Category: Travel

Travel

Touristing in the motherland … and Tom Hanks (Brazil 2019)

Travelling back home to my motherland, Brazil, has never been an easy undertaking and this occasion was no exception. But this time I had a friend with me who didn’t speak Portuguese. You know what that meant? I got to skip out on lengthy family visits because “my friend really wants to go see…” I made guilt free complicated requests at restaurants because “my gringo friend doesn’t like…” And I asked stupid questions about my own heritage at tourist attractions because “my friend—who’s a bit daft—wants to know more about…” Although blaming everything on her was a huge perk, the […]

Travel

What if someone has to identify our bodies in Panama?

Allow me to sum up my twelve-day road trip in Panama using a sample of dialogue between my son and me. “Liam, where are we supposed to turn?” “Riiiiight… HERE! Turn now! Now now now!” I blink. “Too late, you missed it.” My twenty-year-old son and I clocked 1000 kilometres of sometimes lit and labeled and mostly smooth Panamanian roads. I know what you’re thinking. “You’re brave!” I know you’re thinking this because it was the reaction I got from most everyone I told that we were taking a road trip in Panama. They looked at me with puzzled admiration […]

Travel

Shanghai! It’s like New York, only it’s Shanghai!

Three things that annoy me about travelling; Have you ever wondered why traditional food in touristy places is food that locals traditionally don’t eat? Why isn’t it just called “food”? One time, in Dublin, I saw a Tim Hortons. Seeing this coffee shop outside of Canada left me feeling betrayed by my own people. I roll my eyes at; English menus listing burgers and trusty chicken strip dinners, Starbucks on every corner, and rows of gift shops stocked with overpriced key chains and shirts that say “my grandma went to (some tourist trap) and all she got me was this […]

Travel

Sweden & Denmark, I loved you both but I’ll never do you again in the winter

It was a snowy January day when she asked me, “Wanna go to Scandinavia for the weekend?” “But it’s winter there!” I protested. “It’s winter here, too. What’s the diff?” I shrugged. She had a point. “Fine. I’ll go.” Moments later, six girls booked a flight. When I would mention to friends where we were going, I’d laugh and bat a hand when they made requests for Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolates and even recommended that I buy a watch. Clearly, they hadn’t grown up watching the Swedish chef on Sesame Street like I had and therefore were unaware of […]

Travel

Getting high on Asia

Like many travel industry people, getting a new stamp in my passport is my addiction; a high I chase each time I go away and an overwhelming urge to keep travelling to maintain that feeling. After my ‘trip’, I return home with a killer hangover (jetlagged) and trying to recall whether or not I actually did all that travelling or if I dreamt the whole thing up. Asia is still all a blur and the twelve hour time difference between there and home kicked my ass. But now that I’m back to sleeping and my high has subsided, I’m eager […]

Travel

Volunteering in Vietnam – Leave for Change

At first, I was hesitant about applying for the Leave for Change program (L4C) because I didn’t think I had the skills for the job postings. So when I received the call that I had been selected for an interview I was screaming on the phone and jumping around like a lottery winner. That marked the beginning of a life-changing journey. I was accepted for a mandate with the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). I would be working in the travel and hospitality sector as an advisor at Bac Thang Long College (BTL) located in Hanoi, the capital of […]