in the UK, Czech Republic, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Russia and Romania; spending so much time with (and without) the love of my life; going through surgeries, travels in Southern Ontario and discovering a new language (Spanish); rekindling friendships in Ottawa and discovering that home is where friends live; passing my Masters with a merit and preparing to start another one in Toronto (including finding a place to live). Yes, the last 10 months were quite eventful and I was bleshed to spend it with great friends and family (my mother, aunt, sister and cousin were all guests of mine while I was in London).

All good things must come to an end. But new adventures beckon and I'm certain that living in Toronto will bring its share of exciting and new discoveries. First, I have to enjoy my summer with 2 invitations to weddings along with 10 days with Jessica in my home province of Nova Scotia and a trip to see my family in Val Morins, Quebec.

So, I end this blog (and sergeintheuk.blogspot.com) with a philosophical quote from my dad: "Happiness is never a destination. Happiness is the way you travel through life". May all your travels be blessed.

Mi primera semana in espana...

Well, my first week of class is done and although I started pretty badly (it was a rough first day), my Spanish boot camp is starting to pay off a bit. Everything gets a little better although I'm sure I could be learning more. But I have to treat myself and will go to the beach this afternoon (not a cloud in the sky... which you probably think happens all the time here but not so... It has been cloudy all week).

So, what the heck am I doing with myself in Bilbao, you may be asking yourself (or not)? Well, once I arrived after my 2-day marathon travelling, my body just wanted to die so the 7 hours of sleep on Sunday night did almost nothing in denting my fatigue. So, after my first day of classes, I almost went straight to bed (although I had to wait until 9:30 PM as my family eats at that time of the night... Spanish people eat breakfast at 8:00 AM, lunch at 2:30 PM and supper at 9:30 PM... They don't seem to snack but I seem to have gotten used to the routine!).

Following that, Tuesday was spent immersing myself in my books and trying to learn as much vocabulary as possible (it's incredible how many words you need to know to express even the simplest ideas!). I also had to work on my verb tenses. It seems that spaniards use the Passé Simple in Spanish almost all the time (while we never use it). So I need to know the equivalent Spanish verb tense for Passé Composé, Passé Simple and Imparfait... And when to use them! Not easy... Not easy at all, especially when you want to express yourself quickly. But I am learning slowly the verbs, the conjugacions and the vocabulary.

Yesterday, I went to eat with Scott, another Canadian at the school from Vancouver (about to start his Ph.D in meteorology) and Ana, a Russian-Italian living in Scotland and studying psychology with a minor in Spanish (wow... that took me a little while to understand this in Spanish!). We ate at a Japanese restaurant (yes, I know... a bit strange given we are in Spain). But the sushi was great! Me gusto mucho (I liked it very much!).

Bueno... This weekend, I will be going to San Sebastien on Saturday and simply relaxing and spending time at the beach on Sunday... I should check the weather forecast... Stay tuned for my last entry coming up! Yes, my year in Europe is almost over (8 days until I return to Canada...)

Crazy travel day part II

6:50 AM, July 9th: Over the past 24 hours, I've taken a 5 and a half hour train from Brasov to Cluj, and used a minibus from Cluj to Budapest Airport (8 hours) and I am about to take a 3 hour flight to London. As I sit on a bench outside the terminal 2A building, watching the sun rise, I realize what a crazy ride this has been already. First, the train ride with mama, papa, kid #1, kid #2, uncle and grandma invading my 6-seat compartment (you do the math). But the typical Romanian is all smiles and giggles except for the occasional temper-tantrum by kid # 2, followed by a good old-fashion beating to shut the kid up but I did notice him being violent with his brother, mama and papa... ummm, No comment.

Then, minibus adventure. Sitting next to a Moroccan student studying in Cluj and not speaking a word of Romanian... Huh? He explains that Romania is where you come if you can't make it into schools in your own country. Redefining last chance university. What's scary is that lots of students come and get medical degrees in Romania (without speaking a word of Romanian). Mental note: advise citizenship and immigration Canada to crack down on Romanian doctor applications. This would explain the incorrect prescription given to me while in Romania four years ago.

Next adventure: the border crossing! An entire Moldavian village (not kidding) decided they would work clandestinely in Europe. But first, they need to pass the border. Realizing they will get stopped in their three minivans caravan, they decide to make deals for empty seats in our tourist bus. This is where we come in. Without fear of the long prison sentence if caught, our bus driver decides to make a few quick bucks. It gets surreal when just before we pass the border, the bus driver turns around and says we all were picked up in Cluj... got it! While he smokes his cigarettes nerviously. ALl ends up going well though as the under-paid border officials wave us through. We stop at the nearest pit stop and exchange our human cargo. The 3 minivan caravan is back together and a small drinking and dancing party starts in the parking lot. I didn't want to spoil their fun by asking who was the designated driver. Hungarian border officials should really put up security cameras in this spot as this must happen pretty often. On the road again, and our driver realizes that he lost time with his profiteering venture. He decides to see if he can make up the time by trying to break the sound barrier on land with a 5-tonne minibus. My ears do pop a few times but unsure if he actually succeeded. We did arrive 5-minutes before our scheduled arrival time which makes the average speed... well, don't want to scare mom.

