Well, even though traveling is an amazing thing to be able to do, the goodbyes involved really suck. I've been saying my goodbyes to everyone in person as much as I can, but I thought I'd write them here too.
For the people at work: I spent 8 hours a day with you guys, 5 days a week, and you still like me. That says something. You guys made it bearable during the worst times and you became my second family. I'll miss you a lot.
For my friends: I really enjoyed my year in Canada and even though I'm excited for what's next, I'm really sad to leave. Each person is in my life for a reason and I really appreciate all of you.
Steph: You know I'll be upset when I leave you. You're like my other half - living with you was so fun. I'll miss you so much. Our morning routine of Tim Hortons & scratch tickets, our trip to Disney, bowling!! You're the best friend anyone could ask for. You always know what to say, hell half the time you know what I'm about to say! I'll miss beds on the couch, complaining about the dishes, messing up your bed, going to Walmart, 7-11... you're great. I'll miss you I'll miss you I'll miss you.
To my family: I will miss you very much. Thank you for supporting me in my decision to go to Belgium, you guys are great. I'll miss little Logan - can't wait to see how big he'll be when I get back. G&G - it's been a rough ride the last few months, but I know you're strong. I'll keep in touch by calling and Skype when possible. Mel & Jill thanks for being awesome sisters, you both make me laugh because you know it's what I like to do. Mom & Dad - you're the best. You both have stories, advice and lessons to teach me. Every visit we have is fun and I hope we'll have lots more when I get back.
To everyone else, whether they be extended family, people I know from Korea or anyone else. I'm about to set off on yet another adventure. Please know all of you will be in my mind and I'll be keeping in touch. I'll take loads of pictures and videos and post them here.
I'll miss you all.
I love you all.
Ian
Thursday 30 September 2010
Wednesday 22 September 2010
10 days
Ok, so I'm leaving in 10 days. That is not long at all! It's funny, I've known about this trip since February, but like everything we look forward to, it seems like it came so fast! So. I've got everything ready. Thanks to the help of Lindsay's Mom Janice, I bought my plane ticket (Toronto - London - Brussels).
I've started to look at what I want to do shortly after I arrive there. First of all, I will be arriving on "nuit blanche" (white night) which is an annual cultural festival. I implore you to click on both of those things, they are two separate websites, both in English. Anyway, that will be a nice fun welcome on my first night.
The other things I want to do shortly after arriving include going to the Musée des Instruments de Musique (Musical instrument museum). They have 7000 musical instruments, from a really long time ago and recent ones too. That will be so interesting for me. There are also lots of street markets to go to in Brussels, which I would love to spend a Sunday morning doing.
And of course, one thing that will be an ongoing project will be to try lots of Belgian beer. If I drink one type of beer a day for a year, I won't have even tried half of the beers the country has to offer! I'm no beer connoisseur, so I will just share what I think of it... I won't be able to sound professional though! I have had a few Belgian beers in the past, but never in Belgium!
My kleenex box is empty and I have to blow my nose. What a tragedy.
I got sick near the end of last week, but thankfully I'm feeling better and I'm sure I'll be back to 100% by next Friday when I leave.
In other news, I was supposed to get my tattoo filled in tomorrow, but they switched the appointment to the 30th of September... the day before I leave!! I hope I don't get selected for a random 'pat down' when I'm at the airport, that would be a) inconvenient and b) PAINFUL! The tattoo I speak of is on my right arm from about 2 inches above my elbow to my shoulder. It is of the Korean painting called 일월오봉도 . Anyway, the point is that it's my whole arm and it will be painful! Oh well, I love tattoos. I also have a Canadian tattoo. Well, I have 4 in total. Anyway, the idea is that I have a tattoo from wherever I live. My body is like a map - a visual reminder of where I've been and what I've learned. I'm looking forward to figuring out how to represent Belgium!
Alright, I do believe I'm through with all of my updates. I am going to go watch Hot in Cleveland with Steph. It's this great new show with Betty White whom I LOVE.