12:55 (greenwich time): After circulating (0r hovering) over London for more than 20 minutes, I realize now that Heathrow is one of the busiest hubs at busiest time of the year: summer. It doesn't chagne the fact that London is cloudy, windy and relatively cool. I also realize Heathrow is one of the most badly designed airports I've been too. They seem to have added blocks when traffic increased without any concern for the whole. But I'm here, as I frantically try to find Internet access to see if I've received any messages from Instituto Hemingway or more importantly from Jessica. Good news: message from Jessica about her fun adventures at the Bluesfest! I frantically type a message back to her to let her know I'm okay but the public Internet keyboard makes this very difficult. My time runs out before I can write anything meaningful but I have a feeling she'll understand.

Top 10 reasons to visit Romania

10. Border crossings! Always fun! You never know what might happen. This time, our bus driver decided to make some extra cash by smuggling 5 Moldavian woman accross the border. So exciting!
9. A series of adventures (or misadventures). Signs are sometimes non-existent or difficult to understand so you have to always have your thinking cap on.
8. Romanian culture: both vibrant, colourful and full of life. Not to mention the food
7. Quirky, medieval towns with their many hidden passage ways
6. Prices - everything is cheaper than in Canada and Western Europe. A beer and pizza combo will cost you less than C$5
5. The castles or fortitied churches in almost every town (and sometimes villages)
4. Optimism about the future. Everywhere, there are signs of change, often positive.
3. Romanian landscapes: straight out of the 16th century, along with horse and buggy
2. Tuica (plum brandy), Romanian beer and Romanian wine.
1. The people are amazing, generous and resourceful (especially Dana, Ioana and Florin... Thanks for making my stay so enjoyable!)

Looking out unto the Romanian landscape

Well, it's day 5 in Romania although it sometimes feels like I just got here. I arrived in Cluj and spent the first night on the couch in Ioana's apartment which is amazing. She just spent a small Romanian fortune in renovating it and it shows. Everything is new, functional and stress-free. The next day was spent sleeping in and viewing the photos from Florin and Ioana's trip to Tunisia which reminded me of the trip Jessica and I took to North Africa. We then had lunch at her families and I met Uyusay and her sister Neli. I also saw her parents again. We had typical Romanian dishes which was very nice (and heartwarming). We then visited part of the city centre together with Florin and Ioana but Ioana still had a sore stomach from a food poisoning event last week. Unfortunately, it got worse at night and she had to go to the hospital although she felt better the following day (and even better the next day)

I also got to eat and spend some time with my Romanian teacher Dana Oltean. She even gave me a free Spanish lesson which made me realize who unprepared I am for the two-week course I am about to embark upon but best to just to do it and think later :)

I took a train from Cluj to Sighisoara on the 5th of July and realized what a lovely and natural country this is. It was so beautiful and so mountainous. As we passed through the villages, I realized not much has changed for the people here in more than 3 centuries (other than cars and trains). They still cut the grass the same way as their ancestors do and tend to their gardens the old fashion way. It was like looking back in time... Sighisoara has a right to be a UNESCO world heritage site. It is beautiful, untouched and peaceful. I was able to reflect many things atop the hills surrounding the town. I am now back in Brasov, enjoying this medieval town and relishing in its simplistic beauty. I hope to visit Bram castle tomorrow as well as Rasnov and maybe Peles castle if I have time (but I realize that things often take longer than expected here so I won't be disappointed if I can't do it all). Then back to Cluj and off to Budapest for the last leg of my trip: Learning Spanish in Bilbao.

From Russia with love...

Well, I was half expecting to see cement blocks and babuska's begging for money when I arrived in Moscow but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. A modern, post-communism and not-so rampant capitalism has replaced the old soviet system... but not without its hiccups as my previous blog entries will attest.

Nina and her family were perfect hosts making me feel right at home and part of the family. Their generosity and warm welcome made my stay in Russia so enjoyable and I got to discover interesting aspects of current and past life in Russia (not to mention Russian beers and food!). Nina was an amazing guide showing me the best sights and part of her life here in Moscow. I got to meet some of her friends and discover Russian-style Opera (we saw Don Juan), as well as many great restaurants serving old-style soviet dishes (along with soviet music... very happy stuff!) as well as fares from some of the CIS-countries. I will have fond memories of the interesting and amusing sights in Russia and I recommend anyone to visit this part of the world... but bring patience and a sense of humour along. They always help to get you through the bureaucratic and sometimes bizarre steps in getting through the border and police controls.

Travelling day from hell...