Bye bye now!
I've started to look at what I want to do shortly after I arrive there. First of all, I will be arriving on "nuit blanche" (white night) which is an annual cultural festival. I implore you to click on both of those things, they are two separate websites, both in English. Anyway, that will be a nice fun welcome on my first night.
The other things I want to do shortly after arriving include going to the Musée des Instruments de Musique (Musical instrument museum). They have 7000 musical instruments, from a really long time ago and recent ones too. That will be so interesting for me. There are also lots of street markets to go to in Brussels, which I would love to spend a Sunday morning doing.
And of course, one thing that will be an ongoing project will be to try lots of Belgian beer. If I drink one type of beer a day for a year, I won't have even tried half of the beers the country has to offer! I'm no beer connoisseur, so I will just share what I think of it... I won't be able to sound professional though! I have had a few Belgian beers in the past, but never in Belgium!
My kleenex box is empty and I have to blow my nose. What a tragedy.
I got sick near the end of last week, but thankfully I'm feeling better and I'm sure I'll be back to 100% by next Friday when I leave.
In other news, I was supposed to get my tattoo filled in tomorrow, but they switched the appointment to the 30th of September... the day before I leave!! I hope I don't get selected for a random 'pat down' when I'm at the airport, that would be a) inconvenient and b) PAINFUL! The tattoo I speak of is on my right arm from about 2 inches above my elbow to my shoulder. It is of the Korean painting called 일월오봉도 . Anyway, the point is that it's my whole arm and it will be painful! Oh well, I love tattoos. I also have a Canadian tattoo. Well, I have 4 in total. Anyway, the idea is that I have a tattoo from wherever I live. My body is like a map - a visual reminder of where I've been and what I've learned. I'm looking forward to figuring out how to represent Belgium!
Alright, I do believe I'm through with all of my updates. I am going to go watch Hot in Cleveland with Steph. It's this great new show with Betty White whom I LOVE.
Bye bye now!
Monday 13 September 2010
18 days.
Well, for those of you who read my Korean blog, you will know that I'm no stranger to countdowns. I think everyone should have a countdown to something. They're fun.
Well, it's 18 days until I go. I received my visa in my passport a few days ago, and tomorrow I'm buying the plane ticket. Oh wait, I have to e-mail Lindsay's mom back and let her know my personal information... Ok. Now that that's done, I will have my plane ticket tomorrow.
In other news, I'm looking at new laptops. I am thinking of getting one for around $400 - $500 before I go to Belgium, because mine is on the fritz.
So. With 18 days left, I am feeling exactly the same as before I left for Korea. I'm starting to realize that as I'm visiting with people, it may be the last time I see them for a long time! I'm starting to think to myself how much I appreciate everyone here - my family and friends and how I'll miss them a lot. But on the other hand, I'm very excited for another adventure overseas. I know this year will bring similar things to my life as Korea - new people, friendships, bonds. Most of all, I'll learn so much. That's what I love about traveling for a long period of time - you soak up so much information. Not just surface things that you'd only get from visiting for a few weeks, but you really get to see the heart of the country - good and bad things. I'm excited.
Here's how I felt about Korea upon leaving - "Being so privileged and fortunate to be able to go to the other side of the world for a once in a life time chance makes me feel really lucky. I will always be thankful to Korea and its people for teaching me about valuing what other countries have to offer, and what I can offer to other countries."
I am also very very excited about the potential visitors I have lined up. My parents said they'd visit, as well as my sister Melissa (all of those people came to Korea!). In the realm of friends, Steph said she will try to save up money to come visit, and Brian said he'd try to come too! I remember being in Korea (I will mention Korea a lot in the first few months of this experience; I can't help but notice that the experiences are already somewhat analogous) and thinking "oh how I'd love to show everyone what it is actually like to be here" - pictures and video is one thing, but being there is another.