I arrived safe and sound in Romania (but not without problems). On June 30th, I went to visit the Red Square by myself and as I was walking (purposefully and without a camera around the square), a police officer stopped me for no apparent reason. This is a well-known tourist scam where a police officer checks your passport and tries to find irregularities in order to extract a bribe to supplement his meagre wages. Although totally illegal, it usually works. It goes a little something like this:
"Passaporte, spasiba"
"What for?"
"You speak English?"
"Da... Yes"
"Passport, please"
"Ah, your passport misses stamp. You need stamp from Moscow police if stay for more than 3 days..."
"Oh, I wasn't aware. I have the stamp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia and the entry stamp? That isn't enough?"
"No, need more stamps. See (shows me a crumpled piece of paper with illegible English regulation). You need stamp if stay in Russia more than 3 days"
"When you leave?"
"I wasn't aware I needed more stamps. Where can I get the stamp?"
"When you leave?" They ask this because they want to pressure you by telling you that the police station is far and that you won't have time to get the stamp but that he can issue you one on the spot for a "fee".
"Do you have a badge?"
He shows me his badge. I note that ID number 148553. So, this is Mr. 148553.
"When you leave?"
"Where is the police station?"
"One moment" He calls somewhat on his walkie-talkie while holding my passport.
"You want to go to the police station?"
"Sure, why don't we go together, you and me?"
"You French citizen?"
"No, from Canada"
"Okay, go"... He gives me my passport. Scam doesn't work... I get off scot-free.

I told Nina's mom about it and she said she remembered there was a rule in Russia that I needed a stamp from a hotel to get out so we contacted the agency that gave us the original stamp. It was all very complicated (as is often the case inRussia) and we needed to wait for an hour for the processing of thestamp. Finally, we received it and I had to pay $60 for it (call it an exit visa!).

However, when I arrived at the airport in Shemerodov the next day, I discovered that it wouldn't be so easy. First, we had to go through a queue to check our baggages at the entrance of the airport (I imagine this is to find Chechen rebels wanting to blow up tourists leaving Russia?). Then, I needed to lineup to get to my gate for registering (another security check-point). I waited in line while Russians cut in at all points of the line. But I was patient. When I finally arrived and got my luggage checked, a security guard stopped me and asked me for which flight. I told him that I was going to Budapest and he told me that the check-in only starts at 12:00 (it was 11:30). So I had to leave the secure area. I waited for 30 minutes and then got in the queue again only to see it had doubled in size since the last time I had gone.

At 13:00, I was able to check my luggage again. This time, the security let me go to the registration desk. Upon arrival to the registration desk, there was also a queue but not very long. At13:10, I was served and showed my electronic ticket. The Russian woman looked at me blankly and asked me where my ticket was. I told her that my travel agency had issued this electronic ticket and assured me this was enough. She said that she could not do anything and that I needed to go to the ticket desk to get my ticket issued...which was outside the security area... grrrrrr! Okay, back out again. To the ticket issuing desk of aeroflot. At 13:15 (my flight leaves at 14:15), I was able to talk to the ticket agent. He looked at my electronic ticket and said:"yes, you have a reservation". Thanks! I knew that but I want my ticket (I thought). But he replied that I had not paidf or my ticket (but I had I said!). He stoically looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I said how much? He said 9400 roubles(that's about $400). I said ok (what was I to do... My visa expired the next day... I decided I had more chances of getting my money back from Travel Cuts that this Russian bureaucrat, and I just wanted to get out of Russia at this point).

So, he issued the ticket. Now, it was 13:20. I ran back to the secure area and made like a Russian. Looking straight ahead, without making eye contact, I slipt through the line and made my the way to the front of the line (which was now even longer). No one even said a word (I was now somewhat Russian). I then went to the check-in. Then went to the check counter and was able to get rid of my bags…Ouf! Wait, there is a 100 person line for the passport check! Shit! I ran to the line and waited patiently as time flickered away. The line was slowly moving ahead. Wait, a whole Russian family of 7 make their way past everyone in the line… grrrr! And another 7 person family tried to cut in front of me... but I managed to hide inside their group and made my way through the line (which sped up the process significantly... you can cut in front of foreigners but don't try your luck with locals!).

Finally, I made it to the passport check and all was clear so this was very good! Unfortunately, I only had 30 minutes to make in it my gate... And guess what! There was another line to enter the gates 6-8... double grrr! This one only took 15 minutes to get in. So I made it 15 minutes before my flight and they had just started to board it. Finally made it through and took a seat. I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, I arrived in Budapest and everything went like clock-work... I had entered the European Union :) I waited for my bus driver... and waited and waited. Finally, it was 4:30 (30 minutes after he should have arrived and 30 minutes before our scheduled departure). So I called him on my mobile only to find out he couldn't speak English or French (only Romanian). But at least I talked to him... Then my phonecard was emptied... grrrr... So I went to a pay phone and phoned him again. I was able to talk to him a bit more and he told me he would be there in "cinch minuti" which meant 5 minutes. He arrived 20 minutes later. But I had been found. He went scurrying to find the other passengers so instead of leaving at 5:00 PM, we actually left at 6:00 PM which was fine in the grand scheme of things.

The drive was fine (we were 10 in the minibus) but when we arrived atthe Romanian border, the driver realized he had not renewed his papers for the car! Grrrr.... So we had to wait 20 minutes while the driver negotiated a "facilitation fee" with the border guards. After much haggling for a "fine", a price was settled and we made it through the border. We were in Romania around 11:00 PM but we still had 150km to do in treacherous road conditions. We finally arrived in Cluj around 2:15 AM. Ioana and Florin came to pick me up and my horrible travelling day came to an end (20 hours later).