As far as french goes, I'm learning. J'étudie le français depuis huit mois. Bien qu'il y a beaucoup que je ne sais pas, j'ai appris beaucoup aussi. Quand j'arriverai au Belgique, je pense que j'apprendre très rapidement, parce que la même chose a se produite quand j'étais en Corée. Cette fois, je sais plus de la langue avant de partir. Quand je suis parti pour la Corée, je n'ai su la langue bien. J'ai seulement su comment de lire et écrir, mais je n'ai su pas que parler bien.
Some french might show up in the blog, if you really want to you can copy (CTRL + C) and paste (CTRL + V) it into the google translator and it will give you a rough idea of what I'm trying to say!
Anyway, it's late and I have to work tomorrow. I just thought I'd give an update about my thoughts and feelings right now!
I wish you all a great week!
Well, it's 18 days until I go. I received my visa in my passport a few days ago, and tomorrow I'm buying the plane ticket. Oh wait, I have to e-mail Lindsay's mom back and let her know my personal information... Ok. Now that that's done, I will have my plane ticket tomorrow.
In other news, I'm looking at new laptops. I am thinking of getting one for around $400 - $500 before I go to Belgium, because mine is on the fritz.
So. With 18 days left, I am feeling exactly the same as before I left for Korea. I'm starting to realize that as I'm visiting with people, it may be the last time I see them for a long time! I'm starting to think to myself how much I appreciate everyone here - my family and friends and how I'll miss them a lot. But on the other hand, I'm very excited for another adventure overseas. I know this year will bring similar things to my life as Korea - new people, friendships, bonds. Most of all, I'll learn so much. That's what I love about traveling for a long period of time - you soak up so much information. Not just surface things that you'd only get from visiting for a few weeks, but you really get to see the heart of the country - good and bad things. I'm excited.
Here's how I felt about Korea upon leaving - "Being so privileged and fortunate to be able to go to the other side of the world for a once in a life time chance makes me feel really lucky. I will always be thankful to Korea and its people for teaching me about valuing what other countries have to offer, and what I can offer to other countries."
I am also very very excited about the potential visitors I have lined up. My parents said they'd visit, as well as my sister Melissa (all of those people came to Korea!). In the realm of friends, Steph said she will try to save up money to come visit, and Brian said he'd try to come too! I remember being in Korea (I will mention Korea a lot in the first few months of this experience; I can't help but notice that the experiences are already somewhat analogous) and thinking "oh how I'd love to show everyone what it is actually like to be here" - pictures and video is one thing, but being there is another.
As far as french goes, I'm learning. J'étudie le français depuis huit mois. Bien qu'il y a beaucoup que je ne sais pas, j'ai appris beaucoup aussi. Quand j'arriverai au Belgique, je pense que j'apprendre très rapidement, parce que la même chose a se produite quand j'étais en Corée. Cette fois, je sais plus de la langue avant de partir. Quand je suis parti pour la Corée, je n'ai su la langue bien. J'ai seulement su comment de lire et écrir, mais je n'ai su pas que parler bien.
Some french might show up in the blog, if you really want to you can copy (CTRL + C) and paste (CTRL + V) it into the google translator and it will give you a rough idea of what I'm trying to say!
Anyway, it's late and I have to work tomorrow. I just thought I'd give an update about my thoughts and feelings right now!
I wish you all a great week!
Sunday 5 September 2010
Next stop, Belgium
Well, I'm back! This time I'll be going to Belgium.
For those of you who were fans of my year-long blog of my Korean adventures, thanks for coming back! For those just joining me, thanks for checking out my blog, come back often because I like to update!
Now is a good time to tell everyone that the address of my Korean blog has changed so that I could make this blog a separate one. Here are my blogs now:
iankivellkorea.blogspot.com
iankivellbelgium.blogspot.com
Add to your favourites!! Once in Belgium, I will update often!
Alright, down to business! Here are some technical things about the blog - if anything is written in blue, you can click on it and you will be brought to a page with more information about whatever it is that has been 'linked'. If you want to comment (which I love!) feel free to click the link under the post that will say "# comments".
On the right side you can find links to old posts, which you can check out by clicking the month they were written in.
I think that's it about the technical blog stuff.
In 27 days, I will be going to Belgium to start another adventure. The conditions are a little different this time than when I went to Korea. I am going with the working holiday visa program. This time around, more is left up to me. I will have to find my own job, my own place to live, and arrange for all of the documentation to be completed properly before I go. All of that was taken care of for Korea.
Thankfully, I have been hard at work and I already have most of those things in order. I am still job hunting though.
I will be staying in Brussels which is the capital city of Belgium. Belgium is a country in Europe who's next door neighbours are (starting from the north and working clockwise) The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France and as such, the official languages are Dutch, French and German (in that order). I took it upon myself to represent the data in graph form:
Here you can see that the Dutch community is the biggest at 59%, followed by the French at 40% and the German at only 1%.
The Dutch that is spoken in Belgium is called Flemmish.
I will be in Brussels, which is a French speaking city contained within the region of Flemmish speaking Belgium.
One very important thing to know about Belgium is that everything from politics to personal relationships to job status... everything is centred around langauge. Generally speaking, the Flemmish do NOT like the French, and vice versa.
So. I have been practicing French and lots has come back to me. I feel confident with my level of French.
That's just a quick introduction to Belgium, and my new blog. Feel free to visit either of my blogs whenever you want (this is the only active one at the moment). I will be adding many pictures and stories as time goes on. Thanks for visiting!
I will leave you with this picture - it's St. Michael's cathedral in Brussels. I love buildings and architecture, so you'll see lots of these types of picutres here.
(edit) you can also play with my Belgian fish :) Just run your mouse over them and maybe you can feed them too (just click!)
For those of you who were fans of my year-long blog of my Korean adventures, thanks for coming back! For those just joining me, thanks for checking out my blog, come back often because I like to update!
Now is a good time to tell everyone that the address of my Korean blog has changed so that I could make this blog a separate one. Here are my blogs now:
iankivellkorea.blogspot.com
iankivellbelgium.blogspot.com
Add to your favourites!! Once in Belgium, I will update often!
Alright, down to business! Here are some technical things about the blog - if anything is written in blue, you can click on it and you will be brought to a page with more information about whatever it is that has been 'linked'. If you want to comment (which I love!) feel free to click the link under the post that will say "# comments".
On the right side you can find links to old posts, which you can check out by clicking the month they were written in.
I think that's it about the technical blog stuff.
In 27 days, I will be going to Belgium to start another adventure. The conditions are a little different this time than when I went to Korea. I am going with the working holiday visa program. This time around, more is left up to me. I will have to find my own job, my own place to live, and arrange for all of the documentation to be completed properly before I go. All of that was taken care of for Korea.
Thankfully, I have been hard at work and I already have most of those things in order. I am still job hunting though.
I will be staying in Brussels which is the capital city of Belgium. Belgium is a country in Europe who's next door neighbours are (starting from the north and working clockwise) The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France and as such, the official languages are Dutch, French and German (in that order). I took it upon myself to represent the data in graph form:
Here you can see that the Dutch community is the biggest at 59%, followed by the French at 40% and the German at only 1%.
The Dutch that is spoken in Belgium is called Flemmish.
I will be in Brussels, which is a French speaking city contained within the region of Flemmish speaking Belgium.
One very important thing to know about Belgium is that everything from politics to personal relationships to job status... everything is centred around langauge. Generally speaking, the Flemmish do NOT like the French, and vice versa.
So. I have been practicing French and lots has come back to me. I feel confident with my level of French.
That's just a quick introduction to Belgium, and my new blog. Feel free to visit either of my blogs whenever you want (this is the only active one at the moment). I will be adding many pictures and stories as time goes on. Thanks for visiting!
I will leave you with this picture - it's St. Michael's cathedral in Brussels. I love buildings and architecture, so you'll see lots of these types of picutres here.
(edit) you can also play with my Belgian fish :) Just run your mouse over them and maybe you can feed them too (just click!)
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